Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2021 - GSWS 322 E100

Feminist Approaches to Research (4)

Class Number: 5005

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 8 – Dec 7, 2021: Mon, 4:30–8:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    30 units, including three units in GSWS or WS or GDST.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores a variety of feminist research methods including the definition of feminist research, the quantitative/qualitative controversy, action research, participant observation, survey, ethnography, case study, oral history, transnational study, interviews and research ethics. Students who have taken WS 208 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

  • Lecture materials will be recorded and available on canvas.
  • Weekly lectures and discussions will take place online and will include asynchronous and synchronous components. Attendance at synchronous online components (via Zoom) for 1 to 2 hours during the assigned class time is encouraged, but not required. There are other ways to get credit without attending the synchronous component. Recordings of these sessions will be made available on canvas.

What questions, concerns, and practices guide feminist research and inquiry? This class offers an interdisciplinary overview of feminist approaches to the production of knowledge and difference. We will learn what methods feminist research brings to the study of several major issues including: (1) how knowledge is produced and identities are shaped in everyday life and at the systemic level; (2) the broader dynamics of power that structure what kinds of knowledge gains dominance and visibility, and which perspectives and beliefs are marginalized; (3) the ways that feminist, queer, and decolonial modes of research, theory, and practice expose, disrupt, or revise dominant systems of knowing. Methods and topics include: feminist and decolonial epistemologies, autoethnography, critical discourse analysis, oral history, performance research, material culture, and digital media.  Emphasis will be placed not only on approaches to conducting research, but also on modes of disseminating findings from podcasts to Wikipedia. 

 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

For more detailed information please see the GSWS website: http://www.sfu.ca/gsws/undergraduate/courses/Educational_Goals.html

Grading

  • Attendance and participation: (synchronous and asynchronous options) 15%
  • Object Lesson: ~1000-1300 word paper or equivalent length podcast or video (8-10 mins with bibliography), or visual essay (combination of text and image, on paper or online) 20%
  • Wikipedia Revision: 15% completed tutorials; 5% peer review; 25% quality of completed edits based on analysis of edits and references, 2-page summary of contributions, and in-class discussion 45%
  • Methods Project: ~1000-1300 word paper or equivalent length podcast or video (8-10 mins with bibliography), visual essay (combination of text and image, on paper or online with bibliography), or performance/art project with bibliography 20%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

  • This Atom Bomb in Me, Lindsey Freeman (Stanford UP 2019)
  • Things that Art, Lochlann Jain (University of Toronto Press 2019)
  • Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, Linda Tuhiwai Smith (ZED Books, 2012)

* all of these are also available as e-books through the SFU library  


Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2021

Teaching at SFU in fall 2021 will involve primarily in-person instruction, with approximately 70 to 80 per cent of classes in person/on campus, with safety plans in place.  Whether your course will be in-person or through remote methods will be clearly identified in the schedule of classes.  You will also know at enrollment whether remote course components will be “live” (synchronous) or at your own pace (asynchronous).

Enrolling in a course acknowledges that you are able to attend in whatever format is required.  You should not enroll in a course that is in-person if you are not able to return to campus, and should be aware that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who may need class or exam accommodations, including in the context of remote learning, are advised to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as early as possible in order to prepare for the fall 2021 term.