Course Outline for Ethnic Studies 7
Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Effective: Spring 2020
SLO Rev: 04/16/2019
Catalog Description:

ES 7 - Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

3.00 Units

(See also SOCI 7 )
Critical examination of the historical and socio-cultural experiences of African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women through a feminist perspective. The course will study gender and how it intersects with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of difference and power. The course will consider various issues related to how racism, capitalism, patriarchy, war, sexual violence and other systems of power intersect to influence the lives of women of color in the United States, as they may relate to work, family, politics, identity, resistance, and artistic expression. Students will also be introduced to Women’s Studies and the study of gender and sexuality (No credit if SOCI 7 has been completed).
2203.00 - Ethnic Studies
Optional
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. recognize how gender intersects with other social identities like race, class, sexuality, and religion in shaping the lives of women of color in the U.S.;
  2. describe how race, gender, sexuality, and class are social constructions;
  3. analyze how gender oppression intersects with other forms of oppression and systems of power;
  4. compare and contrast the historical and contemporary experiences of African American, Latina, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women in the United States;
  5. explain how the social, historical, political, and economic context shapes the everyday experiences of women of color in the U.S.
  6. analyze key feminist theories, concepts, and different types of feminism;
  7. define and assess women of color-centered approaches to social change and social movements;
  8. appraise issues surrounding women's sexuality and health;
  9. define gendered labor or women's work and illustrate the impact of globalization on work, class, and poverty;
  10. analyze the causes and effects of violence against women.
Course Content:
  1. Gender and Sexuality
    1. Gender socialization and gender as a social construct
    2. Definition of sex, difference between sex and gender
    3. Patriarchy
    4. Gender and sexual identity
    5. Gender formation theories
    6. Heteronormativity
    7. Homophobia and anti-queer violence
  2. Intersectionality of Power and Identity
    1. Race as a biological myth and social construct
    2. Race, class, gender, and sexuality as overlapping and interdependent systems of inequality
    3. Patterns of interaction between those in power and marginalized groups, such as African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women 
    4. Hybrid identities
  3. Colonialism, Imperialism, War and Military
    1. Colonialism, Imperialism and patriarchy
    2. Decolonization and sovereignty
    3. Impact of wars on girls and women
    4. Impact of US militarization and military bases on women, sex work, sexual violence
  4. Gendered Violence
    1. Rape, racism, and heterosexism
    2. Domestic violence
    3. State sanctioned rape and violence
    4. Sexual enslavement
    5. Mass incarceration, criminalization, and police violence experienced by women in primarily low-income, immigrant, African American, Latinx/a/o communities
  5. Media representation
    1. Stereotypes and its impact on women
    2. Resistance through the arts (hip hop, social media, poetry, film)
  6. Body and Beauty
    1. Colorism as it applies to African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women
    2. Sexualization
    3. Body positivity movement
    4. Beauty industry
  7. Family and Culture
    1. Mothers and mothering
    2. Womanhood
    3. Family relationships
    4. Marriage
    5. Control of women’s bodies and sexual expression
    6. Transnationalism
  8. Work and Class
    1. Impact of globalization and capitalism
    2. Gendered labor market
    3. Unpaid labor
    4. Labor market discrimination
    5. Income and wealth disparities by race and gender
    6. Feminization of poverty
    7. Sex work
  9. Health
    1. Reproductive justice
    2. Self-care and healing
    3. Involuntary experimentation
    4. Sex Ed 
  10. Education
    1. Women in education
    2. Access to education for women
    3. Women’s Studies movement
    4. Sexual violence on campus
  11.  Feminist theory
    1. Radical feminism
    2. Lesbian feminism
    3. Socialist feminism
    4. Liberal feminism
    5. Transfeminism
    6. Eco-feminism
    7. Women of color womanism and feminism
    8. Transnational feminism
    9. Global womanism and feminism as interpreted by African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women
  12. Feminist Resistance and Social Movements
    1. History of U.S. feminist movements from first wave to fourth wave feminism
    2. Women in environmental justice movements
    3. Racism in the women’s movement
    4. Women of color and queer-centered feminist movements
Methods of Instruction:
  1. Group Activities
  2. Lectures
  3. Class and group discussions
  4. Presentation
  5. Presentation of audio-visual materials
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
  1. Oral History Interview - interview a woman of color in your family or community. Write an analytical paper examining the major themes of this person’s life experiences as they relate to course themes, theories, readings, and films.
  2. Research project: select a topic with the approval of the instructor; write a five page paper including a bibliography of no less than 5 books/journal articles (must include both sources), using APA style.
  3. In class group exercise/discussion: survey the portrayal of women of color in media and analyze stereotypes and their relationship to socio-historical context.
  4. Creative presentation: artistically represent an issue specific to women of color - such as media representations, reproductive health, sexual violence, glass ceiling, war and immigration, etc.
  1. Exams/Tests
  2. Projects
  3. Final Examination
  4. Research Projects
  5. Quizzes
  6. Journals
  7. Oral Presentation
  8. Written assignments
  9. Group Projects
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. demonstrate understanding of how race, gender, and class are social constructions.
  2. compare and contrast the historical and contemporary experiences of at least two of the following groups: African American, Latina, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women in the United States.
  3. demonstrate understanding of how class, racial, and sexual politics intersect to construct women of color’s experiences in the U.S.
Textbooks (Typical):
  1. Andersen, M. & Collins, P. (2016). Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology (9th ). Cengage Learning.
  2. Anzaldua, G. & Moraga, C. (2015). This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color (4th). Albany: State University of New York Press.
  3. Disch, E. (2009). Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology (5th). McGraw Hill.
  4. hooks, b. (2000). Feminism Is for Everybody South End Press.
  5. Kirk, G. and M. Okazawa-Rey (2013). Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives, McGraw-Hill.
  6. Kelly, S. M., G. Parameswaran, and N. Schniedewind (2012). Women: Images and Realities: A Multicultural Anthology Mayfield Publishing.
  7. Kolmar, W. K. and F. Bartkowski. (2013). Feminist Theory: A Reader McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
  8. Rojas, M. (2009). Women of Color and Feminism Seal Press.
  9. Ritchie, A.J. (2017). Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color Beacon Press Books.
Abbreviated Class Schedule Description:
Critical examination of the historical and socio-cultural experiences of African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women through a feminist perspective. The course will study gender and how it intersects with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of difference and power. (No credit if ES 7 has been completed). (No credit if SOCI 7 has been completed).
Discipline:
Ethnic Studies*, Sociology*, or