Gender, Law & Politics 46.320
Susan E. Gallagher, Associate Professor, Political Science
Midterm Exam
Midterm and Thesis Statement or final paper topic due via email on 10/26.
Discussion of Unit 4: The Public/Private Dichotomy continued on 10/26.
Unit 5: Gender, Race & Justice Assignment due via email by 11/1 and in class on 11/2.
Writing Workshop; discussion of presentations/final papers, 11/9.
Unit 6: Expansion of Civil Rights Assignment due via email by 11/15 and in class on 11/16.
Unit 7: Gender & Economic Inequality Assignment due via email by 11/22 and in class on 11/23.
1st Draft of Final Paper due via email on 11/30. Presentations begin on 11/30.
Presentations continue on 12/7.
Drafts returned by 12/11.
Revised Final Paper due by 12/14.
You must summarize the main ideas presented in two of the sources listed below. Each of your summaries must be at least two pages long (double-spaced, one-inch margins, eleven- or twelve-point type). Although you may quote from the texts if it is absolutely necessary, the purpose of this exercise is to test your ability to synthesize and convey ideas and information. Consequently, you must summarize the central ideas presented in each source in your own words.
Remember that you will be graded according to your ability to write college-level prose. Thus your work should be factually accurate and free of grammatical and logical errors. Please consult the Term Paper Checklist to find and correct common errors before you submit your exam. Minor mistakes will not be held against you, but if your exam indicates that you did not proofread carefully, your grade will be much lower than you might have expected. If you have writing problems, please visit the Writing Center and arrange for a tutor to help you correct your exam before you send it in. Students whose summaries indicate that they put considerable time into reviewing and proofreading can expect to earn the highest grades.
Please e-mail your completed exam as one attachment, with both summaries included in one Word.doc (.doc or .docx extension). Since each summary must be at least two pages long, the single document that you will send must be at least four full pages.
In the body of your email, you must include the thesis statement or topic for your presentation/final paper. You may select the statement from the list I have provided and use it as is, or revise one of the listed statements however you like, or compose a statement on your own. If you choose the last option, I can help you formulate your statement, but you must provide me with a specific topic, as well as a clear idea of the ground you plan to cover. Please keep in mind that the topic for your presentation and paper must be the same.
You must use your name in the title of your midterm (YourName.doc or YourName.docx) and also include it on the first page.
The midterm is due via e-mail by midnight on Monday, October 26, 2015.
If you have any questions, please e-mail me at Susan_Gallagher@uml.edu.
Note: If you have trouble formulating an approach to summarizing any of the cases listed or discussed in the articles below, it might be helpful to look up the decision up on a legal studies site such as the Oyez Project, where you will find a statement of the central question at issue in major Supreme Court rulings. For information on lower court rulings, it can sometimes be helpful to look at educational sites; however, you must be careful to rely only on apparently unbiased and informed perspectives, and you must not copy any materials from any source.
Bradwell v. State of Illinois (1872), denied women the right to practice law.
Muller v. Oregon (1908), permitted gender-discrimination in employment.
Loving v. Virginia (1967), overturned laws against inter-racial marriage.
Louis Menand, "The Sex Amendment: How Women Got in on the Civil Rights Act," The New Yorker, July 21, 2014.
Susan E. Gallagher, "Gender," Encyclopedia of Privacy (Greenwood Pr ess, 2007).
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), overturned laws against the distribution and use of contraceptives by married couples.
Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972), overturned laws against the use of contraceptives by unmarried couples.
Roe v. Wade (1973), located the right to obtain abortion within the constitutional right to privacy.
Weinberger v. Weisenfeld (1975), overturned gender-based allocation of Social Security benefits.
Rostker v. Goldberg (1981), held that exempting women from registering for the military draft was not a form of "invidious discrimination" against men.
Michael Castleman, "Proposition 6 and the Rights of Us All," Nation Magazine, October 21, 1978, urged defeat of California ballot initiative that would have prevented gays and lesbians from working in public schools.
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986), held that certain forms of sexual harassment violate Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), ruled that homosexuals have no right to sexual privacy.
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) upheld state restrictions on access to abortion services.
J.E.B. v. Alabama (1994), ruled that jurors can't be struck from juries on the basis of gender.
John Cloud, "The Pioneer Harvey Milk," Time Magazine, June 1999, remembrance of first openly gay elected official in U.S.
- Romer v. Evans (1996), overturned state laws permitting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Gallagher Home Page Gender, Law & Politics
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