Includes both group submissions and individual ones:
DUE INDIVIDUALLY a
page of analysis on “who did what work” with logbook 2 in hardcopy in class 13
March; electronic copy of each to TA dropbox
AS GROUP DUE IN CLASS
13 March: one flyer prototype, one written description of event, presentation
of both in class, everyone in group needs to participate; hardcopy in class 13
March; electronic copy of each to TA dropbox
In this assignment you
learn by doing it how our understandings of feminisms are elements in
collective action, theorizing, raising consciousness. You will consider issues
of conflict, different amounts of work and investments involved, scheduling
work and actions, all the inevitable elements of group process and product. You
will find helpful hooks, Ch2: “Consciousness-raising” and Reed, pp. 75-95 from
Ch3: “The Poetical is the Political” and online: Sarachild's "CR: A
Radical Weapon" from Duke's Online Archive "Documents from the
Women's Liberation Movement": http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/wlm/fem/sarachild.html
1) Getting the group
on board, taking responsibility for participation. Everyone in your section
makes up the group who will create a real or imaginary feminist event and a
flyer to mobilize participation in which you explicitly include your group’s
collective definition of feminism. Your TA will help you get started initially
in section, but THE WORK FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT IS MOSTLY DONE OUTSIDE CLASS! You
will need to learn everyone’s name (both first and last names and turn in a
list of names individually at the end), get people’s contact information, find
out when people can meet as one single group or possibly in several subgroups,
and possibly some on email, phone, Skype or however. EVERYONE MUST PARTICIPATE
somehow, and it is the responsibility of both the group and the individuals to
make sure this happens. This may even include how to facilitate folks adding
the class late, or people who are ill during this time, or any other reason for
why people’s lives make collective work and action difficult. Does a single leader emerge? How does group
work get organized and why? Who ends up doing what work? How does all this
shape the event, flyer, and your ideas about feminism? All this PROCESS
matters! How do people do this in a feminist way? How do you know?
2) Come up with a
group definition of feminism and a group event that illustrates, shapes, or is
shaped by this definition. Brainstorm the perfect feminist event you would
love to create and participate in! It can be totally imaginary – something that
could never happen realistically – or it can be something you as a group
actually decide you could make happen here at UMD, and might even do! Some
groups in the past have used this assignment to jumpstart actual events on
campus, SGA, sorority, campus activisms, anything you are already part of and
would like to bring in. And other groups have loved making up something that
would cost too much, or include people not even alive now, or otherwise
necessitate fictional creation. As the group considers what to do, it should
also consider what the group – not just some individuals – think together is a
definition of feminism. The definition and the event should reflect each other
in ways that seem exciting to the group as a whole. What process did the group come up with to make the definition and the
event really collective and not individual? How will you make sure you have
really invested in this and not just done the easy thing and let others take
over? You may want to brainstorm together or bring ideas as an individual
to a group meeting. You may want to troll the web for ideas and examples and
models. What sorts of events have you
attended, created, or heard about? What understandings of feminism are
illustrated by and shape these events? How can you tell?
3) Put together one
group flyer for this event that includes a written out and explicit group definition
of feminism in its design and purpose. A single page flyer or leaflet, or a
single page brochure is what you need here. There are easy templates for both
on the web, and your group product can be more prototype than absolutely final
version, although nowadays these are pretty simple. It can be done
electronically or in a crafty way. In either case you want to have an
electronic version to hand in, although that can be a digital photo if you go
crafty. You will want at least one version of a prototype to bring to class on
the due date to show off and pass around for everyone to see. Find out who in
the group already knows how to do this and have them teach everyone else. Or DIY
looking on the web for help and advice. For example: http://www.feministcampus.org/know/training-units/publicity.asp
Doing this will require thinking about who
the event is for, how will you contact those people and get them on board, how
does the definition of feminism play in role in all this, how large the event
is, whether a flyer or leaflet or a brochure is better, what will catch
people’s eye and so on. How will this fit into all the publicity plans for your
event? Where will you distribute the flyer or brochure and how? If on campus,
what are some good locations?
4) As a group you
will turn in a single one-page description of your event in addition to flyer
or brochure. Included also will be the group’s explanation of how the event
shapes and shaped by your group’s definition of feminism. Explain why this
event, what will happen and how, what sort of experience it will be, who would
be involved, how the event will be advertized and how the flyer achieves this. How expensive would such an event be? What
resources would it require? How will this get written up and by whom?
5) Everyone in all
the groups will present on 13 March! BE SURE YOU ARE PRESENT IN CLASS! YOUR
GROUP NEEDS YOU! YOU MUST PRESENT TO GET FULL CREDIT! Each person in the
group will introduce themselves by first and last name. Everyone in the group
must say something to the whole class. Each group should briefly: give the
group’s definition of feminism, describe the event, describe how these connect,
describe the flyer and publicity, describe group process, name some insights into
CR or feminist process that came out of the project. Your group has only 7 minutes to do this quickly but thoroughly! Give
some great details but have it planned out so we can get through all the groups
in one class period! NO SLIDESHOWS OR POWERPOINTS! LOW TECH QUICK QUICK QUICK!
6) Individually you
will turn in a page of writing on who did what work and offer your own
thoughtful analysis of it all. (This together with logbook 2 of course). After
reading about CR in hooks, Reed, and online (you might look around for
additional stuff too), consider how this project gives you some insight into
the issues raised in these. Especially
consider the issues of process. What
does it take to create a feminist process as well as a feminist event as well
as a feminist definition of feminism? Be sure to know everyone’s first and
last names, list all these, and discuss
in detail who did what work, how the group conducted meetings, who could meet
when and why, what sorts of conflicts or just differences if any emerged and
around what issues. What work did you do in particular and what role did you
play in the group? Write this out carefully and thoughtfully. As
appropriate include footnotes and bibliography when you paraphrase or quote
someone else’s words.
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