Feminist Theories

FGSS 209, Fall 2011 ______________________________________________________________________________ Instructor: Anu Sharma (asharma@wesleyan.edu) Office Hours: T & Th 3-4, Anth 23 Class Time: T, TH 1:10-2:30 Class Location: Allbritton 004

Feminist studies is a vast and cutting-edge of field of activism and theorizing, one that has always been deeply politically engaged and implicated. I assume you all have been introduced to this exciting field of study. The purpose of this course is to engage deeply the rich diversity of this ever-changing set of ideas and practices without centering a particular feminist frame or subject; hence feminist theories and not theory. We highlight the perspective of the margins and take an interdisciplinary, transnational, and intersectional approach; this is because, in my opinion, it cant be otherwise. Indeed, feminist studies is a field that allows us to simultaneously analyze (1) thinking and doing, (2) the us and the them, the here and the there, and (3) race/class/gender/sexuality/religion/ ability through a variety of disciplinary and political prisms. We use the lenses of queer studies, feminist science studies, anthropology, sociology, political theory, literary studies, and postcolonial studies to examine transnational theorizing and struggles around gender and sexuality. We begin this course by taking up questions of feminist epistemology, methodology and subjectivity. This means that we critically interrogate the category of gender both in terms of what it is, how it is embodied and enacted, and how we study it. We then look at the theoryactivism dialectic through specific sets of literatures on the topics of family/kinship/reproduction, intimate labors, and the nation-state and belonging. Questions of power, resistance, subjectivity, embodiment, collective politics, race, queerness, religion, postcoloniality, affect, labor, ethics, rights, justice, the nation-state and global capital are raised throughout this course through the different issues we take up. I hope we will think together, bring our experiences and opinions to class and use the texts to analyze and illuminate them, learn from each other, and yes, in the spirit of feministing, kick ass.

REQUIREMENTS
1. Attendance: This class meets twice a week. I will have a sign-in sheet at each class session. If you miss more than two classes, you will risk lowering your final grade by one whole grade. 2. Discussion Questions: All students will be required to post ONE discussion question for any 14 CLASS SESSIONS on the class Moodle NO LATER THAN 8:00 am on the morning of class. 5% of your grade will be based on submitting 15 discussion questions on time. 3. In-Class Participation and Presentations: Since this class is a lecture-cum-seminar, its success depends on your engagement with the materials and with each other. I expect you to read the
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materials as carefully as possible. I also expect each student to contribute fully and productively to class discussions. The purpose of these discussions will be to engage with the readings and lecture material, and to discuss relevant concepts and issues. While it is perfectly all right to critique readings/authors, please make sure that your criticism is not of the slash and burn variety. I would like thoughtful and generous critiques from all class participants. In addition to participating fully and being present during class, each student will lead a class session. You are free to choose any class to present on and also to suggest different readings on the same topic. In other words, you can change the readings for the day as long as the topic remains the same. If you do decide to change the readings, please discuss this with me in at least a week in advance. I will talk about the details of these presentationsthe how and the whatin class. Each student will also make a 5-10 minute presentation of her/hir/his final project ideas in class during the last week of the semester. These presentations must include the broad question you are examining, how you will go about answering that question, and the sources you are drawing upon. Be prepared to answer any questions that your classmates might raise. 30% of your grade will be based on the in-class presentations and class participation. 4. Reading Responses: You are required to hand in a total of 3 reading responses during the semester: one each for sections I and IV, and one from either section II or III. If you choose to write a blog post or opinion piece on gay marriage from Unit II, then you will write a reading response for Unit III; alternatively, if you choose to write a blog post or opinion piece from on The Help from Unit III, then you will write a reading response for Unit II. The purpose of these responses is to prompt inquiry, analysis, and discussion. You may choose to respond to one or more of the readings for a particular day (which you pick). These responses should contain an annotation of the text(s) at hand (that is, main argument and a brief discussion of the key points) and your critical reflection on at least one of major themes discussed in the text(s). You can, if you choose, focus on disagreements between specific authors of choose to take on a particular authors point(s) based on what you have read elsewhere or expand a particular point made by an author. Consider response papers as an initial, short version of a longer, sustained inquiry or paper. Do not, however, write this essay in draft form: they should make a point or an argument, be clearly written, and must be spell-checked and grammar-checked. Your response paper should be no more than 3 pages double-spaced and must be posted on Moodle by 11 am on the day of class. In addition, bring hard copies of these response papers to class. Your responses will be accessible to all class participants. I strongly encourage students to read as many responses as possible in order to get a sense of the questions and issues your peers are raising. Please feel free to comment on other participants reading responses and post your comments on the web-board. 15% of your grade rests on submitting 3 well-thought out reading responses on time. 5. Blog post or Opinion Piece: You will choose to write either a blog post or an opinion piece, 57 pages long (double-spaced), on either the gay marriage issue or the domestic labor (The Help) issue. Please read blogs and op-ed pieces to see how they are constructed and how they convey their opinions and analysis. Keep in mind that blogs and op-eds are written for a general
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audience and should not use too much jargon. While you will not have in-text citations for a blog or an op-ed, I ask that you have a bibliography section at the end of your writing, for the purpose of this class. If you quote someone in your blog, then you must cite the author. I highly recommend reading Professor Gina Ulysses blog posts for Ms. Magazine at http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/author/ginaulysse/. You may also want to look at www.feministing.com. 6. Final Paper: A final paper, 12-15 pages (double-spaced, one inch margins) will be DUE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, NO LATER THAN 12 NOON. Please prepare ahead and submit on time. You may write on any topic of your choice. Your paper must use and demonstrate clear understanding of class materials. 35% of your grade will be based on the final paper. I encourage you to meet with me and with your peers to discuss paper topics before you make a formal presentation on your project in class.

POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS

I request that you be fully present in class and help create a happening and honest intellectual community. That means that you should: 1. Comply with the Honor Code. I take plagiarism very serious and will not tolerate any violations of the Code in your written work (including reading responses) or class presentations. You may use any style of citation, such as MLA or American Ethnologist etc., as long as you stay consistent with its usage. If you need assistance with writing papers and proper citations, please speak with me and/or contact the Writing Workshop. 2. Turn in all your assignments on-time; this includes discussion questions and reading responses. I will not accept late work or respond to paper-related emails less than 24 hours before they are due. I strongly encourage you to meet me during office hours to go over any material that you do not understand, to discuss paper ideas, and to clarify my expectations for written work. 3. Turn off all cell phones during class time. 4. If you must use your laptops during class, absolutely refrain from surfing the net during class time. There is nothing more disappointing and disruptive than class participants pretending to be present when they are not. I will take infringements seriously and they will affect your overall grade. 5. Respectfully engage with your peers and me during class discussions. This means being aware of the amount of time and space you take up during class and be careful about shutting off others. 6. Please send work-related emails during working hours (i.e. 9-5). I reserve the right to not respond to emails after 5 pm. If you have a pressing issue, do try to email me during the day.
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Note on Students with Disabilities: It is the policy of Wesleyan University to provide reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. Students, however, are responsible for registering with Disabilities Services, in addition to making requests known to me in a timely manner. If you require accommodations in this class, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. The procedures for registering with Disabilities Services can be found at http://www.wesleyan.edu/deans/disabilities.html

GRADING
Final grades for the class will be based on the following: 1. Attendance: Required (no more than 1 absence or your grade will be lowered 2. Discussion Questions (14): 5% 3. Reading Responses (3): 15% 4. Blog post or Opinion piece (1): 15% 4. Presentations and Class Participation: 30% 5. Final Paper: 35%

READING SCHEDULE This is a work in progress and will morph!

All course readings will be posted on the class Moodle page in pdf format. T 9/6 Introductions

UNIT I: Doing Gender: Questions of Epistemology, Methods, Subjectivity, and Agency (What is gender? How do we think about it? How do we research it? How do we enact it?) Th 9/8 Sex/Gender/Sexuality: Categories and Analysis

Scott, Joan, Gender: Still a Useful Category of Analysis? (2010) Rubin, Gayle The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex (1975) T 9/13 All Made Up: Gender, Biology, Performativity Rosario, Vernon Quantum Sex: Intersex and the Molecular Deconstruction of Sex (2009). Butler, Judith Performative Acts and Gender Constitution (1988) Stryker, Susan The Transgender Issue: An Introduction (1998) Th/9/15 Cyborgs and such

Haraway, Donna A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century Barad, Karen, Posthumanist Performativity: Toward an Understanding of How Matter Comes to Matter (2003) T 9/20 Agents, Subject, Objects I Mani, Lata, Contentious Traditions (1989) Spivak, Gayatri, Can the Subaltern Speak (1988) Th 9/22 Agents, Subjects, Objects II Mahmood, Saba Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival (2001) Anzaldua, Gloria, selections from Borderlands, La Frontera (1987). T 9/27 How we see and study gender and sexuality Scott, Joan, The Evidence of Experience (1991) Blackwood, Evelyn, Tombois in West Sumatra: Constructing Masculinity and Erotic Desire (2006) Gopinath, Gayatri, Home-Economicus: Queer Sexualities in a Transnational Frame (1998) Th 9/29 Discomfort and Failure: Feminist Ethnography Visweswaran, Kamala Fictions of Feminist Ethnography, selections (1994) UNIT II: The Technopolitics of the Family: Marriage, Kinship, Reproduction T 10/4 Marriage and the Family Norm Engels, Frederich The Family (1993) Warner, Michael Beyond Gay Marriage (1999) Duggan, Lisa The New Homonormativity (2001) Look at http://www.hrc.org/issues/5517.htm or any other statement endorsing gay marriage. Th 10/6 Kinship and (Gay) Marriage Reconsidered Butler, Judith Is Kinship Always Already Heterosexual (2004) Boellstorff, Tom When Marriage Falls: Queer Coincidences in Straight Time (2007) ***FGSS Symposium on Confronting Gender Violence: The Personal and the Political at 2 pm on Friday, 10/7, in Usdan. Please plan to attend. ***Monday, 10/10: Blog post or opinion piece on gay marriage due by 12 noon*** T 10/11 Kinship and Reproductive Technologies CLASS BEGINS AT 12 NOON Strathern, Marilyn, Displacing Knowledge: Technology and the Consequences for Kinship (1995)
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Goslinga, Gillian, Body Boundaries, Fiction of the Female Self: An Ethnographic Perspective on Feminism, Power, and the Reproductive Technologies (2000) Screening: Professor Goslingas film, The Child the Stork Brought Home Th 10/13 Controlling Reproduction and Fighting for Justice Clare, Eli TBA Hartmann, Betsy, The Changing Faces of Population Control (2002) Ross, et al, Just Choices: Women of Color, Reproductive Health, and Human Rights (2002) T 10/17 Transnational Families Pande, Amrita, Not an Angel, Not a Whore (2009) Briggs, Laura, Foreign and Domestic: Adoption, Immigration, and Privatization (2010) Eng, David, Transnational Adoption and Queer Diasporas (2003) Unit III: Intimate and Domesticated Labor: Care Work in a Transnational Perspective Th 10/20 Capitalist Globalization and Physical/Affective Labor Parrenas, Rhacel, The International Division of Reproductive Labor (2001) Hochschild, Arlie, Global Care Chains and Emotional Surplus Value (2000) Weeks, Kathi, Life Within and Against Work: Affective Labor, Feminist Critique and Post-Fordist Politics (2007) Th 10/27 Maid-in-America Ehrenreich, Barbara, Maid to Order (2002) Bhattacharjee, Ananya, The Public/Private Mirage: Mapping Homes and Undomesticating Violence Work in the South Asian Immigrant Community (1997) T 11/1 The Nanny Colen, Shellee, Like a Mother to Them: Stratified Reproduction and West Indian Childcare Workers and Employers in New York (1995) Cheever, Susan, The Nanny Dilemma (2002) Poo, Ai-Jen, Organizing with Love: Lessons from the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Campaign Look at the following website: http://domesticemployers.org/ Th 11/3 Migrant Maids Ahmad, Attiya, Explanation is Not the Point: Domestic Work, Islamic Dawa, and Becoming Muslim in Kuwait (2010) TBA ***Friday 11/4: Blog post or opinion piece on The Help due by 12 noon*** T 11/8 Transgender Migrants and Care Work Manalansan, Martin, Servicing the World: Flexible Filipinos and the Unsecured Life (2010)
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***Screening Paper Dolls*** Unit IV: Nation/State/Citizenship: Violence and Exclusion Th 11/10 Gender, Race, Nationalism: Colonial Legacies, Postcolonial Present Chatterjee, Partha, Colonialism, Nationalism, and Colonized Women: The Contest in India (1989) Stoler, Ann, TBA T 11/15 America and Its Others Kauanui, Kehaulani, Native Hawaiian Decolonization and the Politics of Gender (2008) Grewal, Inderpal, Transnational America: Race and Gender after 9/11 (2005) Puar, Jasbir, Selection from Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times (2007) Th 11/17 Sex and the State Alexander, Jacqui, Erotic Autonomy as a Politics of Decolonization: An Anatomy of Feminist and State Practice in the Bahamas Tourist Economy (1997) Weiss, Margot, Rumsfeld! Consensual BDSM and Sadomasochistic Torture at Abu Ghraib (2009) T 11/22 The Masculinist State Brown, Wendy, Finding the Man in the State (1995) T 11/29 Gender and the Neoliberal State Sharma, Aradhana Crossbreeding Institutions, Breeding Struggle: Womens Empowerment, Neoliberal Governmentality and State (Re)Formation in India (2006) Goode, Judith, From New Deal to Bad Deal Th 12/1 The Just State? The Prison-Industrial Complex Mogul, J., Ritchie, A., and Whitlock, K., Caging Deviance: Prisons as Queer Spaces (2011) Richie, Beth, Queering Antiprison Work: African American Lesbians in the Juvenile Justice System (2005) Horan, Lex, TBA T 12/6 Final Project Presentations

Th 12/8 Wrap Up I will assign one or two readings for this class. Some possibilities include Wendy Brown, Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan, Judith Butler, and Janet Jakobsen. I welcome suggestions.