Assignment 2 -- Gender Expectations
Purpose:
While we’ll continue to work on the steps of the writing process that we discussed during assignment one, we’ll devote some of our in-class discussion to the concepts of critical reading. In particular we will emphasize the importance of critical reading and logical analysis, for, in order to critique a text, you first must learn how to analyze it.
Texts:
* Pages 181 - 195 of an anonymous author’s Etiquette: Rules and Usages of the Best Society (1886).
* Joe Kita’s “What Would Casanova Do?” from Men’s Health Magazine online (2002). Link at bottom of this webpage.
* Pages 15 – 21 of Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider’s The Rules (1995).
Background:
As we saw in assignment one with race, expectations based on an individual’s gender can have an impact on that individual’s personality. The selected readings represent the difference of a century in thought on male and female behavior, and this assignment asks you to carefully read these texts to discern what sort of difference in thought that they display.
Writing Task:
After you’ve read and made notes on the assigned texts, think about what each text “says” about its time’s view on expectations for men and women. Then, in a 5-6 page, thesis-driven essay, answer the following question:
Based on the assigned texts, to what effect and to what extent, if at all, have social expectations)based on a person’s gender changed?
Some Tips to Help You:
1. You may write about both men and women, or you may focus on either men or women.
2. Think about the topics under discussion in your PSYC class (for example, exchange theory and power relationships). Do they relate to the argument that you want to make on assignment two’s topic?
3. While the prompt specifically mentions change, you may feel that, despite the passage of time, little that regards gender expectations has changed; this is a perfectly acceptable answer, provided that you supply rationale for your thesis as well as support.
Calendar of Important Dates:
Monday, January 28 -- Introduction of assignment, distribution of Maya Lin tickets.
Wednesday, January 30 -- Maya Lin lecture, 7:00 PM at Bovard Auditorium.
Friday, February 1 -- Tentative Thesis Statement due.
Friday,. February 8 -- Rough draft of introductory paragraphs due.
Mon. & Wed. Feb. 11 & 13 -- Rough draft due in conference.
Friday, February 15 -- Final draft due. BRING TWO CLEAN COPIES OF YOUR FINAL DRAFT.
Links
Writing 140 Home Page
Ms. Strong's Home Page
Thesis Statement Suggestions
Crtitically Reading a Text
Eight Questions for Critical Reading
"What Would Casanova Do?" by Joe Kita
