UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Women Studies Department

Fall 1999; T & Th 10:30 - 12:30 a.m.; Loew 105

Dr. Angela B. Ginorio Office hours: Th 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. and by appointment

Women Studies Padelford B-110P 685-2238 e-mail: wost@

RGIS Cunningham 203 543-7476

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Alka Arora Office hours: Th 3:30-5 p.m. & appt

Using a multi-disciplinary approach this course will explore the continuum of violence that affects women's lives, ranging from violence experienced in personal settings (family) to that which is part of cultural or state policies (war). Women’s experiences of violence--whether women are aggressors or victims, will be framed by the concepts of rights and responsibilities and socially defined identities informed by feminist analysis. This course requires active participation in all aspects of the class, from class discussion to self- and peer-evaluation.

The goals for this class are to actively, through all class activities:

*apply current frameworks of analysis to this information

*critically examine how socially defined identities and rights and responsibilities affect the experience of violence

*become familiar with the power and limits of the feminists’ work on violence

*gain in-depth knowledge about one or two areas of violence (presentation and the final project)

It is assumed that you come to this class with introductory knowledge about feminism and gender. Readings for this class build upon knowledge you may gained about gender and violence in Women Studies 200, or acquired through other means. This is a reading, writing, and discussion course. There are four major requirements:

In addition, all students are required to use e-mail and to discuss with the instructor or the teaching assistant their presentation before they choose the readings.

There is no required textbook for this course. Readings for this class will be selected by the instructor and/or the student(s) responsible for that day’s presentations. A packet of readings for the classes that the instructor leads is available for buying from Ave Copy Center (4141 University Way – 633-1837). The readings selected for each class will constitute the text.

On the first day the class will decide how best to make the rest of the readings available. Options include: readings being placed in reserve in OUGL, and/or readings made available by the person(s) responsible for that day’s presentation. There will be expenses associated with securing copies of the readings and photocopying materials related to your presentation.

The schedule in page 3 presents the dates of our classes and the topics that will be covered. The list of topics enclosed provides specific topics. If in examining these topics in the first day of classes there is an area of interest to you that is not covered, we can discuss how to incorporate it in the syllabus. The groupings respond to past courses and are not binding for this one. The topics should be discussed approximately in the order listed.

Each student is expected to lead a class discussion. Students can choose a topic from among those topics marked by an asterisk (*). Each student will select one of the topics for her/his discussion session. If the number of students in the class is larger than the number of topics, students will work in groups.

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If you would like to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz Hall by calling 543-8924 (V/TDD).

If you have a letter from Disabled Student Services, indicating that you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to me so we can discuss this and other accommodations that you might need for class.

[This list is distilled from the requirements listed in the enclosed pages.]

At the end of the course, students will have the following written products:

1. discussion:

a. list of readings to address the topic [due one/two weeks before the discussion]

b. list of questions to guide the discussion [due one/two weeks before the discussion]

c. 2 page summary of the discussion [due one week after the discussion]

2. class participation:

a. an evaluation of each discussion [due at the class after the discussion**--www forms available]

3. socially defined identity (sdi):

b. 2-3 page analytical report of your sdi specialty [due on Tu 7 Dec]

4. project:

a. no more than 1 page statement of what your final project will be [due Th 13 Oct]

b. final report on the project [due Friday 10 Dec by 5 p.m., final examination scheduled date]

Timeliness and presentation of materials are important. Some materials (lists of readings, questions for presentations, and the project proposal) can be submitted through e-mail, the evaluation of each discussion,the rest must be submitted in hard-copy. If people work in teams, agreement about grading must be reached at the time that the proposal for either the discussion or the project is submitted. Except for exceptional circumstances, no incompletes will be granted.

Tu 28 Introduction, Review of syllabus, Agreement on distribution of materials

[Make preliminary choice of topic for presentation & of sdis.]

Th 30 Finalize syllabus, Finalize forms, Establish rules of the class

Frameworks: Personal [Final assignment of topic for presentation & of sdis.]

Tu 5 Frameworks: Rights and responsibilities, and gender violence

Th 7 Frameworks: Socially defined identities; exclusions/inclusions

Tu 11 Frameworks: Disciplinary - psychology, sociology, law; feminist & non-feminist

Th 13 Prosecutable: Murder: Family, stranger, serial, mass

[Written proposal for the final project due.]

Tu 19 *Prosecutable: Family [Instructor will return proposal for final project with comments.]

Th 21 *Prosecutable: Family or Rape

Tu 26 *Prosecutable: Rape

Th 28 *Prosecutable: Other

Summary of prosecutable

Tu 2 *Culturally sanctioned - covert

Th 4 *Culturally sanctioned - covert

Tu 9 *Culturally sanctioned – covert or overt

Tu 16 *Culturally sanctioned – overt

Th 18 *Culturally sanctioned – overt

Summary of culturally sanctioned

Tu 23 *Institutional violence

Tu 30 *Institutional violence or Abuse by the state

Th 2 *Abuse by the state

Tu 7 Summary of Institutional violence and abuse by the state

Report on Final Projects [Analysis of sdi patterns due today.]

Fr 10 (Day of final exam, by 5 p.m.) [Final project due]

Leading (or co-leading) discussion session

Each student will lead a class discussion on one of the topics marked with asterisks in the syllabus. If people work in teams, agreement about grading must be reached by the time that the proposal for the discussion is submitted.

Through readings selected and questions asked, discussions are expected to address:

*definitions of the types of violence being discussed;

*statistics about prevalence of the violence under discussion;

*frameworks discussed in the first two weeks of classes (Sdis, rights and responsibilities, personal)

*actions that groups or individuals have developed to prevent violence or in response to the violence.

Because many students have never led a discussion, I will detail all the steps under four headings: preparation, mechanics in preparation for the discussion, discussion, summary of the discussion. You should keep in mind the evaluation form of the discussion as you prepare each of the steps below.

PREPARATION

1. Selecting a topic. It is likely that some topics will be selected by more than one person. In that case you can choose to form a team or to switch to another topic. If there are more topics than there are students, the formation of teams might require those students to work together for more than one presentation.

2. Consult with the instructor or the teaching assistant about the approach you want to take and the readings that you want to include in your discussion. The student(s) will select at least one reading to be a core reading (to be read by all students) and one or two supplemental articles.

[NOTE: If you borrow materials from the instructor: Materials that you assign for your discussion must be returned a week before the discussion. All materials must be returned by the last day of classes. If material is not returned, course requirements will be considered as incomplete.]

3. Reading as much as possible. First, consider materials included in the textbook list--these may lead you to other references. You should also do a computer search and you ask the instructor for suggestions. Materials addressing the concerns of lesbians, women of color, women with disabilities, women from other cultures or countries, and others who have been traditionally excluded from consideration or whose concerns have been ignored should be included. If materials are not found their absence should become a focus for the discussion.

4. Selecting the readings. The core reading(s) should be selected because of centrality to the issue and to the approach that you want to pursue, it should serve to frame your discussion and questions. The suplemental readings should be selected because they clarify, expand, challenge, etc. the core reading(s). Keep in mind the bulleted list in the second paragraph above.

At least one reading should not be received from the instructor. Popular journals can be used to illustrate issues, but except in exceptional cases should not be chosen as the main sources of information. Videos or other audio-visual aids are appropriate, speak to the instructor about how to use and obtain these.

5. Preparing the list of readings. The list of readings should be prepared in American Psychological Association style (see examples distributed by the instructor for the "Frameworks" classes) or consult the manual in the reference section of OUGL or Women Studies library. If the title of the reading is not self-explanatory, it will help the students understand your choice of it if you describe the content of each reading in a brief phrase.

6. Preparing a set of questions to direct the discussion. These questions will flow from the readings and the approach you have selected. Ask the questions in such a way that they build on each other, you can go from the broad to the detailed or vice versa. Questions should address the goals presented at the beginning of this syllabus, and they should provide ties between the core and the supplemental articles.

Be sure to ask at least one question about each reading. In addition to questions about each reading you can encourage discussions by asking students to compare their readings--specially if the readings provide alternative explanations or different examples. You can also ask questions that relate the readings in this topics back to previous readings or topics.

In addition, some general questions that are pertinent to all topics are:

•Who benefits by the current state of affairs?

•Would a given statement/"fact" about an individual or group mean the same if we change her/his gender? Or the race? Or the class? Or the nationality? Or the sexual orientation? Or any of the other sdis?

•Does this feel/sound right to me? Does it fit with my experience?

•What is the legal/societal/individual response to the violence? To the victim? To the aggressor? What justification is given for this response?

•What preventive measures can be taken to stop the violence?

•What are the socially defined identities of the author(s)?

7. Answering the questions for the discussion will help you organize your presentation and can serve as the basis for the summary of your presentation due a week after the presentation. If the answers to your questions do not reflect the points you want to make you may not be asking the right questions.

MECHANICS IN PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION

1. Place a copy of each article in the agreed place for this class. Options: distribute copies, have students pick copies at the copy center, place once copy in the reserve section of OUGL.

2. Print a copy of the whole list of readings and of the questions for each student. Print a copy for the instructor. [If ALL students are using e-mail this can be done by e-mail.]

3. Print a copy for the instructor of each article that you assign that you did not obtain from the instructor. Return to the instructor the same copies that were lent to you.

4. Distribute the list of readings and questions one/two weeks ahead of the day of the discussion. If you do not distribute the readings list OR if you do not place the readings at the agreed place by the agreed time, you will be responsible for bringing a copy of the readings for each student no later than the previous class (if hard copy) or 48 hours before the class (if e-mail). (This process may change as agreed on the first day of classes.)

THE PRESENTATION

1. Introduce the topic. Each class should be started by an introduction of the topic and an explanation for the approach chosen in discussing it. A rationale should be provided for the choice of the core reading and the supplemental readings. If the readings chosen did not include statistics about the incidence of violence, etc. then the discussion leader(s) should include them here. This introduction should take not more than one-third (30 minutes) of the class time. When opening the class for discussion, the questions that were previously distributed should guide the discussion.

[NOTE: You should anticipate having no more than 90 minutes for each discussion. Instructor will need some time at the beginning of each class for announcements, return of materials, etc. Students responsible for future discussions will need time to provide the necessary materials for their class.]

2. Facilitate all students’ participation. Be sure to have questions that address each of the readings and to pay attention to all students contributions. If someone has not participated you may want to be particularly encouraging of their participation.

3. Format of the presentation. While readings and questions are essential, you are free to format the discussion in any way you feel is most effective. The use of film or video or poetry, the inclusion of guest speakers, role playing, debates, or any other activity that increases class participation is appropriate, as is breaking up the class into small discussion groups, etc.

THE SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION

A week after the presentation you must turn in a two-page summary of the discussion that makes reference to the articles, the questions and their answers, and to important points made during the discussion. In addition, you will add at least a one-page presentation of the sdis that were mentioned in your readings. [See section on sdis for more information.] Attach to this summary a copy of the reading list and questions that guided your presentation as well as any handouts or copies of overheads that you used. Don’t forget to turn in a self-evaluation of your own presentation.,

[NOTE: If you work as a team, while the presentation is joint, the summary is individual.]

Two-thirds of your grade for the presentation will be based on your peers’ evaluations, your own evaluation, and my evaluation. If there are 25 students in the class, each evaluation will count 1/26th of the total (25 students plus the instructor). The remaining third (10 points of your final grade) will be allocated to your summary.

Class participation refers to your

•participation in class discussions,

•completion of the peer evaluations in a timely, fair and thoughtful manner, and

•participation in the e-mail list (if it is organized).

Your class participation should follow from the readings and the questions that frame the readings. For each class you are expected to read the core reading(s) assigned and at least one supplementary reading. Participation that is grounded on the readings--whether reporting on them or critically assessing them against other knowledge your have or your own experiences, and participation that reflects your application of the frameworks of the class (for example: the socially defined identities) will be considered of a high quality. Thoughtful responses to others’ comments, reflections from your own experiences, sharing of materials that you have observed on TV or read in the paper are also forms of class participation, but participation that consists only of these forms is not sufficient.

[NOTE: If you find active class participation very difficult but want to stay in this class we might explore other alternatives. You need to consult with me immediately about this issue.]

As part of your class participation you will evaluate each class presentation. Using a form that lists the criteria to be used you will evaluate the daily discussion after each class. This form is due at the end of the class being evaluated or at the next one. (Because your classmates grades depend on this rating, no delays are possible. If you miss a class presentation, turn in an evaluation of the readings.) Giving the same rating to all criteria and/or all respondents does not qualify as a fair or thoughtful evaluation.

I require everyone in this class to use e-mail. Minimally the e-mail will be used to forward non-required information that is pertinent to the class. Optimally, if everyone has access to e-mail, we may use it to forward required materials and continue through e-mail discussions that begin in class.

Your grade for class participation will be based on self-evaluation and instructor’s evaluation.

Your class participation will be assessed by yourself--as part of the peer evaluation you will submit for each discussion there is a question about your participation, and by me. I will assess your class participation both in terms of quantity and quality using the criteria listed in the second paragraph of this section. The instructor will assess your class participation rigorously. A reading and discussion class relies on this kind of participation for the assessment of the class goals.

Because violence does not occur in a vacuum, in this class we will be concerned with sdis (e.g., age, race, class, sexual orientation, etc.). In order to make these sdis integral parts of our class, each student will do two tasks: look at all sdis in your topic and select one sdi as his/her "specialty". You will choose one sdi from the list offered. Ideally, each sdi will be chosen by at least one student.

Your first responsibilities, which are also your communal responsibilities, will be to:

1. note all sdis mentioned in the readings for your discussion topic;

2. share this information with your peers during that topic’s class discussion--noting the sdis that were mentioned and in which context;

3. writing this information and turning it in with the summary of your discussion.

Your individual responsibilities will be to:

1. note any information that is offered about your sdi from the information provided by your peers and from what you collect through your own readings of the core and the supplemental readings,

2. write a 2-3 page analytical report of what you learned.

For your analytical report you will want to note for each class how your sdi was considered in the readings or the discussion. In terms of context you may want to note how rights and responsibilities of the aggressor and/or the victim depend on their positions in the sdi, how the various sdis are inter-related, and how different types of violence affect the relevance of your sdi.

For example, you may choose the dimension of "age." If you’re looking at it from the victim’s perspective, what difference does it make if the victim of sexual harassment or rape is a young woman? An old woman? If you’re looking at it from the aggressor’s perspective, what difference does it make if the aggressor in sexual harassment or rape is a young woman? An old woman? What if the young woman is poor? What if the old woman is rich?

At the end of the quarter you will prepare a 2-3 page analysis of the pattern that best describes all the observations you have made across all kinds of violence. Your analysis will focus on how the sdi you selected affects how violence is defined/perceived or experienced by individuals in different locations of the sdi, and how society, the legal system, the family, religion, etc. offer support to victims and aggressors.

Your grade in this section will depend on your written summary of the sdis listed in your presentation (5% of your final grade) and your report on your sdi "specialty" (15% of your final grade).

Each student will pursue a special project--group projects are encouraged. The project offers another opportunity to deepen your knowledge and understanding about one kind of violence.

The following are examples of special projects, offered to give you some idea of the range of projects that are possible:

*proactive activity to increase violence awareness or help prevention efforts (www page, fundraiser, directory of activities, develop a booklet of "10 things you can do to stop or prevent viiolence, etc.)

*media or cyber watch on issues of violence and women

*annotated bibliography of recent materials on violence and women in your discipline

*collection and analysis of poems or other literary forms that address violence and women

*translation of materials on violence from English into another language (or vice versa) for a social service agency

*work with a project serving prison women

*write five letters to the editor addressing one of the topics covered in the class that week (this would be due as topics are covered, NOT at the end of the course)

*design a teaching unit on a topic that reflects concerns discussed in this course

*develop a proposal for an intervention against violence in the campus, or in some other setting

*volunteer in a service agency and keep a journal. This journal will be reflective about the experiences in the agency and it will also incorporate information from readings

*survey of peers regarding some aspect of violence (this requires human subjects review, must start working on this immediately)

*your own idea of a special project

*if you were to do a library research paper you must have a least 15 sources (not more than five can be from the class) and you must write 12-15 pages of text (not counting references).

Topics for special project must be chosen with approval from the instructor. A written proposal (no longer than 3-4 paragraphs) must be submitted no later than Th 13 October to be approved by the next week. In that proposal you must specify what is your goal and/or thesis in doing this project and how it ties to the goals of the class. The special project is due the day when the final exam would have been scheduled and it must be typed.

If people work in teams, agreement about grading must be reached at the time that the proposal for the project is submitted. In grading your final project, these are the factors I consider in grading:

1. a clear thesis or purpose for your project

2. report on materials is accurate, the format is appropriate to the task

3. cover the issues thoroughly--if a traditional paper, the literature review is thorough

4. presentation fulfills the thesis/purpose and arrives at conclusions that can be deduced from the materials presented

5. creative and/or critical approach to the question or the issues

6. appropriate and complete references in APA style

Instructor and/or teaching assistant are ready to review drafts ahead of time--if done in a timely manner. (This means: if you do not wait until the last minute to do so; the turn-around time can be as much as two weeks.)

Emma Goldman