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American Social Thought

Fall 2001

Marist College

Dr. Greg Moses


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Course Description: In this course we will explore contemporary frontiers of American Social Thought in areas of nationality, religion, race, and family. Our first readings will consider recent meditations on Latin America, raising questions of cultural continuity and influence between Americas South and North. Next, we will focus on race, social identity, and related problems of justice. Our final set of readings will focus on family, with emphasis on gender.


Course Method: The fifteen-week semester will be divided into three parts. In each five-week section, we will read two books and write a paper. Daily work will consist of readings, short written responses, brief small-group discussions, followed by a forum where we will review main points and issues that arise. The process is designed to sustain an exploratory attitude toward materials, inviting students to participate in critical reconstruction of meanings suggested by our texts.


Outcomes: By the end of the course, students should be able to discuss the cultural lifeworld of America, with awareness of ways in which nationality, gender, race, and family pose challenges and opportunities for human development. Participation, papers, and portfolios will provide regular opportunities to assess student development.


Required Texts (in order of use):

  • Silvana Paternostro. In the Land of God and Man: A Latin Woman's Journey. New York: Plume, 1998.


  • Jeannette Rodriguez. Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment among Mexican-American Women. Austin: U of Tx, 1994.


  • Ruth Frankenberg. White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness. Minneapolis: U of Mn, 1993.


  • Iris Marion Young. Jutice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton: Princeton U, 1990.


  • Patrice DiQuinzio. The Impossibility of Motherhood: Feminism, Individualism, and the Problem of Mothering. New York: Routledge, 1999.


  • Martha Alberton Fineman. Neutered Mother, Sexual Family, and other Twentieth Century Tragedies. New York: Routledge, 1995.



Course Requirements: The following areas each count for 25 percent of the final grade:

  • Portfolio and participation.


  • Paper One: On the Environment of Cultural Values in the Americas.


  • Paper Two: On Racialized Identities and Problems of Justice in the USA


  • Final Paper: On Family and Assumptions of Gender in the USA



Portfolio and Participation: Brief written preparations are due in class at the beginning of class. Grade penalties apply whenever students or preparations fail to appear on time. For instance, any preparation submitted via mailbox will be marked with a penalty. At the end of the course, students will be asked to submit portfolios of their daily preparations. Grades for these portfolios will be based upon completeness of collection, thoroughness of preparations, and responsiveness to assessments.


Attendance Policy: More than two unexcused absences will result in penalty of one full letter from the final grade. More than three unexcused absences will result in penalty of two full letter grades. More than four unexcused absences and the instructor reserves the right to issue a failing grade for the course. A documented excuse will be accepted within ten days of an absence.


Weather: We will miss class for weather only if the college announces a closing. Please call the college weather line.


Schedule of inquiry:



Part One. These American Values: In this section of the course, we will explore two books about cultural values in America: the first book primarily concerned with norms of relationships and sexuality, the second focused on the experience of popular religiosity. Together, these books allow us to explore a normative environment or "assumptive lifeworld" shared among peoples of American cultures. These works may be used as provocations to meditate on the condition of the normative lifeworld of America as we find it in our own experience.

The first paper will ask students to present what both authors say about the American cultural environment, critically evaluate the contributions of these authors, and develop an original sketch of the American cultural lifeworld today in our own experience. Write two pages of scholarly explication for each author and three pages of critical response that address the American cultural lifeworld in terms of perceived challenges or opportunities for human development. The result will be a seven-page essay.
Due Oct. 3.

Assessment will be based upon completeness of the assignment, diligence of scholarship, coherence of the several parts, critical acumen, and original contribution. Better essays will demonstrate conceptual organization of ideas rather than point-by-point review.

Sep. 5-Introduction: America beyond the USA
Syllabus, books, & methods. First chapter assignments.

Sep. 10-Living Americas
Text: Paternostro, Chs. 1&2. Chapters may be divided among group members.

Preparation: Three paragraphs: (1) summarizing main points, (2) selecting a passage for critical commentary, and (3) presenting an example from American life that would help test or extend the textual contribution.

Workshops: Sharing preps, issues, and responses.

Forum: Macho assumptions, North & South.

Sep. 12-Codes All Mixed Up
Text: Paternostro, Chs. 3&4.
Preparation: As above, one paragraph scholarly summary, one paragraph focus and response, and an example of American experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps, issues, and responses.
Forum: Reading the codes in public & private.

Sep. 17-Connecting to Themes
Text: Paternostro, Ch. 5.
Preparation: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing.
Forum: Some themes of interest?
Next Book: Chs. 1 (history), 2a (description), 2b (story), 3 (meanings).

Sep. 19-Guadalupe: Conquest & Visitation
Text: Rodriguez, Chs. 1-3.
Preparation: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing.
Forum: Conquest, visitation, meaning.
Next Reading: Chs. 4, 5, 6a (questions 1-3) & 6b (questions 4-6).

Sep. 24-Symbols & Meanings
Text: Rodriguez, Chs. 4-6.
Preparation: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing
Forum: Religious symbols, rituals, & meanings.

Sep. 26-Popular Religiosity in America
Text: Rodriguez, Ch. 7 & Conclusion
Preparation: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing
Forum: Popular religiosity & Mary.

Oct. 1-Draft Workshop (see First Paper description above).
Preparation: Scholarly outline of proposed quotes from the texts and conceptual outline of your proposed response.
Workshops: Sharing ideas.
Forum: Gathering form for paper two.

Oct. 3-First Paper Workshop (moral equivalent of test day; penalties for absence & late papers apply).
Next Book: Chs. 1, 2, &3 (our first experiences with race).
Workshops: Sharing summaries.
Forum: Sharing samples.

Part Two. In the first part, we explored how culture and gender affect lifeworlds. Here we add considerations of race. What we mean by race is explored in the first text of this section. In the second text we investigate how justice may be affected by certain constructions of difference in American experience. The second paper will provide scholarly explication of both texts and then explore the meaning of race, difference, and justice for our own lives. As with the first paper, two pages of explication will cover each author, followed by three pages of commentary, yielding a total paper of seven pages. Assessment criteria for the first paper will apply. Due Nov. 9.

Oct. 8-Getting Started, Growing Up
Text: Frankenberg, Chs. 1-3.
Prep: Summary, focus & response (with our own first experiences of race).
Workshops: Sharing preps & experiences.
Forum: Race & experience.
Next Text: Chs. 4 & 5.

Oct. 10-Race, Sex, & Intimacy
Text: Frankenberg, Chs. 4&5.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Love & Race.

Oct. 15-Thinking Through Race
Text: Frankenberg, Ch. 6.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Confronting parameters of race.

Oct. 17-Being White or ...
Text: Frankenberg, Ch. 7 & Epilogue.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps
Forum: Concluding race.
Video: Class selection.

Oct. 22-Video
Class selection.
Next Text: Young, Chs. 1, 2, & 3.

Oct. 24-Setting the Stage
Text: Young, Chs. 1-3.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshop: Sharing preps
Forum: Distribution, oppression, capitalism.
Next Text: Young, Chs. 4&5.

Oct. 29-Difference & Partiality
Young: Chs. 4&5.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshop: Sharing preps.
Forum: Partiality & difference.
Next Text: Chs. 6&7.

Oct. 31-Social Change & Affirmative Action
Young: Chs. 6&7.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshop: Sharing preps.
Forum: Changing difference.

Nov. 5-Inequality: Evidence & Structure
Young: Ch. 8.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Concluding Young.
Forum: Race, difference, and structural ethics.

Nov. 7-Drafting Paper Two
Prep: Scholarly outline with key quotes and suggested conclusions.
Workshops: Sharing ideas.
Forum: Gathering form for paper two.

Nov. 9-Presenting Paper Two
Prep: Final Paper Due.
Workshops: Sharing summaries.
Forum: Sharing samples.

Part Three. Having pursued general considerations of lifeworld values, we now turn to special consideration of motherhood and family. Together we will slowly read DiQuinzio's investigation of feminist theories as they apply to a philosophy of motherhood. For the final paper, students will be expected to summarize DiQuinzio and an additional book by Fineman on legal philosophy. While there is no final exam as such, the final paper challenges students to demonstrate complex proficiencies in textual interpretations.

The final paper will review the ways in which DiQuinzio and Fineman criticize prevailing approaches to motherhood and family, with the usual two-page summary per author. Then students will be asked to write five pages on their own exploring the meaning of motherhood and family in their own lives (3 pages) with consideration of the larger issues that confront American Social Thought today (2 pages). Assessment will be based on criteria mentioned above for the first paper, with the additional stipulation that the final paper should demonstrate an effort worthy of a final exam in terms of scholarly proficiencies and personalized results.

Nov. 12-Preview of DiQuinzio's Conclusion
Text: DiQuinzio's Conclusion.
Discussion: Getting to the gist.

Nov. 14-Ideology and Individualism
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 1.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Thinking about motherhood in an individualistic culture.

Nov. 19-History of Feminism USA
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 2.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Feminism v. Individualism?

Nov. 21-Impossibility
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 2.
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Feminism v. Individualism?

Nov. 26-Difference Feminism
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 3
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Getting to gender difference.

Nov. 28-Beauvoir's Body?
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 4
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Beauvoir's feminism applied.

Dec. 4-Ruddick's Maternalism
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 5
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Paradoxical persons.

Dec. 6-Kristeva's Desire
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 6
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Kristeva & Lacanian psychology.

Dec. 10-Chodorow's Object Orientation
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 7
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: Psychoanalysis revisited.

Dec. 12-Rich, Collins, & Conclusion
Text: DiQuinzio, Ch. 8 & Conclusion
Prep: Summary, focus & response, experience.
Workshops: Sharing preps.
Forum: On experience & impossibility.
Portfolios Due

Final Exam=Final Paper Workshop (during scheduled exam period).


Contact Information
Office: 322 Fontaine
Phone: x2217
Email: greg.moses@marist.edu
WWW. gregmoses.net


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