Many of you may remember that last year, I took a girls' studies class, and regularly posted assignments to my blog. You can see those past posts here. This semester, I'm teaching the same class! I have two wonderful and articulate students, and I thought some of you might be interested in seeing their blogs... Continue Reading →
From the first few lines of The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls (1997) by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, I was hooked. I loved the concept of doing research in girls’ diaries from the past in order to gain present understanding of how girlhood and the intimacies of puberty have changed over the years.... Continue Reading →
I don’t know why, but I was surprised to think of girls as activists. However, after watching some TED talks by girl activists, I realized just how powerful their voices can be, and that we all have a duty to be activists where we can. If we have a story, we should share it. If... Continue Reading →
As most of you know, education is important to me. I wouldn’t be pursuing a Ph.D. if it weren’t. Not only do I believe in education, but I believe in education for girls, and some of the most moving books I’ve read are about this subject. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943) by Betty Smith... Continue Reading →
This week’s girls’ studies blog post is about the song “He Hit Me,” originally performed by The Crystals in 1962. I also listened to versions by Hole and Grizzly Bear. It was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King when a popular singer of the time explained why she stayed with her boyfriend despite his... Continue Reading →
Our focus in my girls’ studies class this week has been music. The assignment is to make a “mix tape” of songs that were important to my girlhood. I’m supposed to highlight and explain three of the songs, but I thought an explanation of each one was in order. I’ve linked them to YouTube videos... Continue Reading →
I read a Life with Archie comic book for today’s post. I’d never read one before. In fact, I’ve read very few comic books in my lifetime, so it was an interesting experience for me. I had to adjust to the flow of it. As I read, I was thinking about the following questions for... Continue Reading →
The instructions for this week’s post follow: “I’d like you to compare what you learned from the Julia Alvarez piece [“Once Upon a Quinceañera”] with the episode of My Super Sweet 16 that you watched. Feel free to use short clips of the episode or images to illustrate your points. Some questions you may or... Continue Reading →
This week’s girls’ studies blog assignment is to locate a cultural object related to girls’ play and analyze it with the following questions. How do you know it is meant for girls? What would happen if a boy were to play with it? Is this a product of a particular era? Is it aimed toward... Continue Reading →
This week’s girls’ studies post is a critical analysis of the song “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from The Sound of Music. While my first reaction to watching this scene on YouTube was to sing along and dance a little, I quickly realized the messages that the song sends are somewhat outdated and a little bit... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 