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Department of Anthropology
Anthropology 2255E/650:
Feminist Perspectives in Anthropology
Course Outline
Summer 2015
Source: http://a-golden-lasso-of-my-own.tumblr.com/post/64410883012/
yay-feminist-anthropology-time-prehistoric-cave
Instructor: Dr. Alexis Dolphin
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 519-661-2111 x81128
This is a distance studies (online) course.
Credit Value: 1.0
Course Description:
This course will introduce students to classic and contemporary feminist ethnography, and
explore critical assessments of feminist theory and methodology for cross-cultural
interpretations. Topics will include: critical examinations of gender, divisions of labour, power,
production and reproduction, ideology, communication, and controversies over nature/nurture,
nature/culture, and public/private. The course will also connect contemporary debates about
what feminism is, can be, and should be, with what anthropologists may contribute to the
discussion.
Required Texts:
Feminist Anthropology by Ellen Lewin (editor). 2006.
Women Writing Culture by Ruth Behar and Deborah Gordon (editors). 1995.
Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil by Alexander Edmonds. 2010.
*note that this ethnography is available as an e-book via Western Libraries
Links to additional readings, films and web content will be posted on OWL.
Evaluations:
40%
20%
20%
20%
Forum Postings
Response Essay 1 (due May 31st)
Response Essay 2 (due June 28th)
Final Exam
Forum Postings (40%):
The advantage of taking part in an online course is that it provides opportunities for students to
interact on a regular basis through online discussions. All students must participate in the
Forums, and are required to make at least TWO substantial contributions to the Forum
discussions of the assigned readings FOR EACH UNIT. A substantial contribution is one that is
fully developed comments and questions, not simply one or two sentences; however, they
should not be more than one or two paragraphs in length. They must deal with issues raised in
the course readings, including substantial comments on the readings, a substantial question
that you feel might offer useful ideas for exploring the readings, some reflection from your
experience with the issues in the course material and so on. Feel free to post often and to
respond to each other’s comments and queries. The purpose of these online discussions is to
make the learning process interactive and collaborative, a process in which each of us will
contribute to the learning of others at the same time that we learn from others. Keep your
postings short and focused because students typically won’t read beyond one or two
paragraphs. It’s better to post three short messages, for instance, rather than one long one.
Your discussion grade will be based on both the quantity and quality of your online participation.
You will receive an estimate of your mark at the ends of Units 8 and 16. More details about how
to achieve an excellent Forum Posting grade will be available on OWL.
Response Essays (20% each; 40% total)
Students are responsible for completing two response essays during this course. The purpose
of the response essay is to allow you to critically discuss and question the issues raised by the
authors. Your goal in this assignment is to choose issues and ideas that you think are important.
When I evaluate your papers, I will be looking for evidence that you have thought about and
understood the issues covered in the course and that you have been able to incorporate points
from a wide variety of the readings in the course. In fact, your work should touch upon material
from at least half of the readings from the relevant Section. Each response essay should be
about 1500 words long and be submitted via the Assignments tab in OWL. Response Essay 1
is due at the end of Section I (May 31st) and Response Essay 2 is due at the end of Section II
(June 28th). A late penalty of 5% per work day will be in effect. More details regarding the
response essays can be found under the “Guidelines” tab in OWL.
Final Exam (20%):
The final exam will be worth 20% of the final grade and will be scheduled by the
Registrar’s office (for some time between July 27th and July 30th). The exam will consist
of essay questions only. Further details regarding how to best prepare for the exam
will be posted on OWL at least two weeks before the exam date.
Policies and Information:
Accessibility
Students who require special accommodations for disabilities should make a formal request
through Student Development Services as early in the semester as possible. Please contact the
course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other
arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact
Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 661-2111, x 82147 for any specific question.
See also: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/ssd/
Support Services
A range of student services is available at: https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/index.cfm
Other resources include Student Support Services: http://westernusc.ca/services
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Missed Deadlines and Missed Exams – medical accommodation
Occasionally illness or other medical issues make it impossible to meet deadlines or to take
exams as scheduled; in such cases adequate documentation must be submitted to Academic
Counseling of your home faculty, according to the terms of the Senate policy regarding medical
accommodation as specified at:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf
Providing such documentation is submitted, reasonable effort will be made toaccommodate your
situation. Without this, assignments cannot be accepted.
Late Penalties
Note that Forums having closing dates (see “Forum Posting Dates” under the “Guidelines” tab in
OWL. This means that late submissions to the Forums is not possible. With respect to the
Response Essays, a 5% per work day penalty will be in effect.
Plagiarism and Scholastic Offences
Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy,
including the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following website:
www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
Students must write their assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a
passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks
where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a
major academic offense.
All required work may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial
plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All
papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference
database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the
system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The
University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com). Computer-marked
multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by
software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Evidence of suspected plagiarism will be reported to the Department Chair, who will give the
student an opportunity to respond to the allegation. Where a determination of plagiarism has
been made, the Chair shall assess appropriate penalties up to and including a zero on the
assignment and failure in the course. The case will be reported to the Dean, who may assess
additional penalties.
Email Etiquette
Remember that email communication with the instructor and your classmates should be
respectful and professional. Emails to me will be answered between 9am and 5pm on Mondays
through Fridays. I will reply to weekend email early the following week.
Other
Back-ups: Make sure to regularly back up all your work on an external site (such as the SSC
Network H: drive, external hard drive, send it to yourself in e-mail, etc.) in case your computer
crashes or is stolen. This should be standard practice for anything you do on your computer.
No extensions for any assignments will be granted because of computer malfunctions or lost
files.
Useful Websites:
Libraries: http://www.lib.uwo.ca/
Office of the Registrar: http://www.registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/
Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/index.cfm
Accommodated Exams: http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/index.cfm/examinations/accommodatedexams/
Anthropology Department: http://anthropology.uwo.ca/uprog.html
Course Outline:
SECTION 1 (Units 1-8)
Unit 1 – Week 1
Feminist Anthropology, Introduction: (pp. 1-38)
We will use the first few days to begin reading, practice using the Forums and getting to
know one another.
Unit 2 – Week 1
Women Writing Culture, Introduction: (pp. 1-29)
Unit 3 – Week 2
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 4, 5, 6 (pp. 85-147)
Another History, Another Canon
Louise Lamphere
Feminist anthropology: the legacy of Elsie Clews Parsons.
Barbara A. Babcock
"Not in the absolute singular": rereading Ruth Benedict.
Janet L. Finn
Ella Cara Deloria and Mourning Dove: writing for cultures, writing against the
grain.
Unit 4 – Week 2
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 7, 8, 9 (pp. 148-206)
Another History, continued
Graciela Hernandez
Multiple subjectivities and strategic positionality: Zora Neale Hurston's
experimental ethnographies.
Sally Cole
Ruth Landes and the early ethnography of race and gender.
Nancy C. Lutkehaus
Margaret Mead and the "rustle of the wind in the palm tree school" of
ethnographic writing.
Unit 5 – Week 3
Feminist Anthropology, Introduction and Chapters 1, 2, 3 (pp. 39-86)
Discovering Women Across Cultures
Edwin Ardner
Belief and the problem of women and the ‘problem revisited.
Judith K. Brown
A note on the division of labor by sex.
Sherry B. Ortner
Is female to male as nature is to culture?
Unit 6 – Week 3
Feminist Anthropology, Chapters 4, 5, 6 (pp. 87-146)
Discovering Women Across Cultures, Continued
Gayle Rubin
The traffic in women: Notes on the ‘political economy’ of sex.
Michelle Z. Rosaldo
The use and abuse of anthropology: Reflections on feminism and cross-cultural
understanding.
Karen Brodkin
Toward a unified theory of class, race, and gender.
Unit 7 – Week 4
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 10, 11 (pp. 207-244)
Another History, continued again
Gelya Frank
The ethnographic films of Barbara C. Myerhoff: anthropology, feminism, and the
politics of Jewish identity.
Faye V. Harrison
Writing against the grain: cultural politics of difference in the work of Alice
Walker.
Unit 8 – Week 4
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 1, 2, 3 (pp 33-82)
Beyond Self and Other
Lirin Narayan
Participant observation.
Dorinne Kondo
Bad girls: theater, women of color, and the politics of representation.
Ruth Behar
Writing in my father’s name: a diary of a translated woman’s first year.
*** RESPONSE ESSAY 1 IS DUE BY 11:55PM ON SUNDAY MAY 31st
VIA THE ASSIGNMENTS TAB IN OWL***
*** YOU WILL RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON FORUM POSTINGS AT THE
END OF THIS WEEK***
SECTION 2 (Units 9-16)
Unit 9 – Week 5
Feminist Anthropology, Introduction and Chapters 7, 8 (pp. 147-185)
Questioning Positionality
Lila Abu-Lughod
Writing against culture.
Esther Newton
My best informant’s dress: The erotic equation in fieldwork.
Unit 10 – Week 5
Feminist Anthropology, Chapters 9, 10 (pp. 186-216)
Questioning Positionality, Continued
Patricia Zavella
Feminist insider dilemmas: Constructing ethnic identity with Chicana informants.
Paulla A. Ebron
Contingent stories of anthropology, race, and feminism.
Unit 11 – Week 6
Feminist Anthropology, Introduction and Chapters 11, 12 (pp. 217-249)
Confronting the USA
Louise Lamphere
Bringing the family to work: Women’s culture on the shop floor.
Faye Ginsburg
Procreation stories: Reproduction, Nurturance, and procreation in life narratives
of abortion activists.
Unit 12 – Week 6
Feminist Anthropology, Chapters 13, 14 (pp. 250-288)
Confronting the USA, Continued
Elizabeth Chin
Ethnically correct dolls: Toying with the race industry.
Charis Thompson
Strategic Naturalizing: Kinship in an infertility clinic.
Unit 13 – Week 7
Feminist Anthropology, Introduction and Chapters 15, 16 (pp. 289-332)
Maintaining Commitments
Begona Aretxaga
Dirty protest: Symbolic overdetermination and gender in Northern Ireland ethnic
violence.
Lynn Stephen
Women’s rights are human rights: The merging of feminism and feminist interests
among El Salvador’s Mothers of the Disappeared (CO-MADRES).
Unit 14 – Week 7
Feminist Anthropology, Chapters 17, 18 (pp. 333-374)
Maintaining Commitments, Continued
Christine J. Walley
Searching for “voices:” Feminism, anthropology, and the global debates over
female genital operations.
Lynn M. Morgan
Imagining the unborn in the Ecuadoran Andes.
Unit 15 – Week 8
Feminist Anthropology, Introduction and Chapters 19, 20 (pp. 375-410)
Interpreting Instability and Fluidity
Shellee Colen
“Like a mother to them:” Stratified reproduction and West Indian childcare
workers and employers in New York.
Carla Freeman
Femininity and flexible labor: Fashioning class through gender on the global
assembly line.
Unit 16 – Week 8
Feminist Anthropology, Chapters 21-22 (pp. 411-448)
Interpreting Instability and Fluidity, Continued
Evelyn Blackwood
Tombois in West Sumatra: Constructing masculinity and erotic desire.
Gloria Wekker
“What’s identity got to do with it?”: Rethinking identity in light of the Mati work in
Suriname.
*** RESPONSE ESSAY 2 IS DUE BY 11:55PM ON SUNDAY JUNE 28th
VIA THE ASSIGNMENTS TAB IN OWL***
***YOU WILL RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON FORUM POSTINGS AT THE
END OF THIS WEEK***
SECTION THREE (Units 17-24)
Unit 17 – Week 9
Women Writing Culture , Chapters 12, 13, 14 (pp 249-305)
Does Anthropology Have a Sex?
Catherine Lutz
The gender of theory.
Barbara Tedlock
Works and wives: On the textual division of labor.
Judith Newton & Judith Stacey
Ms Representation: Reflections on studying academic men.
Unit 18 – Week 9
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 15 &16 (pp. 306-335)
Does Anthropology Have a Sex? Continued
Laurent Dubois
"Man's darkest hours": maleness, travel, and anthropology.
Ellen Lewin
Writing lesbian ethnography.
Unit 19 – Week 10
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 17, 18, 19 (pp 338-389)
Traveling Feminists
Lila Abu-Lughod
A tale of two pregnancies.
Aihwa Ong
Women out of China : traveling tales and traveling theories in postcolonial
feminism.
Deborah A. Gordon
Border work: feminist ethnography and the dissemination of literacy.
Unit 20 – Week 10
Women Writing Culture, Chapters 20, 21, Conclusion (pp 390-441)
Travelling Feminists, continued
Paulla Ebron & Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
In dialogue? Reading across minority discourses.
Smadar Lavie
Border poets: translating by dialogues.
Deborah A. Gordon
Conclusion: Culture writing women: inscribing feminist anthropology.
Unit 21 – Week 11
Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil. Part One: The Self-Esteem
in Each Ego Awakens (pp. 37-114)
Unit 22 – Week 11
Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil. Part Two: Beautiful People (pp.
123-167)
Unit 23 – Week 12
Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil. Part Three: Engineering the Erotic
(pp. 177-252)
Unit 24 – Week 12
Catch Up