WS 624: WOMEN AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN LATIN AMERICA



WS 624: WOMEN & SOCIAL CHANGE IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Spring 2012

Cathy A. Rakowski Class: 312 CC

Office: 414C Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Rd MW 5:30-7:18

Ph:292-6447 email: rakowski.1@rosu.edu

Office hours: TR 4:30-5:30 (office), MW right before or after class in CC, or by appointment

Prerequisites: advanced undergraduate, honors, or graduate status.

Objectives: WS 624 emphasizes use of feminist theories and methods to analyze women’s organizing for social change in Latin America and the Caribbean. The course surveys social change through a focus on women's experiences, changing roles and values, and social problems as perceived by women themselves and as presented to us by those authors who document them. We will pay special attention to issues of citizenship and political action (revolutions, human rights movements, ethnic/racial/sexual rights movements, feminism).

When students complete this course they should have a good understanding of

1. Women’s perspectives on and experiences in families, workplaces, communities, societies and how this relates to their social activism

2. The diversity of women’s experiences by class, age, race, ethnicity, religion, location, and sexuality and how this relates to social activism

3. How women’s social activism has changed the nature of politics, human rights, and social movements in their contexts.

Carmen: Every course on campus has a Carmen site. You will receive information from me on our course Carmen site and you may be asked to post information to share with others. More instructions will follow during class.

Be sure to check Carmen frequently to keep track of postings under either the “News” section or on one of the discussion sites that I have set up for each week. I also may post articles or links to articles for specific class days. Each student will be asked to post information on a country of your choice that is relevant to specific topics that we are discussing (for example, gendered violence or lesbian rights, etc.). I will let you know ahead of time.

Texts: Everyone reads the following. Copies of books are on reserve at the Main Library and the book have been ordered through SBX

Kia Lilly Caldwell. Negras in Brazil: Re-envisioning Black Women, Citizenship, and the Politics of Identity.New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2007. (1 copy on reserve)

Medea Benjamin, Maisa Mendonca and Benedita da Silva. Benedita da Silva. Oakland: Institute for Food and Development Policy, 1997. (2 copies on reserve)

Marguerite Guzman Bouvard. Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1994. (2 copies on reserve)

Julie Shayne. The Revolution Question: Feminisms in El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba. Rutgers University Press, 2004. (1 copy on reserve)

Everyone reads one of the following short testimonials: I did not order any copies because I have several to share and there are very cheap used copies available. Each class member will read only ONE of these short and easy-to-read books.

Elvia Alvarado with Medea Benjamin. Don't Be Afraid, Gringo. A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart. 1987. (I have 3 copies)

Domitila Barrios de Chungara with Moema Viezzer. Let Me Speak! Testimony of Domitila, A Woman of the Bolivian Mines. 1978. (2 copies)

Elisabeth Burgos-Debray and Rigoberta Menchú. I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala. 1984. (3 copies)

Tula, Maria Teresa. Hear My Testimony: Maria Teresa Tula, Human Rights Activist of El Salvador. South End Press, 1994 (Trans. and background discussion by Lynn Stephen) (3 copies)

Recommended: Daphne Patai. Brazilian Women Speak: Contemporary Life Stories. Rutgers University Press, 1993. On Reserve Main Library. (1 copy on reserve at Main Library)

Requirements: This course is structured around seminar-style discussions, student presentations, and films (as text). Students and instructor share responsibility for discussions. Attendance is critical to your ability to participate fully and, since we are a small group, your consistent participation is extremely important.

Grades will be based on:

1. Class participation (discussions, workshops) (37% of grade)

2. Comments/critiques for class discussion (25% of grade)

3. A seminar paper of about 2500 words on a change topic of your choice (38% of grade)

Class participation Class participation includes participating in discussion, in-class workshops, leading a discussion, reporting on own on-going paper research or the situation in your chosen country, tying readings together, summarizing readings and other in-class activities. Postings to Carmen about a class discussion also count as participation.

Written assignments

Comments/critiques

You will be asked to write comments or critiques on a day or week’s readings—emphasizing your understanding of the readings and bringing specific issues to our class discussion. These will be short—usually a paragraph of about 150 words. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask for clarification. You will find a note highlighted in yellow indicating the days that comments should be brought. Remember, they should be thoughtful and thought provoking and make up 25% of your grade.

Seminar paper

This will be a more in-depth analysis of a social change topic of your choice. Examples: film/literature/art as a tool for social change/women’s rights; a case study of a specific women’s group/movement; analysis of socio-cultural, economic or political factors that place pressures on or provide new opportunities for women; sexuality rights issues and activism in a specific country or in the region; indigenous women’s movements, etc. Feel free to share ideas for me; I’m happy to provide feedback and may even have ideas of sources.. The paper should be based primarily on scholarly sources though news items and country reports by watchdog agencies can be useful. Appropriate length would about 2500 words or 6-8 pages double spaced. Word count should be printed at the bottom of the paper.

Additional instructions for seminar papers and critiques/comments

All written materials must be typed or word processed, with correct spelling and grammar and a standard sized font (not excessively large or excessively small). I prefer Times Roman 11 pt. [the font you see here]. I also prefer 1 inch margins all around, not the 1.25 that is L/R default for Word. Your papers may be single spaced, space and a half, or double spaced. The paper must have a title and you should clearly state your goal early on.

Short comments/critiques should be single-spaced. Ordinarily, they will be between 200-300 words. They should be handed in at the end of class. (They may not be submitted by e-mail since the point is to use them for class discussion.)

Written work will be evaluated on critical thinking, understanding of issues and accurate use of concepts, logic and coherence of arguments, quality of the analysis in the allotted space/length, and ability to explain ideas clearly and relate them to the themes and issues of this course. Creative approaches and topics are welcome for final papers.

Testimonios Everyone reads Benedita da Silva’s testimonial. Each class member will read one additional testimonial. A reading guide will be provided. An in-class workshop will focus on a comparison of the testimonials of Rigoberta Menchú, Domitila Barrios, María Teresa Tula & Elvia Alvarado.

Course policies Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. All suspected cases of cheating or plagiarism will be referred to university authorities. University policy is that verified cheating or plagiarism on any one assignment will result in an F for the course.

Absences for which a student has a) received prior permission from me or b) can produce a valid, verifiable reason will be considered "excused absences." Unexcused absences will result in the lowering of the participation grade. If you anticipate a conflict, please contact me as soon as possible so we can work out a solution.

If any student finds her/himself having difficulty with course materials, deadlines, writing assignments or others, please discuss this with me immediately. If a family emergency comes up, contact me right away so that I can work on a solution with you.

Special needs

Students with special needs should contact the Office for Disability Services, 150 Pomerene Hall, 292-3307. They will help me to work with you to reasonably accommodate your special needs. Please let me know of your needs in a timely manner.

SCHEDULE

@ Carmen comments page

All other articles can be downloaded from the electronic journals site at the OSU library page or from the internet

Wk 1 March 26 – 28 Introduction: Historical, Spatial, and Cultural Underpinnings

Monday

Introduction to the course

Background on the region

Hand in your personal information sheet today

Come to class with some basic information on a country of your choice in Latin America or the Caribbean.

Assigned readings Wednesday: Each student will choose a testimonio today for Week 6

Tiano, Susan. "The role of women." Pp. 263-296 in Richard Hillman, ed. Understanding Contemporary Latin America. Second edition. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1997. @

Maier, Elizabeth. “Accommodating the private into the public domain: Experiences and legacies of the past four decades.” Pp. 26-44 in E. Maier & N. Lebon, eds. Women’s Activism in Latin America and the Caribbean: Engendering Social Justice, Democratizing Citizenship. Rutgers Univ. Press, 2010.

Want to read more?

Hite, Amy Bellone and Jocelyn Viterna. “Gendering class in Latin America: How women effect and experience change in the class structure.” Latin American Research Review 40, 2, June 2005:50-82.

Garcés, Elena. Chapter 6 “Focus on socioeconomic and political realities.” Colombian Women: The Struggle out of Silence. “Boulder: Lexington Books, 2008:113-143.@

Vaughan, Mary Kay. “Modernizing patriarchy: State policies, rural households, and women in Mexico, 1930-1940.” Pp. 194-212 in E. Dore and M. Moyneux, eds. Hidden Histories of Gender and the State in Latin America. Duke Univ Press, 2000. @

Wk 2 April 2 - 4 Gender Stereotypes and Cultural Norms, Ethnicity

Assigned readings Monday:

Norget, Kristin. “La mujer abnegada: notes on women’s roles and status in Oaxaca, Mexico.” Cambridge Anthropology 15,2,1991:1-24.@

Chant, Sylvia and Nikki Craske. “Gender and sexuality.” Read pages 128-147 on heterosexual norms (pages 147-160 will be read at a later date). S. Chant & N. Craske, eds. Gender in Latin America. Rutgers University Press, 2003.@

Want to read more?

Young, Grace Esther. “The myth of being ‘like a daughter’.” Latin American Perspectives 14, 3, 1987:365-380. (on being a servant; a very good article)

Gill, Lesley. “’Proper women’ and city pleasures: Gender, class, and contested meanings in La Paz.” American Ethnologist 20, 1, 1993:72-88. (about markers of ethnicity too)

Assigned readings Wednesday:

Eber, Christine. “Seeking our own food: Indigenous women’s power and autonomy in San

Pedro Chenalho, Chiapas (1980-1998).” Latin American Perspectives 26, 3, May

1999: 6-36.

Stephen, Lynn. Chapter 3: “Julia, Cristina, Angela, Alicia, and Imelda: Five women’s stories.” Pp. 40-63 in Zapotec Women. Austin, University of Texas Press, 1991.@

Search for Chiapas and the Zapatistas online to get some background on both the culture and their resistance to state repression. This will help you understand some of the details in the Eber article.

Also search for information on the Zapotecs as a cultural group. Again, will provide a context for understanding the women Stephen interviewed.

Film: “Skirt Full of Butterflies” (Mexico, 15 min.) We will view it in class.

Want to read more?

Nelson, Lise. “Geographies of state, power, protest, and women’s political identity formation in Michoacan, Mexico.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 96, 2, 2006:366-89.

Richards, Patricia. “The politics of gender, human rights, and being indigenous in Chile.” Gender & Society 19, 2, 2005: 199-220. (about the much repressed Mapuche)

Hernández Castillo, R. Aída. “Between feminist ethnocentricity and ethnic essentialism: The Zapatistas’ demands and the national indigenous women’s movement.” Pp. 57-74 in Shannon Speed, et al., eds. Dissident women: Gender and cultural politics in Chiapas. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006. @

Wk 3 April 9 - 11 Culture: A Focus on Religion & Spirituality

Assigned readings Monday: BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

Drogus, Carol Ann. “Private power or public power: Pentecostalism, base communities, and gender.” Pp. 55-75 in Edward Cleary & Hanna Stewart-Gambino, eds. Power, Politics, and Pentecostals in Latin America. Westview Press, 1997.@

Alvarez, Sonia. “Women’s participation in the Brazilian ‘People’s church’: A critical appraisal.” Feminist Studies 16, 2, 1990: 381-480.

Want to read more?

Nararro, Marysa. “Against Marianismo.” Pp. 257-72 in Rosario Montoya, et al. Gender’s Place: Feminist Anthropologies of Latin America. Palgrave, 2002. @

Assigned readings Wednesday:

Patai, Daphne: “Sister Denise: The people live the gospel” (from book on reserve in library)@

Patai, Daphne. “Angela: In spiritualism there’s real equality.” (from book on reserve in library)@

Film “Flowers for Guadalupe” (Mexico, 57 min.) We will view it in class.

Wk 4 April 16 - 18 Identity Politics: Race, Class and Gender in Brazil

Assigned reading for Monday:

Caldwell book: Prologue, Introduction, Part 1 and Part 2 Chapter 3

Assigned reading for Wednesday: BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

Caldwell book: Part 2 Chapter 4, Part 3 and Epilogue

Want to read more?:

Duke, Dawn. “Alzira Rufino’s A Casa da Cultura da Mulher Negra as a form of female empowerment: A look at the dynamics of a black women’s organization in Brazil today.” Women’s Studies International Forum 26, 4, 2003: 357-68.

Lovell, Peggy. “Gender, race, and the struggle for social justice in Brazil.” Latin American Perspectives 27, 6, 2000: 85-103.

Wk 5 April 23 – 25 Identity Politics: Sexuality

Assigned readings for Monday: BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

Chant, Sylvia & Nikki Craske. “Gender and sexuality.” Read pages 147-160 remaining from total of 128-160 in S. Chant & N. Craske, eds. Gender in Latin America. Rutgers University Press, 2003. @

Babb, Florence. “Out in Nicaragua: Local and transnational desires after the revolution.” Cultural Anthropology 18, 3, 2003:304-328.

View the film Sex and the Sandinistas before class. It is about ½ hour long and will be on our class playlist at the Media Library site.

Want to read more?

Thayer, Millie. “Identity, revolution, and democracy: Lesbian movements in Central America. Pp. 144-172 in J. Corrales and M. Pecheny, eds. The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America. Univ of Pittsburgh Press, 2010.

Friedman, Elisabeth. “Lesbians in (cyber)space: The politics of the internet in Latin American on-and off-line communities.” Media, Culture and Society 29, 5, 2007:790-811.

Daphne Patai. “Madalena: You’re a militant and a homosexual; obviously there’s a problem.”@

Rivera Fuentes, Consuelo. “’Todas locas, todas vivas, todas libres’: Chilean lesbians 1980-95.” Pp. 138-151 in From Amazon to Zami: Towards a Global Lesbian Feminism. Cassell, 1996. @

Madden Arias, Rose Mary. “Outraging public morality: The experience of a lesbian feminist group in Costa Rica.” Pp. 130-36 in Monika Reinfelder, ed. Amazon to Zami: Towards a Global Lesbian Feminism. Cassell, 1996. @

Assigned Reading for Wednesday:

Brown, Stephen. “’Con discriminación y represión no hay democracia.’ The lesbian and gay movement in Argentina.” Latin American Perspectives 29, 2, 2002:119-38. (an earlier version of this article is posted to Carmen on the comments page)

Film: “Lesbians in Buenos Aires” (Argentina, 82 min.) We will view it in class.

Want to read more?:

Check out the following website for International Viewpoint: The Fourth International and read IV Online Magazine: IV351-2 - Summer 2003 on Rights for gays and lesbians.

Friedman, Elisabeth Jay. “Gender, sexuality and the Latin American left: Testing the transformation.” Third World Quarterly 30, 2, 2009:415-433.

Wk 6 April 30 - May 2 Testimonios

Assigned readings Monday: BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

Benedita da Silva

Recommended:

Rakowski, Cathy. “Women as political actors: The move from maternalism to citizenship rights and power.” Latin American Research Review 38, 2, June 2003: 180-94.

Film segment on Benedita will be shown in class

Assigned readings Wednesday: workshop in class today on Domitila, Rigoberta, Maria Teresa, or Elvia BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

Optional (for insight into the testimonial as a specific type of writing):

Marin, Lynda. “Speaking out together: Testimonials of Latin American women.” Latin American Perspectives 18, 3, Summer 1991: 51-68.

OR

Brabeck, Kalina. “Testimonio: A strategy for collective resistance, cultural survival and building solidarity.” Feminism and Psychology 13, 2, 2003:252-258.

Wk 7 May 7 – 9 Gendered Violence in Women’s Lives

Assigned readings Monday:

Sagot, Montserrat. “The critical path of women affected by family violence in Latin America: Case studies from 10 countries.” Violence against Women 11, 10, 2005:1292-1318.

Cole, Sally and Lynne Phillips. “The violence against women campaigns in Latin America.” Feminist Criminology 3, 2, 2008:145-68.

Frias, Sonia. “Resisting patriarchy within the State: Advocacy and family violence in Mexico.” Women’s Studies International Forum 33, 2010:542-551.

Choose a country in Latin America or the Caribbean. See if you can find articles or information on domestic and/or sexual violence in your country. Check on whether or not there is legislation or activism against gendered violence, often framed as “a woman’s right to a life free from violence.” Be ready to report on your country in class. BRING COMMENTS AND HAND IN FOR CREDIT.

Assigned readings Wednesday:

MacDowell Santos, Cecilia. “En-gendering the police: Women’s police stations and feminism in Sao Paulo.” Latin American Research Review 39, 3, October 2004:29-55.

Ellsberg, M.C., A. Winkvist, R. Peña, H. Stenlund. “Women’s strategic responses to violence in Nicaragua.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 55, 2005:547-555.

Film “El dia que tu me quieras/The day you love me” (Nicaragua, 61 min.) We will view it in class

Want to read more?

Walsh, Shannon Drysdale. “Engendering justice: Constructing institutions to address violence against women.” Studies in Social Justice 2, 1, 2008:48-66. (this is an open journal on the internet)

Sanford, Victoria. “From genocide to feminicide: Impunity and human rights in twenty-first century Guatemala.” Journal of Human Rights 7, 2008:104-122.

Wk 8 May 14 – 16 Revolutionary Motherhood

BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS EITHER MONDAY OR WEDNESDAY

Assigned reading Monday:

Revolutionizing Motherhood, Introduction and Chapters 1-6

Optional but highly recommended: Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo is a film (64 min.) that covers much of the historical facts that are discussed in the book. I have reserved it on our course playlist through the Media Library for this week.

Assigned reading Wednesday:

Revolutionizing Motherhood, Chapters 7-10

Film “Scraps of Life” (Chile, 25 min) We will view it in class

Want to read more?

Bosco, Fernando J. “The Madres de Plaza de Mayo and three decades of human rights’ activism: Embeddedness, emotions, and social movements.” Annals of the Association of American Geography 96, 2, 2006:342-65.

Wk 9 May 21 – 23 From Armed Conflict to Women’s Movements

Assigned for Monday:

Shane book, Intro and chapters 1 and 2 BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

View film posted to Media Library site under WGSS 624 playlist: “Maria’s Story”

“Maria’s Stories. Maria Ofelia Navarrete.” Pp 22-30 in K. Bhavnani, et al. eds. Feminist Futures. Zed Books, 2003. (I will post to Carmen; this is the Maria we see in the film.) @

Want to read more?:

Viterna, Jocelyn. “Pulled, pushed, and persuaded: Explaining women’s mobilization into the Salvadoran guerrilla army.” American Journal of Sociology 112, 1, 2006:1-45.

Shayne, Julia D. “Gendered revolutionary bridges: Women in the Salvadoran resistance movement (1979-1992).” Latin American Perspectives 26, 3, 1999: 85-102.

Chinchilla, Norma S. “Mobilizing women: Revolution in the revolution.” Latin American Perspectives 4, 4, 1977: 83-102.

Assigned readings Wednesday: BRING COMMENTS TO DISCUSS TODAY

Shayne book Chapters 3 & 4 (Chile) or Chapters 5 & 6 Cuba (we will divide the two cases up before today and will compare them in a workshop); everyone reads the Conclusion

Want to read more?:

Molyneux, Maxine. “State, gender, and institutional change: The Federación de Mujeres Cubanas.” Pp. 291-321 in E. Dore and M. Molyneux, eds. Hidden Histories of Gender and the State in Latin America. Duke Univ Press, 2000. @

Wk 10 May 31 – June 2 Feminisms and Women’s Rights Advances

Monday: Holiday, no class

Assigned readings Wednesday:

Marcos, Sylvia. “Twenty-five years of Mexican feminisms.” Women’s Studies International Forum 22, 4,1999: 431-33.

Rakowski, Cathy & Gioconda Espina. “Advancing Women’s Rights Inside and Outside the Bolivarian Revolution: 1998-2010.” Pp. 157-94 in Thomas Ponniah and Jonathan Eastwood, eds. The Bolivarian Revolution. Cambridge: Harvard Univ Press, 2011.@

Blofield, Merike and Liesl Haas. “Defining a democracy: Reforming the laws on women’s rights in Chile, 1990-2002.” Latin American Politics and Society 47, 3, 2005:35-68.

Want to read more?:

Kampwirth, Karen. “Resisting the feminist threat: Antifeminist politics in post-Sandinista Nicaragua.” NWSA Journal 18, 2, 2006:73-100.

Blandon, Maria Teresa. “The Coalición Nacional de Mujeres: An alliance of left-wing women, right-wing women, and radical feminists in Nicaragua.” Pp. 111-31 in V. Gonzalez & K. Kampwirth, eds. Radical Women in Latin American: Left and Right. Penn State Univ. Press, 2001. @

Mongrovejo, Norma. “Sexual preference, the ugly duckling of feminist demands: The lesbian movement in Mexico.” Pp. 308-35 in E. Blackwood & S. Wieringa, eds. Female Desires. Columbia University Press, 1999. @

Lamas, Marta. “The Mexican feminist movement and public policy-making.” Pp. 113-26 in G. Lycklama a Nijeholt, et al., eds. Women’s Movements and Public Policy in Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Garland Publishing, 1998. @

Lamas, Marta. “De la A a la Z: A feminist alliance experience in Mexico.” Pp. 103-15 in Victoria Rodriguez, ed. Women’s Participation in Mexican Political Life. Westview Press, 1998.@

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Seminar Papers due Friday

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