1. In-Class Writings – Revised Grade Scale 18-26 points: A (100) 15-17 points: B+ (89) 12-14 points: B (86) 10-11 points: C+ (79) 8-9 points: C (76) 5-7 points: D+ (69) 1-4 points: F+ (59) 0 points: F (0)

2. Final Exam Format and Review Format: 30 Multiple Choice (including author-quote matches) – 1 point each 4 Short Answers – 10 points each 1 Essay – 30 points Review: Possible short answer & essay questions distributed next Wednesday (5/1)

3. Feminist Theory Feminism, feminist theory, feminist research Tensions Theorizing Gender

4. What Is Feminism? Gender as a social construction Gender as a site of power relations Concern with social justice

5. Variants of Feminism Liberal or Equality Feminism Socialist/Radical Feminism Cultural Feminism Feminism is both an intellectual and a social/political movement

6. What Is Feminist Theory? Interdisciplinary Woman-centered Critical Interested in social change

7. Trends Toward Fragmentation Internal critiques Influence of poststructural and postmodernist thought Questioning the privileging of gender as category of analysis Moving past the sex/gender distinction Attention to intersectionality

8. What Is Feminist Research Practice? Rejection of positivism Feminist alternative:  Researcher as situated and embodied  Priority to female and other marginalized experiences and viewpoints  Interest in interpretive approaches (induction)  Commitment to empowering research subjects

9. Standpoint Theory (Smith reading) Women’s lives as starting point for theorizing Epistemic advantage of socially disadvantaged Move outside “relations of ruling”

10. Central Concepts of D. Smith Bifurcated consciousness Relations of Ruling

11. Sites of Tension Relationship between feminist theory and political practice Core assumptions of feminist vs. postmodernist theory:  Death of the subject  Death of history  Death of philosophy

12. Theorizing Gender Part of more general interest in theorizing identities Parallels social movements dominant in last several decades

13. “Doing Gender” (West & Zimmerman, 1987) Gender as something people do Gender is done in context of interaction Sex, sex category, and gender:  Sex: biological criteria for male/female  Sex category: presumes sex, but can vary independently  Gender: managing conduct in light of what is normative for one’s sex category

14. “Doing Gender” (West & Zimmerman, 1987) Accountability for gender performances Criteria for judgment vary across contexts and interactions Gender tends to reproduce itself

15. Time on Household and Family Care

16. Carrington, No Place Like Home Main finding: same-sex couples think they have egalitarian division of labor, but they don’t Couples perpetuate myth of egalitarianism to manage threats to gender identity

17. In-Class Writing Lorber and Martin argue that men’s and women’s bodies are “socially constructed.” What do they mean?

18. Discussion of Video Do the scientific findings reported in this video undermine the “doing gender” argument? Why or why not? Do you agree or disagree with the claim made by some feminists that this kind of research (into the biological basis of sex differences) is harmful or politically motivated?