It’s Women’s History Month! 

This course will lean on the mini-series Mrs. America to learn about the movement of second-wave feminists in the 1970s, the fight for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the important figures on both sides of the debate.  

Each week will cover one episode of the 9 part series, with a final week for the presentation of class projects.  Overall, throughout the 10 weeks this course aims to help learners understand the equal rights legislation, the feminist movement of the 1970s, the anti-feminist movement and the arguments on both sides of the issue, placed into the context of women's rights in America today.  Each week will focus on a particular issue and/or figure of this controversial time in American history.  

Week 1: This week the Equal Rights Amendment itself will be studied and understood.  Phyllis Schlafly, the leader of the movement against the ERA will be the focus of this week. 

Week 2:  The second week we will study one of the best known feminists of the time, Gloria Steinem.  We will be looking at the difference between the character represented in the series and the real woman of the 1970s.  As well, this week will focus on grass roots organizing and learners will identify and analyze the important elements of this type of advocacy which help to make it a successful endeavor or not.  

Week 3:  This third week will focus on Shirley Chisholm and her historic run for the Presidency.  Beyond a study of the woman herself, this week will focus on the challenges women face when running for office in America and will study the plight of female representation throughout American political life. 

Week 4:  Week four will introduce us to Betty Friedan, who has been labeled the mother of the feminist movement.  We will study this controversial and abrasive figure as well as understanding how the written word was used as an important tool of the feminist movement. Finally, a look at how the feminist movement did and did not embrace gender and racial diversity will be an important component of this week's study. 

Week 5:  This week turns to Brenda Feigen, an important lawyer of the feminist movement.  Brenda co-directed the ACLU's Women's Rights Project with Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the work that they did at the ACLU together will be explored.  As well, the issue of men and their contribution to the Women's Rights movement will be considered this week. 

Week 6:  Jill Ruckelshaus will be the focus of this week's class, understand this prominent Republican and her work for the ERA in congress.  The role of politics and political parties and the surprising roles they played in the feminist movement will be considered and discussed this week as well. 

Week 7:  The focus on political figures within the feminist movement will be continued this week as the class turns to Bella Abzug, a Congresswoman from New York and prominent leader in the feminist movement.  She is not as well known as some of the other names considered, but Bella's strong leadership, including her creation and implementation of the Women's Rights Conferences which would become global in scale, was essential to the movement and will be discussed this week. 

Week 8: The prominent and outspoken civil and women's rights activist, Flo Kennedy will be studied during this week.  This will lead into a study on the ongoing clash between civil rights and women's rights and the historic challenges of racism within the feminist movement.   

Week 9:  Turning once more to the anti-ERA fight, Rosemary Thompson will be considered this week, a prominent anti-feminist who fought against the passage of the ERA.  This week will ultimately focus on the wins and losses which both sides suffered during their decade long struggle over the role of women in the American political and social landscape.  

Week 10:  This week is set aside for final student presentations


My classes are structured to be discussion based in nature.  Readings and audio/visual supplements will sometimes be used in class to further discussion, debate or class projects.  In class projects and socratic method teaching is used to ensure critical thinking as an important part of the learning process.  The goal of this course is not to simply learn about the various characters of the feminist movement but rather to gain a nuanced understanding of the challenges and issues presented allowing the learner to have balanced information from which to analyze and make informed conclusions.  My classes are generally highly interactive.  However, I will never force anyone to participate in my classes, preferring to ensure an inclusive classroom, where shy learners are respected and various learning styles valued.