The presentations will require considerable research and preparation, and we expect that each team will come together well before the assigned presentation day and meet several times to decide how to approach your topic. You will need to decide how to research your topic, how to divide up responsibility among the members of your team, how to present your topic to the class, etc. Each team should plan to meet with one of the course instructors at least once as you prepare for your presentation; we can suggest some resources and directions, and we can draw on our teaching experience to help yo make your class session as effective as possible.
Each team will receive a grade for their presentation based on the following considerations:
| How well was the presentation topic researched? | ||
| Was the focus of the presentation clear? | ||
| How well was the presentation planned? How polished was it? How well did it fit the time available? Was there a clear beginning and ending? | ||
| What did the class learn from the presentation? | ||
| How effective was the presentation team in involving the class in discussion? | ||
| How well was this class session tied to other course material? | ||
| Were all members of the team actively involved in the presentation? | ||
| Rape on Campus | Monday, September 14 |
Rape is often a highly charged issue on college campuses. Why is this the case? What are the
circumstances and concerns that make rape such an important issue on campuses? Gather as
much information as you can about the issue of rape on the Gettysburg College campus. How
prevalent is rape here? How are rapes dealt with (by college officials, by students, by victims)?
How does Gettysburg College compare with other colleges and universities? How are issues
surrounding rape on college campuses similar to and different from issues surrounding rape in
the larger society? Some good sources of information for this presentation include Buchwald et
al. (editors), Transforming a Rape Culture (1998); Gordon and Riger, The Female Fear (1989);
Russell, The Politics of Rape: The Victim's Perspective (1984); Estrich, Real Rape (1987);
Schwartz, Sexual Assault on the College Campus: The Role of Male Peer Support (1997);
Sanday, Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus (1990).
| Women's Friendships | Monday, October 5 |
Why do women have friendships with other women? What are these friendships like? What part
do they play in women's lives? Are there common patterns that characterize women's
friendships? To answer these questions, you should combine library research (some good
sources are Helen Gouldner, Speaking of Friendship: Middle-Class Women and Their Friends,
Greenwood Press, 1987; Stacey Oliker, Best Friends and Marriage: Exchange Among Women,
University of California Press, 1989; Lillian Rubin, Just Friends: The Role of Friendship in Our
Lives, Harper & Row, 1985; and Karen Walker, "Men, Women, and Friendship: What They Say,
What They Do," Gender & Society, vol. 8 (June, 1994), pp. 246-265) with interviews. Each
member of your team should interview at least two adult women (age 25 or older) about their
friendships with other women. Identify the themes that emerge from these interviews, and
consider how these are similar to and different from the patterns noted in the published research
on women's friendships.
| Women in the Garment Industry | Monday, November 2 |
The goal of this presentation is to learn more about the women workers throughout the world
whose labor makes our daily lives possible. You will do this by focusing on workers in one
industry, the garment industry. Who makes the clothing we wear? Are they men or women (or
perhaps children)? What countries are they in? How much are they paid? What are their
working conditions? Their living conditions? What would these workers cite as the most
positive features of their jobs? As the most negative aspects? Do these workers wear the clothes
they make? Who is responsible for working conditions in the garment industry -- national
governments? multinational corporations? local subcontractors? consumers? the workers
themselves? Some good sources of information for this presentation include: Bonacich et al.
(editors), Global Production: The Apparel Industry in the Pacific Rim (1994); Fernandez-Kelly,
For We Are Sold, I and My People: Women and Industry in Mexico's Frontier (1983); Lorraine
Gray (director), The Global Assembly Line (video, 1988); and Nike Watch, "Global Gains and
Losses," Ms.(February, 1998).
| Images of Women as Sexual Objects | Wednesday, November 11 |
One of the rallying cries of the women's movement of the 1970s was that women were treated as
"sex objects," and that this needed to be changed. By examining cultural representations of
women in the mass media today, you are to consider whether women are still depicted as sexual
objects. What does it mean for women to be depicted as "sexual objects"? Are such images of
women rare or common? How do these images affect the ways that women think about
themselves and the ways that others think about women? Are images of women as sexual
objects simply a reflection of cultural beliefs and attitudes or do they help to shape those beliefs
and attitudes? How does the depiction of women as sexual objects differ depending on the
characteristics (age, race, social class) of those women? Your presentation should combine
library research with detailed analysis of actual media images of women. Some good sources of
information for this presentation include: Goffman, Gender Advertisements (1987); Barthel,
Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising (1988); "No More Miss America," pp. 584-8
in Robin Morgan (editor), Sisterhood is Powerful (1970); article on being a "Playboy Bunny"
from Gloria Steinem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions (1983); chapter on "Controlling
Images of Black Women" from Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought (1990); and videos
by Jean Kilbourne, especially Still Killing Us Softly and Slim Hopes.
| College Students and Feminism | Monday, December 2 |
What is the status of feminism at the end of the 20th century? In particular, do college students support the feminist movement? Do they regard themselves as feminist? Do they support the goals of the feminist movement? In order to answer these questions, you should combine library research (good sources are Bailey et al., "Women's Rights and Roles: Attitudes Among Black and White Students," Psychological Reports, vol. 66 (June, 1990), pp. 1143-6; Sapiro, "Feminism: A Generation Later," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 515, May 1991, pp. 10-22; Cook, "Measuring Feminist Consciousness," Women and Politics, 9(3), 1989, pp. 71-88; Renzetti, "New Wave or Second Stage? Attitudes of College Women toward Feminism," Sex Roles, 16(5-6), March 1987, pp. 265-277; Cash et al., "Gender Attitudes, Feminist Identity, and Body Images among College Women," Sex Roles, vol. 36 (April, 1997), pp. 433-447; and Findlen (editor), Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation (1995)) with your own original research on Gettysburg College students. You will collect information from a randomly-chosen sample of 40 Gettysburg College students by interviewing them over the telephone or by giving them questionnaires to fill out. Professor Potuchek can provide advice about how to choose a random sample, how to word questions, and how to administer questionnaires or telephone interviews.