Women's History and Feminist Theory

Course Requirements:
All students are required to attend lectures and take part in discussions. Exams will require students to synthesize lecture materials as well as readings. Students must also read and assimilate required readings, and be prepared to discuss readings on the schedule given below. Students will submit all assignments on time; late papers will not be accepted without prior arrangement with the professor. Further, no student with more than four unexcused absences will receive a passing grade for the course.

Contacting the Professor:
My office is in 2N 203, and my office phone is 718-982-2869; I have office hours Mondays from 11:00 to 12:00, Wednesdays 2:30 to 4:30, and by appointment; I am usually in my office on Tuesdays. You may also reach me via email at lavender@postbox.csi.cuny.edu.

Assignments:
First Midterm (Wednesday, 5 March, 1997): 25% of Final Course Grade
Second Midterm (Wednesday, 9 April, 1997): 25% of Final Course Grade
Final Midterm (Wednesday, 21 May, 1997): 25% of Final Course Grade
Participation (attendance and discussion contribution): 25% of Final Course Grade

Required Texts:
Joan Wallach Scott, ed., Feminism & History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996)

Marlene Le Gates, Making Waves: A History of Feminism in Western Society (Toronto: Copp Clark, Ltd., 1996)

Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)

There are additional optional materials for this course on the WWW at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/182links.html

Course Schedule:

Week One: Introduction
	Wednesday, January 29	Introduction to the Course
Week Two: The Construction of Gender
	Monday, February 3	Introduction to Women's History and Feminist Theory
	Readings: Le Gates, "Preface"; Scott, "Introduction."
	Wednesday, February 5	The Social Construction of Gender
	Readings: Riley, "Does Sex Have a History?" and Scott, "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis," in Scott
Week Three: The Construction of Sex
	Monday, February 10	The Scientific Construction of Gender
	Readings: Barlow, "Theorizing Woman," and Davis, "'Women's History' in Transition," in Scott.
	Wednesday, February 12	CUNY CLOSED--No Classes
Week Four: Patriarchy
	Monday, February 17	CUNY CLOSED--No Classes
	Wednesday, February 19	The Creation of Patriarchy
	Readings: Le Gates, Chs. 1 ("Feminism and Patriarchy") and 2 ("From Jesus to Joan of Arc"); Rubin, "The Traffic in Women," in Scott
	Thursday, February 20	Case Studies in Patriarchy
	Readings: Dill, "The Dialectics of Black Womanhood," and Higginbotham, "African-American Women's History and the Metalanguage of Race," in Scott
Week Five: Women's Economies
	Monday, February 24	The Industrial Revolution and Women's Labor
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 3 ("Impact of the Renaissance"); Phillips & Taylor, "Sex and Skill," in Scott
	Wednesday, February 26	Women and Development
	Readings: Stoler, "Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power," and Sinha, "Gender in the Critiques of Colonialism and Nationalism," in Scott
Week Six: Women's Politics
	Monday, March 3	Women in Politics
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 4 ("Religion, Politics and Literature")
	Wednesday, March 5	First Midterm (click here for the study guide for the First Midterm)
Week Seven: Homefronts
	Monday, March 10	Women and Historical Violence
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 5 ("Revolutions in Philosophy and Politics"); Bock, "Equality and Difference in National Socialist Racism," in Scott
	Wednesday, March 12	Sexuality
	Readings: Roper, "Discipline and Respectablity," and Thompson, "Creating Boundaries," in Scott
Week Eight: Gender, Class, and Race
	Monday, March 17	Identity I
	Readings: Brown, "Womanist Consciousness," and Janiewski, "Southern Honour, Southern Dishonour," in Scott
	Wednesday, March 19	View Imitation of Life in Class
Week Nine: Gender, Class, and Race, Continued
	Monday, March 24	Identity II
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 6 ("Radicals and Reformers"); Smith-Rosenberg, "Female World of Love and Ritual," in Scott
	Wednesday, March 26	View Working Girl in Class
Week Ten: Women's Voices
	Monday, March 31	Women's Writing and Language
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 7 ("The Beginnings of Organized Feminism"); Lake, "Female Desires," in Scott
	Wednesday, April 2	Women's Writing and Literature
	Readings: Snitow, "A Gender Diary," in Scott.
Week Eleven: Women's Ways of Learning
	Monday, April 7	Gender and Education
	Wednesday, April 9	Second Midterm (click here for the study guide for the Second Midterm)
Week Twelve: Images of Women
	Monday, April 14	Women in Art History
	Readings: Dauphin & Farge, "Women's Culture and Women's Power," in Scott
	Wednesday, April 16	The New Woman and First Wave Feminism
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 8 ("Issues in First Wave Feminism").
Week of April 21-26--Spring Break, CSI Closed
Week Thirteen: Women as Social Activists
	Monday, April 28	Feminism and Social Justice
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 9 ("Wartime and Interwar Feminism")
	Wednesday, April 30	Feminist Intellectuals and Gender Construction
	Readings: Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Week Fourteen: Feminism and Womanism
	Monday, May 5	Feminism and Womanism
	Readings: Alice Walker, The Color Purple
	Wednesday, May 7	Discussion of The Color Purple
Week Fifteen: Assessing Feminist Theories
	Monday, May 12	Feminist Theories I
	Readings: Le Gates, Ch. 10 ("The Origins of the Second Wave")
	Wednesday, May 14	Feminist Theories II
	Readings: Le Gates, "Conclusion"; and Smith, "Historiography, Objectivity, and the Case of the Abusive Widow," in Scott
Final Exam		Wednesday, 21 May 1997

Last updated: Monday 14 April 1997