Course Directors: 
Lisa Ann Chiarello, PT, PhD, PCS 
Maggie O’Neil, PT, PhD, MPH

Course Instructors:
Augusta M. Villanueva, PhD
Lisa Ann Chiarello, PT, PhD, PCS
Maggie O’Neil, PT, PhD, MPH

Subject Area/Discipline: Physical Therapy
School: MCP Hahnemann University
Project Area: Health

Spring 2001 

    Writing Women Safe: Using Language to Educate and Prevent Violence
      

Instructor: Jessica Restaino     Eng 50:615
       jrestain@astro.temple.edu   TR 10:10-11:30
       home phone: 215.925.5519              CH 205
      Office: 1125 Anderson
      Hrs. by appt.

How can the written word gain the power to prevent rape?  "Writing Women Safe" will attempt to answer this question by combining writing skills and community service.  We will be dealing with a difficult topic this semester: the reality of sexual violence against women.  However, we will approach this topic empowered with a momentum for change, education, and activism.  After a couple weeks of study—reading, writing, thinking, and really discussing the issue—we will begin off-campus training at WOAR (Women Organized Against Rape), a non-profit organization committed to sexual violence prevention and education.  Working in teams, we will use our writing skills to serve WOAR, producing educational pamphlets that can be used throughout the Philadelphia community.  WOAR will select one team’s pamphlet for mass production; this will be an honor that stands to reach thousands.  WOAR is Pennsylvania’s largest distributor of educational materials on sexual violence, and is currently in need of materials about the important issues of statutory rape and date rape.  Obviously, this is where we’ll come in, working together and using our skills to serve WOAR to the best of our ability.  This class will allow you to sharpen your college writing skills, while reminding you that these skills are going to take you far beyond your college years.  The community that surrounds the University walls also has a place for writing.  We will learn that writing can be a form of education and empowerment, making women’s lives safer from the threat of sexual violence.
**Course Materials: Course Packet available at DocuCare: 900 N Broad, (215)235-8740

Requirements
4 short papers (3-5 pages), with drafts and revisions
participation in 7 training sessions at WOAR
maintain reflective journal
writing portfolio
3 conferences with me
final project: educational pamphlet for WOAR/class presentation
The Rules

1. Come to class prepared—don’t let me catch you behind on reading!  I will give pop quizzes if I get suspicious and your grade will suffer.  As all good students should, always bring a notebook, pencil, and folder of all papers to class.
2. Attendance is expected.  Be responsible about your absences—you may miss two classes, no questions asked.  After two absences, I will begin to lower your grade.  You will not pass the class without good attendance.  The seven sessions at WOAR are mandatory—the staff at WOAR is working hard for us, these sessions can not be replaced.  Plan around them!
3. Being late to class is not acceptable.  I will count lateness as absence.  
4. Late work: I expect all work to be turned in on the day it is due.  I may not accept work turned in late.
5. Class participation: Participation counts!  Speaking up will help your overall grade in the class.  Don’t be afraid to share your ideas, questions, and experiences.  I want to hear what you have to say!
6. Grades and Portfolios: I will assign grades to the papers you write in class.  At the end of the semester, you must turn in a portfolio of your work.  A committee of English 50 instructors will evaluate this portfolio.  They have ultimate authority in determining if your work is passing.  You are free to revise papers before adding them to your portfolio.  The work you do all semester will prepare you for this final evaluation, and give you an idea of where you stand in terms of your final grade.
7. Conferences: You are required to meet with me at least three times during the semester.  I will set up blocks of time during which these conferences can be scheduled.  Failure to attend a scheduled conference is unfair to me (since I’m sitting there waiting for you…) and can affect your grade.  
8. Paper Format: All papers (drafts through revisions) must be typed.  If you do not have a computer at home, I recommend that you make use of the computer labs at Temple.  All work must be double-spaced, with a one-inch margin on all sides.  I will talk more about this format before the first paper is due.
9. Plagiarism: This class is about what you think! Copying or paraphrasing the work of someone else without citations, or handing in someone else’s work as your own is entirely unacceptable.  You will immediately fail the class without further discussion.  Plagiarism is also a major violation of the Student Code of Conduct and may result in indefinite suspension from the University.
10. Journal Entries: You will need to maintain a journal throughout the course.  There 
are journal assignments written into this syllabus—I may collect your journals at the start of the class that follows these assignments.  For example, if you see a journal question in the syllabus on a Tuesday, I may collect your journal on Thursday. Be prepared for this—if you are not keeping up with the journal, you are not meeting a requirement of the class.  The journal entries need to be at least one handwritten page.
One final note: To receive credit for English 50, a passing grade of C- must be achieved!

Course Syllabus

Tues/Sept 5  Intro to course: What is service learning?  How do women’s studies and composition fit in?
Journal entry for this week: in your own words, define sexual violence against women—also, just how prevalent do you think it is?

Thurs/Sept 7  "Are We Really Living in a Rape Culture?" Dworkin, "I Want a Twenty-Four Hour Truce During Which There is No Rape"

Tues/Sept 12  What is Feminism? Where does it fit in this discussion about sexual violence? Does it fit at all? Cont’d Dworkin discussion
  Journal entry: A feminist?

Thurs/Sept 14  Kamen, "Feminism 101" from Feminist Fatale
              Paper 1 assigned

Tues/Sept 19  Getting the facts—group library trip and research day—take notes!

Thurs/Sept 21  Roiphe, "The Rape Crisis, or ‘Is Dating Dangerous?" from The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism on Campus, pp 51-71
  Paper 1 draft due—peer reviews after discussion of Roiphe
  Conferences  9/21-9/27

Tues/Sept 26   hooks, "Seduced by Violence No More" from Outlaw Culture
 Journal entry: think about your own culture—do you feel that rape is a part of the customs, music, and expression that make up your culture?  Or, do you disagree with hooks completely--rape and culture have nothing to do with each other?

Thurs/Sept 28  cont’d discussion of hooks
    Paper 1 Revisions due

Tues/Oct 3 WOAR info/prep
  
Thurs/Oct 5 first day at WOAR, 10:30-11:30
  Journal entry: reactions—first day at WOAR

Tues/Oct 10  Paper 2 assigned
          visitor from Temple’s SASE
           Readings from WOAR—date rape and statutory rape

Thurs/Oct 12  WOAR training: statutory rape and date rape
  Journal entry: evaluate Temple’s SASE program

Tues/Oct 17   Paper 2 draft due—peer reviews
  Conferences 10/17-10/23

Thurs/Oct 19  WOAR: intro writing project
Journal entry: How are you picturing this project? What should it be like?

Tues/Oct 24  Paper 2 Revisions due
           Steinem, "Erotica vs. Pornography"
           
Thurs/Oct 26  WOAR: write/design pamphlets
  Paper 3 assigned

Tues/Oct 31   no class

Thurs/Nov 2   WOAR: write/design pamphlets

Tues/Nov 7   Paper 3 draft due—peer reviews/discuss portfolios and cover letters
  
Thurs/Nov 9  WOAR: pamphlet drafts due
             Guest speaker: Printing/Producing the pieces
Journal entry: thinking about writing—academic essays v. WOAR writing

Tues/Nov 14   Paper 3 Revisions due
             Discussion of pamphlets—group presentations
  Open class
  Conferences 11/14-11/20
 

Thurs/Nov 16  WOAR: selection of pamphlet designs
   Discussion—taking ACTION
   Journal entry: evaluate the competition!

Tues/Nov 21   Visitor: Ernie Kirk will teach us some Krav Maga!
  SELF DEFENSE

Thurs/Nov 23  No class—Thanksgiving 

Tues/Nov 28   Paper 4 assigned

Thurs/Nov 30  Orton, "Outside In: A Man in the Movement"
  Role of men in rape prevention

Tues/Dec. 5 Paper 4 due —peer reviews
           Designs/plans for male activism

Thurs/Dec 7  Portfolio workshop
           Presentations
          Cover letter due

Tues/Dec 12  last class
            Paper 4 revisions due            
           Portfolios due
 

A Note About Confidentiality…
 

 In this class, we are going to discuss difficult topics and maybe use language that some find offensive.  Because of its content, this classroom needs to be a safe space where we are free to express our thoughts and experiences.  Possibly, individuals in the class may feel the need to share personal stories or information, or talk more openly than they would in another classroom.  We need to work together to form a comfortable and secure environment for each other, where these types of conversations can occur.  We will learn more from each other if we allow for a classroom space that is safe and confidential.  In honor of this, I ask that you respect your classmates’ rights to privacy by signing below.  
 

Your name (print):__________________________
 

Please sign:__________________________________