Assignment:
One of the most important parts of this course is coming to terms with your own gender identity-that is, not only how you label yourself, but how you perform your gender, how you embrace or resist traditional masculine or feminine qualities, how you feel your personal experiences have contributed to how you've "learned" gender, etc. However, you cannot separate your gender from other points of your intersectional positionality, which include race, class, sexuality, nationality, citizen status, age, body size, dis/ability, education, religion, region, life experiences, etc. All of these are situated in relation to systems of power and oppression. (Special note: for some students, identity categories such as race, class, sexuality, and gender will conflict heavily with their lived experiences. For example, some students who are "privileged on paper" may have experienced extreme hardships in their lives. These hardships are certainly informed by our positionalities, and as such, you are invited to reflect on those experiences in light of your intersectionality.)
This assignment will require you to reflect on and write about your intersectional positionality. It should include a thesis statement that tells me how you feel intersectionality is salient in your experiences. You will need toclearly define "intersectionality" at some point in the paper and offer clear discussions of the concepts of privilege and oppression. You should cite course material when you define these terms. You will then apply these concepts to your own life by relating each of these terms to your own experiences.