Author: Soniya Munshi

Reminder: Discussion Board #4 due today (3/1)

POST ON DISCUSSION BOARD #4 (DUE 3/1)

Instructions/How to post here

For this week’s discussion board post, please respond to the following prompt:

Share your reflections about the texts from this week. What themes do you see across the different texts for this week? Based on these readings, what do you see as the primary issues that concern feminists in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Where in the texts do you see different priorities or concerns come up — and, what do you notice about these differences?

Please title your post: First Name Last Name: DB 4 and select “DB 4” as the category for your post.

Participants needed in a study about caregivers

Just passing this on, from one of my colleagues: 

Family Caregivers of Older Adults Study
 
Hope you are all well.  I am conducting a study on the impact of family caregiving on college students’ educational progress and educational plan.  Would you please help post this announcement or announce it in your class?
 
I am recruiting participants who are:
(1) a current college student(full time or part time),
(2) providing some forms of care and/or assistance to elderly family members or relatives (i.e. parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, etc.),
Participants are invited to participate in a phone interview lasting about 45 minutes. 

Participants will receive a $10 Amazon e-gift card as compensation for their time.
For more information, contact Prof. Alice Lun at mlun@bmcc.cuny.edu
 
This research study has been reviewed and approved by BMCC Institutional Review Board. Thanks a lot for your help!

Reminder: Co-work time today 12:00-1:30 PM

hi all!

As I mentioned, my Thursday office hours will be an open time for us to co-work together on Zoom.  You can drop in and out any time + you can bring work for this class or anything else you need to do.  If you have any questions for me, this is also a time that we can chat.

Here’s the link: https://bmcc-cuny.zoom.us/j/9615884267

Hope to see you later today!
Professor Munshi

Essay 1 (suggested due date: 3/2/21)

Instructions: For this first essay, please expand on your in-class writing, discussion board posts, and class discussion by responding to the following questions. Your essay should be about 500 words (2 pages double-spaced, in 12 point font). You can turn your essay in on Blackboard.

PROMPT: Following the model of the story by Ijeoma A.,  write about a lesson(s) you learned about gender expectations– it does not need to be a story about something that you yourself experienced but can be something that you witnessed or observed. If you write about something from your own experience, please be attentive to your own needs as you write and only write about something that you feel comfortable to think about and analyze in this assignment.

Describe the lesson: what did you learn? Where was the lesson taught and by whom? What was shared about the expectations and the consequences for not following the norm? What are your thoughts and reflections about these expectations and their impact?

What is the origin of these gendered expectations? What do they have to do with patriarchy, if anything? How does oppression play a role and if so, what kind?

 

 

DISCUSSION BOARD #4 (DUE 3/1)

POST ON DISCUSSION BOARD #4 (DUE 3/1)

Instructions/How to post here

For this week’s discussion board post, please respond to the following prompt:

Share your reflections about the texts from this week. What themes do you see across the different texts for this week? Based on these readings, what do you see as the primary issues that concern feminists in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Where in the texts do you see different priorities or concerns come up — and, what do you notice about these differences?

Please title your post: First Name Last Name: DB 4 and select “DB 4” as the category for your post.

Module 4

Contents

OVERVIEW 

Welcome to Week 4 of Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies! 

As I mentioned in class yesterday, we are a little behind on the syllabus but we will be catching up this week! Please make sure you have read the materials from Module 3 (and posted on DB#3) so that we can have a good discussion in class next Tuesday.

The new readings in Module #4 will bump us up in time to the late 1960s/early 1970s– a huge leap in time from where we were last week! These materials will help us to get a sense of the major issues that faced the “second wave” of feminism in in the United States, which emerges through/from/after the Civil Rights movement.

The text for this week include several feminist manifestos, or documents that offer a critical analysis of gender and other inequities as well as a vision for what can and should be different, as well as an newspaper editorial and an interview. As you read, consider the themes or similarities across the texts– what issues are being taken up by these authors? What are their concerns? What do you notice about their critiques of gender inequity?  Also pay attention to the form of the text– how is it written, for whom, what is effective (or not)?

READINGS AND OTHER MATERIALS

“Redstockings Manifesto”(1969):  Redstockings was a radical feminist group that was founded in New York City in 1969.  Read their manifesto and learn more about what they believe, what they want, and how they will work towards their vision:

Mainardi, “The Politics of Housework”(1970) : Pat Mainardi was a member of Redstockings. What is she doing in this  short essay? What is she saying about housework? Who is she in dialogue with? 

Brady, “I Want a Wife” (1972): In this short essay, what does feminist Judy Brady mean when she says she wants a “wife?” What does she think it means to be a “wife?” 

Steinem, “Women’s Liberation Aims to Free Men Too” (1970): This newspaper editorial by feminist writer Gloria Steinem makes an argument about why women’s liberation is necessary. What does Steinem say to make her argument? What do you think about her evidence? What is persuasive or not? 

Feinberg, interview w/Sylvia Rivera, “I’m Glad I was in the Stonewall Riot” Learn more about Sylvia Rivera here and Leslie Feinberg here. As you read this interview, consider: what does Rivera say about her experience in the Stonewall Riot (which took place in 1969)? What are the issues that are of concern to her and why? 

POST ON DISCUSSION BOARD #4 (DUE 3/1)

Instructions/How to post here

For this week’s discussion board post, please respond to the following prompt:

Share your reflections about the texts from this week. What themes do you see across the different texts for this week? Based on these readings, what do you see as the primary issues that concern feminists in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Where in the texts do you see different priorities or concerns come up — and, what do you notice about these differences?

Please title your post: First Name Last Name: DB 4 and select “DB 4” as the category for your post.

Make up POSTs ON DISCUSSION BOARD (DUE 3/1)

As I mentioned in class today: usually, late discussion board posts will only receive half-credit (1 point). But, because we are at the start of the semester and it takes a little time to get used to the rhythm of things, you can make up any posts you have missed (Discussion Boards 1, 2, 3) before Monday 3/1 11:59 PM and receive full credit for them.

ESSAY #1

Instructions: For this first essay, please expand on your in-class writing, discussion board posts, and class discussion by responding to the following questions. Your essay should be about 500 words (2 pages double-spaced, in 12 point font). You can turn your essay in on Blackboard.

PROMPT: Following the model of the story by Ijeoma A.,  write about a lesson(s) you learned about gender expectations– it does not need to be a story about something that you yourself experienced but can be something that you witnessed or observed. If you write about something from your own experience, please be attentive to your own needs as you write and only write about something that you feel comfortable to think about and analyze in this assignment.

Describe the lesson: what did you learn? Where was the lesson taught and by whom? What was shared about the expectations and the consequences for not following the norm? What are your thoughts and reflections about these expectations and their impact?

What is the origin of these gendered expectations? What do they have to do with patriarchy, if anything? How does oppression play a role and if so, what kind?

 

See you next Tuesday!

[Marsha P. Johnson + Sylvia Rivera below]

Reminder: Discussion Board Post #3 due today (2/22)

POST ON DISCUSSION BOARD #3 (DUE 2/22)

Instructions/How to post here

For this week’s discussion board post, please respond to one of the following prompts:

  1. What do you see as the relationship between women’s movements and abolitionist movements?
  2. Discuss the two versions of the speech by Sojourner Truth. What do we see when we compare the two versions? What can this show us about the context of that time?
  3. Pick a quote or two from one of the texts that spoke to you or that confused you. Describe and explain the quote(s) as best as you can and/or identify your questions about them.

Please title your post: First Name Last Name: DB 3 and select “DB 3” as the category for your post.

a Celebration of Audre Lorde’s Birthday! (Extra Credit!)

I just learned that the film, “A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde,” (1995)  is available online for free! I’ve never seen it + am very excited that it is streaming + immediately thought of all of you.

The film is available here 

I just signed up for an account and “pre-ordered” the film. It looks like it will be made available on February 18 at 7pm  for 24 hours (so you could watch anytime in that time period).

You can write a reflective post about the film for extra credit. Just pick “extra credit” as your post category.