| WS 5320, Thursdays 6:30-9:20 |
English Building, Room 208 |
| Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Rickly |
Office: English 309 |
| Office Hours: T, TH 9-12; W 1-4; and by
appointment |
email:
rebecca.rickly@ttu.edu |
Catalogue Description: An interdisciplinary study of methods,
analyses and critiques used by feminist scholars to study feminist
issues within and across a range of traditional disciplines.
Prerequisite: WS 5310 or consent of instructor.
Purpose: This interdisciplinary course focuses on the visions
and methods that feminist scholars use to study feminist issues within
and across a range of traditional disciplines: history, arts,
humanities, sciences, education, health, economics, law, etc. Course
participants will read and discuss how feminist scholars rethink
analytic paradigms and create new theoretical models to guide their
work.
Prerequisite: WS5310, Feminist Thought and Theories, or
equivalent course, or pass entrance essay exam, or receive permission
from the instructor. The entrance essay exam tests your understanding of
the commonalties and different strands of feminism, and of concepts
found in feminist writings such as: discourse, difference, praxis,
power/empowerment, ideology, intertextuality,
displacement/deconstruction, and neomarxism. This foundation is needed
to participate in the Feminist Research Methodologies course. The
test will also illuminate your understanding of and familiarity with
critically oriented work that problematizes, seeks social
transformation, and practices critical self-reflexivity. Click
here for more info on the entrance essay exam. Please talk to me (Rebecca
Rickly) before enrolling to see if this course suits your needs.
Refer to the following readings for help in passing the entrance essay
exam:
- Tong, Rosemarie Putnam (1998). Feminist thought: A more
comprehensive introduction (2nd ed.) Boulder, CO: Westview.
-
- Humm, Maggie (1990). The dictionary of feminist theory.
Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
-
- To register contact Esther Lichti at (phone: 742-2404 ext. 278;
email: elichti@hs.ttu.edu)
Course Objectives: This course is designed to assist students to:
1. Examine how knowledge is constructed and deployed.
2. Examine how interdisciplinary feminist perspectives inform
research methods.
3. Examine how feminist analysis redefines traditional categories
and disciplinary concepts through its attention to gender and other
social categories social as race, class, culture, sexual orientation,
and age.
4. Explore practical guidelines for feminist interventions for
social change and policy revision.
5. Find, formulate, limit, and state a research problem from a
feminist perspective; conduct critical literature reviews; and
select/combine appropriate research methodologies informed by the
course readings and discussion and with an understanding of research
design parameters for procedures to collect, analyze, interpret, and
present information.
Course Issues and Topics
The following questions will be addressed in the course and will
guide discussions of reading assignments:
1. Are there feminist methods?
2. What counts as evidence? What sources do feminist scholars look
to for information?
3. What do we do to the objects of our research?
4. What questions guide feminist research?
5. What is the relationship between the object of research and the
researcher?
Course Requirements & Evaluation: (Guidelines for each
will be provided.)
| 20% |
Preparation for class
with reading assignments completed, and at least one weekly
response on TOPIC |
| 20% |
Conduct a search on a
specific research problem - prepare an outline of a lit review
chapter based on a problem statement & code your
documentation from the search |
| 20% |
Critique 3 journal
articles each with a different research design to make
explicit how they are or are not examples of the use of
feminist methodologies |
| 20% |
Essay: Interview(s) on
a feminist issue and reflections on "What makes it
feminist methodology?" |
| 20% |
Final: Write &
present a preliminary research proposal including the proposed
research design |
Readings:
Required Text:
Reinharz, S. (1992). Feminist methods in social research.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Additionally visit the topical
linked bibliography
Reading Packet:
A course pack will be available on e-reserve. To access it,
you'll need to know either the course number (5320), the dept.
(women's studies), or my last name (Rickly). The password is the
course number: 5320. Please click here
to see the bibliographic source material for the packet.
We will use TOPIC
communication
in this course to:
(Use ATLC terminals or your own computer & modem or hardwired
dorms).
1. Connect with others in this class
2. Send resources to others and receive them, too.
3. Ask questions, get feedback, or give comments & feedback
4. Respond to the readings
5. Critique the work of others
6. Turn in work
We will use email communication in this course to:
(Use ATLC terminals or your own computer & modem or hardwired
dorms).
1. Connect with others: professors, students, listservs (both
informal and scholarly exchanges)
2. Send resources to others and receive them too.
3. Ask questions, get feedback, or give comments & feedback
4. Network with a global community
Required Equipment:
Students must have access to a standard tape recorder and should
purchase at least two 60-minute tapes. Students must also have
access to a computer with Internet access and all students should have
an email address.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is very important and required. We only meet once a
week! Much of the content of the course happens in class. In-class
experiences can not be made up. Students will be expected to arrive on
time and be present for all class sessions. Two absences or
reoccurring lateness will mean that a letter grade will be deducted
from the final grade for each additional absence. If you need to be
excused from class for religious reasons or due to TTU sponsored
activities, TTU policy asks that you provide a written note prior to
the absence and make up the work.
Attendance at professional conferences in your field is encouraged;
therefore your absence in class for such attendance is excused with
prior arrangements.
Academic Integrity:
TTU's policy concerning academic integrity states that for
"students to present as their own any work which they have not
honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a
most serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious
consequences, possible suspension." See the section on
"Academic Conduct" in the Code of Student Conduct for
details on cheating and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use of more than
three consecutive words or ideas of another author without proper
citation. Proper citation formats must follow one of the academic
writing style manuals such as APA,
Chicago, or Turabian. All images and text from the Internet,
journals, or books must have full
citation to be used in your work. See School
of Art Policies and Information on Artistic & Academic
Responsibility, Protection & Freedom: Includes citation
manual links & public
domain links.
- Americans with Disabilities:
If you have alternate abilities which require alternate
arrangements for you to meet course requirements, please contact me
(Americans with Disabilities Act, 26 July 1990).
Health and Safety Policy:
Every effort will be made to comply with the intent of state laws
or acts and the University Health and Safety Program in an effort to
maintain a safe academic and working environment. Information and
awareness of safety factors will be included in the course content
when applicable. Know before an emergency happens if your insurance
requires you to use a specific hospital's emergency room. The campus
emergency number is 9911.
This course has been updated by Rebecca Rickly, 2002
The original course and teaching material was created
by Karen Keifer-Boyd © 2001. Her notes, syllabus, course plans,
PowerPoint presentations, and WebCT online supplemental content may be
used and adapted by those teaching WS 5320: Feminist Research
Methodologies with acknowledgement. To see the original course,
please click here.
The literature review online material was created by Karen Keifer-Boyd
© 2001 with assistance by Bonnie Reed, Sandy River, Kathy Stalcup, and
Jennifer Castleberry.
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