WMST 1110: Multicultural Women in the United States Tuesdays/Thursdays, 11:00a-12:15p and 3:30p4:45p Spring 2013

Instructor: Dr. Nichole M. Ray Location: MLC Room 251 and 245 Office Location: Gilbert Hall, Rm. 8 Office Hours: By appointment Email: via ELC

**PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELL PHONES.** **LAP TOP COMPUTERS MAY NOT BE USED DURING CLASS.**
Course Description This course is an interdisciplinary survey of the lives of women of color within the context of the United States. In this class, we will focus on contemporary concerns and issues affecting the lives of Latin American, African-American, Native American, and Asian American, in the U.S. while seeking to familiarize students with major theoretical and practical debates in womens studies scholarship across the various disciplines. In addition, the course will present students with the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills around race, gender, sexuality, class, and ethnicity. The most powerful resource any of us can have as we study and teach in university settings is full understanding and appreciation of the richness, beauty and primacy of our familial and community backgrounds. Education as the practice of freedom becomes not a force which fragments or separates, but one that brings us closer, expanding our definitions of home and community. bell hooks Required Text 1. Margaret Anderson & Patricia Hill Collins, Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. Please purchase the 7th Edition.

Ray

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

**Note: Race, Class and Gender is available at Off Campus Bookstore, Baxter Street Bookstore and UGA Bookstore**

Student With Special Needs I am fully committed to assisting any student with special needs. If there are students with disabilities or other special needs, please contact Disability Services at 706-542-8719 and be certain to meet with me. Students who need assistance with writing, study skills, time management or any other academic need should seek tutoring through the UGA Learning Center. For more information, visit www.uga.edu/dae. Communication with Professor If you need to contact me or schedule a meeting, please send an email via ELC. I check my email account approximately 1 time per day and 1 time on the weekends, so you should receive a response by the following weekday. CLASSROOM POLICIES Attendance It is important that you come to class prepared and ready to contribute to group discussion or any other class activity. It is also expected that you remain in class throughout the duration of the entire class, as departing early or packing your things away early can cause disruptions. You are allowed a total of 2 unexcused absences for the semester without penalty. Additional unexcused absences including being late to class by more than 10 minutes also will result in a one letter grade deduction from your final grade for each absence. Excused absences must be documented and signed by the appropriate official. Missing 4 or more classes will result in an administrative withdrawal. Job interviews, religious holidays, emergency family situations, and officially sanctioned college activities (athletics and competing academic duties) are considered permissible absences if the student shows official documentation to the instructor no later than 1 day following the absence.
**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

Ray

It is your responsibility to sign the attendance roster each day you attend class. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to contact your classmates regarding the material covered in class, any schedule changes, etc. (Note: Please fill out an index card provided to you to explain any absence, illness, job interview, etc)

Classroom Etiquette and Conduct **PLEASE SILENCE ALL CELL PHONES.** **LAP TOP COMPUTERS MAY NOT BE USED DURING CLASS.** Respect both your peers and the instructor. It is very important that we all work together to create an environment in which ALL voices are welcomed and respected. Under no circumstances will I tolerate language or any other behavior (written or spoken) that demeans or threatens another by virtue of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical appearance, religion etc. Physical abuse, intimidation, sexual misconduct, harassment or any other violent acts will not be tolerated and will be subject to university disciplinary action. For more information on Student Codes of Conduct, please visit: www.uga.edu/studentaffairs/students/policies.shtml In other words, Do No Harm.

Academic Honesty Please visit UGAs website at: http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/academic_honesty/culture_honesty.htm. It is expected that all students will abide the UGA academic honesty policies. Do your own work. Do not copy from the Internet or anywhere else. ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION All Assignments are worth 100 points. Assignments are to be turned in on the assigned due date, at the beginning of class. TURN IN HARD COPIES OF YOUR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS ONLY. NO ASSIGNMENTS EMAILED OR POSTED ON ELC UNLESS INSTRUCTED OTHERWISE. Participation %10 4 Exams 90% Total -- 100% 3

Ray

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

Grading Scale Point Totals Grade 100-96 A 95-90 A89-87 B+ 86-83 B 82-80 B79-77 C+ 76-73 C 72-70 C69-60 D < 60 F Late Assignments I will not accept late work, so please do not ask. I do not take kindly to begging or whining, so refrain from both. It is your responsibility to inform me of any situations that can possibly affect your performance and participation in this course. I DO NOT ALLOW EXTRA CREDIT. ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS Participation The format for this course is largely discussion-based, including instructor lectures as well as small and large group activities. There will be lectures and presentations, but you are responsible for actively engaging with and contributing to the course via small/large group discussions and other learning activities. Group Teaching: There are several class sessions in which 3-4 students will be responsible for a brief summary, reactions to the reading and 3 critical discussion questions for the class. This is a part of your participation grade. You will know your assignment during the second week of class. In summary, participation will include engaging in meaningful, thoughtful class discussion and participating in class activities. Examinations You will have four examinations this semester. The exams can consist of multiple choice, definitions, short answer, and/or short/long essay. I generally do not offer examination reviews or study guides. You are Ray
**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.0 1.7 1.0 0

responsible for taking notes and finding a buddy to provide you with notes in the event that you miss class. Each examination is worth 100 points.

Ray

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

COURSE SCHEDULE
**This course syllabus is a general plan and is subject to change. Necessary changes will be announced by the professor. **Students are responsible for reading the material and formulating discussion questions prior to each class.** Date (T) Jan. 8 (R) Jan. 10 Topic Introduction to the Course Syllabus Overview Theoretical Foundations: Understanding Race, Class and Gender Why RCG Matter, pg. 116 Missing People #1 A Different Mirror, #7 Ted Talk: The Dangers of a Single Story (T) Jan. 15 Gender and Sexism Lecture: Overview of Feminism and Womens Studies Oppression, #5 Sex, Gender and Difference, #19 Film: Miss Representation Sexuality Prison for Our Bodies, #29 History of Heterosexuality, #30 Darker Shades of Queer, #32 Systems of Power and Inequality, p. 61-86 Color-Blind Privilege, #10 6 Readings

(R) Jan. 17 (T) Jan. 22

(R) Jan. 24

Race and Racism

Ray

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

Optional Ethnicities, #25 (T) Jan. 29 Video: Tim Wise: The Pathology of Privilege White Privilege, #11 Exam 1 Class and Inequality Class and Inequality, p.115 Shadowy Lines, #14 Across the Great Divide, #15

(R) Jan. 31 (T) Feb. 5

(R) Feb. 7

Multicultural Women: Native American Lecture: Native Women American Women: History and Feminist Identities The First Americans, #54

(T) Feb. 12 African American Women (R) Feb. 14 (T) Feb. 19 (R) Feb. 21 Latin American Women

Film: Club Native Lecture: African American Women: Past and Present Of Race and Risk, #9 Hidden Cost of Being African American, #16 Lecture: Latin American Women in the U.S. Seeing More Than Black and White, #8 Domestica, #43

(T) Feb. 26 (R) Feb. 28 (T) Mar. 5 Ray Exam 2 Asian American Women

Film: Maid in America

Lecture: Silence is Not 7

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

March is Women s History Month!!!

An Option: Asian American Women and Feminism Contested Meaning of Asian American, #27

(R) Mar. 7

Chappals and Gym Shorts, #2 Behind the Veil (ELC) Spoken Word Clip: Suheir Hammad, First Writing Since *****SPRING BREAK***** Mar. 11-15, 2012. Media and Popular Culture

(T) Mar. 19 (R) Mar. 21 ( T) Mar. 26

Work Poverty and Welfare

Media Magic, #47 Whose Am I, The Identity of Image in Women in Hip-Hop, #48 RCG and Womens works, #34 Soft Skills and Race, #37 Film: Welfare Warriors The Invisible Poor, #38 Navigating Interracial Borders, #40 Unequal Childhoods, #42

Families (R) Mar. 28 (T) Apr. 2 Education (R) Apr. 4 Exam 3

Can Education Eliminate Inequality, #49 Why Segregation Matters, #50 Lecture: Mary Frances Early and the Desegregation of the University of Georgia 8

(T) Apr. 9

Ray

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**

Clip: UGA Mary Frances Early Lecture (R) Apr. 11 (T) Apr. 16 (R) Apr. 18 (T) Apr. 23 (R) Apr. 25 Exam 4 Pulling it All Together: Multicultural Women and Activism Age, Race, Class and Sex #59 Feminisms Future, #60 Women of Color on the Front Line, #64 Becoming Entrepreneurs, #65 Katrina and Black Women, #4 Film Excerpt: When the Levees Broke

Last Day of Class Course Wrap Up Course Evaluations

I want there to be a place in the world where people can engage in one anothers differences in a way that is redemptive, full of hope and possibility.bell hooks

Ray

**Note: Syllabus is subject to change at Instructors discretion.**