Welcome to the Women in Public Space working syllabus!
I present this syllabus as a work in progress, one that I hope you'll participate in helping to evolve. I've done my best to broaden the scope of public space outside of the United States context in an ethically responsible way. The photo above is from a video in the syllabus that shows a conversation between feminist theorist bell hooks
and Arthur Jafa on transgression in public space. I hope this video serves as
an introduction to the importance of this topic. I encourage feedback on the sources because, although I've tried to broaden the scope outside of my U.S.-centered positionality, I know that women in China must have more to say about the act of paying for bridesmaids or women in Mexico must have more to say about public breastfeeding.
When dealing with the public space, we sometimes fall into the trap of creating a binary between public and private space. I recognize the problematic nature of this binary, so I've created this syllabus with the feminist perspective that no space can every truly be public or private (Nakayama, 1997). Rather than treat them as separate entities, this syllabus illustrates how acts sometimes deemed as 'private' occur publicly. As stated by Landes (1995), the private affects the public and the public affects the private. This syllabus explores this in more detail.
When dealing with the public space, we sometimes fall into the trap of creating a binary between public and private space. I recognize the problematic nature of this binary, so I've created this syllabus with the feminist perspective that no space can every truly be public or private (Nakayama, 1997). Rather than treat them as separate entities, this syllabus illustrates how acts sometimes deemed as 'private' occur publicly. As stated by Landes (1995), the private affects the public and the public affects the private. This syllabus explores this in more detail.
Module 1 – Debate Between Private and Public
Before digging any deeper into the ways public space affects women, we must establish a basic understanding of the public sphere and how it affects public space. Questions to consider: What is the difference between private and public space? How do feminists see these distinctions? What happens in the public space?
Video: bell hooks and Arthur Jafa on Transgression in Public Spaces
Public and Private Realms - PeopleSpacePlace.org
Privatization of Public Space in Cities - The Guardian
Feminist Revision of Public Space - Institute for Human Sciences
Public/Private Distinction as Gender Discrimination - Meta: Research in Hermenutics, Phenomenology, and Practical Philosophy
Public and Private in Literature - Video from British Library
Module 2 – Public Breastfeeding
A number of societies throughout the world identify breastfeeding as positive for the baby's health. However, many of these same societies do not approve of women who choose to breastfeed in public. Questions to consider: How do various societies see breastfeeding? What are some ways that this is becoming more visible?
Video: Fashion blogger Dina Tokio's experience breastfeeding in public
Politics of Breastfeeding in Public - Balancing Jane Social Acceptability of Breastfeeding - Vogue
Islam and public breastfeeding - Thought Co.
Misstep in Campaign to Encourage Breastfeeding - Bitch Media
Censorship of Breastfeeding in Print - Hip Mama
Module 3 – Dress Codes
In many societies, women are expected to dress a specific way. These dress codes are established through formal and informal structures. Adding to this, men are much less likely to face dress code restrictions in the same way as women. Questions to consider: How are the way women dress policed throughout the world? How might the way they are (or not) policed negatively or positively affect them?
Video: Sexist Dress Codes at Restaurants in Canada
Female College Students in India Protest Dress Codes - Teen Vogue
Headscarves in France - The Economist
Dress codes in Russia - The New York Times
Module 4 – Emotional Labor in Public
Emotional labor is the work individuals put in to managing their emotions and the emotions of others. While both men and women perform this work, women tend to be expected to do it with little recognition or compensation. Questions to consider: What is emotional labor? How does emotional labor influence the way women operate in public space?
Video: Yvonne Sawbridge on Emotional Labor and Care-giving
Emotional labor in Women's Lives - Everday Feminism
Is Emotional Labor Feminists' Next Frontier? - The Guardian
Emotional Labor and Immigration - Bustle
Module 5 – Mourning
Public mourning is an act that is different to every individual. Despite this, norms show women how they are expected to mourn publicly. Questions to be considered: How are women allowed to mourn? How do political, social, and cultural systems play a role in the mourning process?
Video: Judith Butler on rage and grief
Bereavement leave - BBC
Grief for the Ages - Slate
Customs of Widows in India - Vagabomb
The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning - The New York Times
Death in Ghana - Washington Post
Mourning and prayer - Tablet
The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning - The New York Times
Death in Ghana - Washington Post
Mourning and prayer - Tablet
Module 6 – Spaces of Resistance
In many places where there is oppression, there is also resistance. Throughout the world, women have found unique ways to fight back against the policing of their bodies in public spaces. Questions to consider: How do women use public space to resist? What does resistance to regulations in public space look like throughout the world?
Video: Gulabi Gang - Vice Documentary
Can Egyptian Woman Start a Revolution Against Sexual Violence? - WNYC
Argentine Women Protest Shaming of Public Breastfeeding - Reuters + SCMP
At Pussy Riot Performance on Putin, Everyone Sees Trump - The Guardian
Argentine Women Protest Shaming of Public Breastfeeding - Reuters + SCMP
At Pussy Riot Performance on Putin, Everyone Sees Trump - The Guardian
Emotional Advert about China's Leftover Women Goes Viral - BBC
Women and Black Lives Matter: An Interview with Marcia Chatelain - Dissent
Women and Black Lives Matter: An Interview with Marcia Chatelain - Dissent
Module 7 – Spaces of Transformation
As women resist, they also start to form new spaces that allow for new ways of being. These spaces shift the way society sees women in a given society, but it also allows women to see themselves as powerful. Questions to consider: What types of spaces allow for transformation for women? How are women creating their own spaces of transformation?
In Mourning and Rage - Performance by Suzanne Lacy & Leslie Labowitz
From Correctional Building to Feminist Space - The Nation
Egypt's Graffiti Artists Struggle to Bring Women to Street Walls - Al Monitor
From Correctional Building to Feminist Space - The Nation
Egypt's Graffiti Artists Struggle to Bring Women to Street Walls - Al Monitor
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