Oppression and Women
Mariana Barry
School Without Walls, Rochester, NY
INTRODUCTION:
Oppression is “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel,
or unjust manner,” (dictionary.com).
Do your parents give
you a curfew? Do you think that poor Paris was made an example of or were you
glad to see her in jail? Do you think
it’s unfair to have a working age and drinking age? Are you oppressed as a kid in this country?
Maybe, but what is burdensome and cruel?
Do you have the fundamental rights of life? Maybe it’s time to look at those who
don’t. After seeing the film Water and the documentary Born into Brothels, do you feel like
your problems may not be as severe of the daily problems of others? Widows in India are one group of women who
have never known anything but oppression.
There are others. It is your job
to find them.
YOUR TASK:
- You will learn how to use the Internet
to research, using reliable sources.
- You will learn how to uncover the
different causes of oppression of women.
- You will learn how to create a
PowerPoint.
- You will learn how to expose
oppression in the form of a scene, series of poems, or creative piece in
the point of view of the women.
THE PROCESS:
- In groups of 2-3 you will uncover one
form of oppression of women. You
must pick one place in the world to focus on.
- As a group, complete the worksheets of
the Public Policy Analyst application.
a. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet1.doc
b. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.doc
c. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.doc
d. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet4.doc
e. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet5.doc
f. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet6.doc
- Then you will use the Internet to
research the form of oppression.
You must research the country, culture, religion, history and so
forth to get a better understanding of how the oppression began,
continues, and how it has changed.
- You will create a PowerPoint using the
information you have learned.
- You will the write a group piece from
the point of view of the oppressed women.
You must be accurate to the culture/location. This can be a collection of poems, a
scene, or a creative piece. You
will perform this piece.
RESOURCES:
Research! You may use the links below as well as
others. Make sure you use reliable
sources.
http://www.womensenews.org/archive_results.cfm/dyn/cat/16
http://www.goinglegal.com/article_68794_96.html
http://www.reproductiverights.org/ww_lac.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/
http://web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/index-eng
http://www.fgmnetwork.org/index.php
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html
http://www.worldandi.com/newhome/public/2003/may/clpub.asp
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/18/iraq.honorkilling/index.html
http://www.pdhre.org/rights/women_and_poverty.html
http://www.umich.edu/~cew/aboutcew/womenpov.html
http://womenandaids.unaids.org/
http://www.swaainternational.org/
http://www.huairou.org/campaigns/aids/index.html
EVALUATION:
Worksheet
Content
√+ Content is clear, concise,
well-written. Answers
all questions thoroughly with a logical progression and supporting evidence.
√ Content may contain mistakes in
grammar or syntax. Answers all
questions, but without a logical progression of ideas or with little
supporting evidence.
√ Content is vague, poorly written. Does not answer all the questions, or answers
may be irrelevant. No supporting
evidence.
Re-do Worksheet not done or not handed in. Worksheet handed in, but is illegible or,
contains poorly written work that does not address the task.
Worksheet
Research
√+ Worksheet shows
that the group accurately researched the problem, using a variety of resources,
and carefully considered the data.
√ Worksheet shows that the group did
some research on the problem, using some of the resources, and drew conclusions
based on the data.
√- Worksheet shows that the group did only
superficial research on the problem, using only one source. Conclusions may not be based on the source at
all.
Re-do Worksheet not done or not handed in. Worksheet handed in, but shows no research
done on the problem. No sources
used. No conclusions drawn.
PowerPoint
Content
√+ The content is
always written clearly and concisely with a logical progression of ideas and
supporting information.
Information is
accurate, and comes from a variety of sources.
√ The content
is mostly written clearly and concisely with a logical progression of ideas and
supporting information.
Information is
accurate, and comes from a variety of sources.
√- The
content may contain some minor errors in grammar.
Progression of ideas may include some
digressions. Information is generally accurate, but comes from only two or
three sources.
Re-do PowerPoint not handed in or the content
contains numerous errors in grammar.
No logical progression of ideas. Information
may be inaccurate, or comes from only one source.
PowerPoint Text
Elements
√+ The fonts are
easy-to-read and size varies properly for headings and text.
Italics, bold and indents used in a way to
enhance the text. Text is concise and
meaningful.
Background and
colors enhance the readability of text.
√ The fonts are
usually easy-to-read and size varies properly for headings and text.
In some places, italics, bold, indents, color
or background do not enhance the text.
Text is mostly concise and meaningful.
√- The fonts are hard-to-read or the size
does not vary properly for headings and text.
In some places, italics, bold, indents, color
or background begin to obscure the text.
Text may be too wordy or not meaningful.
Re-do Overall readability is difficult with lengthy
paragraphs, too many different fonts, dark or busy background, overuse of bold
or lack of appropriate indentations of text.
PowerPoint not
handed in or the text is extremely difficult to read with long blocks of text
in small fonts, contrasting colors that clash, poor use of headings, indents,
or bold formatting.
PowerPoint
Graphics / Sounds
√+ The graphics,
sounds and/or animations assist in presenting an overall theme enhancing the
concept.
Images are proper
size and resolution, to enhance the content.
There is a
consistent visual theme.
√ The graphics,
sounds and/or animations assist the audience in understanding the flow of
information or content.
Images are proper
size, resolution.
√- A few of the graphics, sounds, and/or
animations unrelated to the topic and do not enhance the concept.
A few of the images are too large or too
small, and may be poorly cropped or have poor resolution.
Re-do Most of the graphics, sounds, and/or
animations unrelated to the topic and do not enhance the concept.
Most of the images are too large or too small,
and may be poorly cropped or have poor resolution.
PowerPoint not handed in or no graphics, sounds,
and/or animations used. If any are used
they are totally unrelated to the topic or distract from the topic.
PowerPoint
Citations
√+ Sources of information always cited
properly, allowing the audience to determine accuracy and authority of information presented.
√ Sources of information usually cited
properly, allowing the audience to determine accuracy and authority of
information presented.
√- Some citations given, but no consistent
use of citations, leading the audience to question the accuracy and authority
of information presented.
Re-do Few citations
given. Audience has no way to assess the
accuracy and authority of information presented. PowerPoint not handed in or no
citations used.
Creative Piece
Evaluation
√+ All members of
the team take an equal part in writing creative piece.
Creative
piece is written in the oppressed point of view. The piece is
revised, uses complex word choice, imagery, detail, setting,
and voice.
Piece
reflects accurate portray of region/culture with strong examples.
√ All members
of the team take an equal part in writing creative piece. Creative piece is written in the oppressed
point of view. The piece
has a few
grammatical errors. This piece most of
the literary devises
of voice,
imagery, complex word choice, detail, and setting. Piece reflects
a mostly
accurate portrayal of the culture/region with a few examples.
√- Members of the team take unequal parts
in writing the piece. The piece
has a
number of grammatical errors. The point
of view is not consistent but tries to focus on the oppressed. The piece uses a couple of literary devises
and is somewhat accurate to the culture/region.
Re-do Members of the team take unequal parts in
writing the piece. The piece
is full of
grammatical errors. The point of view is
unclear. The piece is
not
accurate in portraying the culture/region.
The piece is not completed.
Creative Piece
Oral Presentation
√+ All members of
the team take an equal part presenting the creative piece. Team members do not merely read piece aloud,
but are emotionally invested in the piece and the performance.
√ All members
of the team take an equal part presenting piece. Team members do not merely read the piece
aloud, but are somewhat invested emotionally in the piece and the performance.
√- Members of the team take unequal parts
in presenting the piece. Team members
put inconsistent effort into the performance.
Re-do Members of the team take unequal parts in
presenting piece. Team members simply
read the piece to the class.
Piece
not handed in or group does not present to the class.
STANDARDS:
English Language
Arts
STANDARD 1: Students will read, write, listen, and
speak for information and understanding.
As listeners and
readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas,
discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge
generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers
and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret,
apply, and transmit information.
STANDARD 2: Students will read, write, listen, and
speak for literary response and expression.
Students will
read and listen to oral, written and electronically produced texts and
performances, relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an
understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the
texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use
oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.
STANDARD 4: Students will read, write, listen, and
speak for social interaction.
Students will use oral and written language
for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers
and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich
their understanding of people and their views.
Theatre
Standards
STANDARD 1: Students will actively engage in the
processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts (dance, music,
theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.
Social Studies Standards
STANDARD 2: World History: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in
world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of
perspectives.
CONCLUSION:
At the conclusion of the WebQuest you will have learned
that all of your problems as a teenager in this society are probably not as bad
as the ones faced by women all over the world!
You have also learned that in today’s society, oppression is a huge problem
that fails to get noticed. Hopefully you
have learned that you can make a difference by speaking up, shedding light, and
educating our society about these atrocities.