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Making a Feminist Zine--A Class for Writers, Artists, and Designers

In this 6-week course, we will learn about the history of feminist zines while creating a feminist zine that reflects the interests and passions of the class!
Liz Boltz Ranfeld
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(193)
Class
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What's included

6 live meetings
5 in-class hours
Homework
1-2 hours per week. For the first few weeks, students will not have any homework. In preparation of weeks 3 and 4, students will prepare 2 creative projects to potentially include in the zine. (4 total submissions) Before week 6, students will be responsible for designing a portion of the zine. The time commitment for this work can vary from student to student. At a minimum, students should plan to spend about an hour on homework leading up to weeks 3, 4, and 6. I will encourage students to limit their work to 3 hours max during those weeks.
Assessment
I am happy to provide a great and/or written assessment (and syllabus) for students who want one.

Class Experience

US Grade 8 - 10
Historically, feminists have had to fight to get their ideas and messages in front of the public. One of the ways that they did this in the 80s and 90s (and beyond) was to publish zines: short, small-scale independent magazines that they filled with poetry, critical analysis, political cartoons, visual art, and more. 

In this collaborative 6-week class (which must meet a minimum of 2 students), we will work together to create a feminist zine. The content of the zine will depend on the interests and passions of the class's participants; however, I anticipate that it will include essays, poems, visual art, cartoons, critical analysis, humor, lyrics, and more. 

Students will get to participate in every step of the process: picking a theme for the zine, creating content, choosing what content to include, making editorial decisions as a team, and designing the zine. At the end of the 6 weeks, students will have access to a PDF that they can print on their own if they want to distribute their zine to family and friends. 

Course Overview:
Week 1: Introduction & feminist zine history
Week 2: Discuss feminist interests and pick a theme for the zine; begin discussing what content we're looking for
Week 3: Bring at least 2 potential submissions for the zine; share with the class; discuss what we still need for the zine to be complete
Week 4: Bring at least 2 more potential submissions for the zine; share with the class; finalize what will be included in the zine
Week 5: Design week--work together on zine design; divide up responsibilities for designing pages within Canva
Week 6: Finalize the design; create the zine by the end of class

We will use Canva to do our designs, because it is a great free tool. Canva requires a membership and students must be at least 13 years old to create a Canva account. For any student under 13, they will need to use a Canva account belonging to their parent or legal guardian.
Learning Goals
Students will strengthen their knowledge of feminist ideas, learn about the history of independent publishing for feminist concepts and values, experience the collaborative editorial process of zine (and literary magazine) creation, gain practice with simple design skills using Canva, and practice creative expression through writing, visual arts, and more.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
Discussing feminism means discussing complex social topics, including: sexism, racism, ableism, classism, and other forms of discrimination. Sometimes, students may choose to disclose negative experiences they have had regarding these topics. I will ask that the content produced for the class be no more than PG-13 in nature. Some of the sample zines that we find to explore may include profanity and these topics. I will not allow sexually explicit or graphically violent content to be included in the class, the zines we review, or the zines we create. As a mandated reporter, if a student reports any history or experience with abuse, sexual violence, harassment, or any other safety issue, I will be reporting my awareness of this issue to safety@outschool.com for further investigation. We will use Canva to do our designs because it is a great free tool. Canva requires membership and students must be at least 13 years old to create a Canva account. For any student under 13, they will need to use a Canva account belonging to their parent or legal guardian.
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
  • Canva
Joined January, 2020
4.9
193reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have been teaching on Outschool since January 2020. My primary topic is feminism, feminist history, and feminist pop culture analysis. I have been an English professor for more than a decade and have extensive practice leading feminism-related discussions in person and online. My graduate degree is in Creative Nonfiction, and I studied feminist narratives extensively as part of my MFA. I have published numerous essays about feminism, including for publications like Salon, Jezebel, Everyday Feminism, The Shriver Report, and more. I believe in intersectional feminism, which explores the intersections of gender and other forms of oppression, including racism, ableism, classism, and homophobia, among other issues. I am trans-inclusive, non-binary affirming, and aspire to be anti-racist in my teaching.

Reviews

Live Group Class
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$15

weekly or $90 for 6 classes
1x per week, 6 weeks
50 min

Completed by 4 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-16
2-12 learners per class

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