I have been fortunate this semester to teach with the 2nd edition before it is fully available for adoption for Fall 2024 classes. In this post, I want to reflect on my experiences with the second edition and how I have run my course this semester.
The TLDR is that the students LOVE the book. The second edition is so engaging, and they are struck by how up to date it is and how much fun it is to read. This is not that different than the reaction we got from the first edition, but students are finding the new edition even more engaging.
Here are some quotes from students:
- “I love the format of the textbook! It has a good balance of text and illustrations and explains concepts very thoroughly. The chapters are also organized in a logical manner and address various social identities as they relate to each other.”
- “I love the textbook! It’s actually the most enjoyable textbook I’ve ever read. I am never able to get engaged in textbooks, but it is so nice, and I don’t get distracted. I have a Women & Gender Studies class that goes over a lot of the same things, but the textbook is miserably boring and in black and white with no pictures and tiny text that isn’t even split up or anything and I just cannot read it. This book is like a bible to me like I would worship it, I’m not even joking. It’s just nice!”
- “The textbook is very good, and I enjoyed reading it so far. Which is an extreme achievement for a textbook to be in any way enjoyable to read at any point.”
In preparing to teach with the 2nd edition, I updated all of my Questions to Consider. Students answer them before class, and we sit in a circle to facilitate our interactions with each other. We started the semester with a very long discussion about classroom norms and etiquette, and we made many class decisions that have worked very well. First, students are able to bring their laptops to class so they don’t have to print the answers to their questions. But we have checked in several times about how they should not be looking at their laptops except to look at the answers to their questions. I then go question by question, and everyone who wants to answer raises their hand. I write them down and then call on them. At any point someone can request a “swoop” where they do a swooping hand gesture and say “swoop” request to make a direct reply to someone. We also have a class norm of “knocking” for agreement. This is because we have a blind student who can’t see head nods and we agreed that snaps are too quiet. Our knocking norm has carried over – one student in class is also on my research team, and she has started knocking in agreement during team meetings.
Class discussion has been vigorous and engaged. We almost never make it through the questions, which has been disappointing to those who wanted to talk about questions later in the list. One thing we talked about very early in the semester was how important it is to listen to and respect others with differing views, and I feel like the tone has been really respectful.
After the motherhood chapter, we did small group discussion in a jigsaw format about the podcast The Retrievals (there will be a future blog post about this series, so stay tuned). This was a huge success, and students loved talking in small groups. Thus, I have started taking 3-5 questions and having the students split into rotating small groups for part of the class and then report back one thing that was most important from their discussion. This has been a successful change, and for the last few discussions, we have been able to get through all of the questions.
One final note – I had a student in my office telling me that this class has been so affirming for her. She feels as though she now sees her struggles through a new feminist lens. She also said that she realizes her personal issues are related to larger structural problems and don’t indicate that there is something wrong with her. I told her that was the whole point of feminist consciousness raising and, in some ways, the whole point of the book and the class! That comment made my day, and I will end my post with that sentiment!