University
of Washington Curriculum Transformation ProjectUniversity
of Washington Curriculum Transformation Project
"Teaching is also learning. Teach what you need to learn." --Audre Lorde
|
|
Course Description In this course, we will explore the multiple and complex relationships of gender and education, drawing extensively on the analyses and critiques of traditional conceptions knowledge, teaching and research by feminist scholars and teachers. This exploration will take us through such topics as feminist theory and pedagogies; historical perspectives on educating women; controversies and contested theories about gender and education; systems of representation that serve both to emancipate and subordinate women; stratification in schools; identity development in girls and women; and ways to empower ourselves and our students through education. In all topics, gender will be explored in connection with other socially constructed aspects of identity, such as race, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation. |
Course Objectives
Required Books:
Recommended:
Texts on Reserve in Library:
Written Assignments
Each one of these papers should be informed by and make reference to discussions of these topics in class.
1. Option A: Select an autobiographical or "as told to" writing by a woman who confronted conflicting world views or value systems in struggling to become educated. Write a brief (2-3 page) analysis of the ways in which gender and other aspects of her identity influenced her experiences. Reflect on how gender has influenced your own educational experiences. (10%) Due April 12.
Option B: Select a magazine, movie, series of TV shows, news coverage of a key story for patterns of cultural representations of gender. Write a 2-3 page analysis of these patterns, including differences you see along the lines of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, and so forth. What are the consequences of these messages? (10%) Due April 19.
2. Write a personal statement about your own positionality as a teacher/educator and the implications for teaching/educating based on the readings you did for April 19. (10%) Due May 3.
3. Writing a five to seven page synthesis and analysis of current research in one of the central and contested topics of the course. For example, you might choose to explore such topics as the use of nonsexist language, the issue of single sex institutions, classroom interaction patterns, some aspect of gender differences, etc. Analyze the arguments presented and develop and support your own point of view. Develop a set of recommendations about educational policy in this area. Prepare a bibliography on the topic for course participants. (20%) Due May 24. NOTE: PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC AND SCHEDULE YOUR IN-CLASS PRESENTATION BY APRIL 19
4. Write a final statement about the role educators can play in working for gender equity in schools. (20%) Due May 31.
In-class Work
1. Make a presentation in class on this same topic as #3 above. (15%) Due on date this topic is discussed in class.
2. Class participation. Because of the collaborative nature of the course and the responsibility of each student for contributing to the learning process for all, attendance and participation at all class sessions are required. Participation can be in a variety of ways, including serving as a recorder of discussions, facilitating discussions, and taking on other roles that emerge in class work. (25%)
March 29, 1995
Topics:
Introduction to the course; What do we know about gender and education? What do students in the course want to know about this topic? How do we learn? How does gender affect how we learn? What does the term "gender" signify? What is its relationship to other forms of socially constructed identity, such as race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation? What are the teaching contexts of those in the course?
Topic: Why educate women? which women? What do girls and women need to know? Is this different from what boys and men need to know? What responses have there been over time to these questions?
Readings:
Patricia Bell-Scott, "Black Women's Higher Education: Our Legacy." In Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women 1,1 (Spring 1984): 8-11.
Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) (Sioux), from Impressions of an Indian Childhood and The School Days of an Indian Girl. In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, 2nd ed., edited by Paul Lauter. D.C. Heath, 1994, vol. 2, pp.925-936.
Patricia Albjerg Graham, "Expansion and Exclusion: A History of Women in American Higher Education." Signs 3, 4 (Summer 1978): 759-773.
Florence Howe, Myths of Coeducation: Selected Essays, 1964-1983. Indiana University Press, 1985, pp. 19-27 and 259-269.
Gerda Lerner, Black Women in White America: A Documentary History. Vintage, 1973, Section 2, "The Struggle for Education."
Roslyn Arlin Michelson and Stephen Samuel Smith, "Education and the Struggle Against Race, Class and Gender Inequality. In RCG, pp. 289-304.
Patricia Clark Smith, "Grandma Went to Smith, All Right, but She Went from Nine to Five." In Working-Class Women in the Academy, edited by Michelle M. Tokarczyk and Elizabeth A. Fay. University of Massachusetts Press, 1993, pp. 126-139.
NOTE: Writing Assignment 1A due today.
Topics: What is the media's role in creating cultural representations of gender? What messages are conveyed? What are their consequences? What knowledge and skills do students need to interpret media messages about gender?
Readings:
Forum: Feminism and the Media. (1995). Signs, 20 (1), 642-719.
Fred Pelka, "'Dreamworlds': How the Media Abuses Women." (1991). On the Issues, 21 (Winter), 20-24, 39-42.
Also, three of the following:
Evelyn Torton Beck, "From "Kike" to "JAP": How Misogyny, Anti-Semitism, and Racism Construct the "Jewish American Princess." In RCG, 87-95.
Ardy Bowker, "Racism and Stereotyping in Native America." In Sisters in the Blood, pp. 29- 32.
Sucheng Chang, "You're Short, Besides!" In RCG.
Henry Louis Gates, "TV's Black World Turns--But Stays Unreal." In RCG, pp. 310-316.
Tracy Lai, "Asian American Women: Not for Sale." In RCG, pp. 181-190.
Michael Messner, "Masculinities and Athletic Careers." In RCG, pp. 161-181.
Holly Sklar, "The Upperclass and Mothers N the Hood." In RCG, pp. 123-134.
NOTE: Research topic and writing assignment 1B due.
Topics: How do gender and diversity shape the production of new forms of knowledge in formal learning situations? What forms of interaction emerge when such diversities are encouraged rather than managed or controlled in teaching situations? What difference does difference make in the classroom? How and who does feminist pedagogy empower in the classroom?
Readings:
Joy Harjo, "For Alva Benson, And For Those Who Have Learned To Speak." (HANDOUT)
bell hooks, Talking Back. South End Press, 1989, chapters 1, 2.
Frances A. Maher and Mary Kay Thompson Tetreault, The Feminist Classroom. Basic Books, 1994, chapters 4,5.
Myra and David Sadker, Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. Touchstone, 1994. Chapter 3
Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees, "Mixed Blood, New Voices." In Spirit & Space Survival: African American Women in (White) Academe, edited by Joy James & Ruth Farmer. Routledge, 1993, pp. 13-23.
Kathleen Weiler, Women Teaching for Change: Gender, Class and Power. Bergin & Garvey, 1988, chapters 4 &5.
Topic: Legal and policy issues; sexual harassment
Guest Speaker:
Robbi Ferron, J.D., Director, Affirmative Action/Human Relations Office, UW
Readings:
Ellison v. Brady, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, Jan. 23, 1991.
Catherine B. Johnson, Margaret S. Stockdale, and Frank E. Saal, "Persistence of Men's Perceptions of Friendly Cues Across a Variety of Interpersonal Encounters."
Michelle A. Marks and Eileen S. Nelson, "Sexual Harassment on Campus: Effects of Professor Gender on Perception of Sexually Harassing Behaviors. (1993). Sex Roles, 28 (3/4), 207-217.
NOTE: Writing assignment 2 due today.
Topics: Stratification in schools; institutional change
Guest Lecturer:
Dr. Francine Winddance Twine, Women Studies, University of Washington-Seattle
Readings: TBA
Topics: What do feminist critiques of knowledge formation tell us about how knowledge is constructed? In what ways have women of color challenged feminist theory and women's studies? What are the implications of feminist theory for teaching and learning? What metaphors for teaching and learning are empowering?
Readings:
Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Spinsters/Aunt Lute, 1987, chapter 5.
Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Unwin Hyman, 1990, chapter 2.
Jardine, A. (1988). Prelude: The future of difference. In H. Eisenstein & A.Jardine (Eds.), The future of difference (pp. xxv-xxvii). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Elizabeth Johnson, "Working-Class Women as Students and Teachers." In Working-Class Women in the Academy, edited by Michelle M. Tokarczyk and Elizabeth A. Fay. University of Massachusetts Press, 1993, pp. 197-207.
Frances A. Maher and Mary Kay Thompson Tetreault, The Feminist Classroom. Basic Books, 1994, chapters 1 & 3.
Kathleen Weiler, Women Teaching for Change: Gender, Class and Power. Bergin Garvey, 1988, chapters 1 & 2.
For reference:
Betty Schmitz, Johnnella E. Butler, Deborah Rosenfelt, and Beverly Guy-Sheftall, "Women's Studies and Curriculum Transformation." In James A. Banks and Cherry A. McGee Banks, Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education. Macmillan, 1995, pp. 708-728.
Topics: Psychological theories about gender and personality development; sex differences and cognitive development; presentations
Readings:TBA
Topics: Case study of change; gender and science; presentations
Readings:
Sandra Harding, Whose Science? Whose Knowledge?. Cornell, 1991. Chapters 2,5,8 7&12.
Angela Ginorio, Warming the Academic Climate for Women. AAC&U, 1995.
May 31, 1997
Topics: Empowering students; empowering ourselves as educators; presentations