Women, Gender, and Law – Poli 338

Instructions:  Answer ALL parts of EACH question.  Be sure to type your name on the first page of your paper.  Also, answer the questions in the order in which they are presented here.  And please do NOT take up space by rewriting the “Background” below.  Rather, just begin answering each question.FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION:  Microsoft Word.  No pdf papers, please!

Length of Paper:  Minimum: 5 pages; Maximum: 7 pages; typed, double-spaced, approximately one-inch margins on both sides of each page.  The minimum and maximum number of pages do NOT include any cover page (NOT necessary), nor any reference pages.

Due Date for Submission of Paper:  The instructor must have received your paper by the beginning of class on October 27, 2020; late papers will be noted and will negatively affect your paper’s grade.  Papers will be returned to students with their grade and comments by the instructor by the morning of November 3, 2020.

Factors Upon Which Your Paper Will be Graded:  Clarity, Organization, Analysis, and Reasoning.  The particular position you might take on an issue will NOT, by itself, count either negatively or positively towards your grade.  Avoid long quotes to fill up space in your paper.  Also, refer to what you have read in the assigned readings to help support your argument(s) as well as your analysis and reasoning and/or to refute a particular argument/reasoning/analysis.  Be sure to use specific examples, and, where applicable, analogies; do not merely state a claim or opinion without providing a supporting argument(s).   If you use material from sources other than the assigned readings, you must specifically identify those sources; however, formal footnotes are not necessary.  Also, be specific about any assumptions you make in how you answer some or all of the questions.Remember:  This is NOT a research paper assignment.

TIP:  After you are satisfied with your answers, please consider giving your paper to someone else to read.  If they do not understand what you wrote, i.e., if it is not clear to them or if it is confusing in any way, think about how you might make your answers clearer and/or fix any confusion.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Women, Gender, and Law – Poli 338

Fall Semester, 2020

Response Paper #2 – Required Assignment

Background:  A female Women’s Studies professor at a co-educational college does not let men enroll in her feminist ethics course, arguing that, in her experience, male students inhibit the participation of women.  As an alternative for male students, she offers one-on-one tutorials, which about a dozen men have taken since she began teaching in 1996.  She is sued by a male student under Title IX, and under the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Questions:

• Who should win the lawsuit—the professor or the male student?  Explain your answer.

• Does the professor’s policy raise an issue of substantive equality?  Explain your answer.