HUM325 - 01 - The F-Word: Feminisms

What does it mean to call oneself (or someone else) a 'feminist'? How does gender intersect with other social hierarchies to shape both how we see and how we are seen by others? In this course, we will examine the various waves of feminism and try to determine if and how each feminism can successfully combat sexism, racism, and class-based oppressions. In understanding layers of social oppression, feminisms, and ways of being feminist, we will read texts from authors such as Roxanne Gay, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Angela Davis, and Kimberlé Crenshaw. In understanding feminism globally, we will read global south authors such as Lila Abu-Lughod, Chandra Mohanty, Susan AbulHawa, and Leila Ahmad. We will investigate Global South feminism as distinct from white Western liberal feminism, responding to specific experiences and cultural norms and achieving particular goals. During the semester, we reflect together about what feminism must be in order to break away from capitalist patriarchal ways of being, in the US and globally. [ formerly Gender Identity and The F-Word: Feminism]