Women & Environmental Careers/Gender Issues in
Science
Spring 2007 (FOR 496-10 & 797-2)
Class
meets Tuesdays, 3:30-4:30, 213 Marshall Hall
IF THERE IS A GUEST SPEAKER, class will meet from 4-5 pm, 140 Baker
Laboratory UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
|
Instructors |
|
|
Speaker coordinator |
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Diane Kuehn 211A 470-6561 |
Laura Lautz 206 470-4765 |
Sharon Moran 113 470-6690 |
Heather Engelman 218 315-470-4877 |
Course Overview:
This is a 1-credit, college-wide
seminar geared towards a diversity of students from various departments at ESF.
The main goal of the course is to provide an open forum for female and male
faculty and students to interact and discuss gender issues pertaining to
academia and other professional arenas. The course consists of one hour of lecture
or discussion per week, with opportunities to interact with female
professionals outside of class.
Course Objectives:
After completing this course, the
student should be able to:
Course Layout:
This seminar is comprised of two
types of class meetings: (1.) discussions of general interest topics
facilitated by class members and (2.) guest speaker presentations that comprise
the ESF "Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions" lecture
series (http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/speakers.htm).
In addition, students are STRONGLY encouraged to attend the mentoring sessions
(usually dinner) that are organized with each guest speaker of the lecture
series.
Students’ responsibilities:
1. Assist in the arrangements
for speakers (25% of your grade). You or a pair of you will develop
a schedule for one speaker during her visit. "Instructions for Student
Hosts" offers tips and recommended timelines. Specifically, you are
responsible for:
a.
Arranging meetings with interested students and faculty
(generally at ESF, but SU, Upstate, and some local groups might also request an
audience; the speaker may also have specific requests);
b.
Arranging speaker pick-up and drop-off at the airport if needed;
c.
Making arrangements for a post-lecture reception; and
d.
Making arrangements for a mentoring dinner with the speaker and
class participants.
To assist you, the speaker
coordinator (Heather Engelman) will take primary responsibility for sending out
e-mails to ESF faculty and will arrange overnight accommodations, parking, publicity,
and reimbursements to the speaker for travel expenses. She will also arrange
the date and location of each mentoring dinner. She has made initial
contact with the speakers, their sponsors here at ESF, and faculty members
offering their homes for the mentoring dinners, and will provide you with this
correspondence.
2. Write a press release on the
speaker's presentation (15%). Following the speaker's visit, the hosting
student(s) will (jointly) write a brief press release about the speaker’s
presentation. Press releases are to be submitted electronically to the
instructors by the Tuesday following the speaker's presentation; the
instructors will then forward it to the Knothole and sponsors on your
behalf. The press release should include the speaker’s name and affiliation,
the title of the presentation, and a summary of the presentation, and conclude
with presentation sponsors and biographical information about the speaker.
3. Facilitate a discussion on
one general interest topic (20%). Each student will lead or co-lead a
discussion on one general interest topic listed below in the class schedule.
The articles that each student is required to read in preparation for class
discussions are listed below each topic. You may choose additional or different articles for your class
facilitation. If articles are not listed for a topic, it is the student’s
responsibility to invite guest speakers or to choose and distribute articles
for the discussion. The student facilitator(s) should prepare questions based on
the articles that will foster class discussion. You may find
Bloom's taxonomy (http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html)
useful in developing questions. Discussion questions should be typed for
distribution in class. The student should give the instructor the typed
questions by noon on the day of the class so that photocopies can be made.
You are encouraged to talk with the instructor about your facilitation prior to
it.
4. Write two brief
paragraphs stating the two most important points of your facilitated session
(10%). These paragraphs should be no more that two to three sentences each,
and should state the two most important discussion points resulting from the
class that you facilitate. These should be e-mailed to the instructor by the
Tuesday following your facilitated discussion.
5. Weekly class participation
(30%). Every student is expected to participate in class discussions on a
weekly basis by:
a.
Reading the assigned articles and participating in the class
discussion (15%).
b.
Completing a discussion assessment form at the end of each
session (15%). Discussion assessment forms are due to the instructor
by the Tuesday following the session. Anonymous copies will be given to the
discussion facilitator to help them improve their facilitation skills.
The instructors will assess and grade the original assessments and return them
for the purpose of improving the constructive commentary of students.
c.
Attending the "Women in Scientific and Environmental
Professions" Lecture Series that has been scheduled during the normal
class meeting time. There will be a 10% deduction in final class grades for
each lecture missed. You are also encouraged to join all of the speakers for
the mentoring dinners.
Deductions for lateness:
Written assignments and discussion
evaluations are due to the instructor by the following class. Deductions of 10
points per day for each day that assignments are late will be made on written
assignments that are received after the due date.
Instructor responsibilities:
The instructors will answer any
questions the student facilitator(s) have concerning appropriate questions for
class discussions and will facilitate interactions between the speaker and
sponsors. The instructor will grade discussion assessment forms and written
assignments and will provide constructive commentary in a timely manner. The
instructors view this syllabus and its development as a work in progress, and
we expect to modify it during the semester to better meet the needs of the
students and speakers.
Schedule for Spring
2006
January 16:
Introductions, expectations, and speaker preparations
January 23:
Discussion: Feminist Theory; demonstration of facilitation skills. Diane Kuehn to facilitate.
· Lengermann, P. M., and J. Niebrugge.
1994. “Contemporary Feminist Theory.” In Ritzer, G., and D. Goodman, eds. Modern Sociological
Theory. McGraw Hill Publishers:
January 30: Discussion:
Mentoring
n
Sandler, B.R. Mentoring:
Myths and Realities, Dangers and Responsibilities. In: A
hand up: Women Mentoring Women in Science.. pp:
271-279.
n
Kohler, C.C., J.E. Wetzel. 1998 . A report card on mentorship
in graduate fisheries education. Fisheries 23(9): 10-13.
n
Murphy, B.R. 1998.
Graduate Mentoring: Advancing Students' professional development.
Fisheries 23(9): 7-9.
February 6: GUEST SPEAKER:
Lauren Heine, GreenBlue, Green Chemistry and
Cradle-to-Cradle Product Design
February 13: Discussion:
Career patterns of women and men
n
Sonnert, G., and G. Holten. 1996.
Career patterns of women and men in the sciences. Am. Scientist 84:63-71.
n
Benditt, J. 1992. Women in science.
Science 255:1365-1388.
n
Kimmel, M. 1993. What do men want?
Harvard Business Review: 4-12.
n
Hewlett, S. A., and C. B. Luce.
2005. Off-ramps and on-ramps: Keeping talented women on the road to success.
Harvard Business Review: 1-9
February 20: Discussion:
Women's Voices and/or learning styles
n
American
Association of University Women. 1994. Shortchanging girls, shortchanging
n
Hyde, J. S., and M. C. Linn. 2006.
Gender similarities in mathematics and science. Science, 314: 599-600.
n
Rosser, S.V. 1990. Women's Ways of Knowing.
In Female Friendly
Science. Pergamon
Press.
February 27: Discussion: Campus Climate
n
Phillips-Miller, D. L., K Guilfoyle, D. Ehrenreich, F. Sammarruca, and B. Howard Meldrum.
1999. Exploring campus climate for women. Women in
Natural Resources.
n
Phillips-Miller, D. L., K Guilfoyle, D. Ehrenreich, F. Sammarruca, and B. Howard Meldrum.
1999. Exploring campus climate for women: part II. Women
in Natural Resources.
n
Williams, J., T. Alon, and S. Bornstein. 2006. Beyond the “chilly climate:”
Eliminating bias against women and fathers in academe. NEA Higher Education
Journal: Thought and Action (22): 79-96.
March 6: GUEST
SPEAKER: Brenda Ekwurzel,
March 13: Spring Break
March 20: Gloria Steinem presentation at SU. Meet at 213
March 27: Discussion:
Balancing work and family
n Excerpts from: Equality in the University
of Wisconsin System: A Focus for Action in the Year 2000; Report of the
Committee on the Status of Women in the University of Wisconsin System;
University of Wisconsin System Initiative on the Status of Women; October 25, 1999, (http://www.uwsa.edu/acadaff/status/equal.htm).
n
Romano, C. 2001. Get a
life and a career. What a concept! The Chronicle of Higher
Education (chronicle.com) March, 23 issue, B12.
n
Wolf-Wendel, L.E.; S.B. Twombly; and
S. Rice. excerpts from Dual-career
couples: keeping them together. The Journal of Higher Ed 71(3): pp. 1-2 and 14-16.
April 3: Discussion:
Productivity differences in women and men
n
Sonnert, G. 1995. What makes a good scientist? Determinants of peer evaluation among biologists. Soc.
Studies of Science 25:35-55.
n
Creamer, E.G. 1998.
Equity and equality in measuring faculty productivity. Women in Higher
Ed., Sept. issue: 7-8.
n
Holton, G.
1999. Different perceptions of "good science" and
their effects on careers.
Annals NY Acad. Sci.
869: 78-86.
n Loehle, C. 1987. Why women scientists
publish less than men. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of
April 10: GUEST SPEAKER: Sharon
Todd, SUNY
April 17: GUEST SPEAKER: Rosemary O’Leary, SU,
Environmental Conflict
April 24: Discussion: Whistle-blowing and
harassment issues
n
Sexual harassment in the federal
workplace: Trends, progress, continuing challenges. US Merit Systems Protection
Board
n
Sexual harassment: Suggested
policy and procedures for handling complaints. Am. Assoc. of
University Professors.
n
Gunsalus, C. K., 1998. How to blow the
whistle and still have a career afterwards. Sci.
and
May 1: Discussion: Personal
and Professional Strategies (Course Wrap-Up)
Please be prepared to recap our discussions this
semester and discuss what topics that should be added to the 2006 syllabus.