Course Syllabus - Deborah Goldsmith

Economics 25 - Spring 2002

Women in the Economy

This syllabus is your contract with the instructor for this class. You are responsible for knowing the contents and contacting the instructor if you have any questions about it.

What do I need to get?

1. Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei, Race, Gender, and Work (revised edition, 1996)
2. Barbara Reskin and Irene Padavic, Women and Men at Work (1994)

3. Economics 25 Reader (xerox; price about $10.00)

The AS Bookloan Program will loan some copies of the two texts at SU 212. Priority goes to people who receive financial aid or BOGG.

The texts and the Reader will also be on four-hour reserve at the library.

What is this class about?

Women in the Economy focuses on the many roles women play in the U.S. economy through their paid work, in their home activities, and as consumers. We'll look at the differences between the activities of women and men and search for the roots of this inequality.

In the U.S. today, women's opportunities, experiences, and perspectives vary greatly. To understand these differences we'll review the histories and cultures of African American, Chicana (Mexican American), Chinese American, and European American women. We'll examine the important effects of economic background (class) and sexual orientation on women's choices and experiences. And we'll follow the activities of unions, social movements, and courageous individuals struggling to resist and reduce inequality. I know this broad sweep will raise many more questions than we can answer within this semester.

This class uses a political economy framework. It explains people's economic activities by studying interacting groups in a society and applies tools from other fields besides economics that study human behavior. Throughout the semester we will contrast this approach with the traditional approach of mainstream (neoclassical) economics, which has a narrower focus, generally without a historical or social context. And we'll compare conservative, liberal, and radical solutions to various types of economic inequality. All viewpoints are welcome in this class - just be prepared to learn the concerns and assumptions of other perspectives.

The approach of this class focuses on discussion and communication. To create useful class discussions, students need to put in time doing substantial, thoughtful reading before class. I will lecture to introduce and summarize specific economic concepts and theories, but for us to learn together it's up to you to come to class ready to discuss the topic, raise your questions, and bring up issues for discussion. Your cultural background and life experiences can provide important insights for other students, so I encourage you to voice your perspective. If you've already studied the current topic in another class, please share your knowledge - I don't claim to know it all!

While we'll be following the course outline shown on the Class Schedule, we'll adjust the pace whenever it's helpful to students. As we go along, please let me know if you want more or less time, information, or explanation on any topics.

What will I get out of completing this class?

As your instructor, I am responsible for informing you about the class requirements and helping you to succeed in this class and earn a good grade. Class activities, assignments, and exams are all designed to help you learn and to benefit in the following three areas:

First, completing this class gives you 3 transferable units of credit under Area D or H2. It is a transferable elective class to the Cal State system and the University of California, under Area 4 of IGETC. For students who plan to transfer to U.C. Berkeley, this class also meets their "American Cultures" requirement.

Second, my goals in planning this class are that you will:

• learn about the variety of productive activities of women in the United States today
  
  
• gain awareness of the specific ways women of varying cultures experience inequality and oppression in their economic activities
  
  
• learn to use both mainstream economics and political economy approaches to explain the existence of sex-gender and racial inequality
  
  
• learn some ways women and people of color have resisted inequality and analyze some remedies suggested by government, unions, social movements, organizations, and others
  
  
• explore your own and others' self-perceptions as participants in the U.S. economy
  
  
• develop your own perspective on the significance of women's economic inequality and how you may want to approach these issues in your own life
  
  
• have a positive experience in this class as part of a community of successful learners

Third, this course offers an additional focus on developing skills for success in the workplace. It is part of the SCANS program at City College, which helps teachers incorporate general skills (competencies) that have been deemed essential for job success, based on surveys of employers by the Secretary of Labor's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). This class will focus on developing the following personal empowerment skills:

• managing your time and efforts to achieve your goals
• communicating and working with others, especially people from diverse backgrounds
• acquiring, organizing, interpreting, and communicating information

As we go through the semester you'll be able to identify the skills you're developing. I hope you appreciate these experiences and that they help you grow in confidence as well as skills.

Am I ready to take this class now?

• English: The most important background skill for this class is comfort with reading and writing in English. You should have the ability to read and analyze college-level material, participate in group and class discussions, write clear paragraphs, and complete a brief paper with research and analysis. This probably means that you have completed intermediate composition -- ESL 72 or English 94 -- before taking this class. If you're not sure about your reading skills, please take a look at the texts and the first reading handouts. If you have not successfully written any college-level research papers yet or find the reading material difficult, I urge you to postpone this class - build your English/ESL skills first, and give yourself a chance to do your best.
  
  But please don't let any hesitation about speaking aloud keep you out of this class. Having a greater variety of backgrounds enriches this class, and we'll enjoy hearing everyone's accents as well as learning their perspectives. It's pretty standard at City College anyway, where the majority of students come from homes where another language besides English is used.
  
  
• Economics: No background in economics is required for this class. Everyone will be encountering new terms and learning them together. Please speak up in class whenever the vocabulary is unfamiliar, especially if you have not taken any economics classes before this. Also, please let me know when my speaking speeds up (it probably will!).
  
  
• Computers and the Internet: You will probably want to use the internet for some of your research. A schedule of free drop-in computer and internet tutorial sessions will be distributed.

If you have any questions about your background for this course, please come talk to me individually.

How is classwork graded?

The final grade in the class will be set by applying a standard curve to the points earned on all assignments: 90% = A, 80% = B, 68% = C, 55% = D. You can use this curve to evaluate your work throughout the semester - just calculate the percentage you've received of the possible points so far.

This course may be taken on a Credit/No Credit basis, but you must submit a completed "Petition for Credit/No Credit" to the Office of Admissions and Records by Tuesday, Feb. 19. Satisfactory ("C") or better performance is required for a grade of Credit ("CR").

Grades will be based on the following material (discussed below):

What are the assignments?

• Homeworks
  
  You'll have one or two short written homework assignments (1-2 pages each) per week. Many of these will be completing a Reading Response Sheet (RRS) summarizing the main points of a reading, raising questions, and stating other personal responses. Other homeworks will ask you to summarize a theory or concept.
  
  Please summarize -- don't plagiarize! Copying word-for-word doesn't show that you understand the material, and it's also a form of dishonesty. You will not receive credit for plagiarized material.
  
  Homework assignments will usually cover material that we are about to discuss in class, so everyone is prepared to bring up questions and present their own thoughts and feelings about the topic. If you find the material confusing, incomplete, biased, or disturbing, you should write about these issues in your homework assignment.
  
  Homework assignments are worth 10 points each and are due at the start of class -- please do not try to write them during class. Points will be deducted for incomplete homeworks. Late homeworks will lose 2 points for each class session they are late and cannot be turned in more than two weeks late. You will not be penalized for turning in a homework late if you present a medical or other valid written excuse.
  
  
• One Woman's Economic Contribution
  
  This assignment is your opportunity to learn about one special woman's productive activities - what she did to survive and thrive, as best she could, within her particular culture and time. Later in the semester (Feb. 25-27) you will receive detailed information on this assignment and sign up for one woman to research from one of the four racial-ethnic groups we are focusing on: African American, Chicana, Chinese American, or European American. I'll give you a list of possible women, or you can request someone. The three parts of this assignment are:
  
  
  • Research summary: You will fill in a form summarizing what you have learned about this woman's biographical information, major influences and messages she received, her achievements, and her personal motivations (due Monday, April 1).
    
    
  • Role-playing this woman as one member of a panel: Based on your research summary, you will give a brief, 5-8 minute presentation as if you are this woman, telling the class about your family, your society, and your personal struggles, and achievements. (You may want to speak as if today is some date in the past.) You will also respond to any questions from the audience in character as this woman. Presentation panels will take place during class meetings between April 8-17, on dates to be assigned.
    
    
  • A 3-5 page reflection paper: You will summarize how this woman's choices and activities were shaped by her gender, race-ethnicity, and other factors, and reflect on what her example says about women's experiences and achievements. All papers will be due in class on Monday, April 22. Late papers will lose 2 points per day that they are late.
    
    
• Household Labor
  
  You will interview one woman in a case study of household labor in the U.S. today: who does which household tasks, why, and viewpoints on this arrangement, following interview guidelines. You can interview anyone you wish, as long as she:
  
  
  • is African American, Chicana, Chinese American, or European American
    
    
  • lives in some sort of family situation (not alone or just with roommates)
    
    
  • does not currently live with you
    
    
  Your 4-6 page paper will summarize this woman's situation, discuss the significance of gender stereotypes and cultural expectations for this arrangement, and present both her and your viewpoints. No additional research besides the class readings is necessary.
  
  On the paper due date, Friday, May 10, all students will briefly report what they have learned in a roundtable discussion comparing households today.
  
  
• Class Reports
  
  Groups of students will be assigned to summarize important points in the material and introduce questions for class discussion in the following areas:
  
  
1. History of one racial-ethnic group of women (Study Sheet III)
   
   
2. Goals, activities and achievements of a social movement resisting inequality (Study Sheet VI)
   
   
3. The experience of one racial-ethnic group of women in one occupation (Study Sheet VI)
   
   
Each student who is present, prepared, and participates actively will receive the full 20 points for each report.


• Quizzes
  
  There will be four 25-minute quizzes worth 80 points each. Each quiz will be a combination of (1) multiple-choice and match-up problems and (2) short identifications of significant concepts or events, with some choice of topics to answer. Each quiz will cover specific sections of the material (see Class Schedule). The fourth quiz will take place on the scheduled date for the final exam.
  
  Students are expected to be present for and take all quizzes and the final exam on the scheduled dates. Do not schedule work, medical appointments, or travel on exam dates.
  
  Problems attending on quiz dates: If you know you will be unable to attend on the day of a quiz, discuss this with me in advance. If an emergency occurs and you miss class on a quiz day for any reason, call my voicemail (239-3368) as soon as possible. Then you must bring in written justification for your absence (jury duty slip, doctor's note, funeral notice, letter from team coach). Depending on the circumstances, you will either be allowed to complete a make-up quiz or have the quiz absence excused.
  
  
• Final Exam
  
  On the final exam day you will take Quiz #4 during the first 25 minutes (see above).
  
  The final exam itself is two take-home essays, which are worth 90 points each. If you haven't completed them in advance you can write them during the remaining final exam time. Each essay should be about 2-4 pages typed, double-spaced, or 3-6 pages in a small bluebook.
  
  You will receive a detailed handout on the essay topics. The topics will be broad and allow you a lot of choice, so you can pull together some of the information you have learned and found interesting. One essay will require discussing another student's "One Woman" presentation as an example of how race-ethnicity affects women's occupations. The second essay will focus on how one important theory or concept helps us to understand some aspect of women's work in the U.S. today.
  
  
• Class Participation and Attendance:
  
  Your daily class attendance and participation in discussions are very important for this class, since we will all be learning from each other's responses to this material. You earn these points through attending class regularly, being prepared, and speaking in class and small groups.

Is there any way to get extra credit?

• Report on an Optional Video: Whenever we are studying a topic that has an Optional Video listed on the Class Schedule, you can go to the Media Center (R403) and view it. Then, by the last class date where we discuss this topic, turn in a one-page paper that clearly summarizes the main points of the video and explains what you found interesting. You can receive 5-10 points for each report (depending on length of the video), with a maximum of three reports during the semester.
  
  
• Event Reports: When there are campus or neighborhood events related to women's economic activities, you can complete a one-page report for 10 bonus points. I will announce upcoming events; if you hear about something interesting, please ask me about it in advance.

Classroom conduct policies

This class is a shared place of learning and growth for all of us, and I expect it to be fairly informal and include a lot of open discussion. One SCANS goal for this class is increasing our ability to work with others, and we especially need a supportive environment for the material we'll be discussing, which can be disturbing or raise personal questions. So we need to create an environment that is friendly, courteous, and encourages everyone's participation for a positive shared learning experience.

We'll discuss basic classroom policies that show respect to others early in the semester. I suggest that a positive environment starts with everyone listening to each speaker's contribution politely. Side conversations are not only rude to whoever is speaking -- they disturb others who are listening. So I ask you to please save your personal conversations for after class. As a start, we all need to listen to each speaker's contribution politely.

Pagers, cellular telephones, portable radios, and other electronic equipment are disruptive and must be completely deactivated (turned off) during class time. Exception: If you have a special personal need please discuss it with me before bringing this equipment to class.

As the instructor, I am responsible for providing a productive classroom environment for everyone. So I will respond to students who disturb the class with a series of steps as necessary: (1) a request to cease the disruptive behavior; (2) moving the student to another seat during that class period; (3) moving the student to another seat for the rest of the semester; (4) further discipline under the CCSF Rules of Student Conduct, including possible permanent removal from class (see catalog).

Academic and intellectual honesty

The purpose of assignments is to provide a useful learning experience and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Dishonesty damages the learning environment and is prohibited at CCSF (see catalog). Honesty and responsibility are also essential lifetime skills.

• Plagiarism (that means copying): Writing assignments are a way for you to demonstrate your understanding of basic economic concepts by putting them in your own words. Plagiarism means being dishonest by presenting someone else's words or ideas as if they were your own. Plagiarized material will not be accepted as a way of completing an assignment.
  
  To write acceptable answers to assignments, don’t copy word-for-word from the source you’re using. Instead, summarize the main points or basic ideas of the material you are discussing in your own (different) words and phrasing. Then give credit to the source for the underlying idea or information. If you need to use someone's specific wording, use a direct quotation (put the words in quotation marks and list the source). If you are not sure whether your work would be considered plagiarism, please come discuss it with me.
  
  
• Cheating (and questionable behavior): Unfortunately, cheating also occurs at City College. It is unfair and unfriendly to other students. To discourage cheating, students may be asked to rearrange their seats before quizzes. Students who appear to be looking at others' exams, even briefly, or seeking to exchange information with other students will have their seat changed immediately and must sit in the front of the room for future quizzes and exams.
  
  Those who cheat on a quiz will receive a zero grade that cannot be dropped or made up and must sit in the front of the room for all remaining quizzes. Repeated cheating will lead to further sanctions. Please don't jeopardize your education and reduce your self-esteem by this conduct.

Enrollment and attendance policies

• Enrollment: Students are responsible to complete the registration process by the add deadline (Saturday, Feb. 2) in order to be enrolled in the class. You can drop the class through Friday, Feb. 8; you can withdraw and receive a "W" grade through Friday, April 12.
  
  Under Social Sciences Department policy, students who miss more than a total of two weeks' classes without a written excuse may be dropped for excessive absences. If you stop attending class and don't withdraw formally, you may receive an "F" in the class. If you no longer want to be enrolled you are responsible for dropping this class, by calling STARS at (415) 452-0600 or going to Conlan Hall E107.
  
  
• Attendance: Your daily, on-time attendance is an essential part of this class, which focuses on group discussion and shared knowledge, so it is part of your final grade. Reliability is also an essential workplace skill and a basic tool for personal success. Arriving late disrupts the class and is discourteous to others. Three "lates" equal one missed class.
  
  If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get a copy of the notes and the assignments from another student and see the instructor for any handouts you missed. If you find your job or a personal problem is keeping you out of class, please discuss it with me.
  
  Attendance will be checked by passing around a roll sheet during class. It is your responsibility to sign your name, written out, at each class meeting that you attend. If the roll sheet misses you or you arrive late, come up at the end of class and let me know you're here; otherwise you will be considered absent.

Special needs, unexpected events, and emergencies

Emergencies and unexpected events that disrupt students' lives and coursework occur every semester. If you need assistance, course adaptations or accommodations now because of any type of disability, if you have an emergency medical problem, or if some other personal problem comes up that may affect your class participation, please contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss solutions. I'm happy to work with you to accommodate your needs.

This schedule is approximate. It will be adjusted according to class needs. Reading assignments are listed on the Study Sheet for each section.