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Global Humanities Institute Learning Community

Integrative Assignment

Faculty & Disciplines
Tara Tetrault, Womens Studies (WMST 101: Introduction to Womens Studies)
Sahar D. Sattarzadeh, Sociology (SOCY 105: Social Problems & Issues)


Working Title of Learning Community
A Right to Work in the World: From Gender Equity to Womens Rights and Empowerment


Theme Description
Inequality between men and women is a human problem, and the labor market (and the inequalities
and injustices within it) affects all members of society. By exposing students to a combination of
various articles, films, narratives, and case studies, this learning community offers an interdisciplinary
approach (via sociological and gender/womens studies discourses) to studying gender inequality
within the context of labor and the workforce, while addressing the interdependency between local
and global communities and markets.


Course Objectives
WMST 101 SOCY 105
1) Learn about the history of strong
women leaders worldwide
2) Explore in more detail the global
womens political initiatives (i.e., what
they are designed to do; who they are
designed to help and how effective they
are).
3) Critique how effective the initiatives are
and come up with resolutions to
propose
4) Expand on student classroom
presentations
5) Explore using a blog in class
6) Teach students to write strong papers
and unpack details on topics
7) Designing creative solutions to real
world problems
8) Give students interdisciplinary
assignments to learn content and
methods.
1) Acquire a general understanding of
sociological theory and study within the
context of social problems.
2) Learn the definitions and implications
of social problems and issues within
local and global contexts.
3) Understand and apply sociological
imagination in order to analyze
problems and issues beyond the notion
of self.
4) Embrace and accommodate the
likelihood of ambiguity.
5) Adopt a humble posture of learning.
6) Learn and apply basic technological
tools for presentation purposes.
7) Utilize the various skills of research
methodology and writing.
8) Learn and apply critical thinking skills
(orally and written).
9) Accept and understand that diversity of
experience, thoughts, beliefs, and
attitudes exists and should be welcomed
and appreciated.
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Enduring Questions
What are the elementary issues surrounding the topic of work?
What are the main barriers to women obtaining an education?
What are the international initiatives that affect women, education and work?
What is a social problem? How is it defined?
What is the relationship between gender roles and labor or work?
Why are women and men treated unequally in societies around the world?
What experiences do women around the world have in common?
How do patriarchal societies and structures define labor or work?
How are inequalities between women and men manifested in the workforce worldwide?


Title
International Law Under the Microscope: A Critical Analysis of Womens Rights & Labor


Description
Overview
This collaborative assignment will help students gain skills in critical discourse analysis, effective
writing with supporting evidence, communication of analysis and arguments, understand the
language and various dimensions of international law, recognize the relevance of international
treaties to local and international discourses, and foster critical thinking and analysis of legislation
relevant to the rights of women and children regarding labor and work.

Example
Working in pairs in class, students will select an international instrument from a list of conventions
that are relevant to labor/work, gender, women, and/or children for a critical discourse analysis
exercise. (i.e., Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)
Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and other relevant conventions). Once the instrument has been
selected, each pair will thoroughly read, discuss, and analyze the instrument of choice by answering
the following questions (citing direct content from the instrument) through an identifiable critical
perspective (feminist, race, Marxist, as examples).

Background of Instrument
1) What is the title of international instrument you have selected and when was it drafted/adopted?
2) What is the purpose of this international instrument (i.e., why was it drafted/adopted)?

Gender References in Instrument
1) What gender-specific references are made in the instrument?
2) Which population(s)/group(s) does this instrument aim to protect?
3) Which population(s)/group(s) are omitted/excluded in this instrument?
4) What explicit references are made about the role of women and/or children?
5) What implicit references are made about the role of women and/or children?

Labor References in Instrument
1) What explicit labor-specific references are made in the instrument?
2) What implicit labor-specific references are made in the instrument?
3) What labor-related issues/problems are omitted?

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Critical Analysis Conclusions
1) What critical perspective did you select in analyzing this instrument?
2) What is the general argument of this critical perspective regarding labor and the rights of women
and/or children?
3) Based on the questions you answered above and providing evidence from the instrument you
just reviewed, what is your overall analysis of this particular instrument regarding the protection
of labor rights for women and children?
a. What are its strengths?
b. What are its weaknesses?
c. How can it be improved?

Once students have completed their analysis by answering all the questions above, they will briefly
present their arguments orally, exchanging feedback with their partners. Once each pair has
completed the mutual sharing, each student will write a paper based on their critical analysis of the
international instrument following the sequence and structure of the questions above.


Global & Integrative Competencies Targeted
Knowledge-Based
Gain a familiarity the language and content of international law.
Understand concepts of rights regarding labor, women, children, education, and work in an
international context.
Realize the relevance of international law to local and personal levels.
Learn the process of critical discourse analysis.

Attitudinal
Be accommodating to opportunities of ambiguity and/or unfamiliarity.
Awareness and self-awareness of labor and womens rights.

Skills-Based
Development and application of critical thinking and discourse analysis.
Writing stronger arguments based on evidence.
Effective communication and speaking skills.


Grounding of Disciplines
The objectives of both WMST 101 and SOCY 105 emphasize the importance of understanding both
local and global contexts, and the analyses of international instruments in this assignment
emphasizes the relevance of international legislation and policy within the local context, particularly
as it relates to the respective disciplines in each course. The development and application of stronger
writing, communication, and critical thinking skills are also key objectives of both courses,
particularly through the application of critical perspectives and theories that are pertinent to both
womens studies and sociology disciplines.


Integration of Disciplines
As WMST 101 highlights the study of women and gender equality around the world, and SOCY 105
focuses on social problems within local and global contexts. This assignment challenges and
encourages students to understand and analyze explicit and implicit content as it relates to the role
of all women in the labor force. The international instruments address the protection and rights of
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women, families, and children regarding work, and by doing so, they also address the violations and
crimes committed that threaten such rights, which lead to various social problems in the world. This
assignment, therefore, introduces social problems relevant to womens studies, such as the right to
education, child labor, stop human trafficking, migrant families, gender disparities in leadership and
other problems affecting a womans success.


Internationalization of Assignment
This focal point of this assignment is the analysis of international treaties that have been drafted by
the United Nations and various member states around the globe. Since these instruments are
intended for an international audience, it is expected that the students understand the language
and content of international legal language as it relates to labor/work, the rights of women and
children, migrants, and other marginalized populations.