This should be an ongoing reflection on your reading and thinking in the course. Writing will be assessed on the quality of your engagement with the ideas presented in the week’s reading, as well as style and creativity. Do more than summarize—use this assignment to play with ideas and try out thoughts. Be open-ended.

Each journal entry should be 1-2 pages in length, double-spaced. I invite you to compose this with an informal voice, engaging in a written conversation with me; the use of first and second person point of view (I/you/we) is fine. Please also follow MLA format for style and citations.

Regular reading and response constitutes 30% of your overall grade. Journal entries will not be given credit if submitted late.

All participants will sign up for discussion leading days during the first week of class. We will have 2-3 discussion leaders per day, and you will each go twice. As discussion leader, you will be assessed by the following:

1. Delivers a brief, yet meaningful, summary of the article or chapter, including relevant author and publication information, and key concepts, theories, or main ideas (10 points)

2. Poses 4-5 thoughtful, relevant questions for discussion that bring the text’s ideas to light in a meaningful way, evoke lively discussion among class participants and contribute to everyone’s better understanding of the material (35 points)

3. Facilitates an even discussion: refrains from dominating conversation and makes room for others to speak (5 points)

Following your discussion, you will compose a write-up, which will be due the next immediate class period. Include:

1. Notes from your introductory overview

2. Your 4-5 discussion questions

3. A self-score (out of 50 points) and 1-paragraph reflection in which you highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your discussion. What went well? What will you do next time to improve?

Exams are are essay-based and will completed “take home” style.

Midterm exam - 150 points

Final exam - 150 points

Your seminar project is an opportunity to more fully explore one or more of the issues of gender, feminism, and intersectionality that we encounter in our course. Your project may take a variety of forms and you may approach your topic from any number of perspectives, but should somehow take account of our readings and conversations. You may compose a piece of writing that focuses on one of the following prompts, or you may choose to do something of your own design. I strongly encourage you to begin thinking of your project early, and I invite you to consult with me about your interests and ideas at any time during this semester.

1. Write a scholarly article that compares/contrasts the writing of two feminist scholars. You may choose texts from our course readings, or strike out into your own territory. Include relevant biographical information on each writer, and highlight the importance of feminism(s) and intersectionality within each of these writer’s lives and work.

2. Write a feminist critique of a dominant media production (e.g., an advertising campaign, a film, a television series, a web site, etc.).

3. Write an analysis of a documentary film that explores an issue of gender or sexuality.

4. Compose an essay/photo essay that reviews the work of one or more feminist artists. Include relevant biographical information on the artist(s) and highlight the importance of feminism and intersectionality within the artist’s life and work.

5. Write a feminist critique of a current political platform.

6. Write a feminist analysis of current legislation (federal and state) in place to prevent and/or respond to one or more forms of violence against women (e.g., rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment).

7. Write a short story, series of poems, play, or other creative work that highlights a particular feminist issue or concern. The work must be accompanied by a foreword that explains what scholars/theorists have influenced this particular creative piece and how you have used their work.

8. Write an autobiography that focuses on your approach to feminism. Highlight the importance of intersectionality within your life. Discuss what figures have influenced your thinking, and put your approach in conversation with the work of other feminists.

9. Experiment with how you present your gender through body work for the semester (e.g., stop shaving your legs and/or underarms, stop wearing makeup). Document your experiences and emotions throughout the experiment through writing and/or images. Include the history of that form of body work.

10. Write an autoethnography in which you look critically at one of your social groups (academic, vocational, familial, religious, extracurricular, etc.) and its cultural values, using gender as a central category of analysis. Include both self-reflection on your participation and your direct observations of others’ behavior/attitudes.

The finished version should be 10-12 pages (doubled-spaced) and should use MLA citation format. In addition, you will prepare a 500-word abstract for your presentation during the last week of classes.