As you know from looking at the Reading & Discussion Schedule in your syllabus, WMST3301 is divided up into five parts. We began addressing the questions in Part 1 last week and will continue doing so during the first forty-five minutes or so of class on Friday. So, for those of you who missed out first class, be sure to get caught up on the reading so that you can participate in this crucial conversation about what FEMINISM is, what’s counts as THEORY, and what makes a theory FEMINIST. An understanding of these questions is a foundational element in this course.
After we finish up with that, we’ll move on to talking about the WOMAN QUESTION and the long nineteenth century, which ranged from roughly the 1790s through the 1920s and has as its bookends the French Revolution and World War I. This is the period from which our reading this week and next comes, so let me say this: Be patient with these texts, and with yourself, as you read. These materials were written in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the authors use stylized language that’s rather tricky for today’s reader to grapple with. Give yourself plenty of time to read and make sense of these materials. And remember the strategies I suggested for last week:
a) identify the problem the author is concerned with and why
b) figure out what the author envisions instead
c) identify what strategies (if any) the author suggests
Remember also to download and print out the Weekly Reading Worksheet to guide you as you read. This will also give you a clue about what we’ll be talking about in class.
We’ll then take a bit of a break, after which we’ll come back and watch the first part of a movie about the U.S. women’s suffrage movement called Iron Jawed Angels. This will lead us into next week’s materials and get us talking about the first (but certainly not the last) fissure in the women’s movement and the reasons behind it.
Announcements
On Thursday, September 23rd, Calgary’s annual Take Back the Night March will be held in Connaught Park (11th St and 14th Ave SW)! Learn more at http://tbtn.tumblr.com/. A bunch of us, both faculty and students, from MRU will be attending, so why not join us? Check out the “Extra Credit Info” link on our blog for details on how you can earn extra credit by attending and/or participating in this event.
Also, did you know that there’s a feminist radio program right here in Calgary? “Yeah, What She Said” airs every Monday evening from 8-9 PM on 90.9 FM. For more info, go to http://www.cjsw.com/programming/show_details.html?id=58.
About the Weekly Reading Worksheets
Remember that you must complete a total of four Weekly Reading Worksheets over the course of the semester, and they must each be from different parts of the course. Late Worksheets will not be accepted.
Even if you choose not to complete a Worksheet that week I strongly suggest downloading and using the each week’s Worksheet to guide you as you read. Taking a look at the terms, concepts, and questions on the Worksheet will give you a good idea of what you should be paying attention to in the reading each week.
And, as I said last week, I will never surprise you on an exam; exam questions in this class will come directly from our course materials, my blog posts, our class discussions and activities, and our Weekly Reading Worksheets. So, knowing what’s on the Worksheets each week will help you not only to prepare for class each day, but also to study for your exams.
You might also choose to take advantage of MRU’s Student Learning Services, which offers campus-based resources to help you succeed in your courses. They offer one-to-one peer tutoring as well as workshops on a variety of topics.
Some administrative stuff
For those of you who missed our first day of class, be sure to click on the “What if You Miss Class?” link on our blog. Also, please download and complete this Questionnaire, put your name on it, and return it to me at our next class meeting.
In addition, I want to remind you of a few things:
1. For those of you who may have recently registered for this course, I want to remind you that WMST 3301 is a complex course in feminist theories intended for upper-level students (i.e., those in their third and fourth years). It is an advanced, student-driven seminar that necessitates a preliminary knowledge of the issues and concepts learned in prior Women’s Studies classes. Therefore, all students enrolled in WMST 3301 must have successfully completed at least ONE other Women’s Studies course as a prerequisite. In addition, the heavy reading load in WMST 3301 also requires an intense time commitment as well as sophisticated critical thinking abilities. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that students in their second year of study—even those who have taken Women’s Studies before—wait until they have completed another full year of course work before taking this course, as it is designed for third- and fourth-year students. This information is not meant to intimidate you or scare you away. On the contrary, I want you to succeed, and staying in the course if you don't meet the prerequisites may adversely affect your situation. If you have any questions about this, or about anything else, please feel free to send me an e-mail at kawilliams(at)mtroyal.ca.
2. Start thinking about when you’d like to bring in Discussion Questions, which you must do once during the course of the semester. I’ll be asking you to sign up on Friday.
3. Start thinking also about your Term Project (you learn more by clicking on the link on the blog), because starting next week I’ll be asking you to come speak with me about your plans.
4. When submitting Worksheets (and anything else to the Dropbox), please make sure there are no funky characters such as #/?%^*@, etc. in the filename. And make sure to upload your assignments in .docx, .pdf, or .rtf format.
Happy reading, and I’ll see you all in class!
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