Soc 150:301 Violence, Gender, and Family

Fall 2001
 
Prof. Nancy Berns
Department for the Study of Culture & Society
120 Howard Hall
Office Hours: Monday 9:45-10:45; 12:30-1:30
                     Tuesday 3:30-4:30
                     Wednesday 9:45-10:45; 12:30-1:30
                     or by appointment
e-mail: nancy.berns@drake.edu
office phone: 271-2157
home phone: (515) 663-0562

You should take advantage of my office hours. They are set for you so do not hesitate to stop by. If you are not free during these hours, we can set an appointment. I cannot always ascertain problems you may be having so you need to communicate concerns and needs that arise. Come see me if you have questions about the course material, assignments, careers in sociology and criminology areas, or other related matters.

Course Description

This course covers violence in intimate relationships and the family (including children) including its history, the social construction of the problem, interdisciplinary theoretical explanations, its social contexts, and the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation. This course also explores how media, politics, and popular discourse impact policy for intervention and prevention, and individual understandings of domestic violence.

Required Readings

O’Toole, Laura L. and Jessica R. Schiffman. eds. 1997. Gender Violence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: New York University Press. (Gender Violence)

Reading Packet: A course packet with required readings is available at Copycat. (RP)

Course Requirements

1. Class Participation (10%)

Effective class participation consists of attending each class period on time and for the duration of class, reading the day's readings before class, and being involved in the class discussion. More than three unexcused absences from class and/or poor preparation and participation in class will result in a reduced grade. In case of medical and family emergencies you may need to be absent from class. To have an absence excused you need to contact me ahead of the class period and may need to provide written documentation.

2. Learning Journal

As part of the class, keep a journal in which you respond to course readings, class discussions, and observations of events and conversations relating to class topics. This journal will help you in writing the final paper. Include in your journal a critical analysis of the readings so that you can be more prepared in including those readings in the required papers. Journal writing is an excellent way to help you process what you are learning.

3. Three In-Class Essays (45%)

After each section, students will write an essay on an assigned question covering the readings for the respective section. The first essay is worth 10%, the second essay is worth 15%, and the third essay is worth 20% of the overall course grade.

4. Interview and Paper on Violence Prevention or Intervention Programs (20%)

A detailed assignment will be handed out in class. The paper is due on November 5.

5. Comprehensive Final Paper (25%)

A detailed assignment will be handed out in class. The paper is due during finals week.

 

LATE PAPER POLICY!!

All late papers will be graded down at the rate of one letter grade per day. For unavoidable delays see me BEFORE the paper is due.

 

 

Course Outline

Part I: "Discovering," Defining, Measuring and Labeling the Problem

During this section, we will read about and discuss the public discovery of family violence and the historical roots of family violence. Topics will include historical attitudes and laws that legitimated wife abuse and still affect today's society, the battered women movement, and the public discovery of social problems, such as child abuse, wife abuse, marital rape, and date rape. We will discuss the various constructions of the social problem of family violence and their implications on policy and public attitudes. We will explore the question "What is domestic violence?" How do the definitions, measurements, and even the language used to describe domestic violence affect the scope and focus of the problem? Topics will include definitions and forms of abuse, types of victims and relationships, the problems with measuring intimate abuse, and statistics. Also, we will discuss how the language used to define the problem impacts the social problem frame; e.g., "spouse abuse" vs. "battered women."

8/27 Introduction to Course

8/29

Eldridge, Larry D. "Nothing New Under the Sun: Spouse Abuse in Colonial America." Ch. 16 in Gender Violence.

Holley, Marietta. 1996. "A Dorlesky-Burpy Family Story." Pp. 12-13 in Women in the Trees: U.S. Women's Short Stories about Battering & Resistance, 1839-1994, edited by Susan Koppelman. Boston: Beacon Press. (RP)

9/3 No Class

9/5

Gordon, Linda. 1988. "The Powers of the Weak": Wife-beating and Battered Women's Resistance." Pp. 250-288 in Heroes of Their Own Lives: The Politics and History of Family Violence. New York: Viking Penguin Inc. (RP)

9/10

Jaffe, Peter, David Wolfe, and Susan Kaye Wilson. 1997. "Definition and Scope of the Problem." Ch. 24 in Gender Violence.

Pfohl, Stephen J. 1977. "The Discovery of Child Abuse" (RP)

9/12

Donat, Patricia L. N. and John d'Emilio. "A Feminist Redefinition of Rape and Sexual Assault: Historical Foundations and Change." Ch. 11 in Gender Violence.

Armstrong, Louise. "Who Stole Incest?" Ch. 22 in Gender Violence.

9/17

hooks, bell. "Violence in Intimate Relationships: A Feminist Perspective." Ch. 18 in Gender Violence.

Kurz, Demie. 1997. "Violence Against Women or Family Violence? Current Debates and Future Directions." Ch. 32 in Gender Violence.

9/19

Dobash, R., Dobash R.E., Wilson, and Daly. 1992. "The Myth of Sexual Symmetry in Marital Violence." (RP)

Berns, Nancy. "Degendering the Problem and Gendering the Blame: Political Discourse on Women's Violence." (RP)

9/24 In-Class Essay

 

 

Part II. Violence as Lived Experience:

A Closer Look at Victims and Abusers

In the second part of the course we will explore the personal experiences of those involved in abusive relationships. This section will explore the types of abuse, including rape, physical, verbal, and psychological abuse. Feminist insights on gender, patriarchy and power will be discussed. Although women who are abused by men constitute a large proportion of adult abuse victims, there are "other" victims. Abuse in gay and lesbian relationships, women's violence against men, and elderly abuse will be explored in this section. We will also read about and discuss issues related to rape including how researchers and victims/survivors define rape, cultural theories of rape, stranger vs. acquaintance and date rape, and attitudes towards rape, rapists, and rape victims. Finally, we will learn about types of child abuse, including physical, sexual, psychological abuse, and neglect. We will explore the debate on corporal punishment. Other topics include long-term effects that victims suffer, abusers and their strategies, and the challenges of official investigation of and intervention in child abuse cases. This section will also include an overview of social systems that intervene in cases of family violence, such as shelters, criminal justice system, and the social services.

9/26

Dobash, R. Emerson and Russell P. Dobash. "Violence Against Women." Ch. 17 in Gender Violence.

Murphy, Pat. 1996. "Women in the Trees." Pp. 256-267 in Women in the Trees: U.S. Women's Short Stories about Battering & Resistance, 1839-1994, edited by Susan Koppelman. Boston: Beacon Press. (RP)

Harman, Barbara. 1996. "Happy Ending." Pp. 286-290 in Women in the Trees: U.S. Women's Short Stories about Battering & Resistance, 1839-1994, edited by Susan Koppelman. Boston: Beacon Press. (RP)

10/1

Ferraro, Kathleen J. 1997. "Battered Women: Strategies for Survival." Pp. 124-140 in Violence Between Intimate Partners: Patterns, Causes, and Effects, edited by Albert P. Cardarelli. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (RP)

10/3

Lorde, Audre. "Need: A Chorale for Black Woman Voices." Pp. 74-79 in Gender Violence.

Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams. 1994. "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color." Pp. 93-118 in The Public Nature of Private Violence, edited by Martha Albertson Fineman and Roxanne Mykitiuk. New York: Routledge. (RP)

10/8

Renzetti, Claire M. "Violence in Lesbian and Gay Relationships" Ch. 19 in Gender Violence.

Letellier's "Gay and Bisexual Male Domestic Violence Victimization: Challenges to Feminist Theory and Responses to Violence" (RP)

10/10

Renzetti, Claire. 1999. "The Challenge to Feminism Posed by Women's Use of Violence in Intimate Relationships." Pp. 42-56 in New Versions of Victims: Feminists Struggle with the Concept, edited by Sharon Lamb. New York: New York University Press. (RP)

10/15 NO CLASS

10/17

Adisa, Opal Palmer. "Undeclared War: African-American Women Writers Explicating Rape." Ch. 12 in Gender Violence.

Pelka, Fred. "Raped: A Male Survivor Breaks His Silence." Ch. 13 in Gender Violence.

 

10/22

Peled and Edleson's "Process and Outcome in Small Groups for Children of Battered Women." (RP)

10/24

Straus, Murray. 1994. "Violence and Crime" in Beating the Devil Out of Them pp. 99-120. New York: Lexington Books. (RP)

Caringella-MacDonald, Susan. 1997. "Women Victimized by Private Violence: A Long Way to Justice." Pp. 144-153 in Violence Between Intimate Partners: Patterns, Causes, and Effects, edited by Albert P. Cardarelli. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (RP)

McCarriston, Linda. "To Judge Faolain, Dead Long Enough: A Summons." Pp. 252-253 in Gender Violence.

Jones, Ann. 1994. "What Can We Do?" Pp. 199-237 in Next Time She'll Be Dead. Boston: Beacon Press. (RP)

10/31

Sullivan, Cris M. 1997. "Societal Collusion and Culpability in Intimate Male Violence: The Impact of Community Response toward Women with Abusive Partners." Pp. 154-164 in Violence Between Intimate Partners: Patterns, Causes, and Effects, edited by Albert P. Cardarelli. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (RP)

Sudermann, Marlies, Peter G. Jaffe, and Elaine Hastings. 1995. "Violence Prevention Programs in Secondary (High) Schools." Pp. 232-254 in Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community Responses to Children of Battered Women, edited by Einat Peled, Peter G. Jaffe, and Jeffrey L. Edleson. Thousand Oaks: Sage. (RP)

11/5

Interview papers due

Discussion of papers

11/7 In-Class Essay

 

 

Part III: Perspectives on Explaining Gendered Violence

Numerous theories from varying disciplines are used to explain family violence. Students will learn about many of the major theoretical perspectives. Students will discuss how particular research questions and theoretical assumptions impact social policy, political agendas, and overall understanding of violence in the family. Finally, both the similarities and differences in family violence across cultures will be explored. Topics will include female genital mutilation, bride burning, dowery, and global human rights. Western and non-Western perspectives will be taken into consideration in analyzing these traditions.

11/12

11/14

Messerschmidt, James. "Varieties of 'Real Men'." Ch. 5 in Gender Violence.

Kivel, Paul. 1992. "Why Are Men Violent?" Pp. 93-114 in Paul Kivel's Men's Work: How to Stop the Violence that Tears Our Lives Apart. Center City, MN: Hazelden. (RP)

11/19

Elias, Robert. 1997. "A Culture of Violent Solutions." Pp. 117-147 in The Web of Violence: From Interpersonal to Global, edited by Jennifer Turpin and Lester R. Kurtz. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. (RP)

11/21 NO CLASS

11/26

Nazneen, Roksana. 1998. "Violence in Bangladesh." Pp. 77-91 in Violence Against Women: Philosophical Perspectives, edited by Stanley G. French, Wanta Teays, and Laura M. Purdy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. (RP)

Eisler, Riane. 1997. "Human Rights and Violence: Integrating the Private and Public Spheres." Pp. 161-185 in The Web of Violence: From Interpersonal to Global, edited by Jennifer Turpin and Lester R. Kurtz. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. (RP)

11/28

Boddy, Janice.1998. "Violence Embodied? Circumcision, Gender Politics, and Cultural Aesthetics." Pp. 77-110 in Rethinking Violence Against Women edited by Rebecca Emerson Dobash and Russell P. Dobash. Thousand Oaks: Sage. (RP)

12/3

Berns, Nancy. 1999. "'My Problem and How I Solved It': Domestic Violence in Women's Magazines." The Sociological Quarterly, 40: 85-108. (RP)

final paper: due during finals week