A set of assignments that explore a social justice issue in Gender and Women Studies 310

For this course you will choose one social justice issue that you will learn about, follow, research and write about throughout the semester.

Your first assignment is an essay in which you will identify your chosen social justice issue for the semester. In 2-3 double-spaced pages name the issue you will focus on and explain why you chose it. For example, you might talk about its contemporary or personal relevance or about how you learned about this issue in another course and want to explore it more. This is an informal paper in which you should center your own experiences, passions, and thought process. The social justice essay is due Monday, February 5. The social justice essay is worth 5 percent of the final grade.

News Report:

Read 3-5 news articles on your social justice issue from reputable sources (i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, BBC News, New York Times, Boston Globe, The Guardian, etc.). Write a 2-3 page, double-spaced, report summarizing current events, legal cases, or laws relevant to your topic based on these news stories. Note: You may read coverage of a single event from more than one source, but do try to cover at least two events/cases/laws. The news report is due February 21 and is worth 10 percent of the final grade.

Activist Report:

Research and report on 2-3 activist groups, individuals, or non-profit organizations working on your social justice issue. Write a 2-3 pages double-spaced, report explaining who the individuals/groups/organizations are and what they do or are currently working on regarding your social justice issue. The activist report is due March 7 and is worth ten percent of the final grade.

Research Report:

Read 3-4 current academic articles on your social justice issue (less than 5 years old). Create an annotated bibliography (a paragraph-long summary of the article’s topic, arguments, methods, and conclusions) and a synthesized summary (a summary of what you learned from locating and reading the current academic articles/chapters, including any gaps in the existing research on your topic). The research report should be 3-5 pages, double spaced. It is due March 22 and is worth 15 percent of the final grade.

External Educational Activity Reports:

Participate in an external educational activity related to your research topic. Activities may occur on or off campus and include attending, witnessing, or participating in a protest or rally, listening to a talk (in person or online, such as TedTalks), viewing a documentary, reading an additional book (fiction or nonfiction), or attending an artistic event (art show, theater performance, etc.). Students should do three external educational activities throughout the course of the semester and may not repeat the same genre more than once (i.e. you can only watch two documentaries or attend two protests for credit). If you have any questions about if something would count as an external education activity, ask Dr. Schalk in advance. Each external educational activity report should be 2-3 pages, double-spaced, and explain what the activity was and what you learned. The external educational activity reports can submitted at any point in the semester, but must all be submitted by April 23 at the latest. The external educational activities reports are each worth 5 percent of the final grade for a total of 15 percent.

Final Project and Proposal:

All students will be required to create a creative final project which has a major narrative/writing component. Students may work individually or with one to two partners (pair/group work will need to justify the rationale for collaborative work in the proposal; pair/group work is typically reserved for work that incorporates audio or visual elements). Examples include short story, beginning of a novel, chapbook of poetry, creative non-fiction essay, comic strip series, children’s book, script, film, song/music video, or a mixed genre work. Written work should aim for the 8-12 page range, double-spaced but may vary based on genre. For example, a children’s book may have only two typewritten pages of words that are spread out over 15 pages with illustrations. Each final project will also be accompanied by a 2-3 page artist statement in which the writer explains their artistic choices and the purpose/intention of their project. The artist statement serves as a self-analysis of the project and therefore should be specific in naming and explaining stylistic, content, and genre choices. The final projects will be presented in class over the course of two days on May 2 and 6. All final project materials must be submitted by 5pm on Sunday May 6. The final project is worth 30 percent of the final grade.

All students must submit a 1-2 page proposal for their final project idea, detailing the genre of the final project, the general narrative/story concept, and a timeline for completion. For pairs or groups the proposal should also justify the need for multiple people on the project and detail the specific roles/labor of each person. The proposal is due April 4 and is worth 5 percent of the final grade.