Rutgers University Professor Sanbonmatsu Mondays, Thursdays 12:35-1:55 p.m. Office: Hickman 609 Hickman 201 sanbon@rci.rutgers.edu Office hours: Thursdays 11:15 a.m. -12:15 p.m. 732-932-9384 x265 and by appointment Women and American Politics Political Science 335/Women s and Gender Studies 336 Fall 2014 This course examines women s participation in American politics as citizens, voters, activists, and elites. Topics will include: the mobilization of women into politics through the suffrage movement and the modern women s movement; the role of gender in shaping public opinion and electoral behavior; public opinion and electoral behavior on gender issues; women s activities within the political parties; the experiences of women candidates and officeholders; and policymaking on gender issues. We will consider the meaning and nature of gender equality and analyze the ways that gender intersects with other categories such as race and ethnicity. Throughout the semester, we will be following the role of women and gender issues in the 2014 midterm election. This course is designed to introduce students to the study of gender and U.S. politics including the central questions, concepts, and debates in the field. Students will develop a theoretical framework and analytical tools for studying gender and politics. The course is also intended to teach students about the research process and to strengthen students analytic, critical thinking, writing, and oral communication skills. Course Requirements 20% Class participation 35% Midterm exam (Thursday, October 9 in class) 45% Final exam (Tuesday, December 16 at noon) The format for our class will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and small group work. Please come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Your class participation grade will be based on your oral participation in class and your participation in small group work during class. The midterm exam will be held on Thursday, October 9 and the final exam will be held on Tuesday December 16. The final exam schedule and university policies regarding final exams are available at: http://scheduling.rutgers.edu/fallfinals.shtml Except under unusual circumstances, I do not give makeup exams. In the unlikely event of a medical emergency on the day of an exam, please be prepared to provide a dean with documentation. Please make a note that we have class on *Tuesday* November 25, which Rutgers has designated as a Thursday class schedule. (Therefore we will meet Monday and Tuesday that week, November 24 and 25.) 1
The best way to contact me is by email (sanbon@rci.rutgers.edu). If you wish to meet with me but cannot attend my office hours, please email me to schedule an appointment. University Policy: Absences Students are expected to attend all classes. If you expect to miss one or two classes, please indicate the date and reason for your absence using the university s absence reporting website: https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra This website will automatically send an email to me. In cases where students must miss classes for periods longer than one week, you will need to see a Dean of Students for assistance to help verify these circumstances. Required Books 1. Carroll, Susan J., and Richard L. Fox, eds. 2014. Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics, Third Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press. (this book is included on the syllabus as Carroll and Fox ) 2. Sandberg, Sheryl. 2013. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. * Please note that you will need the THIRD edition of the Carroll and Fox book * Recommended Book Evans, Sara M. 2003. Tidal Wave: How Women Changed America at Century s End. New York: Free Press. The books are available at the Rutgers University Bookstore/Barnes and Noble (732-246-8448) and at NJ Books, 37 Easton Ave (732-253-7666). They will also be available on reserve at the Mabel Smith Douglass Library. Required Sakai Readings All other readings listed on this syllabus are required and are available on the Sakai system: https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal To access the readings: Please use your Rutgers NetID and password to access our course worksite. Once you log in (at the upper, right corner of the screen), click on the tab at the top of the page for our course ( Women and Am Politics F14 ). Click on Resources on the left side of the screen to access the list of readings. (You will find that when you click on some of the journal articles, you will need to log in again to access them through the library webpage with your NetID and password.) Help information is available on the website. You can also email questions or problems to: sakai@rutgers.edu An introduction to Sakai is available at: http://rci.rutgers.edu/~oirt/sakai/helpdocs2/index.php 2
Week 1, September 4 Introduction and Organizational Meeting Week 2, September 8 What is gender? What is the current status of women? What is gender? Does gender matter? How is gender created and reproduced? What is gender equality? How is gender related to race/ethnicity, class, and other categories? 1. Valian, Virginia. 1998. Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 1. 2. Hegewisch, Ariane and Heidi Hartmann. 2014. Occupational Segregation and the Gender Wage Gap: A Job Half Done. Institute for Women s Policy Research. http://iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination#sthash.1nah2xgb.dpuf 3. West, Candace, and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. Doing Gender. Gender & Society 1 (2): 125-151. September 11 1. Carroll and Fox, Introduction (pp. 1-12) 2. Spelman, Elizabeth V. 1988. Inessential Woman: Problems of Exclusion in Feminist Thought. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Chapter 6. pp. 133-159. 3. CAWP Fact Sheets: Women in Elective Office 2014 ; Women in the U.S. Congress 2014 ; Women of Color in Elective Office 2014 Week 3, September 15 The Woman Suffrage Movement Why did it take so long for women to win the right to vote? What role did race play in the suffrage movement? Who supported suffrage? Who opposed suffrage? Why? 1. Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn. 1995. African American Women and the Woman Suffrage Movement. In One Woman One Vote: Rediscovering the Woman Suffrage Movement, ed. Margaret Spruill Wheeler. Troutdale, OR: New Sage Press. 2. Wheeler, Margaret Spruill. 1995. A Short History of the Woman Suffrage Movement in America. In One Woman One Vote: Rediscovering the Woman Suffrage Movement, ed. Margaret Spruill Wheeler. Troutdale, OR: New Sage Press. 3
September 18 Women s Interest Groups and the Modern Women s Movement Why did the modern women s movement emerge when it did? What have been the main policy accomplishments of the women s movement? What challenges do women face in working together as women? What role has women s labor force participation played in the women s movement? 1. Cobble, Dorothy Sue. 2010. Labor Feminists and President Kennedy s Commission on Women. In No Permanent Waves: Recasting Histories of U.S. Feminism, ed. Nancy Hewitt. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. 144-167. 2. De Hart, Jane Sherron. 2004. Second-Wave Feminists and the Dynamics of Social Change. In Women s America: Refocusing the Past. Sixth edition. Eds. Linda K. Kerber and Jane Sherron De Hart. New York: Oxford. 598-623. Week 4, September 22 1. Freeman, Jo. 2008. We Will be Heard: Women s Struggles for Political Power in the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Chapter 12. How Sex Got into Title VII: Persistent Opportunism as a Maker of Public Policy. Pp. 171-190. 2. Freeman, Jo. 2006. The Origins of the Women s Liberation Movement. In The U.S. Women s Movement in Global Perspective, Ed. Lee Ann Banaszak. Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield. 25-43. 3. Evans, Sara M. 2003. Tidal Wave (Chapter 5, Crest ) pp. 128-175. September 25 The Other Women s Movement How have conservative women shaped American politics? Why have socially conservative women opposed the women s movement? 1. Schreiber, Ronnee. 2008. Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 2. Conservative Women s Political Activism. 17-38. 2. Schreiber, Ronnee. Playing Femball : Conservative Women s Organizations and Political Representation in the United States. Week 5, September 29 The Impact of Women in Elective Office Should more women be elected to office? Why or why not? Does it matter which women are elected? Does election to office guarantee influence? Can gender be studied in isolation, separately from other identities? 1. Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent Yes. Journal of Politics 61 (August): 628-657. 4
2. Carroll, Susan J. 2000. Representing Women: Congresswomen s Perceptions of their Representational Roles. Paper presented at the Women Transforming Congress conference. October 2 1. Brown, Nadia E. 2014. Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women & Legislative Decision Making. Oxford University Press. Chapter 3, pp. 69-88. Black Women s Representation 2. Smooth, Wendy. 2008. Gender, Race, and the Exercise of Power and Influence. In Legislative Women: Getting Elected, Getting Ahead. Beth Reingold, Ed. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner. 175-196. 3. Bedolla, Lisa Garcia, Katherine Tate, and Janelle Wong. 2014. Indelible Effects: The Impact of Women of Color in the U.S. Congress. In Women and Elective Office: Past, Present, and Future, Third Edition. Ed. Sue Thomas and Clyde Wilcox. New York: Oxford University. Pp. 235-252. Week 6, October 6 What are Women s Interests? How should scholars study women s interests? What approaches are suggested in these essays? Which do you find most persuasive? 1. Politics & Gender, Critical Perspectives, The Meaning and Measurement of Women's Interests. 2011. September. October 9 * Midterm Exam * Week 7, October 13 Women s Election to the State Legislatures Why study state legislatures? How do women reach the legislature? Why don t more women serve as state legislators? How have scholars studied these questions? 1. Carroll and Fox, Chapters 6 and 10 (chapters by Smooth and Sanbonmatsu) 2. CAWP Fact Sheet: Women in State Legislatures 2014 October 16 Women of Color and Electoral Politics What role did race and gender play in the 2008 presidential election? Is it possible to study gender without also studying race? Can race be studied without gender? 1. Hancock, Ange-Marie. 2009. An Untraditional Intersectional Analysis of the 2008 Election. Politics & Gender 5 (March): 96-105. 5
2. Junn, Jane. 2009. Making Room for Women of Color: Race and Gender Categories in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. Politics & Gender 5 (March): 105-110. 3. Harris-Perry, Melissa V. 2011. Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapter 8. Week 8, October 20 Party Politics and Women s Election to Congress How do women fare in congressional elections? How do congressional elections differ from state legislative elections? What role do parties play in the election of women to office? How have the parties positions changed over time on women s rights issues? 1. Freeman, Jo. 1987. Who You Know Versus Who You Represent: Feminist Influence in the Democratic and Republican Parties. http://jofreeman.com/polparties/feminfluence.htm 2. Carroll and Fox, Chapter 8 (chapter by Burrell) October 23 1. Carroll and Fox, Chapter 7 (chapter by Fox) 2. CAWP Fact Sheet: Women in the U.S. Congress 2014 Week 9, October 27 Media Coverage of Women Candidates Do media cover male and female candidates in the same way? What role does the media play in elections? 1. Carroll and Fox, Chapter 9 (chapter by Bystrom) October 30 The Gender Gap in Public Opinion and Voting Behavior What is the gender gap? How has women s voting behavior changed over time? What are the main policy issues that divide men and women? How do other categories intersect with the gender gap? 1. Carroll and Fox, Chapters 3, 4, 5 (chapters by MacManus, Carroll, and Sampaio) Week 10, November 3 1. Bejarano, Christina E. 2014. The Latino Gender Gap in U.S. Politics. Chapter 1, Gender Differences in the Immigrant Experience. New York: Routledge. Pp. 17-51. 6
November 6 Public Opinion and Women s Equality How has public opinion changed with respect to women s rights? What role do stereotypes play in women s election to office? Why are women s rights issues prominent in elections today? 1. Dolan, Kathleen, and Timothy Lynch. 2014. It Takes a Survey: Understanding Gender Stereotypes, Abstract Attitudes, and Voting for Women Candidates. American Politics Research 42(4): 656-676. 2. Wilson, Reid. 2014. Women could be critical to key races, and both parties are going all out to get their votes. April 27. Washington Post. 3. Deckman, Melissa, and John McTague. 2014 London School of Economics blog post. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2014/07/30/the-affordable-care-acts-birth-controlmandate-was-an-important-factor-in-barack-obamas-2012-reelection/ Week 11, November 10 Women s Grassroots Participation How does gender shape political participation? What role did gender play in these case studies? What are the implications for women s political participation? 1. Krauss, Celene. 1998. Challenging Power: Toxic Waste Protests and the Politicization of White, Working-Class Women. In Community Activism and Feminist Politics: Organizing Across Race, Class, and Gender, Ed. Nancy A. Naples. New York: Routledge. 2. Simpson, Andrea Y. 2007. Going It Alone: Black Women Activists and Black Organizational Quiescence. In African American Perspectives on Political Science, ed. Wilbur C. Rich. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. 151-168. November 13 1. Goss, Kristin A., and Michael T. Heaney. 2010. Organizing Women as Women: Hybridity and Grassroots Collective Action in the 21st Century. Perspectives on Politics. 8 (March): 27-52. 2. Goss, Kristin. 2012. America s Missing Popular Movement for Gun Control. Scholars Strategy Network. 3. Crowley, Jocelyn Elise. 2013. Mothers Unite! Organizing for Workplace Flexibility and the Transformation of Family Life. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Chapter 6, pp. 143-173. 7
Week 12, November 17 Case Studies: Gender and Public Policy How is gender related to public policy? Can some public policies be considered women s policies? How can women affect public policy? 1. McBride, Dorothy E., and Janine A. Parry. 2011. Women s Rights in the USA: Policy Debates and Gender Roles, 4 th edition. New York: Routledge. Chapter 8 (Work and Family). 2. Bianchi, Suzanne, Nancy Folbre, and Douglas Wolf. 2012. Chapter 3: Unpaid Care Work. In Nancy Folbre, Ed. For Love and Money: Care Provision in the United States. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. November 20 1. Nadasen, Premilla. 2002. Expanding the Boundaries of the Women s Movement: Black Feminism and the Struggle for Welfare Rights. Feminist Studies 28 (Summer): 271-301. 2. Schroeder, Patricia, and Olympia Snowe. 1994. The Politics of Women s Health. In The American Woman 1994-1995: Where We Stand, Women and Health. Eds. Cynthia Costello and Anne J. Stone. New York: Norton. Week 13, November 24 Women, Work, and Public Leadership What is the argument of Sandberg s book? What are the implications? Is Sandberg sufficiently attentive to differences among women? 1. Sandberg, Introduction and Chapters 1-6 (pp. 3-91) November 25 (Tuesday) * Note that Tuesday November 25 is a THURSDAY schedule at Rutgers * 1. Sandberg, Chapters 9-11 (pp. 121-172) 2. Kantor, Jodi. 2014. Working Anything but 9 to 5: Scheduling Technology Leaves Low- Income Parents with Hours of Chaos. New York Times. 13 August. Week 14, December 1 Women s Campaigns and Gender Stereotypes Does gender matter in campaigns? How do women and men candidates think about gender when they run for office? Should they think about gender? 1. Dittmar, Kelly. 2012. Campaigns as Gendered Institutions: Stereotypes and Strategy in Statewide Races. Ph.D. Dissertation, Rutgers University. Chapter 5. 8
December 4 1. Dittmar, Kelly. 2012. Campaigns as Gendered Institutions: Stereotypes and Strategy in Statewide Races. Ph.D. Dissertation, Rutgers University. Chapter 6. Week 15, December 8 A Woman President? Why has it been so difficult for women to compete for the presidency? How do gender and race interact to shape presidential campaigns? Would it matter if the U.S. had a female president? 1. Gallagher, Julie A. 2012. Black Women and Politics in New York City. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. On the Shirley Chisholm Trail in the 1960s and 1970s. (chapter 5) 2. Carroll and Fox, Chapters 1 and 2 (chapters by Duerst-Lahti, Dittmar and Carroll) * FINAL EXAM * Tuesday, December 16, 12:00 3:00 p.m. 9