Your work for this course will culminate in a final project in which you will research a feminist conflict of your choice. You may interpret both “feminist” and “conflict” broadly, but I do want you to make sure that your research remains closely tied to the issues of feminist community and activism that we have been discussing in class. For example, it would not be acceptable to choose “Israel/Palestine” as your conflict, but it would be appropriate to research debates and divisions surrounding feminist organizations’ support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign.
The basic expectation for the final format of this project is a 12-15 page scholarly paper. However, I am happy for you to make use of different formats according to your interests and commitments, so long as the project engages with scholarly sources. For example, you might wish to produce a policy document that could become part of an organization’s approach to abuse and harassment – in this case, I might ask you to write a reflection that draws upon feminist critiques of anti-harassment policy. Or you might wish to develop a creative project, in which case I might ask you to incorporate a scholarly exegesis of the themes you are exploring.
You will develop your project in stages.
1. Preliminary proposal. Due Friday March 15. 5% of total grade.
1-2 paragraphs explaining your idea for the project. Include:
- An explanation of the conflict you wish to research (include links or citations if it’s obscure)
- Why this conflict is significant
- One or two questions to explore – these should not be questions you already know the answer to.
- The format you expect to use for your project
- Any concerns or difficulties you expect to confront
2. Annotated bibliography. Due Friday 4/12. 10% of total grade.
Requirements: at least 8 items (academic articles, non-academic sources, films, books, etc) relating to your topic. Items may not be readings from class.
For each source, include:
• A full citation – any style is acceptable (MLA and Chicago are your professor’s favorites)
• A summary of the content (What is its context and purpose? What argument does it make? 100-300 words)
• An evaluation of the content (Is it effective? Difficult? Problematic? 100-300 words)
Your list should include:
• At least 4 peer-reviewed scholarly sources, from any discipline
• No more than 2 sources where text is shorter than 750 words/video or audio is less than 5 minutes
• At least 2 sources that are NOT scholarly articles
In addition to your list, include a paragraph (around 300 words) telling me the current status of your project idea and how your research has influenced it.
3. Workshop version. This is a draft of at least 5 pages, which you will discuss with classmates in a peer workshop.
Due in class as hard copy (bring 4 copies) on May 2, with upload to ELMS by midnight. 10% of total grade.
Requirements:
• The 5 pages do not need to be polished, final writing, but they do need be comprehensible to readers who are unfamiliar with the conflict you are discussing. Make sure to include:
• the research questions that are guiding your process
• an outline of the structure you think your final project might follow
• discussion of what you have found out from the research you have done so far
• the complexities, difficulties, questions, and concerns you are facing in your process
4. Presentation. In our final exam session, Wednesday May 22 at 10.30am. 5% of your grade.
Requirements:
• Share your final project in a 5 minute presentation (10 minutes max)
• Use visual aids (slides, a handout, etc)
• Introduce the conflict you’ve been researching
• Show what you’ve learned from your research
• Describe the format and argument of your final project
• Explain the “so what” of the project: what can we learn from this example of feminist conflict
4. Final version. Due on Wednesday 5/22 at midnight (early submission is encouraged!). 20% of total grade. We will discuss requirements for the final project in class, and develop detailed expectations for individual projects using non-standard formats on a case by case basis as necessary. Here are the basics.
• 12-15 page research paper or equivalent length (equivalences to be determined, depending on formats chosen)
• Must draw explicitly on the research included in annotated bibliography
• Must connect to readings from and/or discussions in class
• Must cite sources clearly and consistently
