Courses:

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This course offers an introduction to Women's and Gender Studies, an interdisciplinary academic field that asks critical questions about the meaning of gender in society. The primary goal of this course is to familiarize students with key issues, questions and debates in Women's and Gender Studies scholarship, both historical and contemporary. Gender scholarship critically analyzes themes of gendered performance and power in a range of social spheres, such as law, culture, work, medicine and the family.

Throughout the semester, we will "question gender" in multiple ways: Why has gender been an organizing principle of society? How do "gendered scripts" for dress and behavior emerge in different societies and historical periods? How do we explain the sexual division of labor and the unequal status of women and those activities and roles deemed "feminine" in society? What factors contribute to the formation and success of movements for and against gender equality? Can we imagine a future in which we largely ignore gender or envision gender in more fluid or egalitarian ways?

This semester you will become acquainted with many of the critical questions and concepts feminist scholars have developed as tools for thinking about gendered experience. In addition, we will explore the complex ways in which gender interacts with class, race, ethnicity, sexuality and age within various spheres and institutions of society. Reading materials include classic and contemporary women's studies scholarship from a variety of disciplines, as well as personal narratives of gendered lives. Course topics include: The first and second waves of American women's rights activism, gender and the law, socialization, gender and work, health and reproduction, sexuality, families, and globalization. Through taking this course, students will be better prepared to participate in and contribute effectively to the larger public conversation about the role of gender in society, to apply the critical tools of women's and gender studies in their academic and personal lives, and to take more advanced classes in this field.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• understand and engage with central debates in the field of Women's and Gender Studies
  
  
• define and utilize basic terms and concepts central to this field
  
  
• apply a variety of methods of analyzing gender in society, drawing upon both primary and secondary sources
  
  
• apply concepts and theories of women's studies to life experiences
  
  
• communicate effectively about gender issues in both writing and speech, drawing upon Women's and Gender Studies scholarship and addressing a public audience

Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies, as a HASS-D/CI (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences-Distribution/Communication Intensive) subject, conforms to these guidelines:

Communication Intensive (CI) subjects in HASS require, by the end of term, at least 20 pages of writing, divided among 3-5 assignments. At least one major assignment should provide students with the opportunity for revision. In HASS-CI courses, students also have significant opportunity for oral communication, through presentations, student-led discussion, and class participation.

In SP. 401, your first essay will be submitted as a first version and then revised in order to meet this requirement. For more information, please visit MIT Undergraduate Communication Requirement.

Taylor, Verta, Nancy Whittier, and Leila Rupp, eds. Feminist Frontiers. 7th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2007. ISBN: 9780073196084. (Students should bring Feminist Frontiers with them to class.)

Please see readings for additional texts.

To foster a sense of intellectual community, this course is structured in a format that blends lecture and discussion. It is crucial that students come to class on time, with required texts, well prepared to offer thoughtful responses to the assigned reading. To be effective as class participants, students need to complete reading and writing tasks by the assigned dates. A vital, ongoing intellectual conversation—which actively questions the meaning of gender in society—is at the heart of the course. Many of the issues that we address in the course are controversial and students may have very different viewpoints and perspectives. It is critical that we respect one another's experiences and perspectives and converse productively across our differences.

Since our class functions as an intellectual community, it is essential that students attend class faithfully. More than two absences may affect the final grade; a student cannot pass the course with over five absences. Three latenesses count as an absence. If a student must be absent from class or cannot submit an assignment on time because of a personal, family or medical emergency, he or she should email or phone me (or have a dean contact me) as soon as possible. In the case of absence, it is the student's responsibility to contact a classmate about class material and obtain any handouts or assignments that were distributed. Major assignments and many handouts are available in assignments.

Active participation in large and small group discussion is necessary to receive full credit for the attendance and participation component of your grade. Short homework exercises also count for part of this grade.

Student performance in the class is evaluated according to the following criteria:

Each student will do one oral presentation, an analysis of a current event relating to class readings. Students will work in pairs to research and present an interpretation of a current event article of their choice pertaining to the week's topic. Your task is to make connections between concepts presented in an assigned reading (or readings) and lectures and a "real-life" example found in the news. This assignment requires close reading of the news item you choose, presenting your analysis in a coherent way to the rest of the class, along with several follow-up discussion questions. Sign up for these presentations will begin in the second week of class. Students should plan to meet with the instructor as they choose current events topics to research.

Each student will be responsible for submitting three major essay assignments over the course of the semester. Essay assignment prompts will be distributed at least two weeks in advance of the due date for each essay. Each essay should demonstrate understanding of key concepts in the course by framing a clear argument in response to the essay question and supporting that argument with examples and quotations from relevant course readings. The first essay should be 5-7 pages (typed, double-spaced) in length; the next two essays will be 7-8 pages each in length.

Please note that you are required to schedule your first appointment with the CI writing tutor when you are in the process of writing the first essay. You can schedule your appointment at any point in the writing process: brainstorming, crafting the first version or revising.

Throughout the semester, I will encourage student writers to:

• address an intelligent, public audience in a graceful style, providing key information necessary to understand an argument
  
  
• develop ideas in an interesting, original and coherent manner
  
  
• support arguments with appropriate evidence and use sources thoughtfully and correctly
  
  
• employ clear, concise language that uses the conventions of English grammar, punctuation, word usage and source citation
  
  
• structure arguments carefully with clear introductions, transitions, middles and conclusions
  
  
• title assignments in a thoughtful and engaging fashion

As members of this class and the larger scholarly community, you are expected to abide by the norms of academic honesty. While a good deal of collaboration is encouraged in and out of class, failing to acknowledge sources or willfully misrepresenting the work of others as your own will not be tolerated. Everything you submit must be your own work, written specifically for this class. Using someone else's language and/or ideas without proper attribution is academically dishonest. Plagiarism can result in withdrawal from the course with a grade of F, suspension or expulsion from the Institute.

The booklet, Academic Integrity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A Handbook for Students, explains these issues in detail, and you are responsible for understanding its contents. Also consult more information available at the MIT Online Writing and Communication Center. We will also work on citing sources in class and discuss ways to acknowledge them properly. When in doubt, consult with me or with the writing tutor.

For any use or distribution of these materials, please cite as follows:

Andrea Walsh, course materials for SP.401 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu/), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].