Office: Liberal Arts 311

Phone: 747-7067

Email address: yleyva@utep.edu

Office hours: TR 10:30 a.m.-12 noon and by appointment

F Course description

This course explores the various experiences and histories of women in the United States from the early- nineteenth century to the present. History 3391 will examine important themes in women’s history such as work, sexual and gender norms and values, welfare, feminism, family, organizing and politics. The course will explore the ways in which tensions over class, race, ethnicity and sexuality have shaped the history of women in the United States in this century.

The course requires both significant reading and writing throughout the semester. Although one of the major goals of the class is to familiarize you with the specifics of U. S. women’s history, there is an important secondary goal -- to help you to develop your analytical and critical skills. How do you read a monograph critically? What is history and its uses? What histories are told and which are not? How can you use specific historical evidence to argue a point? How can you get your point across, clearly and convincingly, in writing?

Course readings &

Off the Road: My Years With Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg by Carolyn Cassady

Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog

Migrant Daughter: Coming of Age As a Mexican American Woman by Frances Esquibel Tywoniak

De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century by Elizabeth Martínez

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs

Women’s America by Linda Kerber

The following articles (and others) are on reserve at the UTEP library:

Aida Hurtado, "The Politics of Sexuality in the Gender Subordination of Chicanas"

Elvia Arriola articles from www.womenontheborder.org

Antonia Castañeda, "Que Se pudiera Defender (So You Could Defend Yourselves)" Chicanas, Regional History, and National Discourses"

Antonia Castañeda, "Sexual Violence in the Politics and Policies of Conquest"

Five of the six books in this class are first person accounts of women’s lives. The sixth is a collection of essays and primary documents exploring women’s history. There is nothing more powerful than learning about women’s lives in their own words. The women’s stories are diverse in terms of ethnicity and class so I will ask you to think about the ways in which they are different and the ways in which they are similar.

The final course grade will be based on the following:

Class participation 20%

Mid-term exam 25%

Final 25%

Papers (2) or service learning project 30%

100%

Class participation is graded on a number of factors, including attendance and your participation in the unannounced pop quizzes/discussions based on the Kerber book. At least 12 small quizzes will be given during the semester based on the weekly Kerber readings. Ten of them will count towards your grade. They will be given at the beginning of class and cannot be made up if you miss class or are late. Class participation represents 20% of your grade.

The mid-term and final exams will be essay in format (both long and short essays will be included on each exam) and will include information from the lectures, readings (including the six books), and occasional films. These exams will be taken in class. The mid-term and final exams represent 50% of your course grade.

You will have two options for the remaining 30% of your grade.

Option 1) you have the choice of writing two 5-6 page papers. One paper will be based on the Harriet Jacobs and Frances Esquibel Tywoniak books. The second paper will be based on the Mary Crow Dog and Carolyn Cassady books. These papers are to be typed, properly formatted, and proofread before handing them in for grading. A separate handout will be provided for each of these assignments. Late papers will be penalized.

Option 2) you may participate in a service-learning project through the Project SHINE. Richard Gutierrez, Project SHINE coordinator, will discuss the specifics with us the second week of class. For this option, students will work in the community, keep a weekly journal, and write a short final report describing their experiences. A separate handout will also be provided to those students choosing this option. Short journal entries will be due each week.

It is your responsibility to contact me if you want to drop the class. I will not automatically drop students. If you decide to drop the class, you must take steps to do so. Do not depend on my dropping you. Remember the deadline for dropping with an automatic W is October 18. December 5 is the last day to withdraw from all classes.

If you are having difficulty in class, my best suggestion is to discuss it with me. Please, for your own sake, do not "disappear" for weeks at a time, then come in and ask me what you can do to catch-up. This rarely works. The best policy is to keep open communication with me if you are experiencing problems.

Make-up policy E

In order to get permission to take a make-up exam, you must contact me within 48 hours of the missed exam. You will be allowed to take the make-up in cases of emergency-- illness, for example. You may see me during my office hours or you may call me at my office, or leave a message at the division office. You must take the make-up within seven days of the original date. You can use the make-up privilege only once during the semester. Written assignments that are handed in late will be penalized 5 points per day.

CAcademic integrity:

Academic honesty is a critical component of your university experience. It is one of the ingredients, which gives true value to your university degree. I expect any work turned in for this class to be your own. Copying or representing the published or unpublished work of others (including that of other students) as your own constitutes plagiarism and cheating. This includes using authors’ phrases or sentences without proper citation. This is not acceptable in this class. As a violation of university policy, any cheating or plagiarism will be dealt with through the policies of the University of Texas at El Paso. You may certainly work with other students in study groups but you must turn in your own work.

AHow to spend three hours a week together in peace:

One of my most serious expectations in any class is mutual respect. As a learning community, respect between students and between instructor and students is essential. I will treat each of you with the same consideration and respect, which I expect of each of you. Treating you respectfully means that I will come to class prepared. I expect the same of you. You will be able to fully participate in the class only f you are fully prepared. Treating you respectfully means that I will respect your views even though they may be different from mine. Differing views are not only an acceptable part of a learning community, they are an essential element. If you disagree with me, feel free to question and discuss your disagreement. But remember, I will expect you to back it up any argument with evidence.

Finally, for three hours a week, you will receive my full attention. Again, I expect the same. Please do not carry on conversations, read other class materials or newspapers or fall asleep in class! Please do not come to class late or leave early without checking with me first. I will not hesitate to point out this unacceptable behavior to you. (In extreme cases, I have asked students to leave the classroom because of their disruptive behavior.) In return, I’ll work hard to do my part to make this class the kind of experience you’ll want to stay awake for. But, don’t forget, you’ll have to do your part as well!

Read "Introduction" in Women’s America

Labor Day is September 2- no classes

Turn in "Who I am" assignment by September 3. See handout.

Read pages 30-62 in Women’s America

Richard Gutierrez of Project SHINE will visit class this week.

Read pages 121-156, 200-226 in Women’s America

Read Antonia Castañeda, "Sexual Violence in the Politics and Policies of Conquest"

Paper on Jacobs/ Tywoniak due September 19.

Read pages 157-182 in Women’s America

Read Antonia Castañeda, "Que Se pudiera Defender (So You Could Defend Yourselves)" Chicanas, Regional History, and National Discourses"

On October 3, we will have a guest speaker or a video.

Midterm on October 10.

Read pages 343-354 in Women’s America

Week 8 (October 14-18) Sexual politics, 1880- 1930

October 18 is the last day to drop a class with an automatic W

Read Aida Hurtado, "The Politics of Sexuality in the Gender Subordination of Chicanas"

Read pages 193-213 in Women’s America

Read pages 401-425 in Women’s America

Paper on Crow Dog/Cassady due on October 31.

Note: Lakota Woman was written by Mary Crow Dog

Read pages 426- 447 in Women’s America

Week 12 (November 11-15) Women on the border

Read Elvia Arriola articles from www.womenontheborder.org

Read pages 523-541 in Women’s America

Read pages 548-500 in Women’s America

Thanksgiving holidays, November 28-29.

Read pages 542-552 in Women’s America

Read pages 589-618 in Women’s America

Project Shine paper due on December 3. (See Project Shine section below.)

The History 3391 final is scheduled for Wednesday, December 11 from 4 to 6:45 p.m. The exam will be held in the regular classroom.

 

If you choose Project SHINE as your option, you will commit to the following:

· A three hour training session

· 20 hours of tutoring during the semester (2 hours per week for 10 weeks)

· A final wrap-up session

· A 3-page paper in which you describe your experiences in Project Shine, connecting them to the themes we are exploring in class. The paper is due December 3. It must be typed, double-spaced, and proofread.

· You do not have to turn in journal entries.