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WOMEN’S STUDIES 121B JUDY KUTULAS

INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN’S STUDIES

Office: Holland 513C.

Office Hours: Mondays, 2-3, Thursdays, 9-10, and by appointment.

Extension: 3236.

E-mail: kutulas@stolaf.edu

Course Alias: womens-studies-121b, an e-mail alias that includes me.

This class is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women’s Studies. As with any introduction, the possibilities are endless and the content, ultimately, is a result of the instructor’s strengths and interests. We won’t be doing a lot of feminist theory this term and we won’t be touring the disciplines with a feminist slant (i.e. if it’s Tuesday, it must be sociology). Instead, I have clustered the readings and discussions around what seem to be general interest kinds of questions about being female in American society. Mostly, we will look at socialization and the social construction of gender identity. Thus, our readings cluster around growing up, body image, and media’s impact. Although the largest part of the class is about growing up female in the United States, you will each embark on a brief research project to learn about women in other countries and cultures.

Here are the texts we’ll use in the rough order in which we will read them:

Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap, by Peggy Orenstein.
The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls, by Joan Jacobs Bromberg.
Body Outlaws: Young Women Write About Body Image and Identity, edited by Ophira Edut (note, this used to be called Adios, Barbie until Mattel brought suit against the press. It is otherwise the same book).
Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media, by Susan Douglas.

Class requirements are: attendance and participation (this is primarily a discussion class after all), papers/projects on Schoolgirls, Body Project, and Douglas book, research assignment on international women, and discussion questions for an essay in Body Outlaws. Each assignment (including attendance/participation) will be worth roughly equal weight. There will be a short, take-home final exam.

Note: on December 5th, when we are all getting weary of school, we’ll retreat into the magical/disgusting world of fashion/women’s magazines like Glamour and Vogue. Save them because you can never have enough.

CLASS SCHEDULE

9/5 – Introduction.
9/10 – Some history – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd waves.
9/12 – Schoolgirls, chapters 1-3.
9/17 – Schoolgirls, chapters 4-6.
9/19 – Schoolgirls, chapters 7-9.
9/24 – Schoolgirls, chapters 10-12.
9/26 – Body Project, chapter 1.
10/1 – Body Project, chapter 2 (also, check out this website www.mum.com the on-line Museum of Menstruation). Schoolgirls paper due.
10/3 – Body Project, chapter 3 (note: the chapter is specifically about skin, but we’ll also talk about hair, come prepared).
10/8 – Body Project, chapter 4 (weight/diet).
10/10 – Body Project, chapters 5-6 (virginity & advocacy).
10/15 – Research day.
10/17 – Discussion of women internationally. Body Project and international assignments due (2 separate things).
10/24 – For the next 2-½ weeks, each of you will take a turn leading discussion on one of the essays in Body Outlaws. Questions due on day you lead discussion.
10/29 – See above.
10/31 – See above.
11/5 – See above.
11/7 – See above.
11/12 – Douglas, intro and chapter 1 (Disney, etc.)
11/14 – Douglas, chapters 2-3 (June Cleaver, also “sexy” teenage films).
11/19 – Douglas, chapters 4-5 (music – girl groups & Beatles).
11/21 – Douglas, chapter 6 (“perky” rebellion).
11/26 – Douglas, chapters 7-8 (Women’s Movement).
12/3 – Douglas, chapters 9-10 (ERA and 80s backlash).
12/5 – Douglas, chapters 11-12 (Magazine Day!!!!!).
12/10 – Reassessing. Douglas paper due.

Final exam is scheduled for Friday afternoon, December 20th, 2:30-4:30, but verify as dates that appear official to me turn out to be wrong.
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