This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Assignments

Research Paper: Feminist Theory & Current Life

Your mission, should you accept it, is to take a current or relatively recent set of events or topic of concern that has been in the media and think about how the issues of feminism come to bear on this topic.

What are the feminist theory angles in your topic? How has the media portrayed your topic? How can theories about gender and language or gender and performance or the ideological formations relating to sexuality (to take a few examples) help us better understand real conflicts and politics in the world today? What can theory tell us about what observers have and have not understood about your topic?

The papers should be 10-15 pages in length, double-spaced.

Possible Topics:

  • Prostitution and morality
  • Chromosomes and gender identification
  • Work and family studies
  • The reform of welfare
  • Paternity/maternity issues in childrearing and/or divorce
  • Global organizing of women's labor
  • Pornography and the Internet
  • Women and military service
  • Race, class and gender in the 2008 election campaigns
  • Women's body image
  • Discrimination against people who don't conform to the dominant beauty ideal
  • Date rape and other issues of violence against women on college campuses
  • Women in sports: Title IX
  • Can men be feminists?
  • Women and credit in the Third World
  • Femininity, masculinity and political leadership

Resources for paper topics

Shah, Anup. "Women's Rights." Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic, and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. March 14, 2010.

Abortion Conservation Project, Inc.

Pro+Choice Forum