Thank you for this Shanay!

Womens groups urge CBS to drop Tebow Super Bowl ad - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN



Womens groups urge CBS to drop Tebow Super Bowl ad - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN

Extra Credit!!!

Hello Students. I will offer 5 extra points on the midterm for all students that do the following:

- Attend one session at the January 30th Service Day
- Bring me a confirmantion of your attendance (email, signed letter, ect)
- Write a 350 word blog posting detailing your activism on that day due February 5th.

Information for the event is below.

Volunteer UCF has teamed up with many of UCF’s student organizations to coordinate efforts for disaster relief in Haiti. Our campaign will have three parts – DONATE needed items, HONOR Haitian culture & SERVE our international community.

DONATE
January 20 – January 29: Campus-wide donations drive with drop-off locations all over campus. Donations will be delivered directly to Haiti via boat by Harvest Time International. To learn more about Harvest Time, please visit www.harvest-time.org. Drop off locations: Student Union, Health Center, Alumni Center, and Recreation & Wellness Center. Donations will also be collected at the KoRT CLUB SHOWCASE on January 27, from 11 - 2 in the Student Union and at LATE KNIGHTS on January 29, from 9pm – 2am in the Student Union. For a complete list of needed items, please visit www.volunteerucf.com. Please note that monetary donations are not accepted for this drive. If you would like to donate money, please visit www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake for a list of reputable organizations.

HONOR
January 27, 8pm – 11pm: Campus Activities Board presents Club CAB For A Cause. Celebrate Haitian culture with a benefit bash like UCF’s never seen. Email CABPromo@mail.ucf.edu for more information or to volunteer.

SERVE
January 30: 8:00am – 4:30pm. UCF United For Haiti Service Day at Harvest Time International. Volunteers will be sorting donations for the relief efforts in Haiti at Harvest Time International, a donations center in Sanford. To learn more about Harvest Time, please visit www.harvest-time.org. Volunteers will personally deliver the donations collected through the UCF collection drive. Work will be done in two shifts, 9:00am – 12:30pm and 12:30pm – 4:30pm. Work one, or both! Meet at Brooklyn Pizza at 8:00am for the 9:00am or full day shifts, and at 11:30am for the 12:30pm shift. Transportation by bus and lunch will be provided. Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes. Email VUCF_Director@mail.ucf.edu with your name and NID to RSVP. Want to participate in a group? Organizations large and small are welcome! Email VUCF_Director@mail.ucf.edu with a list of the names, email addresses, and NIDs of all the people in your group that want to participate, and which shift you want. Email VUCF_Director@mail.ucf.edu for more information about this event.

Dream Act- Go check it out today!

Come and support Resolution 42-11 at the Student Government Senate on Thursday, January 28th. This resolution states that the Student Senate supports and wants to see the DREAM Act become law.

The act deals with immigration reform, and allowing high school immigrant children the opportunity to continue their education in college. And, the senate is not a diverse sampling of the student body.

We want to show that this resolution is important to the student body and that students are passionate about this cause. Each and every student who attends is making an important statement. We also want to explain why the DREAM Act means so much to so many students. So if you have any friends or family members that will be affected by the DREAM Act, let us know.

The Senate meets from 7-11. The resolution probably will not come up before eight. I have class from 6-9, but I will be leaving after 7 to go to the union and be there by 7:30. We want as many people as possible, so bring a friend. Also, you can sign the petition when you get there, if you haven't already.

Thank you in advance and let's show that this is important to us!
-Juan Carlos

Men Aganist Rape Info

"Rape and sexual and domestic abuse are typically viewed and cast aside as “women's issues” regardless of the fact that a majority of the perpetrators of sexual violence are men.

We seek to shift the light on this issue from one of victim-blaming and complete focus on the victims and survivors to a focus on men's responsibility to educate other men. Why are men overwhelmingly the perpetrators of rape? What causes a man to rape? How can we combat the social constructs that can lead a man to rape?

We also acknowledge that rape is not something unique to heterosexual relationships but is also a problem in the GLBTQ community.

Men Against Rape's goal is to educate, and to provide positive role models and alternative forms of masculinity to our peers. By educating we can help our peers understand what constitutes rape, how to stop it, and how to avoid becoming a rapist."

Contact Ross (president): ross.templeton@gmail.com
Contact Kevin (VP): kevinalvarez42@gmail.com
Facebook group: Men Against Rape @ UCF
E-mail MAR: MenAgainstRape.UCF@gmail.com

Pink Art (WST) Needs Help

We need additional sponsors to help with gallery costs, give aways, advertising, finding artists, setting up the exhibit (March 16th and m/b 17th), etc. If you would like to donate time, money, or skills to help out please email us at womenst@mail.ucf.edu, come by Colbourn Hall ste. 411 or call 407-823-6502. To submit artwork or get more information please visit our website at womensstudies.cah.ucf.edu

Answers to Discussion Leading Questions

Answers to Discussion Leading Questions:

1. You only get 10 minutes -period. I will stop you at 10 minutes and if you are not done then to bad. You need to be able to limit yourselves.

2. Abstracts should only be about the course article you are covering. No outside materials in the abstract. It must also be a summary of the entire article, not just parts.

3. If you choose are particular point of discussion as the focus of your presentation, you should still address the larger issues of the text.

4. In a game of chess, I do not cry when the Queen dies. I also do not assume the Queen is gendered.

5. Yes, you can initiate debate, but you must stick to the texts. I expect you all to pose at least one critical question to the group. However, if it gets too off topic I will assume you did not read the article and purposely wanted to get off topic.

6. I do not suggest that you use media like power point. It often deters from the presentation instead of add. However, I always find media like pictures and music to be fun. However, be careful with this because you only get 10 minutes.

7. Try to be as exhaustive as possible in the 10 minutes you have.

8. Abstracts should only be one page single-spaced. Do not go over one page.

9. If you forgot your discussion date, email me.

10. The readings come from the texts used in the class. For example, our main textbook is broken up into chapters and essays. This is the book most of the readings come from.

11. Remember not confuse discussion leading with the blogs.

12. Your discussion MUST focus on your reading. The assignment is an assessment of how well you can interpret and present the text.

13. You are not required to use visuals. Refer to number 6.

14. Yes, I expect you to involve your classmates via discussion questions.

15. The discussion leading is the main way the class will learn about the article, but I will always elaborate and cover in further detail.

16. You are essentially teaching this text, which should include your own views and opinions on the text.

17. No handouts.

18. You will be evaluated on whether you followed directions effectively and how well you read and explained the text.

Office Flyer- V-DAY Needs help!

Calling all Men:

What are the Top 5 reasons

you should be involved in the

UCF V-Day benefit production of

“A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer?”

1. Mother

2. Girlfriend

3. Sister

4. Friend

5. Daughter

Come out and AUDITION!!!!

February 1^st & 2^{nd in MAP 108}

^From 6-10pm

Performance dates are March 18^th-20^th

&25^th-27^th

^{For a copy of the monologues you can go the Facebook group} ({}) UCF V-Day 2010 ({})

All proceeds from this year’s event will go to SOAR

Speaking Out About Rape

You do not need to memorize the monologue, or bring anything with you to the audition (headshots are expensive, don’t waste them on us!)

If you cannot attend the audition, or you’d like more information on the event please contact Carol at imagine7782@aol.com

Discussion-leading assignment

WST 3015: Introduction to Women’s Studies
Discussion-leading assignment

Goals/Purpose:
This assignment asks students to take an active leadership role in the learning process by sharing information, interpretations, and dilemmas with peers. The goal is to involve students in discovering ideas, to give students more ownership of the course, and to encourage multiple perspectives and viewpoints. Of course, it is also more interesting and fun when all of us are participating.

Description of assignment:
Each student will sign up for one day and present one set of issues or a set of passages from the texts that the student believes are important, confusing, disruptive, rich, or merit our attention for some reason. Use the resources concerning critical reading and analysis given during the first week of class as well as your experience in composing (and listening to others compose) “insightful questions” in class. Your topic should bear clearly and compellingly on the issues of this class.

24 hours prior to your facilitation date, you must email me an abstract of your assigned reading and post it on your blog.

An abstract is a summary of the assigned reading. This summary should be in your own words, pointing to major points in the text. The primary emphasis should be placed on summary, but a few critical comments are acceptable. Outside research and handouts are not required, but you are welcome to explore the possibility of each. The abstract should include and MLA heading/formatting, MLA citation of the text and a one page single spaced summary/review of the reading. At the end of the semester, you can all collect the abstracts made in class and keep them as a resource for future academic research.

During class, you have 10 minutes and 10 minutes only! After 10 minutes you will be cut off. You may talk for a few minutes and invite the class to discuss the idea with you, or you may present for the entire time. It’s up to you how to use your ten minutes. Here are some ideas:

• Pose an interpretive problem or conundrum. For example, How is the writer using a particular word or idea differently from how we might normally use it? Or, do parts of one writer’s argument complicate another’s? How does a particular text challenge or accept dominant cultural assumptions? Point us to passages that will help us to figure things out.

• Offer an interpretation or argument. Take a stand and show us with text why you’ve done so. Invite the class to respond and engage in a dialogue that extends, complicates, or supports your stand.

• Do some outside research and present your findings. For example, what have other scholars said about this issue? Have you found information or data from reliable sources that responds to or enriches the texts we’re reading? Have you found reliable research that counteracts the reading?

• Fun activity or exercise. Just make sure the fun activity comes back to the texts/course materials for that week and deals in critical thinking and analysis.

• Teamwork might be useful too. Students assigned to the same week might work together to present many sides of one larger topic.

What to do in preparation:
Remember that the goal is to discover ideas and enter into new perspectives. Therefore, the most important means of preparation is to know the text well and to be conversant with the issues we discuss throughout the semester. It can't hurt to do outside reading to gain a different perspective, but it isn't necessary.

Also, don't feel obligated to burden us with a mass of information. One idea is enough for 10 minutes. Don’t be worried about having the “right” answer. Sometimes questions (especially in a discussion) are more interesting than answers.

Criteria for Evaluation:

Students should take responsible risks and:

• know the texts well
• provide a cleanly written abstract
• demonstrate knowledge of course materials
• choose an interesting, thoughtful, non-obvious topic that bears on issues relevant to the course/texts, especially for that week
• narrow topics to one main idea or question
• avoid rehashing material already covered or merely telling us what a text says
• refer to specific passages as necessary
• avoid reading to us from notes, but, of course, your jottings are permitted as prompts
• use no more than 10 minutes
• check with others presenting that same day to avoid embarrassing (and grade impacting!) overlap

Grades will be based on how well you meet the criteria described above.

Rules:
If you are absent, these discussions cannot be made up, as that would disrupt the class. If you discover in advance that you have a conflict, a generous classmate might volunteer to trade with you.

Sample Abstract:

Student
Course Title
Instructor name
Date

Stewart, Maaja A. "Wit and Knowledge of the World: Pride and Prejudice." Domestic Realities and Imperial Fictions: Jane Austen's Novels in Eighteenth-Century Contexts. Athens: University of Georgia P, 1993. 40-71. JSTOR. Web. 8 Mar. 2009.

Stewart’s second chapter primarily focuses on hegemonic systems of power that leave the heroine disempowered in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Stewart begins the discussion by pointing to general inequities faced in Austen’s period: “These patterns of power [that render Elizabeth vulnerable] include patrilineal transmission of property, the social vulnerability of women not protected by men, and the social codes of propriety that deny women the ability to initiate action” (40). This vulnerability is a characteristic, according to Stewart, of a space in which women have little power, making fulfillment of female longing dependent on male initiative. Stewart argues that the structure of the novel is reliant on the female/male desire, a desire characterized by a power play in which men control the outcome of female and personal male desire.

Female and male desire is one of the binaries that Stewart begins to explore, suggesting that the binaries function to perpetuate hierarchies that place the masculine above the feminine. Stewart argues that within the binary, one aspect will be minimized by comparison to the other, in this case diminishing the power of women. An example of this is Elizabeth and Darcy. Darcy exerts dominate male privilege, an advantage that provides Darcy with ultimate control over desire. This is evident by Darcy’s role in deciding the three marriages of the Bennet sisters. The three marriages cannot occur without the approval and interference of Mr. Darcy. Stewart then goes on to connect the binary of “wit” and “judgment” to the male/female binary, wit being feminine and judgment being masculine. Wit is “relative” while judgment is an “absolute.

Stewart argues that Elizabeth’s increased connection with Darcy, and the social knowledge it brings, progressively disempowers Elizabeth. Her detachment allows her to use wit in the first volume to free “herself from the oppressive situations that would hurt if language granted no escape” (62). Elizabeth loses part of her strength, characterized through wit, by marring Darcy because he now dominates the space. The discussion then extends to Elizabeth’s recognition of Darcy’s power. Upon seeing Darcy’s home, a home in which wit no longer has a place, Elizabeth understands the extent of Darcy’s power. Darcy’s home as the indicator of his power is essential because Elizabeth will never be able to experience this freedom, since women cannot own property. The women control the vocal conversational space while men have the benefit of action and property ownership.

Wit within conversation, according to Stewart, is subversive because it challenges the dominant discourse of judgment. Wit in opposition to judgment “threatens the cultural order of domination” (71). Elizabeth’s wit places her in a position to challenge male discourse and judgment. While Elizabeth’s wit is minimized with marriage to Darcy, Stewart argues that because this change is private, Elizabeth remains a public representation of wit. Austen does not “idealize Elizabeth’s weakness” and maintains Elizabeth’s subversive public role (71).

Global Activism Opportunity

This may interest some of you.

http://www.plantingpeace.org/index.php

Herstory Blog Assignment: Due 2/1/10

** Assignment will be reviewed in class on 1/20/10

Thinking About Herstory

In the upcoming weeks, we will discuss the influence of the media on our cultural and sociopolitical views. This assignment will be the first of our reflections on how popular media shapes history by cultivating (or not cultivating) a racist, sexist, ageist, lookist, classist, or homophobic culture.

On January 25^th, we will be watching “Iron Jawed Angels,” a film account on the ratification of the 19^th amendment. For this blog assignment, you will compare and contrast the depiction of suffragists in “Iron Jawed Angels” to the depiction of suffragists in the Disney film “Mary Poppins.” We will not be watching “Mary Poppins” in class, which means you are responsible for viewing this film for the assignment.

Use the following questions to guide your response, but do not merely answer these questions. Remember that you are expected to conduct an analysis of these films in connection to each other, not merely summarize the films. Use of the course texts to inform your analysis is required (at least one cited source from the readings).

Questions:

1. How is the word suffragist used in each film?

2. Which women are active and which ones are passive? Are all the activists in both films active?

3. Are these representations of the suffragist movement realistic?

4. How is activism represented is each film? Does is sustain or disrupt stereotypes of femininity?

5. Do the women in the films continue to be suffragists by the end of the film?

6. How are male and female relationships depicted in each film? How is marriage depicted?

7. How are men depicted in each film?

8. How is women’s labor represented in each film?

9. Are the main characters suffragists? Who are the “main” women in the film? How do they fulfill or disrupt gendered notions of femininity?

10. How does this relate to “isms”- i.e. is this add racist, ageist, ect.

Want to help Haiti?

Hello Scholars! The following is a link to some local efforts to help Haiti. However, I encourage you all to start a campus effort available to all students.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-box-2-orlando-helps-haiti-20100114,0,6343224.story

Service Learning Partner List fixed plus add ons

Hello Class. Here is the corrected Community Partner list. Please look over some of the new opportunities. Based on class discussion and intro blog postings, I think you will all like some of the new stuff.

Service Learning Opportunities and Partners for Spring 2010

Service Learning Community Partners

Service Learning = Academic Knowledge + Community Service + Critical Reflection

Included below is a comprehensive list of community partners (organizations and programs with SL opportunities). Please remember that you will be working in groups, so choose accordingly. Any of these are acceptable and you are encouraged to create your own WST inspired project. You may work with organizations/programs not on this list, but I must approve them first.

ON-CAMPUS PARTNERS

Resource Guide, Website, Curriculum Development
Create a website/resource booklet/pamphlet/guide (depending on your skills or interests) to raise awareness about a particular issue related to women. You might consider contacting some of our community partners to see if they have needs. Otherwise, you can create something to raise awareness around campus or in particular/surrounding communities.). If you are web savvy, you might find that one of our community partners (or another organization) need a website or website assistance. If you create a website or other resource, you must have a distribution plan or strategy so your target audience can access your information.

Activist Calendars and Events
There are many notable dates this semester to revolve activism around. In the past, we put together calendars of activism for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence and another for Women's History Month, which included suggestions for each day of the month to promote and participate in social change. Links to online sites and armchair activisms ("mini"-activisms, including web activism, awareness-raising, and other things people can fit into their day), as well as events related to such themes, make useful activist tools that can be posted to our Women's Studies website, listservs, and around campus. Organize an event, a display, or something to commemorate one of these days; work with other classmates or student organizations. Be creative!

UCF Victim Services
UCF Victim Services always has opportunities for involvement. Their formal training for Victim Advocates is offered in the Spring. If you are interested in working with VS, visit their website for more information: http://victimservices.ucf.edu

Animal Safehouse Program of Brevard
Leandra Preston (one of our WST Faculty) has been working on developing a foster network for pets of women seeking shelter at domestic violence shelters in Brevard County (either Serene Harbor in Palm Bay or the Salvation Army DV Shelter in Cocoa). Links between domestic violence and animal abuse and the important relationship between people and their pets demand this type of service. She is working from the ground up, but there are incredible resources available. She needs help developing materials to attract potential fosters, fundraising for cages, food, medicine, etc., letters to develop partnerships and general help. The program that inspired her (one of the best): http://www.rchumanesociety.org/programs/safehouse.php . More information about these programs through the U.S. Humane Society: http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/first_strike_the_connection_between_animal_cruelty_and_human_violence/safe_havens_for_animals_/. If you are interested in working on this program, contact her at lpreston@mail.ucf.edu.

Hidden Treasure Fellowship, Assist Abused Women and Children
Contact: Debbie Day Braceland; email: hiddentreasurefarm@bellsouth.net; cell 407-435-4758
The organization and needs are described by their founder as follows:

“I am an advocate and have a small shelter on a farm in Sorrento, FL, by Mt Dora in Lake County called Hidden Treasure Fellowship ministry that I have been running for over 10 years. My job as an advocate is to walk along side our guests and help and support them with whatever they need that day. We have a farm with a variety of animals which helps our guests heal and gives them a fun and simple, down to earth environment to live in while they get back on their feet. There are so many things I need help with I don't know where to begin. We have lots of work projects on the farm. I need help with fundraising. We need help cleaning the shelter. And working with children that have been abused. I could plan projects in the Lake Mary area or Sanford. Most of our guests come from Seminole County. Our farm is about 20 minutes from I-4 and Rt. 46 in Sanford. We have a lot of children who have been abused that we are trying to work with. Basically showing them love by listening to them, and taking them on special activities. We took a bus load of 20 to the beach this week. All children from the same extended family. This is the 5th year we have taken them to the beach. They call it their vacation. It is the closest thing to a vacation they have ever experienced. This year one of the children stepped foot in the ocean and looked across the vast expanse of water and beauty. She asked me what country we were in? That reminded me why we do this trip.”

Recognitions will be made (where appropriate).

CourtWatch Program (Courtwatcher)
Visit http://www.courtwatchflorida.org/ for more information.
Courtwatch’s mission is to monitor the domestic violence cases in the Orange and Seminole County, Florida court systems to insure accountability by the system (judges, prosecutor, public defender, etc) and to make sure perpetrators are held accountable for their actions while victims are not re-victimized by the process. CourtWatchers observe the proceedings and record their impartial observations. Data from these questionnaires will be compiled to present to the Court and to the media. Corrective actions will be recommended (where needed)

Girl Scouts many volunteer opportunities are available through Girl Scouts; find a local group and organize a cool project related to our class topics. http://www.girlscouts.org/


You Organize!
Come up with your own project ideas, work with others, be creative. Projects must be approved in advance.


CAMPUS ORGS and ACTIVISM
You can find out more about these organizations, including contact information, at the Office of Student Involvement website: http://www.osa.ucf.edu/clubsorgs/database/database.html)
•Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA)
For more information, email st.colombo@gmail.com.
• VOX (Voices of Planned Parenthood)
For information and to become involved, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vox_ucf/ and/or contact Caridad Cruz at ccruz1017@yahoo.com ; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/voxucf
• UCF/Orlando NOW
For more information and to become involved, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NOWUCF/ , email Vanessa Bernstein at violynn879@yahoo.com; MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/noworlando
• Codepink: Women for Peace
For more information and to become involved, go to:
http://www.myspace.com/codepinkucf ; email Annie Warshaw at xofashionkillaxo@aol.com
• GLBSU (Orlando)/ UCF ALLIES Program
For more information, visit their website: http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ucfglbsu/connect.html
• American Association of University Women, UCF Chapter
For more information, contact: Elizabeth Dellner at sinfulpeach@gmail.com
• Feminist Agenda Radio
For more information, contact Debbie Bernacett at debbieucf@aol.com
o Men Against Rape,
For more information, contact Ross Templeton: ross.templeton@gmail.com



COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS and ACTIVISM
**Visit the websites of these organizations before contacting them, since most have volunteer guidelines and information available on their website***

ORLANDO
• Young Women Leaders Program
http://www.cah.ucf.edu/womensstudies/YWLP/Home.html
contact me at jeaperez@mail.ucf.edu; 407-823-6502
The Young Women Leaders Program is a mentoring program sponsored by the UCF Women's Studies Program. YWLP originated at the University of Virginia, and UCF has launched the program in the Orlando community. YWLP promotes middle school girls' leadership abilities, pairing collegiate women with middle school girls. In mentoring pairs and small groups of Big and Little Sisters, participants focus on learning competence and autonomy, independent thinking, empowerment, self-esteem, and encouraging girls to think about their futures. Mentoring sessions run in the fall and the spring.

• Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando (and surrounding areas)
www.ppgo.org (local); www.plannedparenthood.org (national)
contacts: Kim Riffle, kriffle@ppgo.org , 407-246-1788

• Equality Florida
http://www.eqfl.org/
contact: Joe Saunders, joe@eqfl.org;
Equality Florida is our statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights organization working to change Florida law so that no-one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

• SOAR (Speaking Out About Rape)
www.soar99.org
contact: info@soar99.org ; 407-898-0693
SOAR (Speaking Out About Rape) runs national awareness, education and prevention programs to empower survivors of sexual violence and enhance the public's understanding and acceptance of rape victims.
o Don't Skirt the Issue, Orlando
www.dontskirttheissue.com
Now represented by SOAR. Visit the DTSI for more information about what you can do.

• Ten Thousand Villages, Winter Park, FL
Contact: Jennifer Trombino, manager.orlando@tenthousandvillages.com 407-644-8464 http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/php/stores.festivals/store.volunteer.php?store_id=620 Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade organization that works with artisans globally to determine fair prices on goods that it sells in its local Winter Park store. They are always looking for help on the sales floor and cashiering, especially now that sales are picking up in fall. As well, the manager is interested in developing programs to encourage college students and children to shop fair trade. She is interested in projects that include lesson plans for kids or college students and advertising/awareness campaigns on campus.

• Sexual Assault Treatment Center (SATC)
Kitty Adler: 407-228-6050

• BETA Center works with teen mothers and at-risk families offering a wide range of services to support children and families and prevent child abuse and neglect. For information about volunteer opportunities please contact: Gloria Lewis at glewis@betacenter.org or 407-277-1942 ext. 157.


GLOBAL PARTNERS

Ark Foundation: Center for Women's Leadership and Empowerment
Contact: Angela Dwamena-Aboagye; email: adaboagye@yahoo.com
The Ark Foundation is a human rights, advocacy-based, non-profit NGO founded, registered and based in Ghana, West Africa. Its primary purpose is to seek the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and children. The Ark offers to marginalized, abused, and victimized women, and children, a refuge of safety from where the individual may realize their own strength to face again the challenges of this world. The Ark strives to enable and empower individuals to live their lives without fear of violence or oppression from another human being. Please visit their website for more information.
P.O Box AT 1230 Achimota - Accra
Ghana - West Africa
Tel: (233 - 21) 511610
Fax: (233 - 21) 511382
Office Location: Number 13, Bluegate, Haatso - ECOMOG Road. GA District, Ghana - West Africa
Planters of the Home (Abalimi Bezekhaya)
http://www.abalimi.org.za/
Contact: Rob Small, info@abalimi.org.za ; phone: +27(21)371-1653
Mailing Address: PO Box 44, Observatory, Cape Town, 7935, South Africa
NGO focusing consistently on direct poverty alleviation through micro-organic vegetable gardening among the poor.

Detailed Activism Log Requirements

As part of your service learning project, you will keep a weekly service learning activism log. Essentially, this log is a journal of your service learning activities and a place for reflection on the connection between women's studies and your project. You must keep this log throughout the entire semester and you should begin the week your proposal is approved and you make contact with your community partner. Below are the instructions:

Elements of the Weekly Log:

Limit the entire weekly entries to 350 words.

Entries must be in paragraph form, in complete sentences, and should be checked for grammar and spelling.

Divide your weekly log into bullet style using the three sections (required) below:

Activism: What happened this week? What kind of contact did you have with your community partner? What were your successes? What were your pitfalls? What do you think should be done next week to help you complete your project?

Reflection: How does the activism you’ve done this week relate to material we have discussed in class? How have the week’s events influenced way you view feminist activism and women’s issues? What do you believe is your community partner’s view of these issues? This is your opportunity to reflect on the impact your activism is making—on you and on the community. Here, connect what is happening in your service learning to your growing academic knowledge in this course. Back up your claims with evidence from our readings for this week. Use quotes and page numbers and be specific. Remember MLA!

Reciprocity: Remember that Service Learning is not a one way street. You are not simply giving something to the community partner. Think about what you are getting in return. How might this be defined from a feminist perspective?

Each entry should be a new post and should be titled by week (for example, Service Learning Log Week 1). Feel free to include pictures, flyers, links to your service leaning partner homepage, and video from your service learning project (just remember Disney ratings—it should be anyone, it is a project for school!). If you are working in a group, everyone still must complete the journals.

These journals will be graded at the end of the semester but will be checked throughout the semester to make sure everyone is keeping up with them.

**Note: While your Weekly Activism Log is a way for you to document and reflect on your activism and progress, it is most definitely not an outlet for aggression. The writing and reflection you do in your log should be constructive, and though you should include problems and setbacks (if there are any) please do so in a productive fashion—this is not an opportunity to rant but rather an opportunity to reflect. Reflection is what transforms experience into learning. Finally, this log is a good resource for developing your final reflection paper due at the end of this course.

Service Learning Handouts

WST 3015: Service Learning Project Your final grade will reflect your completion of the following*: Proposal 15 hours minimum contact with community partner Weekly log In-class discussions In class presentation of final product/project of SL experience Actual service learning project/product delivered to community partner

*Note: Completion of 15 service learning hours, while a basic requirement, in no way constitutes credit for the SL portion of your grade. Your grade will be based on your proposal, weekly reflective activities, and final product/project for the SL partner.

ELEMENTS OF THE SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

1. Cover Sheet: (1 page) Title of proposal, name of community partner, names and contacts of group members submitting the proposal, date of submission.

2. Community Partner Profile: (1 page) Name, address, contact(s) of community partner; mission and goals of organization (quoted from their website or literature with citation, if possible); political or social basis for organization; and general needs of organization in order to continue its work.

3. The proposal:

· Define the problem or need that your SL project will specifically address. When defining the problem, consider your audiences: community partner, professor, and peers.

· Propose a plan that addresses the problem or need. This section of the proposal involves persuasive writing. You must persuade your audience that your solution is an effective response to the problem and manageable in the time allotted. Be very specific about what you will do, provide, or complete for the community partner, i.e. what your finished product will be.

· Rationale for Women’s Studies: How does this project relate to our Women’s Studies class and women’s issues in general? Be specific and cite your textbook and other sources as necessary.

· Note: The above portions of the proposal proper should be approximately 500 words (and no more than 750 words).

· Define your action steps for completion. Specify exactly how you will go about doing this project, including initial steps. What things will you need in order to complete this project? What are individual group members’ responsibilities and tasks?

· Create a timeline (Include a schedule of activities and events.)

· Submit the proposal professionally (typed, double spaced, proofread, well-argued and professional presented).

Tips for writing effective proposals are at

http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/props.html

http://members.dca.net/areid/proposal.htm

ELEMENTS OF THE WEEKLY ACTIVISM LOG:

· Begin the week your proposal is approved and you begin working on your project.

· Limit weekly entries to 350 words.

· Divide your weekly log into the three sections (required) below. Stretch

yourself to think about the concepts in connection to your project.

Activism: What happened this week? What kind of contact did you have with your community partner? What were your successes? What were your pitfalls? What do you think should be done next week to help you complete your project?

Reflection: How does the activism you’ve done this week relate to material we have discussed in class? How have the week’s events influenced way you view feminist activism and women’s issues? What do you believe is your community partner’s view of these issues? This is your opportunity to reflect on the impact your activism is making—on you and on the community. .

Reciprocity: Remember that Service Learning is not a one way street. You are not simply giving something to the community partner. Think about what you are getting in return. How might this be defined from a feminist perspective? As much as possible, connect what is happening to your growing academic knowledge in this course. You must use specific texts for every entry including quotes/page numbers and be specific.

While your Weekly Activism Log is a way for you to document and reflect on your activism and progress, it is most definitely not an outlet for aggression. The writing and reflection you do in your log should be constructive, and though you should include problems and setbacks (if there are any) please do so in a productive fashion—this is not an opportunity to rant but rather an opportunity to reflect. Reflection is what transforms experience into learning. Finally, this log is a good resource for developing your final reflection paper due at the end of this course.

Intoduction to WST Blog

Welcome the Women’s Studies, WST 3015, class blog. This blog will be used by our class this semester to post Service Learning announcements and group projects, helpful links, and to post unit work. I designed this blog so that you could interact with classmates and engage in course material beyond our class sessions. It is also a Eco-Feminist solution to cut down on paper used in a classroom.

With that in mind, your first class assignment is to create a blog, using ONLY blogger, and then to email me the URL. Keep in mind that this blog must be separate from your own personal blog and is to be used only for our WST 3015 class (anything you would be embarrassed to your professor should not end up here—ie: this is not the place for facebook/myspace pictures). As such, I have (and you should) set your permissions to only allow our class to read and post to your blog.

Once everyone has created their own blog and emailed me the URL, I'll post a list of links on this page so that we can easily find and read each other's pages and postings. In order to do this, we must first cover some rules of engagement and protocols for our blog.

What Do I Expect of You?

Participation: These assignments are graded. Essentially, instead of turning in assignments, you will post the unit work to your blog. Beyond that, you are not required to organize service learning groups via this cite or post links, etc.—these are just here to help you.

Interaction - Got an opinion? Express it. Disagree with a proposed course convention? Speak up. One of the reasons you will post material online is so that you can see other students’ take on these issues. And yes, most of them are controversial!

Keep an Open Mind – Women’s Studies, as a discipline, asks you to challenge many of the “truths” you hold dear and to unpack many of the daily activities that gender you and make up who you are. Common responses to these challenges are to shut down, feel guilty, and to get mad, or to be hurt—these reactions are part of the process. This is not meant to be a pernicious process, but instead one that will help students to grow intellectually. We all come from different backgrounds and will respond to the material differently--this is ok! Just remember that if you don’t agree, and you won’t always (or ever), you must still engage with the material.

Academic Language--Don’t just use opinion! While experiential knowledge is crucial to theory in Women’s Studies, you must use the personal to link to larger systems. Ground your responses in the text, use outside resources, find and breakdown the flaw in the argument; but always respond using academic language (ie: no use of “lol,” “omg,” or any other strange techno language I may not be familiar with).

Sense of Humor –Come on people, some of this stuff is funny! It is ok to laugh at something even if we are simultaneously analyzing it.

Spirit of Collaboration – Learn from each other, ask questions, and remember that sometimes it takes a village. With that being said, don’t expect that others will do your work for you. To collaborate does not mean to hand everything over to one leader; instead it requires that we learn, despite or because of difference, to work together to accomplish our goals.

What you can expect from me.
Answers - Good answers to all questions, even the hard ones. Remember, it is ok to ask me for help.


Posting and Discussion Protocols:

Be considerate of others. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely but being considerate of others online is just as important as in the classroom.

Make every effort to be clear. Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.

If you want to send a message to me, email me instead of posting a comment to the blog.

Post your assignments to YOUR page and not to mine—your page should hold all of your work for the semester and mine should hold the prompts.

Use the following conventions when composing a discussion posting:
Be careful about "Subject" headings; use the subject suggested in your assignment.
Create a new post for every assignment instead of posting to the first one, that way it is easy for everyone to find.

Avoid postings such as "I agree," "I don't know either," "who cares," or "ditto." They do not add to the discussion! Take up space and communicate when asked to respond to others. These “same here” style posts will not be counted for credit.
Do not use all caps. This makes the message very hard to read and is considered "shouting."

Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation. These count online.

Try to avoid posting large blocks of text but when you must, break them into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.

Whew! Without further delay, your fist assignment is to create a blog using Blog Spot and write your first post. Here are the instructions:

1. Set up your blog: to do this, go to www.blogspot.com and follow the on-screen directions for setting up a free blog. Please take some time to personalize your blog. This is a way for the class to get to know you, so feel free to include a photo (remember my comment about appropriate), links to other sites you enjoy, etc. Please make sure that your name (first/preferred name and last initial) is clear on your blog. I know that some/many of you already have a blog where you write posts; however, for the purposes of this course, you will need a separate blog that is focused on our course. You should feel free to provide a link to your other blog if you would like to share that with your classmates as well.

2. Write your first post: your first assignment is to write a letter of introduction about yourself. In addition to the basics—where you are from, what year you are at UCF, what major you are, etc—I want to know a few things related to your participation in this course. Here is a series of questions to think about as you write (you are not expected to answer all of these, of course; pick a few from the list that you would find beneficial to describe given your own history):

* Why are you interested in taking this women’s studies? If your answer is simply that it counts for a diversity requirement, then what would you like to get out of it?
* What types of activism do you do now? How do you feel about activism? Why?
* What do you think feminism is? How is it different than women’s studies?
* What do you think are the major difference between genders?
* What type of writing have you always disliked? Why?
* What are some of the ways gender influences your daily life?
• Who has the greatest influence on your understanding of how men and women behave? What about those people who break these rules?
* Why do you find gender important—or not—in your life?
* If you could change one thing about yourself as gendered being, what would it be?
* What to you want to learn about women and women’s studies this semester?

At the end of your letter to me (it should be around 500 words), please write a final statement letting me know that you have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols, which I see as a contract for our course. This should go without saying, but please remember that all of your blog entries should be in paragraph form and use complete sentences.

3. Follow up: email me at jeaperez@mail.ucf.edu with your blog address (http://____.blogspot.com), so that I can add it to the list on our course page.

Click on the following image for the blog grading rubric

* Many many thanks to Meredith Tweed for provided me with the initial tools to create this blog.