Thank You for a Great Class

By now, everyone should've been contacted with their final grade. Grades will be submitted Monda evening.

I'd like to take this final opportunity to thank you for two very enjoyable classes. I had a good time in class and I hope you did, too. Thank you for taking this interesting trip into gender issues with me. I appreciate your open-mindedness and willingness to think about new things.

Have a fun (and safe) break. Please keep in touch.

-D

[Week 17]

First, a reminder that there are no further class meetings this semester, including this Tuesday the 11th. Last Thursday was our final meeting.

Next, your extra-credit assignment (Reflection 09), which is optional, is due to me via email by tomorrow (Monday the 10th) at noon.

Finally, I had originally planned on mailing everyone about their potential grade starting today. However, it turns out that the first round of scoring for your essays must be done by me. So, I now have 100 essays to score (blindly, of course) before Tuesday that I wasn't anticipating. That means I'll hold off on emailing you your grades until after the finals are scored, probably Thursday or Friday. (I will still notify you of any missing assignments.) I'd like to be finished with grades by next Saturday.

I'll update this post throughout the week. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

-D

UPDATE 12.13:
I received your final exams much sooner than I expected, so I have begun contacting everyone from my four sections about their final grades. It is a slow process, so please be patient. I have 100 people to email, and so it'll take time. I hope to have emailed everyone by Sunday.

The end is near! 

Reflection 9: Moving On—Reflections on Reading and Writing about Gender (Optional Extra-Credit Assignment)

Time to reflect on a semester's worth of gender issues

Your extra-credit assignment asks that you reflect upon a semester's worth of reading and writing about gender. What about the subject matter struck you as most interesting? What surprised you? Did you change your mind about any particular aspect of gender? Were any preconceived notions of yours changed or challenged? Has the perception of your own gender been changed as a result of this course? What about your perception of the opposite sex? In a reflection-style response, consider the experience of studying various aspects of gender in an English composition class. 

Worth up to 10 extra-credit pts. 

Required:

• MLA Style
• Must be exactly two-full pages in length

Due: Monday, December 10th by noon via email

For Your Final Exam Preparation

Below are two sample prompts for your final exam this week. Also included is the rubric from which your essay will be scored.

• Sample Prompt 1
• Sample Prompt 2
• Grading Rubric

Here is a sample 1A prompt along with a corresponding annotated essay:

• Sample Prompt 3 (Jihad vs. McWorld)
• Sample Prompt 3 Annotated Essay (Jihad vs. McWorld) 

PowerPoint presentation:

• The Mad Dash: Thesis Statements

Week 16

She is neither pink nor pale,

And she never will be all mine;

She learned her hands in a fairy-tale,

And her mouth on a valentine.

She has more hair than she needs;

In the sun ’tis a woe to me!

And her voice is a string of colored beads,

Or steps leading into the sea.

She loves me all that she can,

And her ways to my ways resign;

But she was not made for any man,

And she never will be all mine.

—Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Witch-Wife"

Week 16
Tu12.04
Class: Final exam prep; Lecture—“The Mad Dash: Thesis Statements”

Th 12.06 (FINAL CLASS)
Class: Final exam prep; Lecture—“The Mad Dash: Essay Outlines”
Due: REFLECTION 8-A or 8-B

Sa 12.08
FINAL EXAM: 8 AM, SCI 142*

*My four sections will be sharing this lecture hall with four sections belonging to Prof. Mohsenzadegan. That means there will be 200 students taking the exam in the same room, so please get there on time to ensure that you get a seat that works best for you.

Gender in the News: 12.01.12

Indians commemorate World AIDS Day 2012

• December 1st is World AIDS Day BALTIMORE SUN
• Rihanna and Chris Brown get comfy on Instagram ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
• ...Earlier: Chris Brown in vulgar Twitter war with comedy writer HUFFINGTON POST (NSFW)
• West Point's chapel has its first same-sex wedding NAVY TIMES
  
• Push back on Fox News' "War on Men" CNN
• ...Also on Fox: Doctor call mom "nuts" for giving her son a doll  MEDIA MATTERS

Reflection 08-B: Crowning Achievements—The Cult of the Princess

Do Disney's princess help or hurt young girls' self-esteem?

Though America has no history of royalty, we are currently overrun with princesses. Specifically, we have been invaded by a pint-sized army of pink-clad and bejeweled little girls. Led by Disney's iconic female characters, young girls across the country are currently eating up all things princess. But along with this craze has come new concerns that this fascination with princesses, with its emphasis of appearance and passivity, is actually undermining girls. Some argue that girls are getting the message that fantasy, even romance, are more important that self-sufficiency and personal growth. Is princess play harmless fun or can it negatively impact a girl's self-esteem? Is there a middle ground? Can the princess motif be modified to better empower girls? Finally, if princesses are, indeed, harmful to girls in the long run, what would be a more suitable interest for them to pursue? 

Include at least two of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "Disney Princesses and the Battle for Your Daughter’s Soul" (Daily Beast) 
• "Bonfire of the Disney Princesses" (The Nation) 
• "When Princess and Non-Princess Worlds Collide" (Princess-Free Zone) 
• "Disney's Royally Twisted Message to Girls" (Utne Reader) 
• "In Defense of Disney Princesses" (Religion Today) 
• "The Princess Effect: Self-Esteem Builder or Self-Image Destroyer?" (KSMU Radio) 

 Requirements:

•  Must be in MLA Style 
• Must be two full pages in length 
• Must include a works cited page 

Due: Thursday, Dec. 6th