SWMS 560/SOCI 560 Sharon Hays, KAP 348 Spring 2011 office hrs. W 1:30-3:30

Feminist Theory

This course provides an overview of the historical foundations and contemporary trends in (Western) feminist theory. Consider this a brief introduction, meant to give you a general feel for the range and sophistication of available theories of gender. We will explore each type of feminist theory, examining its internal logic, implications, and critiques. We will also consider issues of essentialism, the social construction of gender differences and gender inequalities, and the conceptualized impact of economics, politics, culture, language, and sexuality in shaping gender dynamics. In addition, we will analyze the importance and implications of race, class, and national differences among women, the contributions of queer theory, and the question of what theoretically grounded feminist political action might look like.

Class participation is a requirement for learning in this course. The material is difficult. The more you talk about it, the better you'll understand it. To gain this practice in flexing your feminist theoretical muscles, it is absolutely essential that you complete all the readings by the beginning of the period for which they are assigned and come to class prepared for intellectual discussion.

Grades will be based on a take-home final 60%, a research project and presentation 20%, and class participation, including mutual evaluation and "memos" 20%.

Required readings will be made available for copying (to be arranged).

The readings are ordered quasi-chronologically, both within each section and overall. This does not mean, however, that one form of theory supersedes the next. I am not trying to lead you down the road to "ever-better" theorizing. Which theories are the "best" is a question I leave you to ponder. This chronological arrangement will simply allow us to explore the historiography of feminist thought. 2

1. Introducing Ourselves, Feminism, and Theory______(Jan. 11, 18)

-- Faludi, Susan. 1991. "Blame It on Feminism" From Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. Crown Publishers.

-- Levy, Ariel. 2005. Female Chauvinist Pigs. Pp. 89-117 in Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Free Press.

-- Kessler, Suzanne. 2004. “Creating Good-Looking Genitals in the Service of Gender.” Pp 64-71 in Michael Kimmel and Rebecca Plante, Sexualities. Oxford.

-- Lugones, Maria C. and Elizabeth V. Spelman. 1983. "Have We Got a Theory for You! Feminist Theory, Cultural Imperialism and the Demand for 'the Woman's Voice.'" Women's Studies International Forum 6 (6): 573- 581.

** January 18: Research Projects Assigned **

2. Liberal Feminism______(Jan. 25)

-- Adams, Abigail. 1776. "Remember the Ladies." (and John Adams reply) Pp. 10-11 in Alice Rossi, ed., The Feminist Papers, Northeastern U. Press.

-- Wollstonecraft, Mary. 1792. Excerpts from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Pp. 41-53 in The Feminist Papers, op. cit., and pp. 41-46 in Feminist Theory, A Reader, edited by Wendy Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski, Mountain View, Ca: Mayfield.

-- Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. 1848. "Declaration of Sentiments." Pp. 415-420 in The Feminist Papers, op. cit.

--Truth, Sojourner. 1851. Speech at the Akron Convention. Pp. 426-429 in The Feminist Papers, op.cit.

-- Mill, John Stuart. 1869. Excerpts from "The Subjection of Women." In Feminist Frameworks and The Feminist Papers, op. cit.

--Friedan, Betty. 1963. "The Problem That Has No Name" and "A New Life Plan for Women" Chapters 1 and 14 from The Feminine Mystique. Dell Publishing.

-- National Organization of Women. 1984. "Bill of Rights." Pp. 120-121 in Feminist Frameworks, op. cit. 3 Feminist Theory Spring '11 -- The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. 1995. Pp. 506-509 in Feminist Theory, A Reader, edited by Wendy Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski. Mayfield.

3. Marxist and Socialist Feminism______(Feb. 1)

-- Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. 1848. Excerpt from "Manifesto of the Communist Party." Pp. 320-321 in Feminist Frameworks. op. cit.

-- Kollantai, Alexandra. 1909. "The Social Basis of the Woman Question." Pp. 58-73 in Selected Writings of Alexandra Kollantai, edited by A. Holt. W.W. Norton.

-- Benston, Margaret. 1969. "The Political Economy of Women's Liberation." Pp. 240-247 in Feminist Frameworks. op. cit.

-- Blumberg, Rae Lesser. 1984. "A General Theory of Gender Stratification." Sociological Theory, excerpted pp 23-28, 46-57, 74-78.

-- Hartmann, Heidi. 1981. "The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union." Pp. 320-329 in Feminist Theory, A Reader, edited by Wendy Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski. Mayfield.

-- Joseph, Gloria. "The Incompatible Menage a Trois: Marxism, Feminism, and Racism." Pp. 91-107 in Women and Revolution edited by Lydia Sargent. Boston: South End Press.. op. cit.

-- Bettie, Julie. 2003. Women Without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity. (imperfect) excerpts pp. 41-49, 61-196. U. of California Press.

4. Radical Feminism______(Feb. 8)

-- Maxim. 2003. "How to Cure a Feminist."

-- Bunch, Charlotte. "Lesbians in Revolt." Pp. 144-148 in Feminist Frameworks. op. cit.

-- Bunch, Charlotte. 1981. "Not for Lesbians Only." Pp. 319-325 in A Reader in Feminist Knowledge, edited by Sneja Gunew. New York: Routledge.

-- MacKinnon, Catharine A. 1982. "Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: An Agenda for Theory." Signs 7: 515-544 (excerpts 515-18, 524-33, 542-44). 4 -- MacKinnon, Catharine A. 1987. "Not a Moral Issue." Pp. 146-162 in Feminism Unmodified. Harvard University Press.

continued … radical feminism continued:

-- Rich, Adrienne. 1983. "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." Pp. 177-205 in Powers of Desire: Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow et al. Monthly Review Press. [Originally published in Signs 5 (40), 1980.

-- Nestle, Joan. 1981. "My Mother Liked to Fuck." Pp. 120-122 in A Restricted Country, by Joan Nestle. Firebrand Books.

-- Willis, Ellen. 1979. "Feminism, Moralism, and Pornography." Pp. 460-467 in Powers of Desire, op cit.

-- Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd. 1983. "The Mind that Burns in Each Body: Women, Rape, and Racial Violence." Pp. 328-349 in Powers of Desire, op cit.

-- hooks, bell. 1993. "Seduced by Violence No More." Pp. 333-335 in Theorizing Feminisms, edited by Elizabeth Hackett and Sally Haslanger, Oxford.

4b. Catch-up/Recap______(Feb. 15) ** Research Project Plan due **

5. Psychoanalytic and Difference/Cultural Feminism______(Feb. 22, March 1a)

-- Chodorow, Nancy. 1978. "The Sexual Sociology of Adult Life." Chapter 11 in The Reproduction of Mothering. University of California Press.

-- Gilligan, Carol. 1982. "Woman's Place in Man's Life Cycle" and "Images of Relationship" Chapters 1 and 2 from In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press.

-- Christ, Carol P. 1978. "Why Women Need the Goddess." Pp. 211-219 in Theorizing Feminisms, op cit.

-- Young, Iris M. 1985. "Humanism, Gynocentrism, and Feminist Politics." Pp. 174-187 in Theorizing Feminisms, op. cit. 5 Feminist Theory Spring '11

Connell, R.W. 1987. "Hegemonic Masculinity and Emphasized Femininity." Pp. 183-188 in Gender and Power. Stanford.

-- MacKinnon, Catherine. 1987. "Difference and Dominance: On Sex Discrimination." Pp. 32- 45 in Feminism Unmodified. op. cit.

6. The "Multicultural"/Multiple Voices of Women______(March 1b, March 8)

-- Hooks, Bell. 1984. "Black Women: Shaping Feminist Theory." From Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Boston, Mass.: South End Press.

-- McIntosh, Peggy. 1988. "White Privilege and Male Privilege." Pp. 344-352 in Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class, Segal and Martinez, eds. Roxbury.

-- Anzaldua, Gloria. 1983. "La Prieta." Pp. 198-209 in This Bridge Called My Back, edited by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua. Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.

-- Morales, Aurora Levins and Rosario Morales. 1986. "I Recognize You" & "I am the Reasonable One." Pp. 145-149 in Getting Home Alive. Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press.

-- Villapando, Venny. 1989. "The Business of Selling Mail-Order Brides." Pp. 318-326 in Making Waves, edited by Asian Women United of California. Beacon.

-- Kingston, Maxine Hong. 1976. "No Name Woman." Pp. 3-16 in The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. Vintage.

-- Lorde, Audre. 1984. "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference." Pp. 288- 293 in Feminist Theory, A Reader, edited by Wendy Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski. Mayfield.

-- Asch, Adrienne and Michelle Fine. 1997. "Nurturance, Sexuality, and Women with Disabilities." Pp. 241-255 in The Disability Studies Reader. Routledge.

-- Mohanty, Chandra. 1988. "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" Feminist Review 30: 60-88.

-- Cliff, Michelle. 1983. "If I Could Write This in Fire I Would Write This in Fire." Pp. 16- 30 in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, edited by Barbara Smith. Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.

*** March 15: Spring Break - yay!!!! *** 6 7. Postmodern Feminism, Discourse and Deconstruction______(March 22)

-- Cixous, Helene. 1975. "The Laugh of the Medusa."

-- Irigaray, Luce. 1980. "When Our Lips Speak Together." Signs 6 (1): 205-218.

continued … postmodern feminism continued:

-- Wittig, Monique. 1978. "The Straight Mind." Pp. 299-303 in Feminist Theory, A Reader, edited by Wendy Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski. Mayfield.

-- Scott, Joan W. 1988. "Deconstructing Equality-Versus-Difference: Or, the Uses of Poststructuralist Theory for Feminism." Feminist Studies 14 (4): 33-49.

-- Butler, Judith. 1990. "Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire." Pp. 1-34 in Gender Trouble. Routledge.

-- Haraway, Donna. 1991. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist- Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century." Pp. 149-161, 180-181 in Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. Routledge.

8. Feminist Epistomology and Feminist Methodology______(March 29)

-- Harding, Sandra. 1986. "From the Woman Question in Science..." and "Valuable Tensions and the New 'Unity' Of Science," From The Science Question in Feminism. Cornell U. Press.

-- Haraway, Donna. 1988. "Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective." Feminist Studies 14 (3): 575-599.

-- Alcoff, Linda. 1991. "The Problem of Speaking for Others." Pp. 78-91 in Theorizing Feminisms, op. cit. [Orginally published in Cultural Critique (Winter): 5-32.]

-- Collins, Patricia Hill. 1990. "Towards an Afrocentric Feminist Epistemology" Pp. 201-220 in Black Feminist Thought. Routledge.

** April 5: Final Essay Assigned **

9. Queer Theory, Identity Politics, and Multiple-Intersecting Differences______(April 5) 7 Feminist Theory Spring '11

-- Foucault, Michel. 1980. "The Perverse Implantation." Pp. 36-49 in The History of Sexuality. New York: Vintage Books.

-- Lorber, Judith. 1994. Excerpts from "How Many Opposites? Gendered Sexuality" and "Men as Women and Women as Men: Disrupting Gender." Pp. 55-63, 80-89, 95-96 in Paradoxes of Gender. Yale University Press.

continued … queer theory continued:

-- Butler, Judith. "Bodily Inscriptions, Performative Subversions." Pp. 134-141 in Gender Trouble. Routledge, 1990.

-- Butler, Judith. 1993. "Critically Queer." Pp. 226-242 in Bodies That Matter. New York: Routledge.

-- Duggan, Lisa. 2001. "Making it Perfectly Queer." Pp. 215-231 in Theorizing Feminism, edited by Anne C. Hermann and Abigail J. Stewart, Westview.

-- Gamson, Joshua. 1996. "Must Identity Movements Self-Destruct?: A Queer Dilemma." Pp. 395-420 in Queer Theory/Sociology, edited by Steve Seidman. Blackwell.

-- Stoler, Ann Laura. "Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Gender, Race, and Morality in Colonial Asia." Pp. 13-36 in The Gender sexuality Reader, op.cit.

10. Feminist Politics, the Third Wave, & Further Food for Thought______(April 12)

-- Reagon, Bernice Johnson. 1983. "Coalition Politics: Turning the Century." Pp. 356-368 in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, op. cit.

-- Fraser, Nancy. 1997. "From Redistribution to Recognition?" Pp. 11-39 in Justice Interruptus. Routledge.

-- Walker, Rebecca. 2004. "We Are Using This Power to Resist." Pp. xi-xx in The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminism, edited by Vivien Labaton and Dawn Lundy Martin. Random House.

-- Baumgardner and Richards. 2004. "Feminism and Femininity: Or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Thong." Pp. 59-68 in Anita Harris, ed., All About the Girl. Routledge. 8 -- McRobbie, Angela. 2009. The Aftermath of Feminism. Pp. 1-28, 156-159. Sage.

11. Our Conclusions, Presentations (yay!), and Spill-over Day (if we need it)______(April 19, 26) -- Presentations of Research Projects *** Research Outlines Due on day of presentation***

*** Final Essays Due: Friday, May 6 by 3pm ***