Introduction to Women's Studies
College of the Alien Information Theory Book Club | Fall 2024
Introduction to Women’s Studies
College of the Alien Information Theory Bookclub
Fall 2024
Crystal Kile, Librarian & Counselor of Women
Syllabus revised 18 August 2024
Welcome to Introduction to Women’s Studies Fall 2024 at College of the Alien Information Theory Bookclub.
This course is not for children of any age, though it may be of interest to feminist teens.
18+ or ask your adult
Where do I suggest you begin?
Stock, K. (2022). Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism. Fleet.
https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/kathleen-stock/material-girls/9780349726595/
Brumberg, J. J. ( 2010, 1997). The Body Project. Second edition. Publisher.
https://thebodyproject.com
DeBecker, G. (1997). The Gift of Fear. Little, Brown. https://giftoffear.com/book
and https://archive.org/details/giftoffearsurviv00debe_0
Our Bodies Ourselves Today. (2022, August 8). Our bodies, ourselves: The nine U.S. editions. Boston Women’s Health Collective, Our Bodies Ourselves Today.
https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/about-us/our-history/publications/our-bodies-ourselves-the-nine-u-s-editions
Launiuws, C. and Hassel, H. (2022). Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing. Third Edition. Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003041986/threshold-concepts-women-gender-studies-holly-hassel-christie-launius
Clemens, C. L. (2023). Introduction to Women’s & Gender Studies. (First). The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT).
https://paadopt.org/bookshelf/introduction-to-womens-gender-studies/
During this course, you may
Encounter a selection of current and classic university-level Women’s Studies readers, texts, instruments, and content
Become oriented to the interdisciplinary field of women’s studies, its scope, its bibliographies, collections, and information practices
Become conversant with cultural and institutional histories and context of “feminism” where you are from and globally
Develop the habit of disambiguating “sex” and “gender,” “sex” and “sexual intercourse,” “gender identity” and “sex”
Explore intersectionality, intersubjectivity, and intertextuality conceptually and via personal reflection, testimony, and witness
Explore and contrast differences among social constructions, prohibitions, and expressions of “gender,” “sexual orientation,” and those of “gender identity”
Explore the history of social construction of “gender identity” and inscription of “gender self-ID” across US, UK, and European institutions
Practice informed and effective navigation of the intersections of the personal, the professional, the pop, the pomp, and the politics of sex and gender identity across cultures, sub-cultures, and micro-cultures
Exercise the fundamental rights of women and girls to define ourselves and to maintain and enforce sex-based boundaries and our human rights as pleases us
INFORMATION LITERACY FRAMEWORKS
ACRL. (2016). ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education—Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association. Retrieved from https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
ACRL. (2013, 2021). Companion Document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Women’s and Gender Studies. Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association. Retrieved from https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/wgs_framework
See also
Keilty, P. and Dean, R. (Editors). (2013). Feminist and Queer Information Studies Reader. Litwin Books.
https://litwinbooks.com/books/feminist-and-queer-information-studies-reader/
Bly, L. and Wooten, K. (2012). Make Your Own History: Documenting Feminist and Queer Activism in the 21st Century. Litwin Books.
https://litwinbooks.com/books/make-your-own-history/
READERS
Clemens, C. L. (2023). Introduction to Women’s & Gender Studies. (First). The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT).
https://paadopt.org/bookshelf/introduction-to-womens-gender-studies/
Field, C. T. and Simmons, L. M. [Editors]. (2022). The Global History of Black Girlhood. University of Illinois Press.
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p086694
Howard, A., & Tarrant, S. R. A. (Eds.). (2000). Antifeminism in America: A Reader: A collection of readings from the literature of the opponents to U.S. feminism, 1848 to the present. Garland.
https://archive.org/details/antifeminisminam0000unse/page/n1/mode/2up
Launiuws, C. and Hassel, H. (2022). Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing. Third Edition. Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003041986/threshold-concepts-women-gender-studies-holly-hassel-christie-launius
Mankiller, W. [Editor]. (1998). The Reader’s Companion to U. S. Women’s History. Houghton Mifflin. Accessible via The Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/readerscompanion00mank/
Schneir, M. (1994). Feminism in Our Time: The Essential Writings. Vintage Books.
https://archive.org/details/feminisminourtim0000unse
Shulman, A. K. & Moore, H. (2021). Women’s Liberation: Feminist Writings That Inspired A Revolution and Still Can. Library of America. https://www.loa.org/books/645-womens-liberation-feminist-writings-that-inspired-a-revolution-amp-still-can/
Sullivan, A. & Todd, S. (Eds.) (2023) Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader. Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003286608/sex-gender-alice-sullivan-selina-todd
TEXTS
Awad, M. (2019). Bunny. Viking/Penguin, Random House.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576726/bunny-by-mona-awad/
Bechdel, A. (1987-2008). Dykes to Watch Out For [Comic strip]. https://dykestowatchoutfor.com/
Brown, R. M. (1973). Rubyfruit Jungle. Daughters.
https://archive.org/details/rubyfruitjungle00browrich
Brumberg, J. J. ( 2010, 1997). The Body Project. Second edition. Publisher.
https://thebodyproject.com
Butler, J. (2024). Who’s Afraid of Gender? Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374608224/whosafraidofgender
Cass, H. (2024). The Cass Review: Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people.
https://cass.independent-review.uk/
Cardillo, C. (2024, March 26). The WPATH files — Environmental progress. Environmental Progress.
https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/wpath-files
Cravens, R. J. [Editor]. (n. d.). Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience. Southern Poverty Law Center.
https://www.splcenter.org/captain
Cyberphunkisms. (2021, November 4). bell hooks on Cultural Criticism (FULL VERSION) [Video]. YouTube.
Chu, A. (2019). Females. Verso. https://www.versobooks.com/products/898-females
Corinna Cohn. (2024, June 4). Death before detransition? Yes. Substack.
Dodson, B. (1974). Liberating masturbation: a meditation on self love. Bodysex Designs. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/liberatingmastur0000dods
Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs. (2021, April 24). Wheels - Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs. Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs. https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/
Evans, R. H. (2014). Faith Unraveled: How a girl who knew all the answers learned to ask questions. Zondervan.https://rachelheldevans.com/faith-unraveled/
Frye, M. (1983). The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory. Freedom, California: Crossing Press. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/197801/politics-of-reality-by-marilyn-frye/
Gender Wheel. (2023, March 21). Gender Wheel - Nature-based, Decolonized, Holistic perspective of Gender - Gender Wheel. https://www.genderwheel.com/
Ho, F., & Mussap, A. J. (2019). The Gender Identity Scale: Adapting the Gender Unicorn to measure gender identity. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 6(2), 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000322
Jeffreys, S. (2015). Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful cultural practices in the West. Routledge. https://sheila-jeffreys.com/book/beauty-and-misogyny/
Lawton, J. F. (Director). (1989). Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death [Film]. Beyond Infinity. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094834/
Mann, A. (2023, April 12). Re-imagining the CLITORIS: A more Clitorate World, an illustrated guide. Medium. https://medium.com/@alakinamann/re-imagining-the-clitorisa-more-clitorate-world-an-illustrated-guide-61420ed5f773
Marchiano, L. (2018). The Language of the psyche: symptoms as symbols. In H. Brunskell-Evans & M. Moore (Eds.), Transgender Children and Young People: Born in your own body (pp. 107–122). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-0398-4
McCammon, S. (2024). The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church. St Martin’s Press. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250284471/theexvangelicals
Our Bodies Ourselves Today. (2022, August 8). Our bodies, ourselves: The nine U.S. editions. Boston Women’s Health Collective, Our Bodies Ourselves Today. https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/about-us/our-history/publications/our-bodies-ourselves-the-nine-u-s-editions
Pussyhat Project. (2020, October 6). PUSSYHAT PROJECTTM. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://www.pussyhatproject.com/
Rosy Wellness, Inc. (2020, October 18). Viva la vulva Coloring sheet. Meet Rosy. https://meetrosy.com/resources/vulva-coloring-sheet
Rosy Wellness, Inc. (2023, June 12). Color the clitoris coloring sheet. Meet Rosy. https://meetrosy.com/resources/clitoris-coloring-sheet
Serano, J. (2016, 2007). Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Second edition. Seal Press. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/julia-serano/whipping-girl/9781541604520/?lens=seal-press
Stock, K. (2022). Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism. Fleet. https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/kathleen-stock/material-girls/9780349726595/
Trans Student Educational Resources. (2015). “The Gender Unicorn.” http://www.transstudent.org/gender
Walker, S. (2015). Dietland. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. https://www.saraiwalker.com/dietland