First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-1)
Topic
Coalition Politics from Chicago and Beyond
Instructors
Amy Partridge
847.491.5872
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L05: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
Coalitional Politics--Case studies from Chicago and beyond: archiving the past for the present. In this seminar, we explore several 1970s-era projects in Chicago and beyond that exemplify a coalitional feminist politics and consider the usefulness of this history in an increasingly polarized present. We will read histories of this period and memoirs by movement participants, but our focus will be on engaging in collective archival research and, ultimately curating collections of (10-12) documents that aid us in recuperating these instances of successful coalition building across movements, as well as the intersectional politics that informed these collaborative projects. The seminar will introduce students to the practice of archival research as well as the remarkable range of archival materials housed in Special Collections, which might form the basis for research projects during your four years at Northwestern. Our final class project will be to collectively curate an online exhibition of our findings. Over the course of the quarter, we will also host several class visitors to explore current coalitions and projects that build on this legacy.
Cases include: Gay liberation and lesbian/feminism in Chicago; Chicago's "Rainbow Coalition" and the People's Revolutionary Constitutional Convention; Welfare rights and the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO); Reproductive rights: Clergy Consultation Service and the Jane Collective; Chicago free clinics/health projects: Black Panther Party, Young Lords Organization, Rising Up Angry, Chicago Women's Liberation Union & Chicago Women's Health Center.
Evaluation Method
2 short 2-4-page papers;
Final Group Research Project;
Regular research assignments--each week includes research assignments, some of which we will do in class, intended to introduce you to a range of resources, research methods, and types archival collections. These will also serve as the basis for 4-5 collectively researched and curated final projects. Everyone will contribute to each of the 4-5 final projects but students will work in groups of 2-3 in the final weeks of the course to bring one of these research projects to completion.
Class Materials (Required)
Enke, Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space and Feminist Activism. Duke UP, 2007.
Class Attributes
WCAS Writing Seminar
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.