Prof. Ben Attias
Mailbox: SP 207
[Course Taught Intersession 1994-1995]
Email: hfspc002@huey.csun.edu
INDEX:
Course Description and Objectives
Course Requirements
Course Schedule With Readings
Course Description and Objectives
This course is designed to expand students' understandings of the relationships among sex, gender, and communication. In particular this course offers a cultural studies approach to issues of power, gender, and sexuality as they are manifest in public discourse. Because of the abbreviated nature of the intersession, this course cannot hope to offer a complete survey of the vast and diverse research into gender, communication, and culture. Instead, this will be a readings course which will focus on several significant strands of this research.
The format of the course will be lecture, discussion, presentation. My lectures will serve to situate the readings within broader intellectual and sociocultural contexts. Our discussions will allow for closer analysis of each of the readings and for further discussion of the issues which arise in these readings. Student presentations will be brief introductions and reactions to some of the readings which will serve to open many of our class discussions.
Journal Entries: 10%
Class Participation: 10%
In-class Presentation: 20%
Final Project (written): 40%
Final Presentation: 20%
Over the course of the session you should keep a journal of your reactions to class discussions, readings, and issues that come up in class. Your journal entries will be informal, meaning that I will not correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, or organization. Your journal will be graded solely on the seriousness and depth of your engagement with the issues that come up in class. You should consider the journal a "safe space" for discussion of issues that you may or may not feel ready to take a position on in class discussion. In general, it is expected that you will use the journal to work out on paper thoughts that you have about the readings, about the course in general, or about issues of gender, sexuality and communication as they come up in your everyday life experiences. I don't expect you to cover each of the readings in the reader, but I will expect that you react at least to some of them (preferably about 3-4 journal entries per week, 10-12 total). I will collect journals on January 18th, but please feel free to turn them in earlier if you want feedback on particular journal entries.
Because this is a discussion-oriented class, class participation is mandatory. I expect everyone to do the readings and have something to say about them; high grades in participation will go to those students who are willing to listen as well as speak in class, and who are willing to "go out on a limb" to take a position on the issues discussed.
Each student will sign up to deliver a short (3-4 pages) formal presentation on one of the readings or a group of readings during one of our class meetings. Presentations will begin January 9th. Your presentation should be a short think-piece which summarizes the reading and takes a position or a stance on the issues that arise there. The positions taken by each student will serve as the starting point for class discussion for that day. These presentations will be graded primarily on the substance of the position taken. You will sign up for a presentation on Jan 4th.
Final Project and Presentation:
The last day of class is reserved for student presentations. You will present a 5-7 page research paper whose argument either arises out of or is significantly enriched by the course readings. I don't expect much outside research given the time constraints of the semester, but outside research has never been determined to be harmful to your health. Your paper should make an argument concerning an issue of importance to researchers in communication and the sexes. I prefer if the topic arises out of your own research interests in the field, but feel free to see me to discuss topic ideas.
Your presentations should offer brief (3-5 minute) introductions to the argument of your paper; these should be delivered to the class in a semiformal manner (in other words, you should be prepared, but you do not have to stand at the podium to deliver a formal speech). The class will then discuss the issues raised in your presentation for about 10 minutes. Creative papers/presentations are more than acceptable.
Keep in mind that while you will not be evaluated on your attendance in this course, you are always the one responsible for what goes on in class every day. This means that if you miss a class you are responsible for getting notes and missed assignments from someone else in the class. I will not take off points for missing class discussions, but you do so at your own risk. Keep in mind that even without marking attendance there is a statistically significant correlation between those who miss class and those who receive grades of D and F. Additionally, since some in-class exercises cannot be made up, it would behoove you to make sure you are in class when those exercises take place.
Course Readings
The readings for the course are available in a photocopy packet from Tam's Copy Center for about $15.00. There should be a Table of Contents included in the course packet; in addition, the bibliographic information for each of the essays in the packet is outlined below.
Academic Honesty
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing in any form, you will receive a failing grade for the course and you will be reported to the university for appropriate action. If you are uncertain what constitutes cheating, please consult the current university catalog and/or student handbook.
Student Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each student to know and follow all of the written guidance given by the instructor in this syllabus and any other handouts you receive during the semester. Students are also responsible for all orally delivered guidance and materials. While I do make extra copies of all syllabi and handouts, I cannot guarantee that I will have copies of these materials if you lose them. Thus I encourage you to keep materials organized and exchange contact information with others in the course in case you need to photocopy materials in emergency situations.
Office Hours
I will be available for student consultation during the hours listed at the top of this syllabus and by appointment. Please feel free to discuss course materials with me at any of these times. If you are having any trouble with the materials I encourage you to see me as soon as possible. This material is cumulative, so problems you have in the beginning of the session should be addressed as early as possible because the longer you wait the more difficult your catch-up task will become.
Although the professor will make every effort to hold to this schedule, the student must appreciate that classes differ and schedules vary. Students should, therefore, keep in touch. In the event of major adjustments to the following schedule or any of the material in the syllabus, you will receive an adjusted schedule in writing as soon as possible. Minor changes, however, may not be reported in writing, so it is up to the students to come to class and keep up with assignments, readings, due dates, etc. Keep up with the readings both for participation in class discussion and to be prepared for other assignments, which may be based on the readings. Be prepared in class each day with your reader and writing materials.
Jan 3: Course Introduction: Gender, Sex, Communication.
In-class exercise: Student introductions
In-class exercise: Cultural Study
In-class reading: Brenda Kahn, "She's in Love"
In-class reading: Selections from Harriet G. Lerner, The Dance of Anger: A
Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships (New York:
Harper & Row, 1985).
Jan 4: The Becoming-Sex of Language
Readings: Reader 1-24.
Carole J. Sheffield, "Sexual Terrorism: The Social Control of Women,"Eduardo Santiago, "The Night Rodney King Kissed Me," JUXT Magazine (May/June 1994) 26-29.
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex trans. H. M. Parshley (New York: Bantam, 1953), Introduction.
Jan 5: The Traffic in Women: Sex, Gender, and Political Economy
Readings: Reader 25-60.
Emma Goldman, "The Traffic in Women," in Alix Kates Shulman, ed., Red Emma Speaks (New York: Schocken, 1983) 174-189.
Gayle Rubin, "The Traffic in Women: Notes on the 'Political Economy' of Sex," in Rayna R. Reiter, ed., Toward an Anthropology of Women (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975) 157-210.
Jan 9: Talking (Too Much) About Sex: Power, Psychoanalysis, and the Rhetorical History of Sexuality
Readings: Reader 61-79.
Michel Foucault, "We 'Other Victorians'" and "The Repressive Hypothesis," from The History of Sexuality, Volume I, reprinted in Paul Rabinow, ed., The Foucault Reader (NY: Pantheon, 1984) 292-329.
Jan 10: Talking (Not Enough) About Sex: Radical Sexualities and the Discourses of Oppression
Readings: Reader, 80-101.
Gayle Rubin, "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality," from The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, 3-44.
Jan 11: (Part I:) The Violence of Representation: Technology, Pornography, Mass Media.
Readings: Reader, 102-132.
Gerard van der Leun, "This is a Naked Lady," Wired 1:1 (1993) 74, 109.
Ellen Willis, "Hard to Swallow: Deep Throat," and "Feminism, Moralism, and Pornography," in Beginning to See the Light: Sex, Hope, and Rock-and-Roll (Hanover: Weslyan, 1992) 68-75 and 219-227.
Pat Califia, "Sex and Madonna, Or, What Did You Expect from a Girl Who Doesn't Put Out on the First Five Dates?" in Lisa Frank and Paul Smith, eds., Madonnarama: Essays on Sex and Popular Culture (Pittsburgh: Cleis, 1993) 169-184.
(Part II:) Perverts and Queers: Sexual Preference and Bisexual Invisibility
Susie Bright, "BlindSexual," Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader (Pittsburgh: Cleis, 1992) 150-157.
Gabriel Rotello, "Bi Any Means Necessary," Village Voice (30 June 1992) 37-38.
Amanda Udis-Kessler, "Present Tense: Biphobia as a Crisis of Meaning," in Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaahumanu, eds., Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out (Boston: Alyson, 1991) 350-358.
Jan 12: (Part I): Masculinity and Representation
Readings: Reader, 133-188
Susie Bright, "A Good Butch is Hard to Find: Masculinity in the Nineties," Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader (Pittsburgh: Cleis, 1992) 55-59.
Terri Sutton, "The Painful Sex: Victims, Masochists, Clowns -- The New Men in Rock," L.A. Weekly (December 1994) 23-28.
Gregory M. Herek, "On Heterosexual Masculinity: Some Psychical Consequences of the Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality," in Kimmel, ed., Changing Men: New Directions in Research on Men and Masculinity (Boston: Sage, 1988(?)) 68-81.
Phil W. Petrie, "Real Men Don't Cry ... and Other 'Uncool' Myths," in Paula Rothenberg, ed., Racism and Sexism: An Integrated Study (NY: St. Martin's, 1988) 153-157.
Barbara Ehrenreich, "Talking in Couples," The Worst Years of Our Lives (New York: Pantheon, 1990) 115-120.
(Part II): War Culture, Rape Culture, Fantasy, and Backlash
Michael Bronski, "War Culture: War, Language, Rape, and AIDS," in Richard Cleaver and Patricia Meyers, eds., A Certain Terror: Heterosexism, Militarism, Violence and Change (Chicago: American Friends Service Committee, 1993) 209-217.
Susie Bright, "Rape Scenes," Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader (Pittsburgh: Cleis, 1992) 37-44.
Lisa Maria Hogeland, "Fear of Feminism: Why Young Women Get the Willies," Ms. (November/December 1994) 18-21.
Susan Faludi, "Fatal and Fetal Visions," Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (New York: Doubleday, 1991) 112-139.
Sylvie Bérard, "Words and Deeds," trans. Marlene Wildeman, in Louise Malette and Marie Chalouh, eds., The Montreal Massacre (Prince Edward Island, Canada: Gynergy Books, 1991).
Jan 16: Martin Luther King Day (no class)
Jan 17: Race-ing Sexism, Race-ing Sexuality
Readings: Reader 189-227
Ruth Frankenberg, "Race, Sex, and Intimacy I: Mapping a Discourse," White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness (Minneapolis: U Minnesota, 1993) 71-101.
Judit Moschovich, "--But I Know You, American Woman," in Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, eds., This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color (New York: Kitchen Table, 1983) 79-84.
Audre Lorde, "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," in iThis Bridge, 98-101.
Gloria Anzaldúa, "Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to 3rd World Women Writers," in This Bridge, 165-173.
Hazel V. Carby, ed., "White Woman Listen! Black Feminism and the Boundaries of Sisterhood," in Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, ed., The Empire Strikes Back: Race and Racism in 70s Britain (London: Hutchinson, 1982) 212-235.
Jan 18: Intersexions: A Case Study in Race, Gender, Sexuality, Violence, and Mass Mediated Representation.
Journals Due
Readings: Reader, 228-253.
Video: Thomas/Hill Supreme Court Nomination Proceedings
Jack E. White, "The Stereotypes of Race," Time Magazine (21 October 1991) 66.
Ellen Goodman, "He-said, she-said"
Nell Irvin Painter, "Who Was Lynched," The Nation (11 November 1991) 577.
Patricia J. Williams, "A Rare Case Study of Muleheadedness and Men, or How to Try an Unruly Black Witch, with Excerpts from the Heretical Testimony of Four Women, Known to be Hysterics, Speaking in their Own Voices, as Translated for This Publication by Brothers Hatch, Simpson, DeConcini, and Specter," in Toni Morrison, ed., Race-ing Justice, En-gender-ing Power (New York: Pantheon, 1992) 159-171.
Andrew Ross, "The Private Parts of Justice," in Toni Morrison, ed., Race-ing Justice, En-gendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and the Construction of Social Reality (NY: Pantheon, 1992) 40-60.
Karen Branan, "Out For Blood: The Right's Vendetta Against Anita Hill's Supporters," Ms. (January/February 1994) 83-87.
Jan 19: Student Presentations