Psychology of Women Section 1

Psychology of Women (PSY 391)
Fall, 2009
copyright ©2009 Hilary M. Lips. All rights reserved.

Instructor: Hilary Lips, Ph.D.
     Office: 332 Russell Hall
     Phone: 831-5387
     E-mail: hlips@radford.edu

Tests and Exam Schedule
Test #1
Test #2
Final Exam

Course Requirements
  Grading
  Important Dates
  Course Schedule

Office Hours: Mondays 2:00 - 4:00, Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:00 - 2:30

Class Times: Tuesday - Thursday: 9:30 - 10:45 am

Textbooks:

Sex & Gender: An Introduction (6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2008) by Hilary Lips
Text Cover & Title

Other books (both required):

My life as a traitor by Z. Ghahranani
Farmworker’s daughter by R. G. Guilbault
Kinky Gazpacho by L. L. Tharps
The view from Garden City by C. Baugh

Attending Class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to do the reading anyway, to get the notes from another student, and find out from others if there were any assignments or announcements. Please don’t ask me, after missing class, whether you missed anything important. You did.

Staying in Touch. It is your responsibility to check your e-mail and to visit the Web CT/Blackboard site for this course regularly. Announcements and assignments will be communicated often through e-mail and/or by being posted on the WebCT site. You will also be able to check many of your grades on the WebCT site.

Course Requirements and Grading:
A. Tests and Exam -- 90 points
i) Chapter mini-quizzes – 15 points
We will almost always begin the class on which we start a new chapter with some type of mini-quiz on the assigned reading. The form of the mini-quiz may vary. Sometimes it will be a short multiple-choice or matching test. Sometimes it will require you to write brief answers to 1 or 2 questions. The point of these quizzes is to encourage you to arrive at class with the reading done. These quizzes will not be extremely difficult and will not require you to have mastered difficult concepts on your own. However, to succeed on them you will have to have read the material and be able to recognize or explain some of the most basic concepts. At the end of the semester, you will be able to drop your 2 lowest grades on these mini-quizzes (this includes quizzes you have missed because you were not in class when they were given).

ii) Tests
Test # 1 - 30 points
Test # 2 - 30 points
Eligible for inclusion on the tests are all assigned readings, including material that is not covered in lectures. Also eligible is any material that is covered in class but is not in the readings. Of course, the most heavily emphasized material on tests will be that which is emphasized in class. Make-up tests will not be available except under extreme circumstances that can be documented in some appropriate way.

iii) Final exam - 30 points - covers material from selected sections of the course. If you achieve a grade of A (88%) across the two term tests and have turned in 88% of the chapter reaction papers and class exercises (see below), you will be exempted from the final exam. You will be notified of your exemption by the end of the second-last week of class.

B. Assignments, Exercises and Projects -- 70 points

Regular participation in class exercises and projects - 25 points

Chapter reactions/responses. It will be useful to you to read each assigned chapter before the first class in which we are scheduled to discuss it. Try to read thoughtfully and with an eye toward the relevance of the material to your own life experience. On the first day on which we are scheduled to begin covering a particular chapter, please turn in, at the beginning of class, a one-page (typed, double-spaced) paper in which you choose one idea in the chapter that you found surprising, interesting, or though-provoking. In this very short paper, you should first state that idea, then briefly address these questions:
1.   What is difficult for me about this idea?
2.   How has this idea influenced the way I think about others?
3.   What is valuable and what is not valuable in this idea?
4.   How has this idea influenced psychology?
5.   What type of research would be important to explore this idea further?
These papers will be accepted only at the beginning of the class in which we are scheduled to begin discussing a chapter. Under no circumstances will they be accepted late.

Assignments, In-class discussions and exercises. A number of class discussions and exercises will be carried out in class time and students will occasionally be assigned to do something outside of class and turn in written work. Such work must be turned in at the beginning of the class for which it was assigned. It will not normally be accepted at any other time. Students who participate will receive credit. Those who are absent for whatever reason or who do not participate will not receive credit. Participation includes your presence at and your evaluation of group project presentations by other members of the class. Your grade on this section will depend on the proportion of these exercises and assignments that you complete.

Three missed exercises or assignments will be allowed without penalty. No excuses will be accepted for missed participation beyond that limit. So if you are worried about losing points, please monitor your absences and save them for the kinds of serious situations, such as illness, that require you to be absent. In the case of chapter reaction papers, if it is impossible for you to come to class, you may e-mail your paper to me, but it MUST be sent before the beginning of class on the due date.

Exploring the psychology of women from a cross-cultural perspective - 15 points.
In order to gain some glimmer of a global perspective on the psychology of women, we will focus some of our attention on the experiences of young women whose cultural experience differs from our own. During the course of the semester, we will read Infidel and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and will maintain online discussions of both books. At the beginning of each week, I will post a question on one of these books under their respective Discussion topics on our course WebCT site. You will have a week to post a message in response to that question—or in response to someone else’s response. During the semester, I expect you to make 5 substantive postings (in response to any five of these questions). By substantive, I mean you give a reasonably well-articulated opinion or argument, grounded in the ideas, theories, and/or research evidence that we are covering in this course. It does not have to be long – a few sentences will do. Each such posting will count for 3 points, adding up to a total of 15 for the semester. Postings that do not, in my judgment, meet these criteria will earn fewer than 3 points (2, 1, or even 0 points). You may make more than 5 postings (up to 8) if you wish, or if you need to do so in order to earn your 15 points. We will also discuss some aspects of these books in class, as they relate to the topics we are covering, and some of the class participation discussions/exercises (above) will relate to these books.

Experiential Project - 5 points
Violating a gender norm. The assignment is to choose a behavior or activity that is not normative for your own gender (i.e. women should choose a "masculine" activity; men should choose a "feminine" activity) and carry it out. Carefully note your own reactions and the reactions of those around you. Write a one-page report of the experience. You must be ready to report on this activity in class and to hand in your report on October 8^th.

Major Project (Choose EITHER Option A OR Option B): 25 points

OPTION A: Content Analysis Projects:
This project is meant to be done in groups. Project groups will be finalized in class on September 29^th.
DO NOT MISS THIS CLASS OR YOU MAY NOT BE ASSIGNED TO A GROUP. ALSO PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU NEGLECT YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO YOUR GROUP, YOU WILL BE PENALIZED IN TERMS OF YOUR GRADE.
You may form your own group if you prefer: It must include a minimum of four people and a maximum of 6. If you do not wish to form your own group, I will assign you to a group. If you wish to form your own group, you must let me know in writing (e-mail is best) by Tuesday September 24^th so that I do not assign you to another group.

Your group will examine a set of materials, such as prime-time television programs, children's stories, music videos, popular songs, for a particular theme or set of themes relevant to a topic in the psychology of women. Instructions for the project will be handed out and discussed in class on September 29^th. Your group will present your findings to the class during the last week and a half of the semester. Each member of the group must participate in presenting the material. Each group will turn in, on the day of their presentation, a two-page summary of their findings and a list of references.

If, for some reason, you do not wish to work with a group, you may choose to do this project on your own. This includes all aspects of the project, including making a presentation to the class. However, if you choose this option, you must decide (and let me know) by September 27^th, so that I do not assign you to a group. It is NOT an option to quit your group part-way through the project and then decide to work on your own.

OPTION B: Experiential Service Learning Project
This project is also meant to be done in groups. Your group may work under the supervision of RU’s Office of Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault Education (http://www.radford.edu/~sasae/) to develop and implement programming on campus for Take Back the Night events in October. In these cases, the group size is a maximum of 3 persons, and only two groups (the first to let me know) will be allowed to take on this project.

If you choose OPTION B, you will have to begin immediately by scheduling a meeting with Ms. Lee Carter, the director of SASAE by the beginning of the second week of classes (contact her during the first week of classes to set up this meeting). The time requirement for this option will be a minimum of 10 hours devoted to planning and 10 hours devoted to the programming itself at the scheduled time (i.e., during the particular weeks in which the programming takes place). Students participating in this option will maintain a log of their hours, using a log-sheet provided by and signed off on by the SASAE director. In addition, you will be required to make a presentation to the class during the last week of classes, describing the project and your participation in it. In that presentation, it will be important for you to relate your service learning activities to the theories and research about the psychology of women that we deal with in this course. On the day of your presentation, your group must turn in your completed and signed log sheets, a 2-page written summary of your project and a list of references for the links to research and theory that you develop in your presentation.

If you choose this option, it is important to remember that you have a responsibility to your group members and to the Office of Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault Education to show up for meetings, complete tasks in a timely manner, and do your part to make the project a success. As is the case with Option A, if you neglect your responsibilities to your group, you will be penalized in terms of your grade.

Important information for BOTH options:

Please note that in class on November 3^rd, each project group (or individual), whether completing Option A or Option B, must meet with me briefly to describe their progress and to turn in a one-page written outline of the project and a preliminary list of references (APA style). These materials and my discussion with you on that day will account for 2.5 points (10% of your project grade).

Opportunities to Earn Extra Credit points:

1) Up to 8 extra credit points can be earned by attending and submitting a one-page report on other designated out-of-class lectures or events (2 points per event). The report should be submitted within one week of the event.

2) Up to 4 extra credit points (1 point per comment) can be earned by posting substantive comments about particular ideas or issues in the course on the Comments about ideas discussed in class or readings blog space on our course web site. You may post on this site about whatever interests you in the course. You will not be given credit for more than one such posting in any single week of the course.

GRADING:

        A: 88% (141 points out of 160)
        B: 78% (125 points)
        C: 67% (107 points)
        D: 57% ( 91 points)

Example of grade calculation:
Sandra receives 70% on the first test and 85% on the second test, giving her 21 (70% of 30) on the first test and 25.5 (85% of 30) on the second test. At the end of the course she obtains 25 out of 30 on the final exam. She missed only one class exercise and turned in reaction papers to all the chapters, so gets 25 points (full marks) for class participation. She received a total of 12/15 for her discussion postings on the books. She earned 5 out of 5 points for her norm violation assignment. On her content analysis project she received 22 out of 25 points. She has also earned 4 extra credit points. To calculate her final score out of 160, she adds all her points: 21+25.5+25+25+12+5+22+4 = 139.5. By examining the grading table above, she sees that she has earned a B in this course.

Important Dates for this course:

September 4^th        - This is the last day to turn in (in writing) your selection of OPTION B for the project and the names of group members.

September 24^th      - This is the last day to turn in (in writing) a list of your group members for Option A, if you are forming your own content analysis group.

September 29^th    - Formation & first meeting of content analysis project groups in class as well as
                               in-class meetings of service learning project groups. DO NOT MISS THIS CLASS. October 1^st            - TEST # 1.

October 6^th             - Norm violation projects due in class. We will discuss these projects at that time.

November 3^rd       - Every group (or individual) must be prepared to meet with me to outline their content analysis or service learning project. I will expect a one-page written outline that is reasonably specific along with a preliminary list of references you are consulting for your project and presentation. This outline and reference list must incorporate information from the reference sources discussed in the Library Instruction class. This material, and my discussion with you, will be worth 2.5 points toward your project grade (i.e., 10% of your 25 points).

November 12^th - TEST #2

December 3, 8, 10 - Group content analysis and service learning projects to be presented in class

Tuesday December 15^th -- 2:45-4:45 p.m. -- FINAL EXAM

*COURSE SCHEDULE*
Dates	Topic	Read
Sept. 1-3	Myths and Stereotypes of Women and Gender	Lips, Ch. 1
Note: If you are choosing OPTION B (the experiential service learning project) you must let me know in writing by Friday Sept. 4^th and plan to meet with the director of the Office of Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault Education by the beginning of the next week.
Sept. 8-10	Theoretical perspectives on sex & gender	Lips, Ch. 2, Ch. 10 pp. 401-418
Sept. 15-17	Researching the Psychology of Women & Gender	Lips, Ch. 3
Sept. 22-24	Differences/Similarities between women and men	Lips, Ch. 4
*Note: Thursday September 24th is the last day to let me know (IN WRITING PLEASE) if you are forming your own group for the content analysis project (OPTION A).*
Sept. 29^th: Formation of Content Analysis Project Groups. Significant portion of this class session focuses on analyzing media for gender-related content (a session on how to do content analysis: VERY NECESSARY to give you the background to do your content analysis project). People who are doing the service learning project should also attend this class and, like groups doing the Content Analysis project, meet briefly with me.
Oct. 1	TEST # 1 Covers all reading and lecture material to date.
Oct. 6	Norm Violation Project is due in class. Be prepared to turn it in and to discuss it.
Oct. 8	Library Instruction and exercise to prepare for major project. Meet in Library Classroom B
Oct. 13-15	Biology, Culture, and Gender	Lips, Ch. 5, Ch 6 pp220-21, 226-32, 246-54
Oct. 20-22	Sexualities	Lips, Ch. 7
Oct. 27	Can we blame hormones?	Lips, Ch. 8, pp. 310-332 only
Oct. 29-Nov. 3	Family & Friends: Attachment, Intimacy, Power	Lips, Ch. 11
November 3^rd: In-class meeting of all content analysis and service learning project groups. I will expect to meet with each group (or individual) at this time to discuss your progress and your plans for your presentation. By this date, you should be well underway in your project and be prepared to outline your presentation for me. At this meeting you must hand in a written outline and preliminary list of references. The reference list should utilize the resources discussed in the Library Instruction session.
Nov. 5-10	Power, Status and Achievement	Lips, Ch. 12
Nov. 12 - TEST #2 - Covers all reading and lecture material since the previous test
Nov. 17-19	Workplace Issues	Lips, Ch. 13
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanksgiving Break - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dec. 1	Justice and Social Change	Lips, Ch. 14
Dec. 3-10	Group presentations of content analysis findings and service learning project
Final Exam: 2:45 p.m., Tuesday December 15^th (Covers material since previous test plus selected material from the whole course)

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Last updated: September 1^st, 2009

Textbook Cover & Title