POLI 399 Outline

COURSE NUMBER:

POLI 399

COURSE TITLE:

Special Topics in Political Science
2014-15 Winter: Feminist Social Thought

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Michael DeMoor

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the political science faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.

This course will be a historical and thematic examination of feminist thought about society, politics, and human nature. Beginning with some of the earliest expressions of (proto)- feminist thought (e.g., Christine of Pisan) we will examine and discuss central texts in the development of feminist thought regarding family, economy, culture, and state. This will involve investigating different streams of feminist thought – including traditions and figures
that are only controversially “feminist” (e.g., Hannah More) – in light of their historical development and their deep philosophical assumptions about human nature, difference, and the purposes of social structures and institutions. The course will include guest lectures and discussions.

Same as PHIL 399F in 2014-15 Winter

Prerequisites: POLI 205; some topics may have more specific prerequisites.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Estelle B. Freedman, ed., The Essential Feminist Reader. New York: Modern Library, 2007

A course pack to come.

Aristotle: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.html
Thomas Aquinas: http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1092.htm
Luxemberg: https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1912/05/12.htm
Sommers: https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Feminism.pdf
Dietz: http://users.clas.ufl.edu/halohead/dietz.pdf
Nussbaum: http://philosophy.uchicago.edu/faculty/files/nussbaum/Women%27s%20Capabilities%20and%20Social%20Justice.pdf
Nelson: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/econ_faculty_pubs/30/
Fineman: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1131407
Crenshaw: http://politicalscience.tamu.edu/documents/faculty/Crenshaw-Demarginalizing.pdf

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Course Participation	10%
Paper 1	20%
Paper 2	30%
Presentation	10%
Final Exam	30%
	100%

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Developing a historical understanding of the origin and assumptions of feminist social thought.
Understanding the promise, problems and limits of the practical deployment of feminist social thought.
Beginning to formulate a critical Christian perspective on the theory and practice of feminism.

COURSE OUTLINE:

Week 1 (Jan 7, 9): Syllabus, Feminism.
Week 2 (Jan 12, 14, 16): Beginnings: Aristotle (Politics Book 1, ch. Xiii); St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae Part 1: Qu. 92); Christine de Pizan; Francois de la Barre; Sor Juana de la Cruz; Mary Astell.
Week 3 (Jan 19, 21, 23): Liberal Feminism: Wollstonecraft; John Stuart Mill; Christina Hoff Sommers
Week 4 (Jan 26, 28, 30): (Wed 28th: IDS): Socialist/Marxist Feminism: Engels; Luxemborg; Emma Goldman
Week 5: (Feb 2, 4, 6): Suffrage: Harriet Taylor Mill; Susan B. Anthony; Sojourner Truth; Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Emmeline Pankhurst
Week 6: (Feb 9, 11, 13): 20th Century: Virginia Wolff; Simone de Beauvoir; Monique Wittig
Week 7 (Feb 16, 18, 20): READING WEEK
Week 8 (Feb 23, 25, 27): “Black” feminism: W.E.B. Du Bois; Audre Lorde; Combahee River Collective
Week 9 (Mar 2, 4, 6): Public/Private; Family and Citizenship: Susan Moller Okin; Sarah Ruddick; Mary Dietz
Week 10 (Mar 9, 11, 13): Biology and Culture: Motherhood and Mothering: Adrienne Rich; Andrea O’Reilly
Week 11 (Mar 16, 18, 20): Economics: Capabilities and Counting: Nussbaum; Nelson
Week 12 (Mar 23, 25, 27): Justice, Caring and the Law: Annette Baier; Martha Alberston Fineman
Week 13 (Mar 30, Apr 1, 3): (Friday 3rd: Good Friday): Intersectionality: Kimberle Crenshaw
Week 14 (April 6, 8, 10): (Monday 6th: Easter): Flex Week/Surprise/TBA
Week 15 (April 13, 15, 17): Christian Feminism(s): Storkey; TBA
April 20: Last day: Exam prep.

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.