Philosophies of Feminism – Final Essay

Instructions:
For the final project, you are asked to write on a topic of your choice. Below are instructions regarding the format for this assignment. Following that are suggested topics. These topics are merely suggestions. The final choice is left to you. Use the suggests below if helpful.

Format:
The essay should be approximately 3-4 typed pages. Standard format applies. A bibliography page must be included. All quotes and paraphrases must be referenced. Every paper must quote its chosen text(s). Any standard citation format (MLA, APA, Chicago) is acceptable as long as used consistently throughout the essay. Pages must be numbered. The essay must have a title. Twelve-point font and double spacing are also required. Margins should be 1 inch at the top and bottom. The same applies to the left and right margins. Do not play with the format to make the essay appear longer than it is. The essay is graded on the quality of the argument, not on the length of the argument. When the format is manipulated, the reader is told two things: (a) the writer does not believe that the reader is smart enough to detect the manipulation and, more importantly, (b) the writer is not confident in the work done and, thus, must make the work appear longer than it is.
The essay must have a clearly stated thesis, along with a clearly articulated strategy for supporting that thesis. Note the thesis is none other than the essay’s point of view; an interpretative point regarding the topic chosen. A topic is not a thesis. A topic is the framework in which a thesis is developed.

A summary is not thesis; but it is a means of situating, motivating, and contextualizing a thesis. An undefended thesis is an unconvincing thesis. The body of the paper must defend the thesis advanced in the opening section (rather than some other claim that emerges in the course of the paper) in accordance with a clear plan or strategy. A defense should make ample and specific use of the relevant text or texts. A conclusion is mandatory. A conclusion need not summarize the argument. Boring conclusions do this. It might, instead, draw the reader’s attention to some broader theme of which this discussion is a part. It might suggest additional ways to advance this analysis or consider further reasons why this topic is important. It might even suggest problems with its own analysis.

A good essay need not achieve a definitive result, but might instead indicate difficulties facing any attempt to solve the problem discussed. A good essay might point out how such a problem could be solved without offering a solution. In any case, a good essay has a clear grasp of the sense and intent of its thesis. A thesis poorly understood cannot be adequately defended. A well understood thesis is a thesis well stated. An essay without a thesis is not an essay worth reading.

Suggested topics: (Please Choose Only One)
1. Choose a text discussed in this course. Explain what feminism should and should not learn from that text. If the text chosen is from the early development of feminist theory, you might
approach that text by considering whether and how that text could be updated. For example,
how should Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman be restated for our
(your) community?

2. Focus your discussion on a particular theme addressed by one text or be several texts. Relative
to the theme (and texts) chosen, clearly state the issue addressed, how that issue is dealt with in
the text or texts chosen, followed by an assessment of that theme and/or its treatment.
Suggested topics are: (a) education, (b) autonomy, (c) work, (d) education, (e) feminist action,
(f) differences between women, (g) patriarchal strategies, (h) speaking for others, (I) women
marginalized by traditional feminism, etc.

3. Apply one of the feminist theories discussed to a work, item, object, etc., from popular culture,
indicating what that theory says about the item chosen. The application of that theory to that
item could be used to explain how that theory should be put into practice, or to illustrate the
strengths and/or weaknesses of that theory, or to indicate whether that theory requires further
development. The direction of your analysis is left to you. Note that this topic requires a clear,
informative statement of both the theory chosen and the item from popular culture discussed.
In other words, do not omit the relevant background information.

The attached documents are the readings in which you can choose from. Please use at least 3 sources. Thank you.