Psychology of Women (PSY 391)
Fall Term
copyright ©2019 Hilary M. Lips. All rights reserved.
    

Instructor: Hilary Lips, Ph.D.
     Office: 5116 CHBSl
     Phone: 831-5387
     E-mail: hlips@radford.edu

 Tests and Exam Schedule
Test #1
Test #2
Final Exam
  Course Requirements
  Grading  &  Extra Credit
  Important Dates  
  Planned Course Schedule
Syllabus pages:  
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Page 3   
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Usual Office Hours:  TR 9:15 - 10:30; M 1 - 2 and by appointment

Class Times: Tuesday - Thursday: 8:00 - 9:15 am

Textbooks
:
          Sex & Gender: An Introduction (6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2008) by Hilary Lips ~  Text Cover & Title
          Half the Sky (Vintage Books, 2010) by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

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 D2L site for this course regularly. Announcements and assignments will be communicated often through e-mail and/or by being posted on the D2L site. You will also be able to check many of your grades on the D2L site.
 
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

A. Tests and Exam -- 105 points
i) Tests
Test # 1 - 35 points (in class)
Test # 2 - 35 points (in class)
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.  Generally, if you must miss a test, your final exam score will simply be weighted more heavily.

ii) Final exam - 35 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 -- 55 points

          Regular participation in class exercises and projects - 25 points

I) 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 thought-provoking and one idea in the Half the Sky reading, connect them in some way, then briefly address these questions:
1.   What is difficult for me about these ideas?
2.   How has about read about these ideas influenced the way I think about people and their behavior?
3.   How have these ideas influenced psychology?
4.   What type of research would be important to explore these ideas further?
These papers will be accepted only at the beginning of the class in which we are scheduled to begin discussing a chapter. They will not be accepted late. Papers that do not address the questions above will not be given credit.

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II) 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.
Missed exercises or assignments. 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.
          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 May 4th.
    
          Content Analysis Project - 25 points
    
This project is meant to be done in groups. Project groups will be finalized in class on October 1st.
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 three people and a maximum of four. 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, please let me know in writing (e-mail is best) by Tuesday September 12th 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 October 11th. Your group will present your findings to the class during the last week 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 in APA style (i.e., the way references are listed in the reference section of your textbook). [For guidance on APA style reference listings and some examples, see the APA Style tab on the LibGuide for this course].

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 12th, 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.

  Please note that in class on November 5th, each project group (or individual) 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:
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1) Up to 8 extra credit points can be earned by attending and submitting a one-page report on 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 2 extra credit points can be earned by submitting a 2-page reaction/response paper to the material in the final chapters of the 2 books for this class (see class schedule). This paper MUST be turned in during the last class, Dec. 8th.

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 24.5 (70% of 35) on the first test and 29.75 (85% of 35) on the second test. At the end of the course she obtains 25 out of 35 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 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: 24.5+29.75+25+25+5+22+4 = 135.25. By examining the grading table above, she sees that she has earned a B in this course.

Important Dates for this Course:
 
September 12th  (Thursday) - This is the last day to turn in (in writing) a list of your group members if you are forming your own content analysis group.
   
September 24th (Tuesday) - Norm violation projects due in class. We will discuss these projects at that time.
   
September 26th (Thursday) - TEST # 1.
   
October 1st (Tuesday) - Formation & first in-class meeting of content analysis project groups. Each project group will meet with me during this class. Those doing individual projects will also meet with me. DO NOT MISS THIS CLASS.
   
October 3rd (Thursday) - Library instruction. Class meets in Library Classroom B.
   
November 5th (Tuesday) - Every group (or individual) must be prepared to meet with me to outline their content analysis 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 7th (Thursday) - TEST #2
   
8:00 a.m.  Tuesday  10th  --  FINAL EXAM


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PLANNED COURSE SCHEDULE
Dates Topic Read
Aug. 27-29 Myths and Stereotypes of Women and Gender Lips, Ch. 1. Half the Sky, Introduction & Ch. 1
     
Sept. 3-5 Theoretical perspectives on sex & gender Lips, Ch. 2, Ch. 10  pp. 401-418. Half the Sky, Ch. 2
     
Sept. 10-12 Researching the Psychology of Women & Gender Lips, Ch. 3, Half the Sky, Ch. 3
     
 Note: Tuesday September 12th is the last day to let me know (IN WRITING PLEASE) if you are forming your own group for the content analysis project  or if you have decided to do an individual project.
     
Sept. 17-19 Differences/Similarities between women and men Lips, Ch. 4, Half the Sky, Ch. 4
   
Sept. 24th Norm Violation Project is due in class. Be prepared to turn it in and to discuss it
   
Sept. 26th TEST # 1 Covers all reading and lecture material to date
   
October 1 First in-class meeting of Project Group.  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).
   
October 3 Library Instruction: Meet In Library Classroom B
   
October 8-10 Biology, Culture, and Gender Lips, Ch. 5, Ch 6 pp 220-21, 226-32, 246-54. Half the Sky, Ch. 5.
     
October 15-17 Sexualities Lips, Ch. 7. Half the Sky, Ch. 6.
     
October 22-24 Can we blame hormones? Lips, Ch. 8, pp. 310-332 only.
Half the Sky, Ch. 7.
     
October 29-31 Family & Friends: Attachment, Intimacy, Power Lips, Ch. 11. Half the Sky, Ch. 8 & 9.
    
Nov. 5:    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.
   
November 7  -  TEST #2 - Covers all reading and lecture material since the previous test
   
November 12-14 Power, Status and Achievement Lips, Ch. 12. Half the Sky, Ch. 10
     
Nov. 19-21 Workplace Issues Lips, Ch. 13. Half the Sky, Ch. 11-12
    
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanksgiving Break - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
   
Dec. 3-5 Group presentations of content analysis findings and service learning project
   
Dec. 5 (in class) – Turn in reaction paper on this  material for extra credit (2 points): Justice & Social Change: Lips, Ch. 14. Half the Sky, Ch. 13 & 14
   
Final Exam:   8:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 10 (Covers material since previous test plus selected
                             material from the whole course)
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Last updated: May 3rd, 2020      Textbook Cover & Title      copyright ©2013 Hilary M. Lips.