Multicultural Intro Texts

The following discussion of texts for the Introduction to Women's
Studies course took place on WMST-L in June 2002.  The suggested
texts all have abundant multicultural selections.

I am teaching the intro women's studies class next fall, and would
like to replace my current textbook, Gendered Voices, with a more
up-to-date anthology that includes a good selection of multicultural
texts.  Does anyone out there have a favorite anthology that s/he
could recommend to me for use in an interdisciplinary intro course?

Anya Silver

*******************************************
Dr. Anya Krugovoy Silver
Assistant Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies
Director of Women's and Gender Studies
Mercer University
1400 Coleman Ave.               "Tell me, what is it you plan to do
Macon, GA 31207-0001            with your one wild and precious life?"
(912) 752-5641                                         --Mary Oliver
silver_ak  @  mercer.edu

Anya -

Sorry if this response is duplicative; I subscribe to WMST-L via digest.

I used Susan M. Shaw & Janet Lee, Women's Voices, Feminist Visions
(McGraw Hill)  this past semester and liked it pretty well.  It's pretty
conscientious, I think, about the multicultural stuff, although it's
VERY U.S.-oriented.  If you're looking for a global perspective, this is
NOT the book for you.  The readings are relatively short and include
both "classics" and some more recent stuff.  I think the book is pretty
versatile, as it covers the issues in a variety of ways, including an
"activist" element and "profiles of important women" that I liked.

By the way, a WONDERFUL supplementary text - and one that really DOES
help with the global perspective - is Joni Seager, The State of Women in
the World Atlas (Penguin USA). This was recommended to me when I asked
the list last fall, "What one thing would you recommend to a neophyte
Intro teacher."  A number of my students - especially those who are
visually oriented - LOVED it.  I was not able to find a place to receive
a review copy of the Atlas, but you can get cheap used copies from
Amazon.com or elsewhere.

I didn't really use the Atlas very well this past semester.  I plan to
use it again, and will probably have the students do a short paper along
the following lines:  (1) Pick one country and go through all the maps,
comparing it to the U.S. with regards to various measures of women's
status; and (2) Look at one map in depth and tell me what you see about
how women are doing on the aspect described in the map.

One of the most interesting aspect of the Seager Atlas is that different
countries "score" differently on different measures - i.e., the status
of women in any one country is a complex issue.  I might add that the
explanations in the back about the data supporting each map are thorough
enough to convince most doubters.

Good luck.

Sincerely,
Kate Waits
U. of Tulsa 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

918-631-2450 (voice)
918-631-2194 (FAX)

E-mail: kwaits  @  utulsa.edu

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

Regarding Anya Silver's request below, my students seem to like
[Kesselman et al.] Women: Images and Realities; A Multicultural
Anthology [Mayfield, 1999], which we pair with Sapiro's Women in
American Society.  I understand that not every group of students in
the department likes these books, but many of my students do,
declaring that they will not sell them back. Because there are so
many readings in the Women: Images and Realities book, I assign some
and encourage free choice with reports back to the class for others.
It's a good way to begin seeing class and individual interests.

Marilyn Grotzky
Marilyn.Grotzky  @  cudenver.edu
Auraria Library
Denver, Colorado 80214

The best intro text in my opinion, is "Introduction to Women's Studies:
Gender in a Transnational World" edited by Inderpal Grewal and Caren
Kaplan, published by McGraw Hill.

I was thrilled to find this text which really places gender in a
transnational context while addressing colonialism and post-colonialism,
along with critiques of scientific conceptualizations of race, gender, and
nationhood. It also places globalization at the core of the readings (rather
than as an afterthought, as is the case in most readers). i would say,
though, that the readings  can be heavy going, and there aren't many first
person narratives, so I would recommend paring it with another text (Making
Face, Making Soul, or This Bridge Called My Back, maybe).

There's also a great Instructor's Manual

Cheers
Jacqueline Ellis

Jacqueline Ellis, Assistant Professor
Women's and Gender Studies
New Jersey City University
Jersey City, NJ 07305
(201) 200 3170

I recently got an examination copy of a really good book--I can't
really use it for my purposes but I think it's one of the best I've
seen. It is called _Identity Matters: Rhetorics of Difference_
edited by Lillian Bridwell-Bowles, et al (NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998)
ISBN: 0-13-243288-9. It is organized in a unique manner. It has TWO
tables of contents: The first is organized with opening on chapter
on college writing and a closing chapter on writing well in all
academic forms. The middle chapters are on various types of
identity: Almost anything you can think of, though I didn't see one
by a WASP conservative male. The second table of contents is
organized by overlapping identities.

You can see the first TOC, the full index, and a total of 16 sample
pages on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0132432889/qid%3D1024234279/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F1/103-2851494-8979829

(And no, I have no fiduciary connection with Amazon or the
editors.)

Opps--sorry that I forgot this critical detail for college
instructors: You can request an exam copy from Prentice-Hall on-line
and they get it to you with lightening speed!


Dra. Rosa Maria Pegueros, J.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor Department of History & Women's Studies Program
217C Washburn Hall
80 Upper College Road, Suite 3
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 02881
E:mail: pegueros  @  uri.edu
Phone:(401) 874-4092
Fax :(401) 874-2595
Web pages: http://www.uri.edu/personal/rpe2836u/
http://nick.uri.edu/artsci/wms/pegueros.htm