Welcome to the official SWMS 301 Introduction to Feminist Theory class website at USC. This course explores the various domains of the feminist movement and its history. Directed by Dr. Diana York Blaine, the class usually engages mostly in discussions of relevant feminist topics from the reading assignments given each week.
Beginning with bell hooks' Feminism is for Everybody, this course will examine the passion and politics that have contributed to the ever-evolving movement for women and men's emancipation from gender oppression. Topics will include how Enlightenment beliefs shaped early feminist demands for equality; problems of racism in the Second Wave; current calls for the elimination of conventional sex roles by transgendered advocates; and the viability of feminism for future generations. We will also strive to connect theory with practice, understanding how--and if--academic abstractions translate into viable social change.
What is Feminism?
Feminism is a commitment to eradicating the ideology of domination that permeates Western culture on various levels-- sex, race, and class, to name a few-- and a commitment to reorganizing U.S. society, so that the self-development of people can take precedence over imperialism, economic expansion, and material desires.
---bell hooks
I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.
---Rebecca West
Textbooks:
Feminist Theory: A Reader, eds. Kolmar and Bartkowski
Feminism is for Everybody, bell hooks
Course reader (available at The Paperclip in University Village)
Dr.Blaine:
Office: PIC 205d, T 11am-1pm; W 1pm-2pm & by appt
This website was originally created by Rozy Khan (most of the text is hers), passed on to Sarah Hamblin for Spring 2004 (THANK YOU!!) and is currently being maintained by Michele Aguilar this semester.
Feel free to email me, Michele, with comments, questions and ideas for the site!
email dr.blaine | email michele