Monday, August 15, 2016

Welcome to Feminist Theory!

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We will share together the multiplicity of feminist theories which have been developed to explain power, social change,  justice movements, and identity. Current feminist writings will be considered in book circles where we will delve into cultural contexts making up our current historical moment and connect these to activist traditions. We will analyze how and why feminist theory is made, and imagine its possibilities for the issues that matter the most to us individually, as a class, and with groups we care about.

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>>We will be curious and consider, What is feminist theory for? as we figure things out and explore new words, ideas, and happenings 


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Worlds-becoming: diabetes, mood, gut feminisms, new materialist SF. Katie King's paper for "The Diseased Posthuman," a Posthumanities International Network (PIN) symposium at Tema Genus (Dept. of Gender Studies), Linköping University, Sweden, 6-7 June 2016. http://newmatsf.blogspot.com

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>>We will work in book circles ....



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Recommended books: 

• Bechdel. 2013. Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paper ISBN: 9780544002234
• Calvo. 2015. Decolonize your Diet. Arsenal. Paper ISBN: 9781551525921
• Chen. 2012. Animacies: Biopolitics, Racial Mattering, and Queer Affect. Duke. Paper ISBN: 9780822352723
• Imarisha. 2015. Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements. AK Press. ISBN: 9781849352093
• Shotwell. 2011. Knowing Otherwise: Race, Gender, and Implicit Understanding. Penn State. Paper ISBN: 9780871037640
• Wilson. 2015. Gut Feminism. Duke. Paper ISBN: 9780822359708

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>>We will explore networks of transmedia storytelling and activism: 

http://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/blog/subversive-spinning


"...I do believe there is an important role for this type of subtle, non-confrontational demonstration. When was the last time you went to the mall and saw something that made you stop and think?"

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"Changing Clothes is an ongoing project that investigates the politics and ecology of clothes through a series of sculptures, collaborations, and public participations that explore the everday world of producing, wearing, and discarding clothes." 
Redmond, L. 2014. "Subversive Spinning." On Made by Lea Blog. Leafcutter Designs. http://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/blog/subversive-spinning

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 >>We will research to find out Which feminist theories help us understand what is happening here? 

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Sturgeon, N. 1995. "Theorizing Movements." In Cultural Politics and Social Movements, pp. 35-51. Darnovsky, M.; B. Epstein, R. Flacks (Eds.) Temple.

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First entry in our Weekly outline of class assignments & activities 




Tuesday 30 Aug – Welcome to Our Course!

>BEFORE CLASS:


EXPLORE CLASS WEBSITE CAREFULLY! NOTE HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR FIRST CLASS! http://femtheo16.blogspot.com
WEB ASSIGNMENT: Redmond, L. 2014. "Subversive Spinning." On Made by Lea Blog. Leafcutter Designs. http://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/blog/subversive-spinning
READ: Embedded excerpt from Sturgeon, N. 1995. "Theorizing Movements." In Cultural Politics and Social Movements, pp. 35-51. Darnovsky, M.; B. Epstein, R. Flacks (Eds.) Temple. Embedded on course website <Home> tab. Free Scribd Mobile app: http://www.scribd.com/about

>IN CLASS:

HANDED OUT: Syllabus & 2 weeks assignments, Info Sheet
MAKING: 5 min. Attendance Portraits (Barry. 2014. Syllabus. Drawn & Quarterly. p. 56.) https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/syllabus
CLASS BUDDIES, CLASS WEBSITE, SMART PHONES?
Intro to course texts. Bring all the books you have so far!

We will start off with our first MAKING & PROTOTYPING practice: Taking Attendance with Index Portraits, a exercise drawn and played with by cartoonist Lynda Barry. Using our cards we will the take up making class buddies, interviewing each other, and otherwise beginning to create ourselves as a community of intellectual friends. With a classmate generate a list of questions to ask each other about topics that you hope to make part of this class, and take notes on your responses to share with everyone. 

We will also read, interconnect, and discuss the Redmond blog post and the embedded excerpt from Sturgeon's essay on Direct Theory, a key concept we will be using throughout this class. 


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(Barry. 2014. Syllabus. Drawn & Quarterly. p. 56.) https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/syllabus

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