GOVT 393: Women, Politics and Culture

Fall, 2009

Dr. L. Mari Centeno

LMCENTENO@adams.edu
Office Hours: M-Th, 11-12 and by appointment
ES 332, 719-587-7923

This course examines the nuanced relationship between gender and politics in
the United States and the world.

Throughout the semester students will:

• Analyze the role gender plays in various political processes
• Identify and research female political players in the U.S. and the world
• Engage in well-informed debate about current political issues

Required Texts

Kunin, Madeline K. 2008. Pearls, Politics and Power. White River, Vermont.
Chelsea Green Publishing.

Enloe, Cynthia. 2004. The Curious Feminist. Berkeley. University of California Press.

Course Requirements
(Total = 100%)
Female Legislators Assignment 5%
Female Executives Assignment 10%
Media Coverage of Female Candidates 5%
Discussion Points 30%
Campaign Assignments 50%

Female Legislators Assignment (5%): Identify the names and party affiliations of all
female members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and of your home
state legislature. See schedule for due date.
Requirements:
• Reference page
• Stapled, double-spaced and typed in a 12 point font
• Due 9/24

Female Executives Assignment (10%): Identify the names, party affiliations, and
significant policies of all the female governors currently serving in the U.S. See
schedule for due date.
Requirements:
• Reference page

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 • Stapled, double-spaced and typed in a 12 point font
• Due 10/7
Media Coverage of Female Candidates (5%): Locate a representative sample of
media coverage of a female candidate and male candidate running for the same
position. The media coverage may be from any reliable, widespread source (if a
television or radio piece, locate the transcript). Compare the media coverage of the two
candidates in a short analysis. Be prepared to discuss. See schedule for due date.
Requirements:
• 1-2 pages in length
• Stapled, double-spaced and typed in a 12 point font
• Attached copy of news article or transcript
• Due 10/20

Discussion Points (10 at 3% each): Each student will submit 11 assignments that
demonstrate that he/she has completed and critically analyzed the readings. (The
lowest grade will be dropped.) These will also serve as points of discussion in class. All
assignments must be typed unless otherwise indicated. Assignments will be graded
based on the depth of analysis. See schedule for specific assignments and due dates

Campaign Assignments (50%): TBA.

Writing Standards
Please see the HGP Writing Assessment Rubric at:
http://faculty.adams.edu/~ercrowth/hgprubric.htm

• All submitted work must be typed in a 12-point font, double-spaced with one-inch
margins and stapled.

• The spell-check is not a substitute for proofreading. Points will be deducted for
sloppy writing.

• Non-scholarly sources, with the exception of newspaper articles and

organizational websites (such as that of the WTO), will not be accepted.
Internet sources should come from sites with URLs ending in .gov or
.edu. Avoid .com sites, with the exception of some online journals
such as foreignpolicy.com.

Never use the dictionary or encyclopedia (including Wikipedia) as a

source.

• Plagiarism is a serious offense. According to the College Handbook: “All

students are expected to practice academic honesty. [He/she] should refrain from

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 any form of cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the
College” (42). Therefore:

• Any phrases,
paraphrases, terms, concepts, facts and/or figures applied from other sources
must be cited correctly. All phrases or sentences that are not in your own
words must be in quotation marks.
• Sources must be cited
within the text and included in a reference page at the end of your work.
• Please see the
College’s definition of plagiarism at
http://www2.adams.edu/library/plagiarism/plagiarism.php
• Plagiarism will result
in a failing grade for the assignment. Second, or more serious first
offenses will result in a failing grade for the course and notification sent
to the Provost.

Citation format: I require the citation format used by the American Political Science
Association (APSA). If you have questions about formatting please ask. Do not use
MLA or other citation formats. Below is a sample paragraph of the format I require.
Note the parenthetical citations within the text:

Excerpt from:
McCormick, John P. 2006. “Contain the Wealthy and Patrol the Magistrates: Restoring
Elite Accountability to Popular Government.” American Political Science Review
100(2): 148-164.

Ancient democracies assumed that law and public policy would not express the

common good unless large numbers of nonwealthy citizens participated in government

by holding office themselves. Wealthy citizens, despite promises to the contrary, were

expected to pursue their own interests, and not those of the general populace on

ascension to office—–a danger exacerbated in electoral systems where the wealthy

monopolize offices. To avoid the “aristocratic effect” of election (Manin 1997, 42–93),

ancient democracies assigned most magistracies by citizen-wide lotteries or “sortitions”

and observed frequent rotation in office (Hansen 1991, 230–31; cf. Duxbury 1999). In

keeping with the egalitarian aspirations and distrust of oligarchy characterizing such

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regimes (Ober 1993), lottery conducted over the entire citizenry ensured that the

wealthy and notable would have little chance of governing to an extent exceeding their

percentage of the citizenry; it guaranteed that offices would be distributed randomly

among all classes. Moreover, the regular and frequent turnover of office ensured that

wealthy magistrates could deploy their greater financial resources neither to ensconce

themselves in an office nor to influence or determine the appointment of like-minded or

similarly interested successors. As straightforward sortition became increasingly rare in

Western popular governments, republics attempted to ameliorate the aristocratic effect

of elections and ensure wider distribution of offices in two alternate ways: by combining

election with lottery-like randomization measures and/or by establishing class-specific

eligibility stipulations for specific offices.

References

Allen, Danielle S. 2000. The World of Prometheus: The Politics of

Punishment in Democratic Athens. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.

Adams, John. [1790] 1805. Discourses on Davila. In The Works of

John Adams, ed. C. F. Adams. Boston, MA:Massachusetts Historical
Society, 280–304.

Aristotle. 1997. In ThePolitics,Trans. and ed. P.L. P. Simpson. Chapel

Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Arnold, Douglas A. 1993. “Can Inattentive Citizens Control Their

Elected Representatives?” In Congress Reconsidered, ed. L. Dodd
and B. Oppenheimer. Washington, DC: Congress Quarterly Press.

Wantchekon, Leonard. 2004. “The Paradox of ‘Warlord’ Democracy.”

American Political Science Review 98 (1): 17–34.

___________________________________

*To cite a website:

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Within the text: (Author date (if available), page number (if available))

For example: (CIA 2006, 2)

I understand that in many cases a page number will not be available. Do your
best to adhere to this model as much as possible.

In the Reference Page:

Author. Date (if available). “Title in quotation marks.” Organization or publisher.
Date accessed.
URL

For example:
CIA World Factbook. 2006. “Venezuela.” Central Intelligence Agency.
Accessed December 20, 2006.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ve.html

________________________________________
All direct quotes must be contained within quotation marks and cited properly.
Quotes longer than 4 lines should be single spaced, indented and in a 10 pt. font.

For example:

Benjamin Barber argues that the forces of globalization and localization are

simultaneous, parallel processes. He describes the dynamics of globalization as:

“…being borne in on us by the onrush of economic and ecological

forces that demand integration and uniformity and that mesmerize
the world with fast music, fast computers, and fast food—with MTV,
Macintosh, and McDonald’s, pressing nations into one
commercially homogenous global network: one McWorld tied
together by technology, ecology, communications, and commerce.
The planet is falling precipitately apart AND coming reluctantly
together at the very same moment” (1992, 1).

Additional Information:

• Tardiness: DON’T BE LATE!! If some unavoidable situation (alien abduction,

etc.) forces you to be late please do not disturb the rest of the class as you enter.
Perpetual tardiness will be penalized with a 3% reduction of the final grade
for each infraction.
• All written assignments are due on their respective due dates at the beginning
of class.

o Penalties for late assignments:

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  Absence and assignment submitted at end of class:
Deduction of one letter grade.
 Further deduction of one letter grade after each 24 hour
period.

• Constructive discussion in an academic setting requires respectful conduct.

Please turn off cell phones and beepers while in class (see me for exceptions).
Do not engage in private conversations, read the newspaper, or study for another
class while I or another student has the floor. After a warning, I will deduct 3
points for each infraction from the final grade of any student who behaves
disrespectfully in class.
• You are advised to keep copies of all your graded work in the event of calculation
errors. Grades cannot be changed without proof of error.

Schedule

8/25-9/1: Introduction
Read “Introduction” and chapters 1-2 in Kunin text

Discussion Points due 9/1

Beginning of campaign organization in-class on 9/1

9/3-9/15: History of the Women’s Movement in the U.S.

Film: “Iron Jawed Angels”

9/17-9/22: Women as Political Candidates

Read chapters 3-4 in Kunin text

Discussion Points due 9/17

Campaign organization in-class on 9/22

9/24-10/1: Women as Legislators

Read chapters 5-6 in Kunin text

Discussion Points due 9/24

Female Legislators Assignment due 9/24
Green Group Candidacy Speech and Pamphlet due 9/29
White Group Reaction Essay due 10/1

10/6-10/22: Women and Executive Leadership

Read chapter 7-9 in Kunin text

Female Executive Assignment Due 10/7

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 Fall Break, No Class on 10/8
Media Coverage of Female Candidates due 10/20

White Group Women Leaders of the World due 10/13

Green Group Campaign Ad due 10/15
Discussion points due 10/20
White Group Reaction Essays due 10/22
10/27-11/3: “Where Do We Go From Here?”
Read chapters 10-11 in Kunin text

Discussion Points due 10/27

Day of Reflection, No Class on 10/29
Town Hall Meeting speech and questions due 11/3

11/10-12/10: Gender in International Perspective

Read The Curious Feminist

Discussion Points for “Introduction”- chapter 3 due 11/10

Discussion Points for chapters 4-5 due 11/12
Discussion Points for chapters 7,9,11 due 11/17
Discussion Points for chapters 13-14 due 11/19
Discussion Points for chapters 15-17 due 11/24
Thanksgiving Break, No Class on 11/26
Discussion Points for chapter 19 due 12/1
Campaign organization in-class 12/3 and 12/8
White Group debate questions due 12/3
Campaign Debate on 12/10

Finals Week 12/14-12/18