Time Schedule:
Mae C Henderson
WOMEN 322
Seattle Campus
The intersection of race, class, and gender in the lives of women of color in the United States from historical and contemporary perspectives. Topics include racism, classism, sexism, activism, sexuality, and inter-racial dynamics between women of color groups. Offered: jointly with AES 322.
Class description
This course explores both historical and contemporary dimensions of power, privilege and social inequality as related to race, class, gender, and sexuality. While the focus of the course is on the intersecting nature of categories of social identity, it also examines ways that systems of inequality and privilege are intertwined with constructions of dominant ideologies and social institutions. You will gain a basic understanding of systemic social, political and economic inequality with emphasis on the socially constructed definitions of various target groups and how these definitions affect individual and group experiences. Groups' experiences are examined as they relate to power and domination at institutional, group, and individual levels. Privilege and oppression are examined in relation to their simultaneous affect in the lives of women of color in the United States. Specific attention will be given to the nature of institutional and ideological racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism as well as the varying ways oppression is resisted.
Student learning goals
Examine systems of privilege and difference and the underlying nature and consequences of privilege and its relationship to oppression,domination and subordination.
Understand connections between personal troubles and public issues when studying privilege and oppression and how they operate to create lived expereinces.
Identify how forms of oppression and privilege interact and intersect with one another at multiple levels.
Engage in critical thinking and meaningful discussions about contemporary issues that stem from systems and ideologies of difference in the United States.
Increase awareness of meanings placed on social identities as well as understand how these idientities affect experience and life choices and chances.
General method of instruction
This course is an inter-active discussion driven course that includes: reading, writing thinking and collaborative learning exercises and assignments and occasional lectures. If you are not fond of these activities, this course may not be for you.
Recommended preparation
For each class period, there are assigned readings. This course is reading intensive and keeping up with the readings is essential to your success in the class. Thus, you are expected to complete the readings as assigned. Although this course may require a lot from you, I expect everyone who does the readings, comes to class and participate in discussion and exercises, and complete assignments as assigned will do well
Class assignments and grading
Grading will be based on your performance on assignments which includes in-class group work, leading discussions on readings, analysis papers, and a final group project w/presentation that includes the submission of a group paper.
