9/2 Comprehensive Study Guide: Gender and Women's Studies Structure and Foundations

Course Structure, Teaching Staff, and Administrative Policies

• Instructor Details and Contact:

  • Instructor Name: Cathal Gaffman (PhD in Sociology from UW Madison).

  • Preferred forms of address: Cathal, Doctor Gaffman, Doctor Baffin, or Doctor Cattle.

  • Academic Background: Holds a PhD in Sociology from UW Madison. Teaches $3$ courses per semester across Sociology and Gender & Women's Studies (GWS).

  • Affiliated Programs: Courses contribute to LGBTQ+ Studies Certificates and Healthcare and Humanities Certificates. Teaches intermediate courses on LGBTQIA+ health and healthcare, as well as the Sociology Fandom First-Year Interest Group (FIG) seminar.

• Teaching Assistants (TAs):

  • All TAs are graduate students at UW Madison actively completing coursework, conducting specialized research, and leading discussion sections.

  • Leah Maitland: Assigned to discussion sections $304$, $310$, $316$, and $322$. Pronouns: she/they.

  • Maisie: Fellow TA managing separate discussion sections.

  • Student Interaction Protocol: Students must direct course questions exclusively to their officially assigned TA or to the course instructor to maintain equitable TA workload distribution.

• Discussion Section Enrollment and Swapping:

  • Course Enrollment Scale: Total of $20$ distinct discussion sections.

  • Transfer Policy: Manual section transfers by the instructor are prohibited to prevent TA overloads.

  • Section Swapping Procedure: Students must use the "swap" function within Course Search and Enroll to search for openings in alternate sections. Dropping the class to waitlist another section risks complete loss of enrollment.

  • Tool Development: A dedicated section-swapping tool is currently under development by the department.

  • Attendance Mandate: Students must strictly attend their officially enrolled section number and physical location. Attending non-enrolled sections is prohibited due to capacity limits (some time slots host $2$ or $3$ concurrent sections in different rooms).

Course Technology, Resources, and Materials

• Canvas Navigation:

  • Module Organization: The top module ("Course Documents and Resources") can be collapsed by clicking the module arrow. Module collapse settings automatically persist across logins.

  • Weekly Module Layout: Structure includes assigned readings at the top, followed by lecture materials, and designated assignment or quiz links.

  • Lecture Slide Numbering: Lecture slides feature explicit slide numbers. Students should note slide numbers during lectures to cross-reference concepts with published Canvas decks without copying verbatim slide text.

• Course Resources and Contingency Protocols:

  • Course Documents and Resources Module: Contains a backup Zoom link and passcode for contingency situations requiring emergency online lectures (e.g., mild instructor illness, child illness, severe ice storms without official university campus cancellation).

  • Technology Guides: Includes setup guides for institutional UW Madison Zoom, guidance on the Canvas "Blended Grades" feature, campus-wide support resources, and community or state resources.

  • Course Readings: No physical textbook is required. All assigned readings are accessible directly as PDFs in Canvas via the Skimline browser or downloadable for external PDF viewers and browser tabs.

• Introductory Student Survey:

  • Format: Administered as a Google Form linked in Canvas announcements.

  • Authentication Requirement: Must be accessed while logged into official wisc.edu institutional credentials (students must log out of personal Google accounts prior to clicking the link).

  • Grading and Options: Worth $30$ points or $3$ percentage points ($30/1000$) toward the final grade. Every question includes a "prefer not to answer" option. Due date: Monday, September 14.

  • Privacy: Responses are accessible strictly by the instructor and assigned TAs; NetIDs are captured for grade tracking.

Academic History and Theoretical Foundations of Gender & Women's Studies

• Institutional History:

  • Flagship Status: Serves as the flagship introductory course for the Department of Gender and Women's Studies (GWS) at UW Madison.

  • History of GWS: The department has operated for over $50\text{ years}$, established during the $1970\text{s}$ alongside national waves of feminist activism, ethnic studies, and academic program creations. UW Madison is distinct in housing an official GWS department rather than solely an academic program.

• $1970\text{s}$ Women's Health Movement and Historical Limitations:

  • Foundations: Emerged from feminist activist critique examining how patriarchy and misogyny compromised healthcare quality and access.

  • Historical Gaps: Initial $1970\text{s}$ and $1980\text{s}$ movements lacked recognition of gender identities outside the binary, transgender/non-binary experiences, and were frequently segregated by race and ethnicity.

• Core Theoretical Concepts:

  • Intersectionality: Healthcare experiences are shaped by intersecting vectors of race, gender, sexuality, cisgender/transgender status, disability, and socioeconomic class.

  • Non-Universal Baseline: Rejects the concept of universal gender experiences. There are no static characteristics shared by all individuals within a gender category that are entirely absent in others.

  • Social Construction of Institutional Systems: Social categories, institutional norms, and healthcare delivery mechanisms are human constructs rather than inevitable biological realities. Reconfiguring system structures alters systemic health outcomes.

  • Plasticity of Biology vs. Social Culture: Brains and bodies exhibit significant neurobiological and physiological plasticity in response to environment. Cultural change and socialization are slow and difficult to alter, whereas biological processes can frequently be modified rapidly through pharmacologic or medical interventions.

  • Information Evaluation: Focuses on equipping students to locate, critically evaluate, and apply health data while acknowledging that differing personal values and priorities produce varied, valid decisions from identical information.

Instructor Positionality and Classroom Policies

• Instructor Standpoint:

  • Positionality Statement: Taught from the perspective of a queer, disabled, middle-class, cisgender white woman with a PhD.

  • Pedagogical Openness: Encourages respectful student critique regarding overlooked blind spots, viewing constructive feedback as a demonstration of trust and mutual respect.

• Communication Policy:

  • Direct Student Outreach: Direct course questions to assigned TAs or the instructor.

  • Professional Email Etiquette: Generative artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT) are strictly prohibited for drafting emails to teaching staff.

• Accommodations and Circumstantial Modifications:

  • McBurney Disability Resource Center: Students with formal McBurney accommodations must meet with their assigned TA early in the term to discuss implementation.

  • Non-McBurney Life Circumstances: Students lacking formal accommodations due to diagnostic barriers or financial inequities may consult directly with the instructor to arrange necessary coursework modifications.

• Childcare and Classroom Environment Policies:

  • Child Attendance: Students facing sudden childcare disruptions may bring non-sick children to lecture. Seating near aisle exits is recommended for easy departures.

  • Instructor Conduct & Masking: Explicit language ("fuck") is used during lectures. The instructor wears a face mask due to chronic migraines to mitigate additional permanent health impairments.

Discussion Section Structure, Attendance, and Makeup Policies

• Section Schedule:

  • Total Sections: $13$ discussion section meetings scheduled across the Fall semester (no section meeting in Week $13$ due to Thanksgiving break).

  • Thanksgiving Week Plan: An asynchronous activity replaces lecture on the Wednesday preceding Thanksgiving.

• Attendance and Section Text Submissions:

  • Graded Sessions: $12$ discussion sessions count directly toward the final grade.

  • Weighting: Attendance and active engagement during each required session constitute $2$ percentage points toward the final grade, totaling $24$ percentage points of the overall course grade ($12 \times 20 = 240$ points or $240/1000$

  • Verification Method: Students complete a $2\text{ to }3$ sentence written text submission in Canvas at the conclusion of each live discussion section.

  • Integrity Warning: Submitting a section text entry without physical attendance constitutes academic misconduct, resulting in an un-droppable score of $0$.

• Discussion Makeup Policy:

  • Eligibility: Makeup assignments are available for missed discussion sections due to unexcused absences, illness, or personal conflicts.

  • Grading Cap: The maximum obtainable score on a discussion makeup assignment is $9 \text{ out of } 10$ ($900/1000$ proportional score or $90\text{\%}$).

  • Performance Expectations: Standard efforts yield roughly $5 \text{ out of } 10$ ($50\text{\%}$); scores up to $9 \text{ out of } 10$ require exceptional detail referencing assigned readings.

  • Submission Timeline: Makeups must be submitted via Canvas by $11:59\text{ PM}$ on the Friday following the missed section (a $7\text{ to }8\text{ day}$ window).

  • Grading Schedule: Makeups are processed in batches $2\text{ to }3\text{ times}$ per semester.

• Religious Observances:

  • Policy: Absences for religious observances are fully excused upon advance email notification to the instructor.

  • Exemption: Excuse status prevents missed sessions from counting against category drop limits, correcting calendar bias toward Western Christian holidays.

Quizzes: Formatting, Rules, and Drop Allowances

• Quiz Schedule and Availability:

  • Frequency: Weekly quizzes occur from Week $2$ through Week $15$ ($14\text{ quizzes}$ total).

  • Availability Window: Quizzes open for a $12\text{-hour}$ window every Wednesday, launching at $12:00\text{ PM}$ (noon).

• Rules and Allowed Resources:

  • Open-Material Format: Quizzes allow use of assigned readings, personal notes, slide decks, and course video content.

  • Prohibited Resources: Collaboration with other individuals during the $12\text{-hour}$ window is strictly forbidden. External internet searches and generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) are prohibited, as non-course sources may contradict instructor-specific materials.

• Quiz Dropping Policy and Weighting:

  • Drop Allowance: The lowest $4\text{ quiz scores}$ are automatically dropped (representing nearly one-third of all quizzes).

  • Un-dropped Weighting: The remaining $10\text{ quizzes}$ are worth $3\text{ percentage points}$ each ($30\text{ points}$ each), totaling $300\text{ points}$ or $30\text{\%}$ of the final course grade ($10 \times 3\text{\%} = 30\text{\%}$).

  • Missed Quizzes: Once a quiz window closes, it cannot be reopened; missed quizzes must utilize built-in drops.

• Reviewing Quiz Submissions:

  • Grade Visibility: Canvas displays total score out of $10$.

  • Office Hours Review: To view specific missed questions and detailed feedback, students must attend TA or instructor office hours.

Examinations, Grading Scheme, and Extra Credit

• Exam Breakdown:

  • Midterm Exams: Two midterm examinations administered during the semester, each weighted at $12\text{\%}$ ($120\text{ points}$) of the final grade ($240\text{ points}$ or $24\text{\%}$ total).

  • Final Examination: Weighted at $16\text{\%}$ ($160\text{ points}$) of the final grade. Includes cumulative assessment of early course topics guided by a provided review sheet.

• Two-Part Examination Format:

  • Take-Home Short-Answer Portion:

  • Material Access: Open materials/notes with required citations.

  • Format: Written responses ranging from $150\text{ to }250\text{ words}$ per question, offering choice between prompt options (e.g., selecting option A or B).

  • Submission Deadline (Final Exam): Short-answer portion due December $6$

  • In-Class Portion:

  • Material Access: Closed book/closed materials.

  • Format: Multiple choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions.

  • Final In-Class Exam Date: Scheduled for December $15$ during the university final exam period.

• Curving and Score Adjustment Policies:

  • Quizzes: Weekly quizzes are never curved.

  • Midterms & Short Answers: Exams may be curved/adjusted if class averages fall below a C grade or if no student achieves a perfect score of $10 \text{ out of } 10$

• Comprehensive Course Grading Scheme:

  • Introductory Survey: $3\text{\%}$ ($30\text{ points}$)

  • Discussion Section Participation: $24\text{\%}$ ($12\text{ sessions} \times 2\text{\%} = 240\text{ points}$)

  • Weekly Quizzes: $30\text{\%}$ ($10\text{ graded} \times 3\text{\%} = 300\text{ points}$)

  • Midterm Exams ($2\text{ total}$): $24\text{\%}$ ($2 \times 12\text{\%} = 240\text{ points}$)

  • Final Exam: $16\text{\%}$ ($160\text{ points}$)

  • Total Overall Grade: $100\text{\%}$ ($1000\text{ points}$ total, computed to two decimal places).

• Extra Credit Policy:

  • Opportunities: Offered periodically to the entire class via announcements.

  • Policy Restrictions: Individual or separate extra credit assignments are prohibited per university regulations.