Small
groups must be respectful of confidentiality. No one is required
to reveal personal thoughts or experiences--only share what you are comfortable
sharing. At the first session, each group should establish a rule
of confidentiality, that is, that any information that is shared remains
within the group unless the speaker gives permission to repeat it outside
the group.
Small
groups provide a space to talk with peers, away from faculty, about the
personal issues raised by this course. Although groups are not intended
to analyze readings per se--that task will be covered in sections--students
are encouraged to refer to readings, lectures, and films in their discussions.
In groups, your own experiences, whether in families, schools, or work
places, can be discussed to the extent that you are comfortable doing so.
Your
group can generate its own topics for discussion, or you can use questions
raised in lecture or section. The instructors will make suggestions
each week for possible small group topics. In the past, some groups
have used responses to newspaper articles or events on campus to stimulate
discussion. Others have told parts of their life stories as they
relate to that week's topic in class. Many students report that groups
allowed them to see the ways that their responses to the issues raised
in class were similar, or different, from those of other students.
Respect for different cultural backgrounds and life experiences is, of
course, critical to small group process.
The
following list suggests some possible topics, geared to course issues,
that you might use at the first or subsequent meetings:
1.
What kind of gender socialization did you experience in your family (models,
training, warnings, etc.)? Any differences between male and female
siblings? What gender roles did you observe in your family and community?
2.
How do you think that your race, class, ethnicity, or religious training
influenced your gender identity? How does the combination affect
your response to what you are learning?
3.
Have you ever had an experience of "unlearning" racism, homophobia, or
other forms of discrimination, that is, when your preconceptions about
others, or yourself, have been changed by new information or experience?
4.
What kinds of work experiences have you had, in the family and the paid
labor sphere, and what have you experienced in terms of gender expectations
and opportunities? Do you think gender will make any difference in
your future work and family goals?
Assignments:
Only
one set of readings is required for small groups (Allen "Free Space," Restikis,
"Resistance to CR", and Uttal, "Nods That Silence," in RDR and listed on
syllabus after 9/29). These short essays should be completed before
the first small group meeting to give a sense of the process and issues
raised by small group discussions.
Each
student is required to submit a 4-5 page (ungraded) paper reviewing each
meeting of the small group and the overall experience. The paper
is due on the last day of class, December 1st. To prepare for writing
this paper, I strongly recommend that each student keep a journal or a
set of notes about each meeting, preferably written soon after the session.
A few paragraphs each week on what you learned from the experience, from
others, and how this learning related to the lectures, readings, and films,
will provide the bulk of your evaluation paper, along with overall reflections
on the group process. Specific guidelines for the paper will be distributed
in class at the end of November. Keeping a journal will allow this
paper to write itself for the most part; students have reported that it
is critical to record your reflections each week.
If
you have questions about small group, bring them up with the instructors.
You may also raise questions about small group process in the group, especially
when you do your mid-quarter evaluations of the group.