Epistolary Connections: Letters as Pedagogical Tools in the Introductory Women's Studies Course

• Published in: Feminist teacher 2007-01, Vol.17 (3), p.204-224
• Main Authors: WHITE, AARONETTE M., WRIGHT-SOIKA, MARCIA, RUSSELL, MONICA S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: College students; Critical Thinking; Cultural differences; Disabilities; Females; Feminism; Feminist literary theory; Introductory Courses; Letter writing; Letters; Letters (Correspondence); Men; Motivation; Patriarchies; Politics; Psychologists; Racial Differences; Religion; Sexuality; Social sciences; Student Attitudes; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills; Women; Womens Studies; Writing; Writing Assignments; Writing instruction
• ISSN: 0882-4843; 1934-6034

Teaching students to think critically while integrating their personal experiences with feminist scholarship has become a very important objective in the Introduction to Women's Studies course. Women's studies introductory courses are designed to introduce students to feminist inquiry, using gender as the center of analysis while examining its relationships with race, ethnicity, class, physical ability, religion, sexuality, and other social phenomena. This article describes course assignments, student reactions to those assignments, and the relevance of letter reading, writing, and sharing to the goals of feminist pedagogy. Most recently, letters have been used by university instructors to teach students how to apply a variety of theoretical perspectives and concepts to their lives and the lives of significant others. Although, in most cases, the letters are rarely sent to the people written, instructors often build on the creative and semi-autobiographical appeal of letters that promotes intellectual and personal growth, as psychologists have discovered in the counseling environment. Most instructors note that letters promote writing and critical thinking skills in ways that students find less intimidating and more interesting than traditional writing assignments. Using letters as the pedagogical basis of the introductory course in women's studies involves risks, generates both reassuring and challenging experiences, and thereby accomplishes the principal goals of a feminist approach to teaching. (Contains 1 table.)