Pol 341: Women & Politics

COURSE OUTLINE

Course reading (books available both at the bookstore and online):
Gail Collins, When Everything Changed, 9780316014045
Laura Kaplan, The Story of Jane, 1995, 0226424219
Additional online readings, noted below

Course requirements:
Attendance (15) & participation (5). . 20%
Paper 1, due June 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Paper 2, due June 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
Paper 3, due June 27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30%

Schedule [links to online readings, below]

Day 1, June 4: Getting started: what is politics? What is a woman?
Day 2, June 5: Collins, Intro, chs. 1-3; <MDG Gender Chart> <K Crenshaw, Mapping the Margins> <S Smith, Black feminism and intersectionality>
Day 3, June 6: Collins, chs. 4-5; Crenshaw, Smith, cont.
Day 4, June 7: Collins, ch. 6; Crenshaw, Smith, cont.

Day 5, June 11: Collins, Crenshaw, Smith cont.; papers discussion . . . . . Paper 1 due
Day 6, June 12: Collins, chs. 7-8; <UN, Trends in Maternal Mortality, pp.1-5, pp. 21-28> ; Kaplan, Intro, begin chs. 1-5
Day 7, June 13: Kaplan, finish chs. 1-5, chs. 6-12
Day 8, June 14: Kaplan, chs. 13-16, begin chs. 17-21

Day 9, June 18: Kaplan, finish chs. 17-21, chs 22-27, Epilogue . . . . . Paper 2 due
Day 10, June 19: <M Frye, Some Reflections on Separatism and Power> <A Badkhen, Baghdad’s Underground Shelters Help Iraqi Women> <M Korneta, Moving Mountains> <Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder, The Activism of Bedouin Women>
Day 11, June 20: Collins, ch. 9 <M Ziegler, Women’s Rights on the Right>
Day 12, June 21: <K Celis & S Childs, Rightist Parties and Women’s Substantive Representation> <R Schreiber, Constitutive Representation of Mothers: How Conservative Women Shape Maternal Interests>

Day 13, June 25: <O Sasson-Levy, Feminism and Military Gender Practices> <MS Spivack, Women in Combat>
Day 14, June 26: Collins, chs. 10-13 <M Htun & J Piscopo, Women in Politics and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean> <UN Violence Against Women in Politics: Introduction, pp. 11-13; Background, pp. 14-26; skim Nature, Extent, Motive, and, Impact of VAWIP, pp. 40-73>
Day 15, June 27: Collins, ch. 14-15, Epilogue, Afterword . . . . . Paper 3 due

~~~

Online readings:

• UN, MDG Gender Chart, March 2014
• Kimberle Crenshaw, Mapping the Margins
• Sharon Smith, Black feminism and intersectionality
• UN, Trends in Maternal Mortality
• Marilyn Frye, Some Reflections on Separatism and Power
• Ana Badkhen, Baghdad’s Underground Shelters Help Iraqi Women
• M Korneta, Moving Mountains
• Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder, The Activism of Bedouin Women
• Mary Ziegler, Women’s Rights on the Right
• Karen Celis & Sarah Childs, Rightist Parties and Women’s Substantive Representation [click on “Open PDF in Browser”] [Alternative link, if former one doesn’t work]
• Ronnee Schreiber, Constitutive Representation of Mothers [click on “Download” or “Open PDF in Browser”]
• Orna Sasson-Levy, Feminism and military gender practices [Alternate link: search “Orna Sasson-Levy, Feminism and military gender practices” in Google Scholar, then click on article]
• Miranda S Spivack, Women in Combat
• Mala Htun & Jennifer Piscopo, Women in Politics and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean
• UN, Violence Against Women in Politics, 2014

 ~~~

Paper Requirements

Essay 1, due June 1: biography of woman in politics, 4-5 pages
Essay 2, due June 18: questions about subject, in light of readings & class discussion, 7-8 pages
Essay 3, due June 27: questions about subject, in light of readings & class discussion, 7-8 pages

You will need to engage in scholarly research in order to complete all three of these papers.

Essay 1 (4-5 pages): This is a relatively straightforward piece, in which you choose a woman political actor (politician or activist) and write a biography of her. You may choose a woman from anywhere in the world and I recommend (but do not require) you choose someone from the 20th-21st century. Note as well that you do not have to agree with or like this person, and that you are writing a biography, not hagiography.

While you may do some analysis, this is largely a descriptive paper.

Essays 2 & 3 will build off of the required readings and classroom discussions; questions for each will be provided in class.

See Research and Writing for information on finding and citing sources