Proposal
You will submit a proposal and annotated bibliography for your final paper. In this 500-word proposal, you will outline your plan for your final project: topic, thesis, which sources from the course you plan to draw on, etc. You will also submit an annotated bibliography with a minimum of ten sources. For each annotation, in 3-4 sentences, you will explain the main argument of the piece, how it relates to your project, and why you are using it. These sources should be academic in nature and must be recent (nothing before 2004). Proposals and annotated bibliography due by 5pm, Friday July 9th.
Final Paper
While you will have some creative freedom in what you choose to write on, a significant portion of your course grade is a 2000-2500 word (approximately 8-10 double-spaced pages) research paper. It must directly relate to course concepts. Your paper must include an
introduction, conclusion, minimum of ten in-text citations, a bibliography, a thesis statement, and evidence that advances your argument
throughout the paper. You are welcome to use non-academic sources to supplement the ten minimum scholarly sources. Final papers are due by 5pm, Friday July 30th.
– Articulate opinion
§ Students will turn in paper proposal on a topic of their choice related to the
class themes and readings for review by classmates and TAs
– Apply knowledge
§ Students will write final paper that
demonstrates knowledge of class material, proper research methods, and use of outside academic sources
§ Students will gain valuable research, collaboration, and writing skills
§ Students will apply concepts and theories in Feminist Studies to their own
disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives
As Angela Davis explains, the campaign for birth control in the nineteenth century and beyond focused primarily on the right for women to not have children, which left out the needs and
desires of women of color informed by histories of genocide, sterilization, and racial injustice.
Check out these links:
https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice
Pregnancy, birth control, and access to medical care are central tenets of feminist sex politics. An intersectional approach to reproductive rights has been defined as “reproductive justice”.
If you are interested in these topics, consider further research for your final paper!
Constructing Virginity
Key Themes
The feminine ideal of virginity has historically and religiously rooted significance
Virginity is a socially constructed concept
Conflating sexuality and morality again brings us to Rubin’s “charmed circle”
Reading Questions
How does women’s virginity become seen as “virtuous” and men’s virginity as something shameful and to be rid as soon as possible?
How does race factor into idea about what is the “right” time to have sex for the first time? To have children?
What contemporary examples of construction of teenage virginity do you see today?
If this is a topic that interests you, consider for your final paper focusing on a film, book, or television show that depicts virginity in a way that you think brings up a feminist issue.
Key Themes:
Rape culture functions on the power of myths that continually regenerate sexist ideologies. Myths such as “She asked for it” or “He didn’t mean to” play out over and over again.
The role of alcohol, “miscommunication,” “mixed signals” is significant to how consent is understood in our culture.
Lack of definition of how to communicate consent continues to trouble understandings, but it is a harmful misunderstanding that the lack of a verbal “no” constitutes a “yes”.
If this is a topic that you feel strongly about, consider centering your final paper topic on the #MeToo movement, a popular recent case and its reception such as Brock Turner or Harvey Weinstein, an example of
rape culture in popular culture (a movie, or a TV show), etc.
The due date for your final project proposal is rapidly approaching! Any readings or concepts you find particularly interesting, take some time to look through the article’s bibliography, and to do some further research into the topic.
As you begin to research your paper topic, make sure to take notes for the annotated bibliography part of the assignment.
Last Completed Projects
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