POLS 373 Women and Politics
Department
of Political Science
Northern
Illinois University
Instructor: Alisa Von Hagel, Office: 476 DuSable Hall; Email: avonhagel@yahoo.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 1-2, Wednesday 10-12, and by appointment
Class Location and Time: DuSable, Room 461; Tuesday/Thursday: 2-3:15
Course Overview: Today, women constitute 15% of all members of parliaments around the world. In the United States, women hold 18% of seats in Congress, marking the nation as 85th in its level of representation for women. Why have women not yet reached gender parity in elected office? Should women be represented as women? What does this gender inequality mean for representational democracy in the United States? These and other questions will be explored throughout the course, with special attention to the historical exclusion of women from the public arena, the methods used by women to enter into this arena, and the current political status of women in the United States.
Course Objectives: By the end of the semester, students should be able to:
*Demonstrate knowledge of the past impediments to representation and participation of
women.
*Discuss the different policy priorities of men and women, as public officials and political
participants.
*Recognize the differences among women, both within the United States and globally.
*Delineate prospective strategies for increasing women’s political participation and
representation in the United States.
Required books:
1. Ford, Lynne. Women and Politics: The Pursuit of Equality. 2nd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
2. Carroll, Susan and Richard L. Fox, editors. 2006, Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of
American
Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
3. Reingold, Beth, editor. Legislative Women: Getting Elected, Getting Ahead. Boulder: Lynne Rienner,
2008.
These books are
available at the campus book store and are also available at various online
sources. Additional handouts and required
readings listed below may be accessed via web addresses, or Blackboard. It is your responsibility to read these
articles before attending
class.
Grading Procedures:
A. There will be three exams, each worth 20% of your final grade. The tests will be based on the readings from
the textbooks, readings posted on Blackboard and the material from class
lectures. NO
MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN, except in case of emergency and then only at the
discretion of the instructor (contact the instructor before the exam!). If there are problems or conflicts, contact
the instructor well in advance of the exam.
The final exam will not be cumulative, however
students may be required to draw on material from the first half of the course
in a general way.
B. Each student will be
required to complete a research paper on a public policy issue which
specifically pertains to women. The
Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues has created numerous taskforces outlining
major policy areas of primary importance for women. A list of the Taskforce Initiatives will be
posted on Blackboard, and may provide a starting point for finding a paper
topic. Examples of potential topics
include (but are not limited to) economic legislation (Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay
Act), reproductive policy (contraception access, regulation of abortion,
biomedical regulation) and issues concerning women in the military (repeal of
the risk rule). Specifically, how did
the particular issue identified make its way to the Congressional Agenda? What is the problem that is being addressed by
the particular legislation chosen? How
have women in Congress argued for or against the legislation, and did they
approach the issue from a different perspective than male members of
Congress?
The final paper should be a
minimum of 8 pages, double-spaced and not exceed 12 pages. Your grade will be determined by your ability
to compose a well-written, legible, grammatically correct research paper. The paper will be evaluated according to the
quality (support for the thesis, spelling, grammar, sentence structure,
organization) of the information presented.
A full description of the expectations for the paper will be discussed
during the second week of class. A Paper
Proposal and Annotated Bibliography will be required, which will consist of an
abstract including a paper topic and thesis, and an annotated
bibliography. The annotated bibliography
should list at least 5 academic sources with a short description of the source
and its relevance to your final paper.
This assignment is 15% of the final paper grade, and MUST be handed in
order to receive a grade for your final paper.
Late assignments will be docked one letter grade for every day late. The final paper is due in class on April 23; one half of a letter grade
will be deducted for each day late.
Failure to complete any of
the assignments outlined above will result in an automatic failure of the
course.
C. Class participation is
expected and required. Students are to do the assigned readings before the
relevant class period and to come to class prepared to discuss them. Class will be conducted with the assumption
that students have done the reading and been to previous sessions.
The
class format will consist of lectures and discussions. Students will have ample opportunity to
participate in making the course interesting and relevant, including
discussions in response to the postings on Blackboard. Students' comments and questions on readings,
lectures, and current events are welcome and encouraged. For this format to work students need to come
to class and come to class prepared.
This portion of your grade is designed to reward students who do that.
Every
week, I will post articles on a discussion forum created on Blackboard. Students are expected to read and discuss
said posted articles on the forum, either responding to the article, or to
other student’s posts. The class
participation grade consists of two components, attendance and in-class
performance (10%) and participation on Blackboard’s discussion forum (5%). The grade will be based on both quality and
quantity of participation: weekly posts are expected on the discussion forum,
in addition to weekly participation in class.
Exam I: 20%
Exam II: 20%
Exam III: 20%
Research Paper: 25%
Components of the Research Paper:
Paper Proposal and Annotated Bibliography (Due 02/12): 15% of paper grade
Final Paper (Due 04/23): 85% of paper grade
Class Participation: 15%
Grading Scale:
A = 100%-90% D = 69%-60%
B = 89%-80% F = 59% and below
C = 79%-70%
Proposed Class Schedule:
Week 1 Course Introduction and Feminism
01/13 & 01/15 Ford: Ch. 1
Freeman,
Jo. “The Social Construction of the Second Sex.”
Found
at: <http://www.jofreeman.com/womensociety/socconstruct.htm>
Week 2 Women’s Rights Movement: Women and
Representation
01/20 Ford: Ch. 2
Parkman, Francis. “Some Reasons against Women’s Suffrage.” (Blackboard)
01/22 Freeman, Jo. “Social Revolution and the Equal Rights Amendment.” Found at:
http://www.jofreeman.com/feminism/socrevera.htm
Week 3 Political Participation & Public Opinion
01/27 Ford: Ch. 3
CAWP, “The Gender Gap: Attitudes on Public Policy.” Found at: <http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/voters/documents/ggapissues.pdf>
01/29 Carroll and Fox: Ch. 2-3
Week 4 Women Candidates and Campaigns
02/03 Ford: Ch. 4, pp. 110-123; Carroll and Fox: Ch. 4
02/05 Carroll and Fox: Ch. 7
Week 5 Women Candidates and Campaigns, cont.
02/10 Ford: Ch. 4, pp. 123-148; Carroll and Fox: Ch. 8
02/12 Reingold: Ch. 3
Week 6 Descriptive Representation: Women as Elected Officials
02/17 Ford: Ch. 5
02/19 Reingold: Ch. 5-6
Week 7
02/24 **EXAM I** (Weeks 1-6)
Women and Presidential Politics
02/26
Carroll and Fox:
Ch. 1
Freeman, Jo. “Mrs. Smith Runs for President.” Found at:
<http://www.jofreeman.com/polhistory/smith.htm>
Week 8 Women and the Political Parties
03/03 & 03/05 Reingold: Ch. 2, 8, 11
Week 9: SPRING BREAK
Week 10 Public Policy: Education Equity
03/17 & 03/19 Ford: Ch. 6
Week 11 Family & Reproduction Issues
03/24 Ford: Ch. 8
03/26 Dodson, Debra. “Representing Women’s Interests.” (Blackboard)
Week 11 Collection of Media Articles (Blackboard)
Week 12 Economic Equity: Work, Pay & Family Issues
03/31 Ford: Ch. 7; Reingold: Ch. 7
04/02 **EXAM: II** (Weeks 7-12)
Week 13 Women’s Community Activism
04/07 & 04/09 Carroll and Fox: Ch. 5; Mother Jones’ Readings (Blackboard)
Week 14 Gender and Race: Intersectionality in U.S.
Politics
04/14 & 04/16 Reingold: Ch. 9-10
Week 15 International Women’s Rights
04/21 Dahlerup, Drude. “Quotas are Changing the History of Women.” (Blackboard)
Young, Lisa. “Gender Equal Legislatures.” (Blackboard)
Week 15 Collection of Media Articles (Blackboard)
04/23 Guest Lecture by Andrea Messing-Mathie
**April
23: Papers Due**
Week 16 Course Wrap-up & Review
04/28 & 04/30 Reingold: Ch. 12
FINAL EXAM: Tues. May 5, 2-3:50
**Our class will have the pleasure of a visit by Congresswoman Melissa Bean at some point in the semester. In order to accommodate her visit to campus, the above class schedule may be revised at a later date. I will inform the class of any changes to the schedule as soon as Congresswoman Bean’s visit is confirmed.
Students with Disabilities: NIU abides by Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding provision of reasonable accommodations
for students with documented disabilities. Moreover, your academic success is
of importance to me. If you have a disability that may have a negative impact
on your performance in this course and you may require some type of
instructional and/or examination accommodation, please contact me early in the
semester so that I can provide or facilitate in providing accommodations you
may need. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with
the Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR), the designated office on campus
to provide services and administer exams with accommodations for students with
disabilities. CAAR is located on the 4th floor of the University Health
Services building (753-1303). I look forward to talking with you to learn how I
may be helpful in enhancing your academic success in this course.
Academic Honesty and
Plagiarism: No paper (or other written
assignment or exam) submitted for another course or written by another person
will be accepted. Plagiarism -
presenting the thoughts or words of others as if they were your own -
will not be tolerated. You must credit
all of the sources from which you obtain data, information, ideas, or language
with a full and accurate citation (and quotation marks, when appropriate). Plagiarism and other forms of academic
dishonesty can result in an automatic "F" for the course and even
expulsion from the University (see the Student Judicial Code). Criteria for
these offenses are described in the Student Judicial Code and the Undergraduate
Catalog.
Undergraduate Writing Awards: The department of Political
Science will recognize, on an annual basis, outstanding undergraduate papers
written in conjunction with 300-400 level political science courses or directed
studies. Authors do not have to be political science majors or have a
particular class standing. Winners are expected to attend the Department's
spring graduation ceremony where they will receive a certificate and $50. Papers
completed in the current spring semester are eligible for the following year's
competition even if the student has graduated.
Website: Undergraduates are strongly
encouraged to consult the Department of Political Science website on a regular
basis. This up to date, central source of information will assist students in
contacting faculty and staff, reviewing course requirements and syllabi,
exploring graduate study, researching career options, tracking department
events, and accessing important details related to undergraduate programs and
activities. To reach the site, go to http://www.polisci.niu.edu/index.html