Exercises for the First Day of Class

PAGE 3 OF 3

Dear all,

Not one for small projects, I have just volunteered to teach an Intro to WMST
course during Maymester.  I've ordered 2 novels (Buchi Emecheta's *Joy of
Motherhood* and Ntozake Shange's *Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo*) and a course
anthology, *Women: Images and Realities*.  I've never taught this course
before, and it has never been offered during Maymester before.  I suspect
that it will have a heavy number of Gen Ed students.

I've downloaded every syllabus I've run across on the net, so, while I think I
have a good idea of how the course could be generally structured, I'm now
looking for specific activities.  For example, does anyone have suggestions
for what might I do on that very first day of class when some but not all will
have bought their books? I would love to open with the film, *The F Word* but
we don't have it at our university library and I can't afford to buy it or
rent it. (I've been looking for used copies for my personal library to no
avail.) But beyond the first day, what sort of strategies or techniques do
people use when covering the material?  I've been reading Winkler and
DiPalma's incredibly useful *Teaching Introduction to WMST,* and plan on doing
some variation of Stacy Wolf's exercise with *Glamour* magazine.  Is there a
bank somewhere on the net that has more examples of class exercises and
activities?

I hope this query is in keeping with the list.  I've been lurking for the past
few weeks, and have been incredibly impressed with the spirit of camaraderie
and cooperation.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me.

A first-timer at sea,
Erin
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Asst Professor
Dept of English
Radford University
http://www.radford.edu~ewebster
ewebster2  AT  radford.edu

--On Sunday, April 13, 2003 8:44 AM -0400 Erin Webster Garrett
<ewebster2  AT  RADFORD.EDU> wrote:

> I've downloaded every syllabus I've run across on the net, so,
> while I think I have a good idea of how the course could be
> generally structured, I'm now looking for specific activities.  For
> example, does anyone have suggestions for what might I do on that
> very first day of class when some but not all will have bought
> their books?

Two suggestions.  You say you downloaded every syllabus you've run
across.  Does that include the HUGE syllabus collection that the
Center for Women & Information Technology maintains at
http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/syllabi.html ?  There are about 600
web-based syllabi, arranged into 26 subject areas.  The
Women's/Gender Studies section has a very large number of Intro
syllabi.

Also, for suggestions for what to do on the first day of class, you
may want to look at the WMST-L File Collection. at
http://www.umbc.edu/wmst/wmsttoc.html .  It includes a file built up
over several years called Exercises for the First Day of Class.
There's also another file called Exercises and Projects for Intro to
Women's Studies.  In fact, you'll probably find the entire section
called Pedagogical Issues and Strategies useful.  Do take a look.

        Good luck.

        Joan

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Joan Korenman                  jskor  AT  umbc.edu
U. of Md. Baltimore County     http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/
Baltimore, MD 21250  USA       http://www.umbc.edu/wmst/

The only person to have everything done by Friday is Robinson Crusoe
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Erin,

For the first day, I use an exercise I call "gender objects" that goes over
really well. I collect a number of "objects" deodarants, cigarettes,
condoms, skin care products etc, etc, that are branded as masculine and/or
feminine to varying degrees and then I get groups of students to analyze
just exactly what gives the object a gender. They have fun with this, and I
have found it an excellent way to introduce the concept of "social
construction"

Good luck with the course

Jacqueline

Dear Erin,

I agree that Winkler's and Dipalma's book is an excellent place to start. In
addition to ideas there, I've found that Joni Seager's Women of the World Atlas is
a great teaching tool for the intro class. It is a book of maps condensing a huge
amount of information on a variety of topics into colorful 2 page presentations;
in addition to the mapping of the information, useful charts are provided on most
topics, with an explanation at the end of the book as to the sources of data.
This book covers issues of birth, death, and reproduction; labor; politics;
militaries; family relations; immigration; and many more.

I hope Joni Seager writes a revised edition soon, because the book came out in
1997 and undergraduates seem to feel that anything published  prior to the day
before yesterday is "out of date." Despite this potential problem, I find it
enormously useful for structuring class discussions and organizing group projects.

Best wishes,

Kathy Ferguson
Director
Women's Studies Program
University of Hawai`i

To Kathy and other list members,

The Seager atlas JUST came out in a new edition.  (Publication date,
April 1, 2003).

The book is now entitled, "The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World"
ISBN: 0142002410.

I agree that it is a WONDERFUL resource/learning tool.  It's a great
change of pace.  And it's especially appealing for students who are
visual learners, and who find our endless use of reading material
difficult.  I would add that Seager lists all her sources in detail in
the back of the book, so that anyone who wants to challenge her maps can
at least look at her source materials.  I must say that all the maps
that concern areas that I know about seem quite accurate.

One of the most interesting elements of the Atlas is that it reveals
that virtually countries, at least in the developed world, have a mixed
record on women's issues.  They may be good on one issue, but bad on
another.

In order to give some structure to the use of the atlas, here's the
exercise I use.  This could be done for class discussion, or for a short
written project.

ATLAS ASSIGNMENT

All students should do all of the following 3 things:

1) Pick any one country other than the United States.  Select at least 5
maps from the book.  Examine the status of women in the country as shown
in the maps.  Be prepared to articulate what you think the maps are
telling you.  Compare the status of women in the country with the status
of women in the United States, as shown by the maps.  Is the country
uniformly good, bad or mixed, as measured by the maps?  What is your
reaction to what the maps reveal about both your chosen country and the
U.S.?  Did the results surprise you, either with regard to the country
or the U.S.?  Do you question the accuracy of the information presented?

2) Pick any one map that covers the entire world.  (This can be one of
the ones you used in #1 for your compare and contrast, but doesnÆt have
to be.)  Examine this map in detail, with regard to many
countries/regions of the world.  Again, be prepared to articulate what
you think the map is telling you.  What is your reaction to the
information from the map?

3) Pick any one non-map graphic chart.  (It can be a chart on the same
page as your chosen map in #2, but doesnÆt have to be.)  As with the
single map in #2, examine the chart in detail.  Be prepared to
articulate what you think the chart is telling you.  What is your
reaction to the information from the chart?


By the way, I learned about this book in answer to the question I posed
in November 2001: "What one thing would you recommend to a new teacher
of the Intro to Women's Studies course."  The terrific answers I
received are collected in the WMST-L file collection at:
http://research.umbc.edu/~korenman/wmst/onething.html

Best,
Kate Waits
U. of Tuilsa College of Law



*************************************

Kathleen (Kate) Waits
Coordinator, Women's Studies Program
University of Tulsa

Associate Professor
University of Tulsa College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma  74104-2499

E-mail: kwaits  AT  utulsa.edu

*************************************

I used Women: Images and Realities this semester and was very pleased
with it, as were my very diverse group of students. My class was full of
students who had never taken a women's studies course. I started my
students out by doing an introduction activity that gave us things to
talk about in terms of how "woman" is defined to them. The introduction
can take most of the class, but you've laid the groundwork for
interesting linkages to occur with their lives and the readings.

THE ACTIVITY: Bring piles of magazines, pieces of paper, scissors and
markers. Ask the students to develop a collage of what it means to each
of them to be a woman, as a way of introducing themselves to their
classmates. Ask them to use their collage to introduce themselves, and
then lay the collage in the middle of the floor as an element of a
larger collage that will represent the whole class.

This is a great introduction activity because they're active and talking
to each other and sharing things. They conquer their fear of talking to
each other by introducing themselves and what they've created. And, the
larger collage of the whole class serves as an interesting team building
activity.

I had a large class this semester and ran out of time to introduce
everyone. But, we picked up the remaining students the following class.
In fact, that actually worked better because by then they had read a set
of essays and were ready to talk about how they've learned to be
"women."

Mary Kirk, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor, Educational Philosophy & Planning
Metropolitan State University
700 E 7th
St Paul, MN 55106
Phone: 651-772-7514
Fax: 651-772-7862

For a class that focuses on texts by women, I've had good success in using
Isak Dinesen's "The Blank Page."  It is only a few pages and can easily be
copied (fair use) for reading together in class.  There's also a classic
essay by Susan Gubar on the story (don't have a bib ref right here) which
might help provide some provocative questions for discussion.  My students
have always been enthusiastic about coming up with possible scenarios that
could have created "the blank page."

Linda Payne
lpayne  AT  jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Mary -

Do you ever have men in your class???  If you have or did, what would
their instructions be?  What "woman" means to them?  OR the very
different question of what it means to be a man?

I'd like to hear more about which magazines you bring.  "Women's
magazines," of course, but what else?? News magazines, sports magazines,
magazines for people of color, maybe TV Guide or even the tabloids??
What about Playboy etc.?

I'm writing to the whole list because I imagine others would be
interested in your answers.

Kate Waits

*************************************

Kathleen (Kate) Waits
Coordinator, Women's Studies Program
University of Tulsa

Associate Professor
University of Tulsa College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, Oklahoma  74104-2499

E-mail: kwaits  AT  utulsa.edu

*************************************

Hello all, I was reading about some of the things other professors do for 
their classes and one thing that really caught my eye was the idea of 
having them think/answer a question before they come to the first class, 
bringing their thoughts and answers to the first class.  This seemed like 
a great way to start off a class, especially one that I prefer to be 
highly interactive and take as my "mission" to make them think differently 
about the world and gender-I teach Psych. of Women.  So I was wondering if 
anyone had a thought or perhaps something they have used that worked well 
for a question I can send out to them?  I was thinking about the 
traditional, are men and women different?  but have done that a lot and 
thought maybe this group might have something even more challenging and 
thought provoking.  Thanks for any ideas.
Susan


 "For if the mind can imagine it, the mind can make it so..."

 Dr. Susan Clark-Cook
 Clinical Psychologist
 Counseling and Student Development
 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Natural and Applied Science

Hello: I often send out to them before the first class (in
Introduction to Women's Studies) the following (not original with me!):
 
Name three things you could not do if you were a member of the other gender; 
Name three things you could do if you were a member of the other gender.  

This starts the class out with thoughtful (and
often humorous) discussion.

Dr. Anne Mills King
Professor, English/Women's Studies
Prince George's Community College
Largo MD 20774-2132
aking  AT  pgcc.edu

I still like to get their attention IN the first class when I can work 
with the dynamic on the spot (take them by surprise so it really 
sticks!)--I do that with the "9-dot-square" puzzle IBM and XEROX used 
to use as the test for employees to get into their management training 
programs--after struggling with it for 5-10 minutes, they're stunned by 
the solution and it really drives home the point about "enculturated 
blindness" and "enculturated assumptions"--I then challenge them to 
think about how many OTHER barriers they perceive that aren't actually 
there that keep them from solving other kinds of problems--we then 
refer to the experience through the semester when anyone gets stuck in 
enculturated premises or can't perceive something in an 
"unconventional" way ("You're caught in your 9-dot-square!")...

Deb Louis
dlouis44  AT  sbcglobal.net

If you've never seen it, it looks like this:


	ò	ò	ò


	ò	ò	ò


	ò	ò	ò


The puzzle is to draw 4 contiguous lines so that a line goes through 
every dot.  That is, the lines have to be connected (like a W), but the 
first and last ones don't have to touch.  No tricks.  That's all there 
is.

Most westerners "see" a box around the perimeter of the dots and it 
doesn't occur to them to go outside the "lines"--this is literally 
where the phrase "thinking outside of the box" comes from!  But, of 
course, there ARE NO LINES--and what difference does it make?  It kept 
them from solving the problem...