Feminist Theory: Intersections of Gender, Race and Class

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Explain, verbally and in writing, arguments made in assigned readings in a comprehensive and clear way.
• Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts that are central to the field of study.
• Analyze how and why different authors construct varying arguments.
• Develop your own original arguments based in textual evidence.

Course Grading Information:

Assignments and Final Grade Percentages

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Participation and attendance	10%
Written responses to the week’s assigned readings (a total of 5 over the course of the semester; at least 2 by October 19)	30%
Short presentation + discussion leading (a total of 4 over the course of the semester)	30%
Midterm reflection	5%
Final project	25%

I will be using a form of “contract grading” in this course. Instead of giving letter grades to individual assignments, I will provide you with substantial feedback, and I will assess each assignment using a check system. Reading and writing are complex skills, and in order to get better at them all of us need time, commitment, the ability to take risks, and even sometimes to make mistakes. By using this system, I hope to better support this kind of learning.

To earn a final grade in the B range: Complete most assignments; the final project must be completed. Overall, most of your assignments have the following characteristics: Accurate engagement with course texts and concepts. You explain your ideas, and other authors’ ideas, with clarity. There is good, holistic coverage of the materials being discussed and/or analyzed. Some additional editing might be needed, but much of your writing is clear and error-free. Sometimes, your ideas and those of the authors you’re discussing could be explored and explained at greater length and with greater precision and clarity.

To earn a final grade in the A range: Complete all assignments. Successfully incorporate the feedback that I give into your future assignments. Overall, most of your assignments have the following characteristics: Your writing is very clear and is carefully edited, with very few (and only minor) errors. Your engagements with texts, concepts, and materials are very detailed and precise. You develop your own unique insights, and you present very strong, evidence-based claims of your own. You make significant, innovative connections between various texts, authors, and events. You understand the stakes and implications of scholarly conversations, and are able to comment on them meaningfully.

Because at the graduate level final course grades below B are considered unsatisfactory, I will contact and meet with any student who appears to be in danger of earning a final grade below B in order to attempt to address the situation.

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
94-100%	A
90-93.99%	A-
87-89.99%	B+
84-86.99%	B
80-83.99%	B-
77-79.99%	C+
74-76.99%	C
0-73.99%	F

Attendance/Participation:

In-class participation is expected in this course, but participation can take a variety of forms. Students are expected to attend almost every class meeting. Missing more than 6 class meetings will result in failure of the course. Absences due to religious observance are exempt from the total number of absences.

UNCG Attendance Policy: Regular class attendance is a responsibility and a privilege of university education. It is fundamental to the orderly acquisition of knowledge. Students should recognize the advantages of regular class attendance, accept it as a personal responsibility, and apprise themselves of the consequences of poor attendance. Instructors should stress the importance of these responsibilities to students, set appropriate class attendance policies for their classes, and inform students of their requirements in syllabi and orally at the beginning of each term.

UNCG Religious Obligations Policy: It is expected that instructors will make reasonable accommodations for students who have conflicts due to religious obligations. Please make arrangements with the instructor in advance of any conflict.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

No course materials are required.