Course Syllabus

Course Information
Spring 07
ISGS 4320.501 / SOC 4379.501
Women, Work & Family

Professor Contact Information

Prof. Erin Smith
Office: Green 2.208
(972) 883-2338
erins@utdallas.edu
www.utdallas.edu/~erins

Office Hours:

Mon. 6 – 6:45 p.m.

Thurs. 4-5 p.m.

Course Description

This course examines the relationship between women’s work for pay and the (mostly unpaid) labor they
do in their homes. Attending to both the realities of women’s lives and popular representations of working
women, the course includes materials from anthropology and history, literature and film, sociology and
public policy. We will examine the historical separation of work from home under capitalism and the
gendered division of labor that resulted from it. We will explore a variety of historical and contemporary
social arrangements to enable both wage-earning and domestic labor—socialized housework and day care,
telecommuting, part-time and flex-time work, experiments with communal living. We will examine
household division of labor between men and women and its impact on professional life. We will ask how
class, race/ethnicity, and sexuality constrain and enable women’s choices, and how they structure relations
between women as mothers and employers, child care and service workers. The course examines corporate
and public policies that structure work and family life.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

1. Students will be able to explain how gender structures social institutions (families, workplaces)
and our ways of thinking about them.
2. Students will be able to give examples of gender, race, class, nation, religion, and sexuality as
interactive systems.
3. Students will be able to critically analyze cultural representations of women and work.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Course Syllabus Page 1

Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women (2002)
Arlie Hochschild, The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home (2003)
Nancy Folbre, The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values (2001)
Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Hochschild, eds. Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers
in the New Economy (2002)
Dorothy Canfield, The Home-Maker (1924)

Selected chapters/articles on e-reserve at:

http://utdallas.docutek.com/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=198

All texts are available at Off-Campus Books and the Campus bookstore

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Mon. 8 Jan.

Organizational / Intro. to Course

Mon. 15 Jan. – NO CLASS – M L King Day

Historical Roots of Contemporary Dilemmas

Mon. 22 Jan.

Freedman, chap. 1-5, pp. 1-119

Mon. 29 Jan.

Freedman, chap. 6-8, 14, pp. 123-99, 326-47

Radical Visions from the Nineteenth Century: Gender, Work & Industrialization

Mon. 5 Feb.

Dolores Hayden, chap. 1, "The Grand Domestic Revolution" (1-29) in The Grand Domestic Revolution: A
History of Feminist Designs for American Homes, Neighborhoods, and Cities (Cambridge: MIT P, 1981)
(e-reserve).

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, chapter XI (225-47) in Women and Economics (1898) (e-reserve).

On Housework & Childcare

Mon. 12 Feb.

Hochschild, The Second Shift, intro. & chap. 1-6, 10, 12

Course Syllabus Page 2

Mon. 19 Feb.

Christopher Carrington, chap. 5, “The Division of Domestic Labor in Lesbigay Families,” No Place Like
Home: Relationships and Family Life Among Lesbians and Gay Men (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1999):
175-206 (e-reserve).

Sally K. Gallagher and Christian Smith, “Symbolic Traditionalism and Pragmatic Egalitarianism:
Contemporary Evangelicals, Families, and Gender,” Gender & Society 13.2 (1999): 211-33 (e-reserve).

Mon. 26 Feb. -- Midterm Exam

Janice M. Steil, “Supermoms and Second Shifts: Marital Inequality in the 1990s” in Women: A Feminist
Perspective, 5th ed., ed. Jo Freeman (Mountainview, CA: Mayfield, 1995): 149-61 (e-reserve).

Mon. 5 Mar . – Spring Break / NO CLASS

Mon. 12 Mar.

Canfield, The Homemaker

Between Women: Race and Reproductive Labor

Mon. 19 Mar.

Evelyn Nakano Glenn, "From Servitude to Service Work: Historical Continuities in the Racial Division of
Paid Reproductive Labor" in Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U. S. Women's History, 3d ed.,
ed. Vicki Ruiz and Ellen Carol DuBois (NY: Routledge, 2000): 436-65 (e-reserve).

Patricia Hill Collins, chap. 3, "Work, Family, and Black Women's Oppression" in Black Feminist Thought
(NY: Routledge, 1991): 43-66 (e-reserve).

Denise Segura, "Ambivalence or Continuity? Motherhood and Employment among Chicanas and Mexican
Immigrant Women Workers" Aztlan 20:1-2 (1993): 119-50 (e-reserve).

Mon. 26 Mar. – class will run over about 15 minutes

Film: Imitation of Life

Globalization and Caring Work

Mon. 2 Apr. – Interview Paper Due / Presentation of Findings to Class

Ehrenreich & Hochschild, eds., selections from Global Woman: “Introduction” (1-14); “Love and Gold”
(15-30); “Maid to Order” (85-103); “Among Women” (169-89); “Clashing Dreams” (230-53); “Global
Cities and Survival Circuits” (254-74)

Homes, Workplaces, and Corporate Policies

Mon. 9 Apr.

Lecture: Family and Medical Leave Cross-Culturally

Course Syllabus Page 3

Mindy Fried, chap. 6, “From Taking Time to Making Time: Defining Strategies for Change,” Taking
Time: Parental Leave Policy and Corporate Culture (Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1998): 135-80 (e-reserve).

Joan Williams, chap. 2, “From Full Commodification to Reconstructive Feminism,” Unbending Gender:
Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It (NY: Oxford UP, 2000): 40-63 (e-reserve).

Arlie Hochschild, chap. 4, “Family Values and Reversed Worlds,” The Time Bind: When Work Becomes
Home and Home Becomes Work (NY: Metropolitan, 1997): 35-52 (e-reserve).

Governments and Women’s Labor

Mon. 16 Apr.

Film: The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter

Ruth Roach Pierson, chap. 1, "Women's Emancipation and the Recruitment of Women into the War Effort"
in "They're Still Women After All": The Second World War and Canadian Womanhood (Toronto:
McClelland & Stewart, 1986): 22-61 (e-reserve).

The Gendered Economy: Caring Work and the Social Order

Mon. 23 Apr. -- Cultural Reading Paper Due / Presentation of Findings to Class

Folbre, The Invisible Heart, intro. & chap. 1-5, 8

Final Exam – Take-home due Fri. 27 Apr. in my office by 6:00 p.m.

Grading Policy

Participation -- You are expected to come to class prepared for discussion. Your participation includes not
only expressing your own ideas, but also the respect and seriousness with which you treat the ideas of your
colleagues. I take attendance at the start of class, after the break, or at both times.

Presentation -- You and a partner are responsible for getting discussion of the day’s reading started once
during the semester. You should meet in advance and plan the background, issues, passages to examine
closely, and questions you want to bring to the class. Presentations will be the first 10 minutes of class,
although discussion of questions may run much longer. You will distribute to everyone a hand-out with
3-5 questions for us to address at the start of class.

OR
Journals – Five times over the course of the semester, you will hand in a one-page (MAX) typed response
to the reading that summarizes the major arguments of the readings, draws connections between it and
other readings or discussion, links it to real-life experiences or current events, raises questions, etc. Goal is
to (1) prove you’ve done the reading; and (2) show some thoughtful consideration of the issues or questions
it raises. These are reaction papers vs. more formal writing. If you spend more than 20-30 minutes writing,
you are working too hard. You must hand in two journals by Mon. 12 Mar. Journals are due on the
day we discuss a reading. Late journals will not be accepted. E-mailed and faxed journals will not
be accepted. I will not accept journals from students not present in class that day.

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Course Syllabus Page 4

Midterm and Final Exams – Essay questions designed to test your mastery of course readings and
class discussion, and your ability to synthesize the material and think critically about it. Midterm
is two hours in class on Mon. 26 Feb. Final is a take-home exam due on Fri. 27 Apr. Questions
will be distributed in advance.

Interview Paper (5-7 pages) – an analysis of an interview you conduct with someone different
from you about their work/family decisions, interpreted in light of class readings and discussion.
Due Mon. 2 Apr. at the start of class.

Cultural Reading Paper (5-7 pages) -- a critical reading of a novel, film, television show, or ad campaign
(contemporary or historical) about gender, work & family. I will have suggested titles, or you can get one
of your own approved in advance. Due Mon. 23 Apr. at the start of class.

Your grade will be based on:

Presentation or Journals 20%

Midterm Exam 20%
Interview Paper 20%
Cultural Reading Paper 20%
Final Exam 20%

You must complete all course requirements in order to pass the class (e.g. if you do not hand in a
paper, you will fail the class, even if the other grades average out to a passing grade). Attendance
and participation will be reflected in your grade (i.e. it doesn’t matter how well you do on the
other things, if you regularly don’t show for class or don’t participate). If you miss more than 5
classes (for whatever reason), you will fail the course. Habitual lateness, absences or failure to
hand in a paper on time will be reflected in your grade. Please consult me in the event of illness,
emergency, or other extenuating circumstances.

I have a zero tolerance policy about cheating and plagiarism on exams, papers, or journals. Those
caught cheating will at minimum flunk the assignment and probably flunk the course.

Field Trip Policies

Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and
University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information
regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm. Additional information is
available from the office of the school dean. Below is a description of any travel and/or risk-
related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations
for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and
each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern

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 student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained
in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic
year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of
recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and
Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and
in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship.
He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules,
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because
the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to
applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the
following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other
source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see
general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the
web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between
faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a
UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD
furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with
university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method
for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses.
These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures
must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork

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 to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the
class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities,
of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments
of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to
resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the
grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain
primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at
that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the
respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not
resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of
Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic
Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic
appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of
Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and
regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at
the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade
must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities
equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the
Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments
necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary
to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for
students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example,
a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities.
The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.

Course Syllabus Page 7

 It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an
accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members
to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special
accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for
the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are
exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding
the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to
take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period
equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the
instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A
student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a
failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of
observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has
been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the
student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or
his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative
intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief
executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

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