Senior Seminar in Women's Studies
Spring 2001Professor Nancy G. Rosoff
377 b Armitage Hall
856/225-6486This course is designed to enable you to bring together the ideas and information that you have acquired in your previous Women's Studies courses. We will follow two parallel paths toward this goal. Most importantly, you will develop and complete a research project on a subject of your choosing. At the end of the semester, you will present your research both to our class and to the Women's Studies faculty. In addition, we will engage in discussions of common readings; these readings focus on popular culture, using it as a lens through which to consider the experiences of women.
The only book you will need to purchase is Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. This is available through the campus bookstore as well as from other sources. The bookstore also has available copies of an anthology entitled Feminist Approaches to Theory and Methodology: An Interdisciplinary Reader, which you might wish to add to your collection. We will not be discussing specific readings from that collection, but you may find them useful or interesting. Photocopies of the other readings will be supplied to you.
Assignments and Grading:
The major assignments for the course are listed below; due dates are indicated in the schedule. Please be aware that your contribution to our discussions is essential and expected, as is class attendance. Excessive absence will certainly affect your performance in the class and may well lead to a lower grade than you would otherwise receive. Late assignments will be penalized according to standards established by the class.
Research Project [70 % of grade]: Your research project comprises a vital part of the course and provides the capstone experience for the Women's Studies minor. You will need to develop a project in which you investigate some aspect of women's experiences or a topic otherwise related to women in a field of interest to you. I will work with you as you complete the project, but you will also need to identify another faculty member who has the particular expertise needed to guide your research. You will need to complete the following steps as part of this assignment (the due dates are listed below):
1) proposal (see specific details on separate sheet)Please note that you should give a copy of your proposal, bibliography, rough draft, and final paper to the other faculty member with whom you are working so that s/he is aware of the progress you are making. That faculty member should also be invited to the session when you present your work to the Women's Studies faculty.
2) bibliography (at least ten sources for your final bibliography)
3) rough draft
4) presentation to class and to Women's Studies faculty
5) final paper (15 pp., double-spaced, typed or word-processed in a 12-point font)For your research project and all other class activities/assignments, you are reminded of the policies outlined in the University Code of Conduct. This information is contained in the catalogue as well as on the web page about plagiarism and how to avoid it maintained by the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice.
The documentation in your paper should follow the preferred style for your discipline. Please tell me what format (Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.) you will be using.
Discussion [30% of grade, along with class participation]: Each student will be responsible for leading discussions of portions of our common reading. You should prepare a series of questions that will allow us to explore particular issues in depth and to connect the readings to one another and to larger questions in the field of women's studies. I will, of course, be available for consultation.
You will also be expected to comment on one another's work in progress. This collaborative process should help you refine your research and writing.
Office hours:
Call x6486 or email me to set up an appointment. Due to my responsibilities as Assistant Dean for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, I will not have specific office hours. However, I am generally on campus every day (at least from 7:30 a.m. till late afternoon) and will be happy to meet with you at a mutually convenient time. In addition, you should feel free to contact me by email; I check messages frequently, even if I am not on campus.
Schedule:
16 January: Introductory class23 January: Library research orientation; discussion of A Room of One's Own. You might be interested in checking out a web site, which provides information about Woolf and her work -- note that you may have to subscribe to the New York Times online to access this site; it is free and the site should provide you with directions for registering. Of particular relevance to your assignment is Elaine Showalter's commentary on A Room of One's Own.
30 January: RESEARCH PROPOSAL DUE--class will not meet this week, but you will need to get your research proposal to me no later than 4:30 p.m. on the 30th. We will discuss your proposal, either by email or in person--your choice.
6 February: Discussion of "Being a Girl: Developing Identity" reading packet. Each student will lead the discussion of one article. This packet includes the following articles: Rika Sakuma Sato, "What Are Girls Made Of? Exploring the Symbolic Boundaries of Femininity in Two Cultures;" Shelley Budgeon, "'I'll Tell You What I Really, Really Want': Girl Power and Self-Identity in Britain;" Dafna Lemish, "Spice Girls' Talk: A Case Study in the Development of Gendered Identity;" Karen Orr Vered, "Beyond Barbie: Fashioning a Market in Interactive Electronic Games for Girls."
13 February: BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE; discussion of research to date
20 February: Discussion of "Cooking, Clothing, and Consumption" reading packet. Each student will lead the discussion of one article. This packet includes the following articles: Vicki Howard, "At the Curve Exchange: Postwar Beauty Culture and Working Women at Maidenform;" Erika D. Rappaport, "'A New Era of Shopping': The Promotion of Women's Pleasure In London's West End, 1909-1914;" Jessamyn Neuhaus, "The Joy of Sex Instruction: Women and Cooking in Marital Sex Manuals, 1920-1963;" Katherine Parkin, "Campbell's Soup and the Long Shelf Life of Traditional Gender Roles."
27 February: "Doing Research about Women" -- a discussion with members of the Women's Studies faculty
6 March: THESIS STATEMENT AND PAPER OUTLINE DUE; discussion of research to date.
13 March: Spring Break -- no class
20 March: Discussion of "What's the Story?" reading packet. Each student will lead the discussion of one article. This packet includes the following articles: Sherrie A. Inness, "'Anti-Barbies': The American Girls Collection and Political Ideologies;" Sally E. Parry, "The Secret of the Feminist Heroine: The Search for Values in Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton;" Deborah L. Siegel, "Nancy Drew As New Girl Wonder: Solving It All for the 1930s;" Nancy Tillman Romalov, "Mobile and Modern Heroines: Early Twentieth-Century Girls' Automobile Series."
27 March: RESEARCH WEEK -- use the time profitably to do any last-minute research and to prepare your rough draft
3 April: ROUGH DRAFT DUE -- please bring enough copies for your classmates to read and be sure to give a copy to the other faculty member with whom you are working. Schedule an appointment with your other faculty mentor to discuss your work to date.
10 April: PEER READING -- each student is responsible for reading the rough drafts of other students as assigned. We will then spend fifteen minutes on each person's work, discussing the draft and hearing suggestions for clarification or improvement from other students. If possible, we will begin class at 4:15 and end by 5:30 today.
17 April: RESEARCH WEEK -- use the time to put finishing touches on your paper, in light of the suggestions made in class. Schedule an appointment to meet with Professor Rosoff no later than 4/19 to discuss your progress and any problems.
24 April: IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS -- each of you will have twenty minutes to present your research to your classmates, including time for questions and answers. For this presentation, you should discuss your project--what questions did you ask, how did you go about finding the answers, what did you conclude? How is your work connected to large themes in Women's Studies?
In addition to your presentation in class, at some time (yet to be determined) near the end of the semester, you will also have the opportunity to present your work to the Women's Studies Faculty (most likely during one of the free periods); you should feel free to invite guests to this presentation. For this session, you will have about ten minutes to describe your work, followed by time for questions and answers.
2 May: LAST DAY to turn in your final paper; submit your paper in prior to 4:00 p.m. to my office. You are more than welcome to turn in your paper before this time, but this deadline will be strictly observed.
Please note that if you do not hand papers or other assignments to me directly, you should ask one of the staff members in my office to note the date and time you have submitted your work and to initial the first page; the best bet is to ask them to leave your work on my office chair.
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