wmst 1000 exam review Questions and
Comprehensive Answers Graded A 2024-2025
Explain the various projects that comprise Women's Studies - ✔️✔️in order to realize its
goals, women's studies as an academic discipline has developed a two- pronged project
-first prong: created courses within traditional disciplines with the goal of incorporating
both women and their experiences into various subject matter. Examples of this prong
include courses like "Feminist Philosophy", Women in Politics", "Sociology of Gender",
or "Women in History"
-second prong: created interdisciplinary courses and lines of inquiry. Examples of this
prong include "Women's Studies" and "Gender Studies"
Explain how the women's studies classroom differs from the traditional classroom -
✔️✔️works to develop and interactive learning environment
-emphasis is on challenging ourselves both intellectually and emotionally
-challenge comes from subject matter and the fact that both experience, and academic
theory and method are brought together
-emphasis is placed on fostering "feminist curiosity"
-the traditional student-teacher relationship has been one of unequal power relations
and domination
-the Women's Studies classroom wants to rethink the classroom as a more open,
caring, and dynamic place
Describe the central role of education in feminist activism and theorizing - ✔️✔️-
historically education systems have been limiting rather than empowering places for
women
-a long line of feminists and women's rights activists believe education is central to
liberation
-the education of young women is proportionally correlated to nearly every development
marker for developing countries
Three ways women have been marginalized in the education system (why have
educational systems traditionally been limiting rather than empowering places for
women?) - ✔️✔️-the first is the push to "female" careers
-secondly, women are often constructed as passive and emotional
-in the education system men tend to occupy positions of authority
-all three of these factors keep women's voices on the margins of the system
perpetuating the "dominant message"
Identify first, second, and third wave feminisms, and discuss why this history matters to
contemporary studies - ✔️✔️The first wave runs from the late 18 C to the 1930s, and is
largely concerned with better education for women, and also political representation for
women.
, -The second wave runs from the 1960s to early 1980s, and it is concerned with
advancing the social and legal status of women.
-The third wave runs from the late 1980s (but mostly the 90s) to the present. Third wave
feminists focus on other marginalized identities.
Define the privilege of invisibility - ✔️✔️-gender is one of the ways that men are privileged
-often difficult to recognize the ways in which we are privileged
-Kimmel states the first time he was made aware of his gender and it was made visible
to him was in a women's studies course
-his gender had remained invisible to him and he was able to experience the "privilege
of invisibility"
-the processes that confer privilege from one group and not another group are often
invisible to those upon who that privilege is conferred
-when we are privileged because of our gender, we have the luxury of ignoring the
centrality of gender in our lived
-women's studies has helped make men aware of their privilege
Explain the utility of this concept to other markers of social identity (i.e. race, class,
bodily ability, etc.) - ✔️✔️-race is a way in which some people are not privileged so it is
always visible to them
-a white woman might argue that despite racial differences they had faced the same
oppression and had similar experiences as women
-white woman would look in the mirror and just see a woman
Describe the roles men have played in historical and contemporary feminist politics -
✔️✔️-men have played a pivotal role in supporting women's struggles for liberation
-John Stuart Mill argued for equality between the sexes in his influential book The
Subjection of Women
-Mill was writing at a time when England was fully immersed in Victorian values, public
life was the place for men while private life was the place for women
-Mill argues that we have no idea what women's nature is for we have tried no other
social arraignment
-John Dewey was a pro-feminist educator in the early 20th century who fought for
women's access to higher education and founded the Men's League for Women's
Suffrage
-pro-feminist men are men who support women's equality in both the public sphere, and
the private sphere
-pro-feminist men have a duty to use their privilege and position to fight for equality.
This has been the case both historically, and contemporaneously
-the feminist movement has historically relied on both men and women
Explain gender binaries, and analyze some of the problems with a binary framework for
understanding gender - ✔️✔️-some people identify with a gender that is not normally
associated with their biological sex
-not everyone identifies with either side of this gender binary
Comprehensive Answers Graded A 2024-2025
Explain the various projects that comprise Women's Studies - ✔️✔️in order to realize its
goals, women's studies as an academic discipline has developed a two- pronged project
-first prong: created courses within traditional disciplines with the goal of incorporating
both women and their experiences into various subject matter. Examples of this prong
include courses like "Feminist Philosophy", Women in Politics", "Sociology of Gender",
or "Women in History"
-second prong: created interdisciplinary courses and lines of inquiry. Examples of this
prong include "Women's Studies" and "Gender Studies"
Explain how the women's studies classroom differs from the traditional classroom -
✔️✔️works to develop and interactive learning environment
-emphasis is on challenging ourselves both intellectually and emotionally
-challenge comes from subject matter and the fact that both experience, and academic
theory and method are brought together
-emphasis is placed on fostering "feminist curiosity"
-the traditional student-teacher relationship has been one of unequal power relations
and domination
-the Women's Studies classroom wants to rethink the classroom as a more open,
caring, and dynamic place
Describe the central role of education in feminist activism and theorizing - ✔️✔️-
historically education systems have been limiting rather than empowering places for
women
-a long line of feminists and women's rights activists believe education is central to
liberation
-the education of young women is proportionally correlated to nearly every development
marker for developing countries
Three ways women have been marginalized in the education system (why have
educational systems traditionally been limiting rather than empowering places for
women?) - ✔️✔️-the first is the push to "female" careers
-secondly, women are often constructed as passive and emotional
-in the education system men tend to occupy positions of authority
-all three of these factors keep women's voices on the margins of the system
perpetuating the "dominant message"
Identify first, second, and third wave feminisms, and discuss why this history matters to
contemporary studies - ✔️✔️The first wave runs from the late 18 C to the 1930s, and is
largely concerned with better education for women, and also political representation for
women.
, -The second wave runs from the 1960s to early 1980s, and it is concerned with
advancing the social and legal status of women.
-The third wave runs from the late 1980s (but mostly the 90s) to the present. Third wave
feminists focus on other marginalized identities.
Define the privilege of invisibility - ✔️✔️-gender is one of the ways that men are privileged
-often difficult to recognize the ways in which we are privileged
-Kimmel states the first time he was made aware of his gender and it was made visible
to him was in a women's studies course
-his gender had remained invisible to him and he was able to experience the "privilege
of invisibility"
-the processes that confer privilege from one group and not another group are often
invisible to those upon who that privilege is conferred
-when we are privileged because of our gender, we have the luxury of ignoring the
centrality of gender in our lived
-women's studies has helped make men aware of their privilege
Explain the utility of this concept to other markers of social identity (i.e. race, class,
bodily ability, etc.) - ✔️✔️-race is a way in which some people are not privileged so it is
always visible to them
-a white woman might argue that despite racial differences they had faced the same
oppression and had similar experiences as women
-white woman would look in the mirror and just see a woman
Describe the roles men have played in historical and contemporary feminist politics -
✔️✔️-men have played a pivotal role in supporting women's struggles for liberation
-John Stuart Mill argued for equality between the sexes in his influential book The
Subjection of Women
-Mill was writing at a time when England was fully immersed in Victorian values, public
life was the place for men while private life was the place for women
-Mill argues that we have no idea what women's nature is for we have tried no other
social arraignment
-John Dewey was a pro-feminist educator in the early 20th century who fought for
women's access to higher education and founded the Men's League for Women's
Suffrage
-pro-feminist men are men who support women's equality in both the public sphere, and
the private sphere
-pro-feminist men have a duty to use their privilege and position to fight for equality.
This has been the case both historically, and contemporaneously
-the feminist movement has historically relied on both men and women
Explain gender binaries, and analyze some of the problems with a binary framework for
understanding gender - ✔️✔️-some people identify with a gender that is not normally
associated with their biological sex
-not everyone identifies with either side of this gender binary
