Internet Activities

  1. Consider all the girls and women on the planet (more than 3 billion of them). Consider how women’s experiences are similar and different based on their race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. (You could consider marital status, employment, parental status, and so on.) How has historical time period affected women’s lives? Consider the experiences of men and women who share racial, ethnic, and/or class statuses. How does gender impact their lives? Consider micro- and macro-level forces. If you’re not sure, use the Internet to do some research. Come to class with a few short paragraphs that outline what you found and your general thoughts on this topic.
  2. Use the Internet to explore policies and laws on gender-neutral bathrooms and take notes. What are the arguments for and against such bathrooms? Which arguments hold the most weight and why? How do you evaluate the evidence? What makes it solid or weak? How is language used to shape the arguments? Who are the key players in these debates? What states have adopted laws in support of gender-neutral bathrooms? Which are considering bills on them? What universities or workplaces have gender-neutral bathrooms? Consider their locations, budgets, size, and other relevant factors. Summarize what you found.
  3. Use the Internet to research the term the browning of America. What are the origins of this term? Try to find the origins of this term/ideology. What did you find? How is this term used and by whom? How does what you found relate to ideas in this book? Be specific.
  4. Write a few paragraphs about prejudices you held when starting this class. (Everyone has them, so don’t worry. You are a product of your society.) Consider prejudice regarding race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation. What specific ideas or stereotypes did you have? Now, consider what you’ve learned throughout the course. How have your prejudices changed or been affirmed? What ideas or evidence led to your current position? If you position has changed, what might that suggest about other prejudices you might have, for example, about people who are fat, short, old, homeless, or of a different religion or political identity? What should you consider as you reevaluate those prejudices and the ideas that support them?
  5. In a few paragraphs, summarize the key ideas shared by class members. How has the course changed their ideas about race or about different groups of people? For example, have their prejudices changed at all? If so, how? To what do they attribute that change? If not, why do they suppose that is? What surprised them most about what they learned? Did anything surprise them?