Did you learn something you did not know/consider before this class? If so, what?
20 thoughts on “#11/The End”
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Introduction to Women's Studies
A Rutgers-Newark Class
Did you learn something you did not know/consider before this class? If so, what?
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I learned about the depth of women’s movements throughout history and just how powerful they were. Also I learned about the significance of femininity.
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Although i knew a lot of stuff that we learned in class, there were also a few things that I learned that I did not know. One thing that I noticed and have not realized before taking this course was how there was racism against many different types of people, not just black. We really only focus on the racism against blacks, not as much with the discrimination against asains, mexicans, latinos, etc.. Also i knew feminism was a big thing in our society but I only saw it as women has a whole. Taking this course I noticed how feminism strikes differently against different women and women of different religions. Some were worst than others. Overall, I found this to be a very interesting course that I enjoyed and made me realize a lot about our society.
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Before taking this course, I knew the treatment of women was not always fair or pleasant. However, after reading about Adam and Eve and the piece with the Apostle Paul, I was shocked to find out that men used to thank God they weren’t women. Also, when we read about how women were only seen as reproductive tools and how men basically dominated them, it was disheartening to find out . However, it also shows how far women have come and how powerful they really are. I also learned about the experiences of different cultures such as Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Asians, and also about the struggles and experiences of queer and deaf people; it was very insightful and interesting.
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I had always considered myself somewhat aware of women’s issues, but this class made me conscious of all the things I don’t know. For example, I hadn’t realized that when discussing feminism and the struggle for women, it comes mostly from a middle class, white woman’s perspective. I hadn’t ever been exposed to the idea that women are not all united just because of their gender, as posed in the article, “The Problems with Transnational Feminism”. I didn’t think of the parallels between the way college students are dismissive to deaf students and how our society is dismissive towards people of color. Even with women in the military, I never considered how severe the effects of abuse are. In fact, it wasn’t until this semester that my mind was opened to see the connection between the government, corporations, and incarceration. More than anything, this class left me with a lesson that I had never learned anywhere else. Capitalism sounds so ideal in regards to American nationalism, but the true evils of it lie in the fact that it thrives upon the cheap labor of marginalized people.
Thank you Professor Daniels, for sharing these lessons.
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I learned about various types of people that are facing some type of biased identity and honestly in some readings I noticed that I have some of these biased views against minorities. Now, however, after reading about the other side’s perspective, I have a new view of different minority groups and I respect them more than before. Also, the idea of a feminist used to seem to relate to people who just want seem important by speaking about women issues, however, after this course, I realized that it is more than that. Instead, many women may not consider themselves feminists but have feminist views and this made me more open to hear their perspective on women issues. Lastly, before this course, I never realized that a capitalist government would use empathy toward the struggles in third world countries when they might actually be the cause of their problems.
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This class was interesting and noticed that there are many things that downgrade women besides jobs and education. We often see men in control and that’s because all these years that’s what society tend to think and is the right way to go about things. Not only do women in America are limited to opportunities but in third world countries women have it worse. Women in third world countries I learned that they are either dependent on men of stuck at home because education is not isn’t an option. Something that caught my attention while taking this course is that even in the military women aren’t safe. Men are considered to be savages because although they are supposed to have control of their actions, that is not the case. The media makes people think that the world is safe but deep down there are hidden secrets that the media does not reveal.
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Before taking the course I had the general knowledge of the treatment and issues women had throughout history. But this class helped me understand that not everything is what it seems. For example, the general look of feminism; their issues and perspectives were made from a group of middle-class white women. This can be a problem because not every woman goes through the same issues as a white middle-class woman. I also had a general knowledge of the military and how soldiers were treated. But I didn’t know that they assigned buddies to the women. As the class continued to go on, I gained a deeper understanding of the world and how women and others are perceived.
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I learned a lot about heteronormativity in this class. A few months ago, I would not know how to define that word or what it meant to the society in which we live. I also did not know that heteronormativity is present in the gaming world as well. That was a surprise to me, especially since I have always looked at gaming as a total joke. One of my favorite readings in class was the one written by Mahnaz Afkhami. I really resonated with her ideas about empathy and the “feminine condition”. I thought the diversity of readings in this class, with a diversity of authors from different backgrounds was a really great way to begin studying women’s and gender studies. There were many different perspectives which I had not considered before, such as those of Asian-American, Mexican- American, and African-American women. When we talked about welfare and poverty in class, my views were totally altered. I think this goes to show that it is important to really look at perspectives outside of one’s own silo. Another thing that I learned from this class is that it is good to look at the fine details of every academic article. In my other classes, I usually just skim articles to get the main point because I always procrastinate and run out of time. In this class, I looked more closely at the readings than I have in some of my other classes, which I think helped me retain what the authors were trying to say much better.
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Before taking this class I knew about feminism and was aware how women’s rights need to be prioritized but after this class I learned a lot about the other issues that women faces regarding class , race and other factors . I also learned how there is still feminization of labor in this society, how single moms are forced to stay in the low income household and still expected to raise their children. I gained a lot of knowledge about the things going on around me which were always there but which never came in sight. I have learned how the issues that women faced and still faces are neglected in our day to day life. The readings were amazing and full of outside knowledge which made me gain knowledge deeper about the outside world.
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This class was amazing and was full of discussions which made me express my knowledge and also gain so much of knowledge how women in todays world are under oppression. I learned a lot form this class and one of the most interesting topic that I learned and that I think was interesting to me was that we not only face racism in one category, but racism gets attached with sexism too, that if its a women she is given less rights but if she’s a black women she is abandoned form the society. The readings that were given were very interesting and I learned things that I never knew happened around me. I also learned how global feminism differs from transnational feminism. This class was all about learning the current affairs and it made me understand how there is so much of cruelty in the world around me.
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Before taking this course i knew the obvious about women history around the world. But after this semester I’m happy to say I learned that feminism is not as simple and broad as I thought it was. I learned through this course such as historians only focus on the middle white class when talking about early feminism in the first and second wave. They leave out a big group of women. Throughout this course I realized that feminism is categorized by historians and other feminists into groups and that a lot of the times some movements and issues are not relatable to all women, especially when discussing feminism on a global scale. Another thing I learned from this course was how women are discouraged from working in STEM fields, I knew that women came a long way for equality in the work place but it still is not where it should be. The articles we read explains how women are constantly reminded that they are not fit to work in the STEM fields which discourages them from trying it. Overall, this course opened up my eyes to the numerous social issues I was unaware of, and completely changed my perspective on how simple I thought feminism really is.
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Before being part of the class, I thought it was understanding and learning about the state of women universally. However, I was wrong it wasn’t just about women, even though it was the main subject in all our classes. It was also about the different ethnicities, gender identities, and sexualities. What I learned that I found interesting is how queer is defined in “Punks, Bulldaggers and Welfare Queens” by Cathy Cohen. She explained how being queer doesn’t have to necessarily have to refer to sexuality. Instead it can also be defined as someone who defies the heteronorm.
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This course taught me different terminology that can be applied in many areas life heteronormativity or heterogeneity, have not can across terms since this class. I found out what a Welfare Queen was, never knew that and the term Sapphire was a derogatory stigma for Black Women.
Queer politics at first I was a little sketchy because I was not thinking outside the term “queer” of course I got use to a dictionary in this class. Queer- different Odd Not usual weird, so its not always a sexual orientation. The idea of marriage as an institution was a perspective I came to learn.
Language and Empathy or is Empathy a language? Politics and Empathy or can Empathy become political. I have learned that language is a device, a tool.
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Through this class I feel I’ve become more aware of issues I had never even taken into consideration before. I felt that the course provided interesting readings and that the discussions in class further developed my interest and understanding in these issues. I feel that I’ve learned how complicated it is for a mass movement to be put into effect, because of all the differentiating issues and complications globally.
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Well, before this class, I was not knowledgeable in this field and surely enough, this class made that quite clear to me. From what I knew, I expected to learn nothing more than the basic history of women and women in the present, but I learned so much more than what I had expected. I learned that feminism came in waves. I learned about how women were treated poorly pertaining to applying for jobs and being in jobs. I learned that women-headed households are treated unfairly. I learned about the need for empathy not only in the United States, but as well as in Asia and in other parts of the world where women are discriminated. I learned that women were not given leadership roles or positions in certain religious groups. I learned about identity politics, and the Black Feminists of 1974 who actively engaged and struggled against racial, and sexual oppression, which is targeted mainly at black females because they experienced no progress from being part of the larger movements. So they established “Black Feminism” as their politics because they saw this as their own way to fight oppression. I learned about Queer politics and Heteronormativity. I learned about transnational feminism, global feminism and the criticisms against empathy, and the need for empathy for marginalized women in other countries. Personally, I am also reminded of this over-rated yet prevailingly significant lesson, “do not judge a book by its cover.” This class has reminded me that it is not my duty to judge people, rather, it is mine to have genuine compassion, and concern for all, and to ensure that I advocate for justice and for what is right for everyone. Overall, I learned that there is a great need in this country, and now I am well aware of it.
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Throughout my time in this class ive have learn how to critcally read articles and understand the meaning and analysis the authors meaning while also being about to discuss what going on to the class. I also learned alot about women suffrage and rights and how leading up to todays women are still fighting to have their voices heard but we are so over power by male domaince. Overall, i was pretty pleased with preformance of the class and how well ran it was. I will definitely recommend others to take this class. Farewell.
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I learned a great deal about queer politics. I had known that gays and lesbians and transsexuals have gone through a lot of hate in this country, but queer politics overall is what I hadn’t considered. It has opened my eyes much more, and that is why I am doing my final paper on queer politics.
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Entering this classroom I had an understanding of the way women are treated throughout the globe, but this class taught me all the different areas. This class showed me that there is a deeper meaning to it all, also in this class I felt like I was constantly put to the test. Being put to the test I mean constantly being questioned why? For example, why is it a struggle for women in the gaming industry through both sides, being the gamer or the creator of the game. I always considered the bigger picture of it all but with this class I have become an individual who gained the idea of breaking it all down before picking a side.
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Something that I didn’t really consider in regards to feminism before this class is the very separate issues of non-white women and the struggles they face. Which is a little strange to me now considering I’m a woman of color myself and have always considered myself an avid feminist. I think I just learned a lot of my feminist beliefs from friends who were white that didn’t really understand/care about the struggles of Black women and Asian women and Hispanic women and so on. There is a lot more to feminism than what is talked about in popular media, such as the wage gap and American rape culture, and while these are incredibly important topics that need discussing and fixing, there is an entire world of issues out there that also need to be acknowledged. I also just found it really interesting to hear from women of all different backgrounds in this class talk about their experiences and opinions, as I went to a very white high school and I’ve gotten a little sick of hearing white opinions on everything. I’m thankful to this class for teaching me everything that it’s taught me.
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I learned the waves of women movement and how important each wave was in society, I learned about the Church and 2nd sex and how women are expected to “act”. I also learned what empathy truly mean especially towards women. I most importantly learned what heteronormativity really is, it opened my eyes to how the society really is. This class has been very informative, I learned valueable information that I’ll carry with me as an African American women.
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