I thought this blog was interesting...

I thought this blog was interesting, one of my Communications professor recommended it... it integrates issues of racism, sexism, classism, and other topics we have covered in class. "Racialicious is a blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. " Hope you all enjoy it :)

http://www.racialicious.com/

See all you womyn next week!

Keep it movin',

Laura

WS696: Current Event(s) 4/28

At The Women's Center at UCSD, an event called "F-Word Shorts: A Series of Short Films Exploring Feminism" will take place on Thurs. May 13 from 5 to 7pm, the short films expose feminist issues and social justice issues from different perspectives to challenge traditional assumptions, as well as resources for future activists. More information is available at...
http://women.ucsd.edu/


In Chapter 10: Globalization and Radical Feminist Pedagogy, the topics of 'forging collectivity: transforming individualism" and "the collective is more powerful than the self" were brought up and I found a link to a blog,
http://crunkfeministcollective.wordpress.com/about/
that is based on bringing together collectively feminist thoughts and principles in an online blog. The authors describe their work as the "Crunk feminist collective" which promotes "a crunk feminist mode of resistance that will help you get your mind right" "as we divorce ourselves from "correct" or hegemonic ways of being in favor of following the rhythm of our own heartbeats". The collective includes posts named "We are not your weapons, we are women", "Do you remember the time when you fell in love with activism", and "looking for love in all the wrong places".

4/28-readings

In Ch. 4 Katherine Orr regarded her student's experiences as "texts to be unloaded" . Each student was able to unload their text in the classroom by sharing their experiences but unlike learning from a text they were able to personally apply their learning through self-reflexion. The community work done by the students encouraged them to view themselves as subjects of a historical period. In addition, the students added another layer of complexity by examining race and gender in their present experiences. The issue of race was crucial for many of her student's who seemed to have developed a new understanding of their place in the world through a new lense. For example, one Mexican student whose family immigrated from a higher class was able to see his similarities to a yound boy (who happened to be the son of a Mexican janitor). In Ch. 16 Rebecca Anne Allhyari also examines the process of learning and gathering data by discussing "Becoming Feninist Cyber Ethnographers". If you had to describe yourself within a historical context or explore your own ethnography, where would you begin? How would you begin this journey of self exploration?

4/28 (irina)

In chapter 4, Catherine Orr discusses Robert Rhoad’s article on community service. Rhoad states, “Too often, community service is structured as a one-way activity in which those who have resources make decisions about the needs of those who lack resources” (page 51) and Orr then asked her students whether what they were doing was “simply…charity” (51). I think Orr brings up a very interesting point, a point that should be considered by all activists.

This section in the article reminds of me the fundraisers that are put together when disasters happen (or general fundraisers for causes such as homeless children or something like that). Consider the fundraisers for hurricane Katrina or for the quake in Haiti. Do you think these fundraisers are simply charities or are they more than that? Please Explain.
If they are simply charities, how do you think they can be improved to be more than that?

In Chapter 11, Simona Hill discusses her experience with a campus organization called Sisterhood. A discussion was held on campus called “IGNITE A KITCHEN FIGHT1” Some students were upset with the title of the event because it seemed to portray violence and a sexist message that women should be in the kitchen. During the discussion, the facilitators explained what the term kitchen fight means. At one point, the facilitators told the audience to develop discussion rules for the rest of the event on sensitive topics. Why do you think the facilitators did not just put together the discussion rules themselves? What is significant about allowing the participants to make up the rules?
Would you implement this practice in your own class in the future? Or would you provide your students with the rules that you come up with?

Current Events/Media for 4-28 Readings

See this link for an article discussing some of the work done by the group Sisterhood at Susquehanna University.
http://www.susqu.edu/crusader/article.cfm?IssueID=15&SectionID=1&ArticleID=741

These links are to the feminist.com website. The first is an activist project meant to implemented on college campuses in order to bring attention to and to decrease sexual assault.
http://www.feminist.com/activism/collegeactivism.html
The second link is a useful article explaining the connection between theory and activism and the benefits in taking Women's Studies courses for activists.
http://www.feminist.com/activism/collegeactivism805.html

The next link is a youtube clip of the University of Central Florida's Clothesline Project. Working with the clothesline project was part of a service learning course offered at the school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPq-vVRQ1NY

If anyone is unfamiliar with the clothesline project please check it out at the link below.
www.clotheslineproject.org

SDSU Women's Studies program & the Clothesline Project
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/wsweb/community.html
• April: THE CLOTHESLINE PROJECT: This project began over a decade ago as a way for survivors of domestic and relationship partner abuse to express themselves. The students were provided with blank t-shirts in which they drew and inscribed messages of survival and affirmation. All t-shirts made a statement against violence against women--regardless of whether the students had experienced it personally (many had). The T-shirts were displayed at the high school to let other students view their work and their important messages. Note: creative projects of this nature are also very popular and frequently repeated. A variation of this is a collectively made quilt. On each square, students were asked to articulated salient features of their ethnic/racial/geographical heritage of which they are proud. One such completed quilt is on permanent display at Hoover High School.

For 4/28

Sorry it's late...but

RE: Chapter Four: Challenging the "Academic/Real World" Divide by Catherine M. Orr

Orr discusses the corporatization and commodification of education and how students have become consumers and/or products of the university on page 37. How does this interact with, or complicate, feminist pedagogical goals and teaching strategies? Where do these changes maybe overlap, if at all, with our idea of what "education is" or "should be"?

Discussion Question 4/28

In Catherine Orr’s “Challenging the ‘Academic/Real Word’ Divide” in chapter 4, she explores the idea of bridging the divide between “academic/real world, theory/practice, and self/other divides” (37) between experimental/service learning and the classroom. What type of pedagogical feminist strategies would you incorporate into your classroom or learning community to help bridge this dichotomy? Do you have any ideas for assignments to help facilitate this process?

See you in class!

-Maggie

Discussion Questions, Week14

sorry this is a bit late...

In Chapter 4: Challenging the "Academic/Real World" Divide, Orr's arguments support Agathangelou's observation that "our fear of revealing the unequal distribution of privileges and vulnerabilities within the classroom made it difficult to move away from criticism of who or what was "bad" or "good""(pg.141), what would be some creative strategies/activities that will challenge students to share their cultural assumptions about other students to begin the process of solidarity building and overcoming feelings of discomfort? Creating a list of community/classroom values?

In Chapter 10: Globalization and Radical Feminist Pedagogy, Agathangelou states "utilizing three major processes- critique, communication, and confrontation/negotiation- students become agents to enact their own physical, material, and discursive movements, their strategies of resistance, and their envisioning of a progressive future in which they actualize self and communities,"(pg.152), what would be a good way to approach/confront students that use those three major processes without integrity and honesty? Should the risk of wouding from internalized dominance and intellectual/emotional manipulation be issues that a feminist teacher should address/expose early in the course to assist students in developing decolonized minds?

See you all in class, keep it movin' :)

Laura

Discussion Questions for Week 14

1. In Cathrine M. Orr's article "Challenging the Real World/Academic Divide" she describes the ways in which the students in her feminist theory class "began to doubt their own abilities and even motivations to intervene in the practices of domination and subordination that pervade people's lives, including their own", and that discoveries made by students in the feminist theory class, such as the shortsightedness and contradictions made by so many of the contributors to the conversation on feminist theory played a key role in to students inability to act for social change/transformation.

Why do you think that revealing the shortcomings of feminist activism in the West is internalized by the student leading them to "paralyzing guilt?" Rather than anxiety and the retreat from activism, what are some alternative scenarios that might have played out among the students after having discovered the "shortcomings and contradictions" of feminist and women's studies activism?

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2. In "Globalization and Radical Feminist Pedagogy" Anna M. Agathangelou complicates GLOBALIZATION to reveal the ways in which students can use globalization to reinforce AND/OR challenge systems of domination and subordination. She assigns her students activist projects asserting that, "decolonization requires more than just a accumulation of knowledge about globalization and feminist theorizing on such social relations." As university students, what do we think about this assertion? Are we choosing to live by this credo? How are we working to decolonize ourselves and our communities OTHER than by accumulating knowledge and understanding? I hope this can serve as a "getting to know one another" sort of exercise in that we can hear about the community/activism important to each of us.

M.I.A "Born Free" music video

Have any of you seen the new M.I.A. music video, "Born Free." I suggest you watch it, because I would love to hear what you all think about what she is saying here. What does it means to use these images in this way? How are various characters in the movie represented, what do those representations mean? Who is her audience and what does she want them to take away? I have some swirly thoughts about it myself...

I hope this link works. Controversy: Youtube removed the video. (It is NOT work safe!)

CLICK HERE FOR M.I.A. "BORN FREE" MUSIC VIDEO

Cheers,
Jessica

Week 14 Discussion Question

In light of Catherine M. Orr's "Challenging the 'Academic/Real World' Divide" and Rebecca Anne Allahyari's "Becoming Feminist Cyber Ethnographers," I wanted to reflect on the idea of creating activist narratives through new technologies.

Orr discusses how her students struggled to see themselves as a part of the history of women's activist movements, and how they were equally troubled by the idea that no singular narrative of the women's movement might exist. Considering Allahyari's discussion of cyber ethnographies, how might the organization histories found on most organization's websites serve to either distance students from narratives of activism, or make them feel closer to it? In other words, can technology provide different experiences and interactions with history than books can? Also, given the multiplicity of perspectives/information available on the Internet, is there a danger of reinforcing the lack of cohesiveness and commonality between women's different forms of activism?

Discussion Question 4/28

Hello Everyone!

This week I decided to frame my question around both Chapter 10 Globalization and Radical Feminist Pedagogy and Chapter 11 Activism and Alliance within Campus Sisterhood Organizations.

Both spoke about making alliances across borders while critically interrogating difference and our own experience (common theme through out the seminar). Both authors share their theory and practice in and out of academia; however, within these different processes where do the current struggle of indigenous people now? I think many times discussion on globalization, feminism, racism, sexism, etc. tends to briefly cover the location and standpoint of those who identify as indigenous. In addition, in my past experience courses treat these experiences as something from the past. So how can educators continue to "unfold" in this context and how do we include this particular community in the "unfolding process"? How can we effectively use the "three major processes---critique, communication, and confrontation/negotiation"(p. 152) and feminist pedagogy to engage in discussion with indigenous communities across social locations that in my opinion are forgotten?

See you all in class.

Paz,
Nancy

Multi-culturalism and Feminism

I saw this article on neo-lib groups/people appropriating cultures (particularly that of Native Americans or American Indians) as a fashion sense in Bitch Magazine. Given everything that we've discussed in class from Keating to hooks and more, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this "phenomenon" and the blog author's response.

Question for 4-21

Sorry for getting these to you all late...
1. How can we develop a syllabus that doesn't reinforce the banking method while at the same time providing the class with a certain amount of structure?
2. Do you think that the advantages of teaching distance education classes in women's studies (e.g. facilitating widespread access to those who might not otherwise be able to take them)out way the difficulties in implementing a feminist pedagogy?
See you in class!

Mahmood, France and the Veil

On the heals of class last week discussing Mahmood and the veil and the west's representation of Islam, here's the newest news from France in regards to the veil. Those of us who took 601 may recall our discussions about this!

April 21st Discussion Questions_Irina

1. (Chapter 10) In her article, "This Class Meets in Cyberspace," Rose describes
many of the limitations of teaching distance classes. Do you think the
limitations outweight the benefits of teaching in this way or do you think
distance learning is worth it and should be implemented? Please Explain.

2. (Chapter 12) In, "Homophobia and Sexism as Popular Values, Bleich describes
how students were "outraged" to read Shirley Jackson's story in which a woman is
picked annually to be stoned in a ceremony. Students were "more concerned with
whether the victim had a right to complain (which she did) than with the fact
that such a practice was stipulated to begin with" (156-157). Bleich states that
she could have "told" them WHAT to discuss but chose not to because in this way
she could observe what the students' values are. Explain what you would have
done in this same situation (and explain why).

WEEK 13 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

SEE YOU ALL IN CLASS TODAY!
-MAGGIE



1. In Colwill and Boyd’s article “Teaching without a Mask? Collaborative Teaching as Feminist Practice,” they examine team teaching and the impact of language as power in the classroom. Here is an excerpt on an incident that occurred: “Words were spoken without considering their impact on others in the room; people slipped, at times, into language of ‘us’ (insiders) and ‘them’ (outsiders), language that erected boundaries and borders among ourselves . . . (235)


Have you as a student experienced a time in your education where you felt like an outsider in the classroom because of the language that was being used? Did you confront the teacher or professor about it? Please explain. How can we as educators confront an issue of language in the classroom if one arises?



2. In David Bleich’s article “Homophobia and Sexism as Popular Values,” he explores different reactions and discussions with students on homosexuality, homophobia, and socialization in the classroom. To what extent as educators do you feel responsible to educate students on these topics? Do you think the education on diverse populations should begin before entering the university? What role can the public school system play on educating students and having these types of discussions?

Discussion Questions for Week 13 - Jessica Spain

1. In Colwill's piece about team teaching she describes a scenario in which a student makes a comment that completely disrespects and dismisses the real experiences and more nuanced circumstances of undocumented Mexican immigrants to the United States. Needless to say, this comment is in complete discordance with the team-teachers' learning objectives for the students enrolled in the experimental interdisciplinary course.

Obviously, situations like these can not be contained to the professional realm, and professor's personal feelings of insecurity and anxiety often come into play.Colwill wonders if the student would have challenged professor authority and course materials in this way had her co-teacher, who is a man, were leading lecture than day, and a male co-teacher wonders what he is not teaching in his time spent with the class that is preventing any expression of student resistance.

All of us are, were, or will be teachers in one way or another and may experience resistance in the classroom that leaves us feeling lost, and perhaps even betrayed some student. What are some strategies we can develop in the face of these hardships to keep a healthy bodymindspirit? How can we nourish ourselves from a sentipensante approach when the going gets tough in this way.

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2. In "Gender, Race, and Radicalism" Joy James describes her experiences teaching a class on radical Native and African American woman activists. The texts assigned include the woman activists' autobiographies, and students were given the opportunity to engage with material that illustrates political circumstances as the actor experiences them, ans well as her opinions, reflections, fears, and aspirations.

How might choosing to teach the class with autobiography assist students, who are keeping their own journals throughout the semester, in reflecting on their own experiences with racism. How might a text book, or some other way of engaging with the material, limit students as they relate to the material in a way that inspires dedication to radical antiracist action despite the obstacles posed by conservative (and liberal)university settings?

Discussion Question- Laura

In Chapter 12: "Homophobia and Sexism as Popular Values" by David Bleich, the concept of "socially masculine thinking" is used to explain how normalized sexist and homophobic attacks against women and homosexuals have become, what are some ways that teachers can inspire students of all genders and sexual identities or expressions to reflect over generic feelings about themselves and others? What pedagogical activities can be helpful in encouraging students to reflect over their "own strong responses" to sexism and homophobia "as the result of the social repression" of homosexuality(LGBTQI) and women's empowerment(Goddess, witch)?

Discussion Question-Vivian

In Ch. 19, "Gender, Race and Radicalism", Joy James compares Native and African American Activists. She compares communities of color to counter notions that women of color can only be compared to "normative" Euro-American activists. Teaching radicalism is not easy, as noted in the reading, because institutions have given students a negative notion of radical activism especially when dealing with women of color who act against the state. James tries to counter the negative view by focusing on the activism of Angela Davis and other prominent figures that were triggered by unjust situations. However, the author does mention that many students in her class may not be fully engaged because they are not activists. What would be a good method to engage non-activists students who have internalized the institution's negative view of radical activism? Does a student need to be engaged in activism to better understand a class on the subject? If so, would encouraging students to engage in protests against current injustices, such as student fee hikes or racist policies, cross the line?

Discussion Question 4/21

My question comes from the Colwill and Boyd article but I think it also connects to the major theme of the seminar which discusses how collaborative learning looks like and how it can be collaborative.

Although simple, this question invites us to really discuss and reflect on the process of team teaching or of teaching in general. Describe how the process of developing a team teaching course would look like and your response to challenges (e.g. assumptions, authority, voice) encountered in the process.

Paz,

Nancy

Question(s) for this week...

In Colwill and Boyd's piece they discuss how "team teaching remains a more vexed process than is typically acknowledged, precisely because our teaching personas are deeply rooted not only to our conscious choices, but also in enduring, and at times unconscious, structures of self" (216). Thinking about your own personal identity as an educator or teacher, in formal or informal settings, have you come across a co-teaching experience that has produced such inter-personal or inner-personal conflicts that they mention in the article? What, if anything, did you learn about yourself, your teaching style or your assumptions?

OR

In a similar vein, do you think Ellen Rose's experience with distance education could have been mitigated by team teaching? How might team teaching factor into distance education? Do you think it would make it harder or easier? How might students benefit or how might their assumption of power and presence complicate matters?

Chapter I'd like to read...

Here are the chapters that look most compelling to me:

Teaching Feminist Activism:
1. Chapter Four: Challenging the "Academic/Real World" Divide by Catherine M. Orr
2. Chapter Ten: Globalization and Radical Feminist Pedagogy by Anna M. Agathangelou
3. Chapter Sixteen: Becoming Feminist Cyber Ethnographers by Rebecca Anne Allahyari

McKeachie's Teaching Tips:
1. Chapter Two: Countdown for Course Preparation
2. Chapter Five: Facilitating Discussion: Posing Problems, Listening, Questioning
3. Chapter Thirteen: Dealing with Student Problems and Problem Students

The Feminist Teacher Anthology:
1. Chapter Six: The Power of No by Martha E. Thompson
2. Chapter Twelve: Homophobia and Sexism as Popular Values by David Bleich
3. Chapter Seventeen: Would You Rather by a Goddess or a Cyborg? by Suzanne K. Damarin

Reading Selections_Irina

The Feminist Teacher Anthology:
Chapter 5 (Resistance to Generalizations in the Classroom)
Chapter 12 (Homophobia and Sexism as Popular Values)
Teaching Feminist Activism:
Chapter 2 (The Dynamics of Critical Pedagogy, Experiential Learning, and Feminist Praxis in Women's Studies)
Chapter 7 (Bridging Feminist Theory and Feminist Practice in a Senior Seminar)
McKeachie's Teaching Tips:
Chapter 5 (Facilitating Discussion)
Chapter 19 (Teaching Large Classes)

Discussion Questions for Week 12 - Sorry for the Delay!

4/14 Week 12: Diversity, Multiculturalism, and Beyond: Teaching from Intersectional, International, & Transnational Approaches

Feminism, Democracy, and Empire: Islam and the War on Terror by Saba Mahmood

Discussion Question:
Saba Mahmood begins by asserting that Western feminism played a historical role in validating and promoting colonial rule throughout the world. She goes on to argue that this same discourse is being redeployed in contemporary feminist writings, its purpose being “justifying the United States’ war of terror upon the Muslin World” (pg. 81), the justification being that the U.S. is “liberating” women from their repressive cultures. She goes on to ask several questions. First, how are the ideas of “freedom, democracy, and gender equity,” which are goals promoted by most Western feminists, used to promote the U.S. imperialist agenda? Second, how does this layering of ideologies works to obscure said agenda? Third, what forms of violence does it condone?
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Pedagogical Practice:

Watch YouTube Clip:

Bill Maher - Burqa Fashion Show (1-4:02)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgSEqxCCWE8

Take a few moments to journal on the following: What are the consequences of Western feminists’ views of the veil as oppressive to women, and their subsequent analysis, that any women who advocates them is operating out of a false consciousness? How might video clips, like the one included in this exercise, develop a space for dialogue about the practice of veiling in the Middle East among students? How might using video clips be effective in a different way than simply reading about these concepts?

Let's share our responses with one another.

Reading Selections by Jessica Spain

Selected Readings for the Next Few Weeks

- Cohee, et al in The Feminist Teacher Anthology

• Chapter 17 , "Would You Rather be a Goddess or a Cyborg?" by Suzanne K. Damarin
• Chapter 19, "Gender, Race, and Radicalism: Teaching the Autobiographies of Native and African American Activists."
  

- Naples and Bohar, Teaching Feminist Activism

• Chapter 9, "Global Feminism and Activism in Women's Studies Practicum" by Kayann Short
  
• Chapter 10, "Globalization and Radical Feminist Pedagogy" by Anna M. Agathangelou
  

- McKeachie's Teaching Tips

• Chapter 4, "Reading as Active Learning"
  
• Chapter 13, "Dealing with Student Problem and Problem Students (There's Almost Always at Least One!)
  

4/14 Reading Question

What are the dangers of using a few narratives to characterize the experiences of all Muslim women and all forms of Islam?

How do contextualized knowledges work to challenge the cultural hierarchy in which Islamic and Western societies are constituted?

Laura's Discussion Questions for April 14

1. In the article "Making "Racialized Misogyny" Visible: Internationalizing Women and Violence" by Heather S. Dell, one of the techniques that she used to teach about dowry death and feminist activism was to examine the myth of people of color as "tradition-bound".

a. What are some examples of experiences or moments in which you have been experienced being the object of "tradition-bound" myths?

b. How have you reacted to or how has your identity been shaped by "tradition-bound" myths?

2. In the article "Teaching Globalization, Gender, and Culture" by Deborah S. Rosenfelt, the author discusses the theme of "globalization through mass culture of Western criteria for beauty, the refusal to perform in a standard Western dialect could also be read as a resistance to a standardized aesthetics of the body"(173), and she also describes how cultural criticism may be difficult for undergraduates to discuss. I suggest for a pedagogical activity that we use flashcards with different terms on them like 'eurocentrism, decolonization, Third World, clitoridectomy, globalization, free markets ' and discuss how we feel about those terms.

Discussion Questions for April 14_Irina

1) Activity: in her article on racialized misogyny, Dell explained some of the assignments she uses in class. One of the assignments is Response Cards. Dell asks students to write their immediate responses and then to share them. This way, the students do not have time to rephrase their immediate thoughts and make them sound politically correct. I think it would be great to try this in our own class. Maybe read a short article about a certain issue (in class) and then do the response cards. We do something similar via our discussions but most of us have had time to think about the articles we read or the questions posted. So it would be interesting to try these Response Cards.

2) In, “Making ‘Racialized Misogyny’ Visible: Internationalizing Women and Violence,” Dell explains how “racialized misogyny…in both white and Black communities has placed women of color in the unnecessary position of having to decide whether to identify themselves as Black or as women” (280). This choice of identity can be found in many situations. For example, sometimes I have to choose between my identity as a feminist and as my parents’ daughter.
a. Please provide an example of when you had to choose an identity and explain your action in that situation.

3) In, “Investigating the Transnational Dimensions of Class, Race, Gender, and Sexual Identity: Engaging the Students in Research,” Pershing describes how she leads her class and what she assigns to students.
a. Imagine that you are teaching a class about the issue of choosing between identities (as described in the article by Dell). Please briefly describe your assignment to help students understand this concept and begin to question such accepted practices and expectations.

reading selection for remaining weks

I forgot to post my interest about chapters in the remaining reading's in class.

I really have no preference, they all sound interesting its difficult to chose. I am open to anything.

See you all soon!

Discussion Question for 4/14

The readings this week discussed the importance, design, and implementation of multicultural, transnational, and international perspectives in gender studies. My reflection question pedagogical practice comes from the Cohen and Stewart article and Mohanty's Chapter. Both of these brought up important topics to consider when designing an inclusive course integrating multiculturalism, transnationalism, and international perspectives in gender studies.

The feminist pedagogical practice I suggest is something I thought about when reading Cohen and Stewart, in reference to their point on page 446 which states: "Among important pedagogical issues, it may be constructive to recognize that a great deal of this material may be uncomfortable for students". My response is students have been comfortable and learned nothing why not have students feel uncomfortable and gain consciousness.

So, I suggest that maybe having a "box of conocimientos". The box would be open for students to write notes, questions, ideas, questions, or concerns on anything that they feel uncomfortable or want to have discussion on; they would drop their statements in the box. Each week or class day depending on schedule someone would draw one of those statements out of the box and then break up in small groups to discuss it.

In a sense, then students begin to voice their discomfort and speak to the challenges and fear of talking about some of the complexities of the topics discussed in the readings this week. In addition, like Mohanty explains its important for students to "pay attention to the processes of [their own racialization]" thus, transforming their understanding about the world they live in. This process may or may not work and I think a foundation of conocimientos would have to happen before implementing the box, but its an idea.

Week 12 Discussion Question + Reading Choices

Our readings this week explored the importance and implementation of multicultural, transnational, and international perspectives in gender studies. My contribution this week is part exercise, and part question: what books/articles, documentaries, videos, media, or pop culture examples have you encountered in the past that helped to promote international and transnational perspectives?

Together, perhaps we can collectively build a list of resources that can be used in our classrooms to promote global perspectives and multicultural understandings of gender, race, sexual orientation, transgender/intersexual experiences, disability/ability, age, religion, ethnicity, body politics, labor, and cultural borderlands. I'll be including some of mine in a comment to this post, and I invite you all to do the same.

_____________________________________

Here are my choices for next week's readings (I gravitated toward the technology-oriented pieces):

- Cohee, et al in The Feminist Teacher Anthology

• Chapter 10, "This Class Meets in Cyberspace: Women's Studies via Distance Education" by Ellen Cronan Rose
• Chapter 17 , "Would You Rather be a Goddess or a Cyborg?" by Suzanne K. Damarin

- Naples and Bohar, Teaching Feminist Activism

• Chapter 16, "Becoming Feminist Cyber Ethnographers" by Rebecca Anne Allahyari
• Chapter 11, "Activism and Alliance within Campus Sisterhood Organizations" by Simona J. Hill

- McKeachie's Teaching Tips

• Chapter 13, subsections "Class Management Problems" and "Emotional Problems"
• Chapter 17, subsections "How Will Technology Enhance Teaching and Learning?" and "Teaching with Technology"

Question for 4/14

Does the cover of Encompassing Gender: Integrating International Studies and Women's Studies challenge and refute or uphold and reinforce the assumptions, binaries and dichotomies discussed by the authors that we read? How so?

How do ideas of nationality and the "state" get played out on gendered bodies (both male or female)?

CONFERENCES IN APRIL

Below is a link for the conference I was telling you all about in class today. There are descriptions of the various workshops being offered and information about keynote speakers, etc. Registration is free! There will be must, performances, etc.
http://www.sdfoodjustice.org/


Also, Irene was right and the SDSU Diversity Conference is also on April 24th. Here is the link: http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/intercultural/conference/ I was not able to locate workshop descriptions for this conference. Also, registration is not free, but is anywhere between $5 and $15 depending on when you register.

<3
Jessica

April 7th post-Vivian

In Imagining Differently: The Politics of Listening in a Feminist Classroom, Cevenak, Cespeden, Souza and Staub explore the concept of Latinidad. Latinidad(solidarity on the basis of bieng a Latina woman) is deconstructed to understand the complexities of sisterhood and solidarity. According to the article, internalizing an identity such as belonging to a "Latina group" can actually be counterproductive. The article cautioned against internalizing identities. According to the article, if a Latina accepts and internalizes her identity then she is also internalizing the state's narrative of what that role is.
Do you think accepting an identity as part of a group means internalizing the nation's narrative of that group? In other words, is identifying by race or gender counterproductive because it assumes essentialized notions of truth?

April 7th Question_Irina

In Anne Donadey’s article, “Negotiating Tensions,” Donadey explores the difficulty in balancing when to respond to students’ comments and when to allow other students to speak up (214-215). How would you handle a situation in which a student speaking up makes racist remarks (or remarks that reproduce ideologies of dominance)?
.........What would be your initial reaction?
.........What would be your thought-out reaction?

Pedagogical Practice for April 7th, 2010 - Jessica Spain

This pedagogical practice is geared toward students in a 101 level women's studies course and aims to support Ann Donaday's assertion that women's studies courses must, from the very beginning, resist monist (gender-only) discourse when analyzing oppression in favor of integrated curriculum that engages students in feminist discussion of race and class (and other systems of dominance).

The practice itself has been taking from the women's studies textbook Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings by Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee (p. 61). Rather than creating my own pedagogical practice to shed light on the way each of us experience varying degrees of privilege and oppression based on our multiple subject positions, I intend to make use of, and add to existing tools that have been developed by feminist teachers before me (this exercise was created by authors and is based on Peggy McIntosh's "White and Male Privilege," a featured reading in the text's second chapter, "Systems of Privilege and Inequality in Women's Lives."

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learning activity:

Unpacking Your Knapsack
Author Peggy McIntosh lists a number of ways that she experiences White privilege.
Based on your various non-target statuses*, make lists of the ways you experience
the following categories of privilege:

White
Middle or upper class
Young
Male
Heterosexual
Able-bodied

*Target groups are groups that are targeted as “less than” or different because of their race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and/or other differences. Non-target groups are defined as groups that are more likely to receive privileges and benefits in a society, i.e. part of the dominant group.

Addition to exercise for graduate students: Share with the class one or two lists of the ways that you are privileged based on your various non-target statuses, and take a moment to speculate (on paper or verbally) how taking responsibility for your social location is important to a holistic and integrated women's studied curriculum that highlights intersectionality. How might this exercise benefit you as a future teacher of women's studies? of some other discipline? in non-traditional teaching environments?

Peace,
Jessica

Question/Pedagogical Practice for 04.07

In the feminist classroom we focus on decentering authority and power by valuing, empowering and encouraging experiential knowledge of students allowing for critical thinking and engagement in, or challenging of, ideas, theories and thought processes presented by the professor/teacher. Student resistance, monist thoughts, racist/sexist assumptions, or reproduction of dominant ideologies (through subtle and not so subtle ways) complicate this decentering of power. How as feminist teachers do, or can, we navigate between both a decentering of power/valuing of students' experiential knowledge and still work towards an anti-sexist, -homophobic, -racist, -classist, -ageist, -ability(ist?) course? In other words, what strategies can we use to maintain a feminist pedagogy valuing experiential knowledge of our students when our students come from, are vested in, informed by, marred by, or are products of an otherwise racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, ageist and ability(ist?) society?

OR

This is a quick write that does not have to be shared; it is a personal self-reflection that might illustrate or highlight some of your own assumptions, fears or investment in power. Donadey's piece examines how fear can inform student resistance to anti-racist or anti-colonial theory. Fear can come across as defensiveness, anger, and refusal. She discusses ideas of unsettling assumptions, solipsism, vested privileges, and reaffirming the myths that justify one's dominance. She also mentions that a truly radical pedagogy "would integrate emotions in the epistemological model". As such, take a few moments to think about a time in a class, CR group, or other discussion wherein you found yourself as angry, defensive, or refusing to engage with the material. Why? Thinking back now, was the material challenging a privilege in which you were/are invested? How did/n't this change your perspective on something? What did your anger, resistance, or refusal to engage reveal about yourself?

Week 11 Discussion Question

As several of this week's readings demonstrate, the likelihood of encountering resistance in the classroom remains high, particularly when discussing issues of racism; and as feminist teachers, we must prepare ourselves for addressing such reactions. In Donadey's chapter, she takes time to share several readings she assigns in anticipation of students' confused and upsetting emotional responses to racism. Audre Lorde also speaks about the importance of recognizing the "uses of anger" to overcome paralyzing feelings of guilt, or the fear of confronting with other women about racism.

What other specific methods, materials, and assignments could we use to find productive uses for anger--both the anger of students of color, and white students' anger at being confronted with their privileges? How might our pedagogies help to creatively channel that anger into productive change, as Lorde urges us to do, and what would these practical strategies look like in a syllabus?