Blog Assignment #4

Walking the Walk.

So far, this semester, we have really been talking the talk… We've been talked a lot about the roles of women in society. We've talked a lot about how gender is always constrained by race, class and other components of our identities. We've talked a lot about how the advancement of women's rights and struggles for equality may seem dramatic in the past 100 years and we have discussed the significant deficiencies that remain. We have also talked about feminism as a transformative expression of power that values and considers a mulitplicity of positions, identities and possiblities.

This blog assignment is an opportunity to walk the walk. You have two options, each requiring different kinds of research: volunteer or write a letter of protest.

Option One: be a volunteer. Identify an organization that advocates for a cause that is important to you. If you need help researching this, let me know. You can also visit the Women's Resource Center which maintains a compelling list of non-profits advocating for women and families. Once you've identified the organization, figure out how to go about volunteering. There's usually an application and possibly a visit to the site. Maybe you want to lead a food drive, hang the Clothesline Project or solicit student organizations in a fund raising effort on campus. What are the hoops you have to jump through to get that done? Whatever you choose to do, use your blog as a place to flesh out your proposal. Describe the effort required to learn about volunteering options. Explain why you chose this organization. What is the mission of the place you chose? How is it related to what you've learned in this class? You might want to lead with a very compelling quote from Andersen that addresses your focus. The possibilities are really endless – lobbyists, shelters, half-way houses, women's faculty associations, the pink chaps, civil liberties organizations, women's health centers.

Option #2 is to write a letter of protest to an authoritative figure and take a firm position of advocacy on behalf of a disenfranchised, minoritarian group. Maybe you want to write to a politician, a doctor, a religious leader. You may want to address someone at the university, a family member, a government entity. The most important thing to achieve in your writing (besides clarity!) is a convincing and well-reasoned argument. You want to keep the reader's attention, not have them dismiss your ideas because they are expressed in inflamtory language, erratic patterns, rage or sadness. Be sure to express your feelings, yes, but don't let them or your opinions get in the way of presenting your reasoned position.

Be honest and forthcoming in these and all your written responses for this course.

All information on this web site is subject to change at my discretion, including the reading schedule and due dates for assignments and exams. It is your responsibility to know what is due and when.

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