Homework
Your Interview and Learning Resources Summary includes the following two sections:
• A one-paragraph summary of your interview experience.
o introduce your subject in a sentence or two
o briefly discuss how the interview proceeded (you can expand this in your final essay; a couple of sentences are fine here)
o briefly present the major Women's Studies topics you covered (you do not have to list everything that will appear in the final paper)
• A list of items from the learning resources you have identified which will provide supporting scholarly information for your discussion of the interview .
Your list should be formatted as a brief Annotated Bibliography in APA Style:
1. Include three acceptable items from the learning resources:
• For the purposes of this homework, "an item" may be an entire learning resource, a section of a learning resource, or a direct quote from a learning resource.
• Stronger projects will select items from more than one learning resource, though three different quotes from the same highly-relevant learning resource meets the minimum requirements for this homework.
2. Provide a brief summary under each item explaining how it will be useful for your essay.
3. Provides the APA style bibliographic citation for each item.
• Publication information for the Course Modules can be found where assigned in Content, and here: Content > Course Resources > Read Me First > Development Credits
Conducting the Interview
You can conduct the interview in any medium (in person, on the phone/Skype, via email, etc.). It can also be done in multiple sessions or all at one sitting. You do need some way to record the interview so that you can quote from it. If you conduct it via email, you'll have a print copy. If you do it in person, take plenty of notes, but also try to make a sound recording if possible so that you can find the exact responses.
You may design your interview questions however you wish, but keep the purpose of the project in mind. Tailor your questions to your specific interview subject and your own interests. You DO NOT have to use the questions below; these are just sample questions covering some of the major topics of the course: the history of the women's movement, feminism, gender identity, women and work, women and politics, education, body politics (body image and media).
Suggestions for topics and questions:
1. How has being female affected your life?
2. What do you know about the history of the women's movement? How do you think it has affected you?
3. Do you consider yourself a feminist?
4. What do you want your children to learn about women? About gender roles?
5. How have your ideas about what it means to be a woman changed as you have gotten older?
6. What do you think about the way female celebrities/movie stars/singers are portrayed?
7. How did you feel about Hillary Clinton's presidential run? About the first female four-star general?
8. Is it any different being female in the United States than in your (your parents') home country (if you're interviewing someone from another country)?
9. What do you feel are the most important issues for women (or for the women's movement today)?
10. Has being a woman affected your work life or career goals in any way?
11. How is the housework/childcare divided in your home? Are you satisfied with this arrangement?
12. What do you think about laws protecting women in the workplace and women's access to education? Do we have too many? Not enough? If you could enact a new law to help women, what would it be?
Tips for the actual interview:
1. Most people enjoy being taken seriously as interview subjects - choose someone you're genuinely interested in learning more about.
2. Explain why you are conducting the interview, and let the person know what to expect. You can even provide some of the questions ahead of time if you'd like to.
3. Begin with easy questions that will make both of you comfortable and give you basic background information (name, age, where from, education, etc.).
4. Create a list of at least ten questions you'd like to ask that cover a range of topics.
5. Be willing to let the conversation take you away from those questions, and then redirect when you have a chance.
6. Try to avoid questions that can be answered "yes" or "no;" instead, ask open-ended questions that require a lengthier response.
• Rather than: were you ever called a tomboy when you were growing up?
• Try: How did you see yourself when you were a child? Were you more of a "girly-girl" or a "tomboy?" Then you can follow up on the answer to this question: Why do you think you felt that way? Do you still think of yourself as more ...
7. Be sensitive to your subject's reactions to a question; if she really doesn't want to answer something, move on ...
8. ... but, remember the purpose of the project, and be sure to cover the topics that are most important to you.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
• The answer must be using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, typed, with one-inch margins on all sides.
• The response also includes a cover page containing the student's name, the title of the homework, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
• Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.