WMNS 102-63285 Syllabus

Course Syllabus:  WMNS 102-63285_Syllabus

Meet Your Instructor:  Kirsten Boles

I am a PhD student at Claremont Graduate University where I am pursuing my PhD in Women's Studies in Religion. My primary areas of focus are in transnational feminist and queer theory, particularly in the context of Islam and discourse about Islam in the U.S. I live in Long Beach with my fiance, Doug, and my crazy pitbull-boxer, Maya. This is my second semester at SAC, and I am so excited to meet more new SAC faces! I will be a faculty advisor for the SAC Women's Empowerment Club, so join the club and take part in all of the excellent work they do for the SAC community!

Course Description:This course will examine the experiences of American women in both the “public” sphere of paid labor as well as the “private” sphere of the home and of unpaid labor. We will explore the full spectrum of how women move through these spaces throughout their lives. For instance, we will look at the socialization of school-age girls; representations of women and female labor in media; limitations put on women as they try to both survive and succeed within different forms of labor; and diverse experiences of the “work-life balance.” This class will also pay attention to intersectionality, attending to which women are often left out of dominant narratives about these issues. What is “women’s labor” and whose labor does U.S. public policy primarily address? How do issues of racism, classism, ageism, ableism, immigration status, etc. disproportionately affect the visibility of different forms of women’s labor? How do these factors affect the allocation of economic privileges and legal protections with regard to labor? This class will also utilize an interdisciplinary approach, relying on not just feminist theory and critique, but also historical accounts, sociology, public policy analysis, and creative writing to engage students with the questions of this field. If this class is successful, students will develop an understanding of the structural factors—both the privileges and barriers—that impact women’s experiences of work and family.

Textbook Information: 

• Paula Dubeck & Dana Dunn, Workplace/Women's Place: An Anthology, 3^rd Edition (Oxford University Press, 2006); ISBN-13: 978-0195335262 (“WWP” in course schedule below)
• Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber & Gregg Lee Carter, Working Women in America: Split Dreams, 2^nd Edition (Oxford University Press, 2004); ISBN-13: 978-0195150476 (“WWA” in course schedule below)
• Jay Newton-Small, Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works (Time, 2016); ISBN-13: 978-1618931559

Additional Course Information: Other readings will be posted to the Canvas course website. If you have difficult accessing the course website or downloading any of the files, please let me know as early as possible.

Course Learning Objectives: 

In concurrence with college policy and standards for core competency, you may expect to achieve the following Student Learning Outcomes in this course:

1. Communication Skills: Clear oral and written explanations and evaluations of the difference between sex and gender. Identify, evaluate and construct well-supported arguments concerning the most important issues affecting women within the modern era.
2. Thinking and Reasoning: Critically analyze through group dialogue and response papers, how the social construction of gender affects the following: language, the family academic education, the media, employment, politics, law, history, religion and health.
3. Diversity: Explain and critically analyze how race, class, gender and sexual identity affect women’s life experiences. Explain, analyze and integrate through written and oral assignments, the various strains of feminist thought (e.g., liberal, socialist, radical, multiracial.)