Transnational Feminism Activist Research Paper

The final research project invites you to learn about how feminist activism is done outside of the U.S., in Afghanistan, India, China, Nigeria, Mexico… This is an opportunity to learn from other feminists around the world and to correct the assumption that the U.S. is the most enlightened nation when it comes to gender equality.

Please bear in mind that this is a research project. But you have a choice in this project between a traditional research paper (6 to 8 pages plus Works Cited) or a more creative project option (community workshop, letter to a young feminist, or letter to the editor and high school WGS syllabus). Both options require research and writing. Let me know if you have questions or want to meet to discuss your ideas!

Our goal is to think about feminism(s) transnationally, not just as a movement of women in the U.S. We are interested in how feminism is “done” in other places in the world. Toward that end, you may not focus on women in the U.S. for this project, and you must define transnational feminism in your paper. You may base this definition on any of the content in Module 4 and/or the scholars listed below (Chandra Mohanty or Cynthia Enloe). I offer a few suggested topics below, but you are also free to choose a topic that is not on the list—as long as you run it by me first.

POSSIBLE TOPICS:

• How have two or more feminist scholars (such as Cynthia Enloe in“The Globetrotting Sneaker” or Chandra Mohanty in “Under Western Eyes”) defined feminism transnationally? What is transnational feminism, and why is it important?
• Research the work of a specific transnational feminist activist. How does she define transnational feminism? What has she accomplished? Why is this work important? Choices include Vandana Shiva (food & environmental justice, India); Wangari Maathai (environmental justice, Kenya); Malala Yousafzai (girls’ education, Pakistan); or any of the activists described in Module 4.
• Research the work of a specific group of feminist activists in Afghanistan, Indonesia, China, or other country. Examples include RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan), China’s Women’s Rights Action Group, The Green Belt Movement (Kenya), or AWDF (African Women’s Development Fund). How is their activism informed by transnational feminism (as defined in Module 4)? What have they accomplished, and how? What legacy have they left the world?
• Analyze a specific film or book about a transnational feminist issue. Examples include:
  • Girl Rising (film)
  • Half the Sky (book or film)
  • More Than Half the Sky (film)
  • The Shape of Water: Women in the Developing World Offer Solutions (film – the documentary, not the feature film)
  • señorita extraviada (the missing women) (film)
  • Unbowed by Wangari Maathai (book) or Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (film)
  • I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (book) or He Named Me Malala (film)
  • Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, & Development by Vandana Shiva (book)
  • Beautiful Boxer (film)
  • a book or film of your choice – please run it by me! thanks!

    Note: some of the films above are available through Miami Libraries, streaming on Kanopy (signin required), and/or on Netflix. Please select a book or film that you can access remotely!

    Your paper should avoid merely summarizing the book or film; instead, you should analyze its central argument, how it supports that argument, what is significant or meaningful about it, and how it complicates cultural assumptions about what feminism means, which countries or cultures have it, and binaries of privileged versus “oppressed” women. (Keep in mind Patricia Valoy’s argument in “Transnational Feminism” and Hanna Yusuf’s argument in “My Personal Decision to Wear the Hijab Has Nothing to Do with Me Being Oppressed. It’s a Feminist Statement”: we often make assumptions about which countries or which religions oppress women, but we need to rethink these assumptions and recognize how countries and religions all over the world oppress women, and feminists all over the world and in every culture advocate for equality and empowerment.)

  CONTENT:

  If you choose to write a traditional research paper: Your essay should be 5 full, double-spaced pages (not including the Works Cited page) in Times New Roman size 12 font with 1-inch margins. (Longer is fine; but a shorter paper will be considered “incomplete” and will not receive a passing grade.)Your essay should include the following elements:

  • An interesting and relevant title (you do not need a separate title page);
  • An attention-grabbing introduction with a clear, argumentative thesis outlining your main claim(s). What are you saying about your topic? What is your argument?
  • Clearly organized body paragraphs, in which you provide ample evidence from your research. You should aim to cite at least one source in each of your body paragraphs (except maybe your intro & conclusion), whether through use of facts/arguments from the source or through direct quotes. (In other words, avoid long paragraphs containing only your unsupported opinion.)
  • Consider how your argument connects to key terms and issues we have considered in WGS 201. Please use WGS 201 language when appropriate (intersectionality, transnational feminism, privilege, etc.). Be sure to define transnational feminism early in your paper.
  • A conclusion that ties your ideas together and looks to the future. What is currently being done by feminists in this country? What are proposals for future action? What have you learned from these non-U.S. feminists?

  If you choose a creative project: you may present your research in one of the following formats. You must write 6 to 8 full pages (double-spaced, in Times New Roman size 12 font with 1-inch margins) and include a separate Works Cited page.

  • community workshop. Design a plan and contents (handouts, brochures, video, etc.) for a local community workshop to educate the public about your topic. Feel free to be creative: you may organize a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to support RAWA; you may do an interactive library workshop with relevant speakers and activities; you may organize an activist-information session for folks in the community who want to support transnational feminist activism. Your workshop topic should be specific (see the list of topics above). Please turn in a cover letter requesting community space from a library or university and explaining why; a detailed plan for the workshop, including an hourly schedule; and any supplemental materials that you would provide or show at the workshop (handouts, brochure, video, activities, etc.) Please base your workshop on research (3 library sources!), and be sure to define transnational feminism somewhere. You should aim to turn in 6 to 8 pages of written material plus works cited page. Have fun!
  • letter to a young feminist. Choose three of the feminist activists introduced in Module 4. Write a letter to a girl in your life (or, if you can’t think of one, a hypothetical girl, like a future daughter or niece) who is concerned about her future in an unequal world and who wants to live a life of activism for transnational feminism and social justice. In your letter, describe what these three activists are doing to make a change, and explain why their work is important, drawing on terms and concepts from Module 4 and other WGS 201 modules. Be sure to define transnational feminism and to base your argument(s) on at least 3 secondary sources from the library. Offer some suggestions for how she might engage in meaningful activism. Give this girl a sense of hope and optimism for the future, without minimizing the injustices that do exist and that she will certainly face (if she hasn’t already).
  • letter to the editor. You have been invited to submit a letter to the editor of The Hamilton Journal-News in which you advocate for the importance of including a required Transnational Feminisms course in the high school curriculum in Butler County. Compose the letter you would write, being sure to include 1) a thesis statement about why this is an important requirement for all students before college; 2) a description of the specific topics covered in your proposed course (including the key terms, concepts, and readings); and 3) an acknowledgement of, and response to, possible objections to this requirement and your response to those objections. Be sure to base your argument and description on research (3 library sources).

    Please attach a brief syllabus to your letter, including a one-paragraph Course Description and a list of required assignments with a grade distribution (how these assignments will be weighted). I encourage you to create the course that you would like to take or teach.

then attach a file that includes the following:

• • 1 paragraph clearly explaining your specific project topic (please get approval from me if choosing something not on the assignment) and your argument about that topic. Please also indicate whether you are going to do a traditional research paper or a creative project, and if the latter, explain what your creative project will include.
  • 1 paragraph explaining what you’ve learned from your research so far. Please include a few sentences about each secondary source. I encourage you to use direct quotes.
  • a Bibliography of at least 5 secondary sources listed in alphabetical order and formatted in either MLA style or APA style. “Secondary” means sources that do not include the book or film you’re analyzing (if applicable). At least three are from uploaded files.