WS
305:
Feminist Theories
Final Exam: Take-Home Essay
Assignment
Write an essay that answers the following question:
What
feminist theories of the past two or three decades will help to ensure
a strong and essential Women's Studies for the future? why? what
theories have served their purpose and are no longer productive? why?
Your essay must demonstrate a
knowledge and understanding of the articles we have read since the
Midterm Exam You may include recent articles that you may have
read in other classes as you wish, but this is entirely optional.
Concentrate on the articles assigned for this class.
In your use of the contemporary feminist theories, you should be able
to identify where they are using materialist, poststructuralist, and/or
psychoanalytic theories and demonstrate that knowledge by the way you
put the theories to use in support of your argument., displaying
that you have a thorough understanding of how
the contemporary theory works. Your essay must include discussion of at least
nine of
the following articles and books:
- Betty Friedan, "The Problem that Has No Name"
- Adrienne Rich, "Compulsory Heterosexuality and
Lesbian Existence"
- Monique Wittig, The
Straight Mind
- Audre Lorde, "The Master's
Tools"
- Hélène
Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa"
- Moraga and
Anzaldúa, selections from This
Bridge Called My Back
- Norma
Alarcón, "The Theoretical Subjects of This Bridge Called My Back
- Linda Alcoff, "Cultural Feminism
versus Post-Structuralism"
- Chela Sandoval,
"U.S. Third World Feminism"
- Donna Haraway,
"The Cyborg Manifesto"
- bell
hooks, Feminism is for
Everybody:
In constructing your argument, you will need to think
about (and write about) what a "strong and essential Women's Studies"
would look like. What should be its mission? Whom
would it serve? How?
Your essay should be a minimum
of six printed pages, double spaced and in 12-point type with 1-inch
margins, using either Word Perfect or Word. You should write as
many pages as it takes to make your point. Use
an appropriate citation style (MLA, APA,
Chicago) as you refer to class readings. You can find these online at
the Library
web site.
Send the essay to me as an email
attachment. It is due by
midnight, Sunday, May 18.
Purpose
Writing this essay will help you to review the
feminist theories you have read this semester in a purposeful way,
which will in turn help you to remember them better than if you had not
reviewed them. Writing the essay means thinking
with these theories and understanding how they draw on earlier theories
and traditions or reject those traditions. That too will increase your
retention of theories, vocabulary, and concepts.
Method
You should begin by reviewing recent readings as you
think about your definition of a "strong and essential Women's
Studies." Mark in your readings the statements that you think most
essential to support your argument. Jot down those thoughts as they
come to you, and begin to construct your thesis. You may work with
other
students on this stage of the final, but your essays must reflect your
study and thoughts.
As
you start to write, you may want to consult a short discussion of argumentation.
Evaluation
Your essay must answer the question above in order to
receive full credit. In addition, the
essay
will be
graded on the complexity and sophistication of your thesis, the
effectiveness of
organization
and argumentation, and on citation form, style, and mechanics. The
Final Exam
is worth 30%
of your total grade.
WS305