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GWST 1502 A Fall/Winter 2023-24

Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies

Essay 1: The Social Construction Approach (15%)

Format: Your essay should be 2-3 pages double spaced, in a standard 12pt font with 1 inch margins.

Due: The essay is due on Tuesday October 24 @ 11:59pm (eClass).

Make sure to review the Spark Academic Integrity Tutorial online before you submit your papers: https://www.library.yorku.ca/spark/academic_integrity/

You will be held to those standards.

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is for you to practice applying social construction theory in developing an understanding of gender differences and gender inequalities. As well, the essay gives you a chance to formulate your own opinion on this explanation for why gender inequalities exist in our society.

Instructions: First, you will define social construction theory. For your definition you should draw on the article “Introduction to Beyond the Natural Body” by Nelly Oudshoorn (H&R 109-113), supplemented by your lecture notes and slides. You should summarize Oudshoorn’s and Dr. Beauchemin’s ideas in your own words and cite them appropriately in MLA format.

Second, drawing on one other reading assigned in Week 3, give an example that supports/illustrates the social construction approach. Explain what the author of the article says about the example, and then in your own words, explain how this example illustrates that gender differences/inequalities are socially constructed (and not natural).

Third, give your own thoughts on social construction theory. Some questions you may answer include: Do you think it is a useful approach? Does it challenge any powerful stories that you have heard about gender? Is the theory supported by your own experiences? Can you think of any other examples that provide evidence for or against social construction theory?

Citations/Works Cited

You must cite all of your sources using MLA style. See York Library website for guidelines on MLA Style: http://researchguides.library.yorku.ca/

Outside research is not permitted. Resist the urge to consult the internet. Your essay will be better if you rely exclusively on course materials.

This Essay will be graded based on the following criteria. To preview the grading rubric, click the essay upload link on eClass and then click the rubric icon ()

§ Writing quality: Is your paper clearly written and well organized? Do you cite your sources properly in MLA style?

§ Your definition of social construction theory: Is it accurate? Coherent?

§ Your example: You will be evaluated on the quality of your summary of the example as it is given by the author, and how well you analyze how this example supports the social construction approach.

§ Your opinion: Here you will be evaluated based on the depth of your engagement with the theory and the originality of your comments.

Critical thinking skills:

§ Finding and developing your voice. This includes the academic voice that you use to write your papers, as well as your own opinion and critical perspective on the ideas that you are learning about.

§ Critical reading comprehension. Understanding the arguments written by the authors you read.

§ Summarizing and paraphrasing ideas of others clearly in your own words.

§ Understanding the social construction approach and how to apply it to new examples.

§ Thinking with theory and how theories can be used to help us to understand and explain phenomena (like gender differences and inequalities) that we observe in the world around us.