Smith College's Moodle
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Course Description and Goals
“The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility we have the opportunity to labour for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom.” (bell hooks in Teaching to Transgress, 1994, p. 207)
Drawing from bell hook’s inspiring quote above, this course introduces you to the vibrant field of Sociology of Gender and Globalization and its unique interdisciplinary perspectives, borrowing insights from Sociology; Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies; Anthropology; Economics, Politics and so on. This 200-level course moves beyond geographical and disciplinary boundaries, to engage with the key dimensions of global restructuring and globalization through the lens of gender, sexuality, race, class, ethnicity, and North-South relations. We will study how various modes of oppression and inequalities intersect in global manufacturing, supply chains, and in the transnational politics of representation and access in global media, religion, culture, war, and dissenting spaces. Questions that we will interrogate throughout the semester include: What is globalization and how and why is it a contested concept? Is globalization a new process? How can globalization be understood as a social, cultural, political, and ecological process and not just as a technological-economic process? How are structures of identity and oppression i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, nation, religion, ability, and other forms of difference, interwoven with globalization? How do biological, cultural, historical, and political frameworks shape knowledge and processes of globalization? In exploring these questions, the course incorporates sources ranging from social science research, creative non-fiction, films/documentaries, art, media, and popular culture. Topics may include transnational feminisms, gendered labor and the global economy, feminist and queer theory, reproductive politics and globalization, carceral politics, rights-based advocacy, visual cultures.
This course will accomplish its goals by:
- Engaging students in pluralistic perspective-taking and awareness of the relationship among society, self, and others
- Providing opportunities to develop and practice the skills of critical thinking, reasoning, communication, and integration of knowledge and perspectives, including:
● Communicating persuasively and effectively in public speaking and writing
● Working collaboratively and creating safe and kind spaces for each other to teach and learn in
- Students will be expected to be self-reflective and draw from their own identities and global social issues affecting their young adult lives, using theoretical concepts and language from the course. Please remember, using personal experiences to understand academic concepts is valid and important – as the famous feminist saying goes - The Personal is Political! We should strive to use these as examples to illustrate or raise questions about readings and course debates rather than substituting anecdotes for critical thinking.
READINGS
You do not need to purchase any readings/books for this course. All reading materials will be on the course’s Moodle website and all videos will be linked on the syllabus. You would be able to access the videos required for the course for free through YouTube or the Smith Kanopy service (https://www.kanopy.com/en/smith/). The course schedule below lists the readings/videos we will cover each class day during the semester.
- Instructor: Debadatta Chakraborty
START INFO!!
Helli,
We will begin our seminar Monday 9/11, 7-9EST.
I am hearing that there is confusion about this start date. If you had not realized that we would meet this wk, and have an overlapping commitment, please contact me at mcoco@smith.edu.
I am currently in an area in Massachusetts impacted by recent storms and have unreliable internet and electricity access.
I will be in a better access location tomorrow and will put our zoom info into an announcement. I will also forward it via email.
Looking forward to meeting all of you, and learning with you over the course of our practicum seminar!
Thank you for your patience as I navigate unanticipated disruptions impacting our communications.
Best,
Melissa
- Instructor: Katya Cerar
- Instructor: Melissa Coco
- Instructor: Alexis Evwynne
Meeting ID: 360 453 5228
To join by computer, click this link: https://smith.zoom.us/j/3604535228
- Instructor: Katya Cerar
- Instructor: Alexis Evwynne
- Instructor: Katie Potocnik Medina
- Instructor: Alexandra Keller
- Instructor: Kiki Smith
OBJECTIVE: In response to a growing area of Smith student interest in computer programming and engineering, and the preliminary explorations on campus of gaming for educational purposes, (examples, CMP VR Gaming Lab, Imaging Center gaming stations and development of VR spaces using Maya and Unity, and an interest in this area of study in the Computer Science Lab) the goal of this research group is to better understand the role of women working in design and development in the gaming industry and the personification of women in game design, to examine the industry deficit but ever growing interest in the relationship between games and learning experiences and, to consider the role of women in eSports college and pro teams as gaming emerges into a recognized competitive arena.
- Instructor: Dan Bennett
- Instructor: Victoria Clayton
- Instructor: Yasmin Eisenhauer
- Instructor: Susan Fliss
- Instructor: Reese Julian
- Instructor: Thomas Laughner
- Instructor: Tammy Lockett
- Instructor: Miriam Neptune
- Instructor: Brendan O'Connell