Violence Against Women & Girls
Fall
Semester 2006
WMST
and SOCY 3314-001
Professor: Joanne Belknap, Ph.D.
IBS Bldg 1, Room 2 (1416 Broadway, next to Starbucks)
Phone: 735-2182
e-mail:Joanne.belknap@colorado.edu
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and by appointment
Teaching
Assistant:
Courtney McDonald
e-mail: Courtney.Mcdonald@colorado.edu
REQUIRED
H.M.
Eigenberg. (Ed.) 2001. Woman Battering in the
Reddington,
F.P., & Kreisel, B.W. 2005. Sexual
Assault: The Victims, the Perpetrators and the Criminal Justice System.
Books
are available at The Word is Out bookstore,
COURSE PERSPECTIVE
This course focuses on violence against women and girls, but will also make comparisons regarding violence against men and boys. The approach in the course is feminist. That is, the course lectures and reading materials will attempt to address the issue of violence against women and girls in terms of how gender inequality is related to the violence against them. The feminist approach I take is to incorporate the intersection of sexism with other forms of oppression, such as racism, classism, and heterosexism. The topics covered will focus on sexual abuse (physical and non-physical) and intimate partner abuse, sexual harassment and stalking. (I will cover limited information on “organizational” or “corporate” violence (e.g., the Dalkon shield, breast implants, etc.).
TEACHING PERSPECTIVE
My
goal as your professor is to produce an environment where we can learn the
most, question assumptions, and respectfully discuss ideas and strategies. Sexual victimization and woman battering are
topics most people are uncomfortable discussing. I want the classroom to be an environment
where dialogue can take place in an open and respectful manner. If you have something to ask or add, please
do so in a manner for the whole class to hear.
COURSE
GROUND RULES
1. Never ask another student in the course if s/he has been a victim or is a survivor. (While it is up to individual students as to whether they choose to discuss their own victimization/survival experiences in class, it is inappropriate for anyone to ask another person if she or he has been raped, sexually exploited, battered, stalked, or violated/abused in any other manner
2. Never request that another student in the class speak on behalf of a group (e.g., African Americans, Jewish People, Latino/as, Asian Americans, men, women, lesbians/gays, etc.)
3. Kindly refrain from becoming involved in separate conversations or making comments under your breath during lecture and class discussions. (This includes web searches, e-mail, text messaging, etc.)
4. On exam days, students
a. are not allowed to wear caps or hats where I can’t see where their eyes are looking,
b. cannot use ear phones of any kind (even MP3 music),
c. are responsible for ensuring that nothing from the class is visible
d. must not have a cell phone turned on or visible from the second they enter the door to take the exam to the second they leave the room after completing the exam
e. students are not allowed to leave the room for any reason until an exam has been turned into the professor or T.A., and once a student has left the room for any reason, the exam will not be returned. If you are sick during an exam and must leave the room, then you will have to forfeit that exam (take the optional final) or accept the grade as the number of points you got until you left the room.
5. Students are responsible for checking their e-mails from me. Although some of them are information relevant to the class topic, but not for exams and so on, others will be for study guides, what to do if there was an exam scheduled for a snow day, etc.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
If
you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a
letter from Disability Services in a
timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services
determines accommodations based on
documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
As a result of extensive discussions with and
recommendations from faculty and students, a Classroom Behavior Policy
was adopted. You may wish to read this information at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html.
Students are expected to follow the CU
Honor Code ( http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/).
THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF THIS COURSE
I
have been teaching college courses on violence against women and girls for about
two decades, to thousands of students. It is important that students understand that
many if not most students who’ve taken this course in the past find some
aspects of it emotionally difficult.
Furthermore, sometimes students who’ve taken this course in the past report wanting to ask questions that they fear are “stupid” or “offensive.” I don’t want this concern to limit learning. Therefore, if you have a question you are uncomfortable bringing up during class, or want to check with me about before you bring it up during class, please feel free to ask me on e-mail, after class, or during my office hours. If I think it is inappropriate, I will tell you, but chances are it is not inappropriate and other students may have the same question or benefit from a discussion of it. Sometimes students tell me “I don’t want to ask this question during class or make this point, but could you?” If I agree that it would be useful for the class, I am happy to bring the issue or question up myself (without giving the student’s name).
GRADING
WebCT: Hopefully, by the time this class starts I will have WebCT set up with study guides, the syllabus, a class calendar etc.
Exams: The three exams for this course will be equally weighted. Each of the regularly scheduled exams will be 70% multiple-choice/true-false and 30% short answer/short essay. The professor reserves the right not to give exams to persons more than 15 minutes late for an exam, or who have arrived after any students who have completed the exam have left the room. Please keep all returned exams (and other returned work) in the event that you have a grade dispute at the end of the semester. If a student misses and exam for any reason, s/he must take the comprehensive final during the time scheduled for the final exam. Students who miss exams 1, 2, or 3 for any reason must take the final. A student who misses more than one exam is expected to drop the class. Students who have taken all 3 of the first exams can also take the final exam and I will drop the lowest of the 4 exam grades. The final will be comprehensive and the same format as the first 3 exams. Be sure to arrive on time to the exams. Be sure to re-read the course ground rules regarding expectations on the day of exams (e.g., NO visible cell phones).
Attendance
& Class Participation will be determined by attendance and your
interactions in class. A great deal of
your learning is from what occurs in class, thus daily attendance will be kept. There will be a sign-in sheet every day. It is
the student’s responsibility to make sure that s/he signs this! Everyone is “allowed” three “freebies” of
missing class. After three absences, for whatever reason (including hospital
stays, absences with doctors’ notes, etc.), students will be docked 10 points
for each absence (from the total 500 points for the class). Students with perfect attendance (as long as
they are punctual, not sleeping, not disruptive, etc.) will automatically
receive the 100 points for class participation.
If you must have a series of absences, even for legitimate reasons (e.g.,
illness, anxiety, personal problems, an accident, etc.), you should drop the
class. (Stated another way, you don’t get three absences for going to a
In-Class and Homework Written Assignments: Approximately once a week (may be slightly more or less) students will be asked to do an in-class or homework assignment. Often these will be asking the student to write about a reading that was due that week. With the exception of the first week of classes, students should complete the readings for the week by the Monday of the week the readings are due. In-class and homework assignments may also be reactions to guest speakers or videos, or a class exercise. It is important, then, that you attend class regularly. Most of these assignments (other than the one in the first week) cannot be made up. I will definitely drop the lowest of these grades (and perhaps the lowest 2 or 3, but don’t count on it) at the end of the semester. If you are late for class or leave early or simply miss class for any reason, you cannot make up the missed assignment. Be sure to write your names legibly on these assignments. Be sure to hand these in when they’re requested to be passed forward. (If you hand in a paper later in the class, it will not be counted, because I usually go over potential answers after I’ve asked for papers to be turned in.) Also, if you are in class the day of an assignment but don’t do it (i.e., you didn’t do the readings so can’t answer the question), still be sure to hand in a piece of paper with your name on it explaining that you were there, so that your attendance will “count” even though your grade on the assignment will be an “F.”
Extra Credit Journals/Logs: At two points during the semester you can hand in a journal/log for extra credit. Each of these is worth a total of 10 points. They must be handed in on time in order to receive credit. You are not required to do both logs to get credit. You can do both, or you can only do the first or only do the second log.
These
logs/journals are due to professor at 10:00 a.m., at the start of class on October 16th and December 6th. These papers must be typed to be
accepted, and I prefer that they be single-spaced. The logs must be stapled
(not paper-clipped). They can be viewed
as a journal or reaction paper to the material you are learning in this course.
If you want, you can keep a log of your feelings and insights on the topic
covered in readings and lectures, perhaps typing in it after each class or
after conducting the readings.
Alternatively, you can simply type up what the class has caused you to
think about, or things you are noticing around you due to the class material.
You can write about your personal experiences past or present. I do not see the logs/journals as a summary
of the facts learned in the lectures or your lecture notes, but rather how you
see these things applying to your life and/or what you think is accurate or
inaccurate, unique, etc. about the readings, lecture, videos, guest speakers,
etc. Thus, you may use these papers to
critique the readings, discussing what you do and/or do not like about
them. I imagine these logs/journals to
be approximately ½ to 1 single-spaced typed page per week that is covered. Please date your journals throughout so that
I know to which week you are responding (i.e., what day you are typing each
entry). To receive the full ten points on these logs, they must include some
information on what you learned in the readings. The
logs must be typed, stapled, and on time or they will not be graded. If you are missing class the day they are
due, communicate with me as to how you will hand it in early so that I can
verify it was on time.
Office Hours: My office hours are available to you to come in and discuss any aspect of the course. I hope you will feel welcome to come and discuss interests or course problems with me. If you can’t meet during my scheduled office hours but would like to meet in person, please make an appointment. I am frequently in my IBS (the old church next to Starbucks on Broadway) if you want to drop in and see if I can talk. If I’m too busy we can schedule something later.
Cheating: There is no excuse for cheating. Any student caught cheating on an exam or paper will fail the course! (This includes looking at or copying another student’s exam, using a “crib” sheet, etc.) No exceptions will be made. Cheating also includes looking at a reading when an in-class closed-book assignment is being conducted, looking at another student’s in-class assignment, and so on. It is each student’s responsibility to ensure that nothing related to the class, such as notes, is in view during an exam! Signing someone else’s name or having someone sign your name on the attendance sheet for someone not present counts as cheating.
Pass/Fail Students: Students taking the course pass/fail have no different obligations in terms of passing the course than students not taking the course pass/fail! Both types of students must make the same grade (60.0%+) to pass the course.
Graduating Seniors: Graduating seniors have the same requirements for grades in this course as other students. No special treatment is available for graduating seniors. They must make 60.0% or higher to pass the course.
Grade Disputes: Please keep all returned work in the event that you have a grade dispute at the end of the semester.
Grade Breakdown:
First Exam 100 points*
Second Exam 100 points*
Third Exam 100 points*
Class Quizzes, Essays, and Assignments 100 points
Class Participation 100 points
_____________________________________________
Total 500 points
Extra Credit: Journal 1 due 10/16 10 points
Journal 2 due 12/4 10 points
*Any missed exams must be replaced with the final. If a student takes all 4 exams, s/he can drop the lowest grade.
Grade Chart for End of Semester Course Grade:
A = 470 or more points D+ = 335-349 points
A- = 450-469 points D = 315-334 points
B+ = 435-449 points D- = 300-314 points
B = 415-434 points F = 299 or fewer points
B- = 400-414 points
C+ = 385-399 points
C = 365-384 points
C- = 350-364 points
COURSE SCHEDULE (R & K=Reddington & Kreisel)
Week Topic
Introduction
Week 1 (Aug 28-Sep 1) R & K pp. 5-28
Eigenberg pp. 1-30
Defining Violence Against Women and Girls
Week 2 (Sep 4-8) R & K pp. 29-58
Eigenberg
pp. 31-56
Week 3 (Sep 11-15) R & K pp. 133-146
R & K pp. 179-186
Eigenberg
pp. 57-85
Week 4 (Sep 18-22) R & K pp. 235-252
Eeigenberg pp. 86-102
*******EXAM #1: Monday September 25th*******
Violence Against Women and Girls as an Institution
Week 5 (Sep 25-29) Eigenberg pp. 103-128
R & K pp. 59-74
R & K pp. 147-62
R & K pp. 171-178
Causes
of Violence Against Women & Girls
Week 6 (Oct 2-6) R & K pp. 205-234
R
& K pp. 163-170
Week 7 (Oct 9-13) Eigenberg pp. 129-179
***Optional Log 1 (extra credit): Due
Monday October 16th 10:00 a.m. ***
Week 8 (Oct 16-20) Eigenberg pp. 180-196
*******EXAM #2: Monday October 23*******
Women’s and Girls’ Responses to Violence & Abuse
Week
9 (Oct 23-27) R & K pp. 75-112
Eigenberg
pp. 319-326
Week
10 (Oct 30-Nov 3) R
& K pp. 113-132
R
& K pp. 187-204
Systemic Responses to Violence Against Women & Girls
Week
11 (Nov 6-10) R
& K pp. 253-300
Week
12 (Nov 13-17) R
& K pp. 301-336
Eigenberg
pp. 197-225
Week
13 (Nov 20-24) FALL BREAK (NO
CLASSES OR
Week 14 (Nov 27-Dec 1) Eigenberg pp. 226-268
Week 15 (Dec 4-8) Eigenberg pp. 269-318
***Optional Log 2 (extra credit): Due Monday December 6th at 10:00 a.m. ***
*******EXAM #3: Wednesday December 8th*******
Fighting Back and Effecting Change
Week 16 (Dec 11-15) Eigenberg pp. 327-362
*******FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, December 20th, 1:30-4 p.m. in Clare 207*******