Week Three: Myth of Individual Opportunity

This week we shift to gender issues as they relate to opportunity.  Your paper for this unit can relate to class, race or gender, but should make a proposal argument about opportunity, so you might want to start thinking about how you want to formulate a proposal based on this issue.  Blogging a preliminary proposal might be helpful in your quest to establish your paper thesis.

The essays you will blog about this week are by Tocqueville, Kincaid, Devor and Rosin.  You need to make reference to at least one of these.  If you are at a loss about where to start, you might consider:

• Do the sexes have set gender roles, or are they learned/conditioned?
• How open are we to those who do not remain in their "proper" role?
• Kincaid presents a traditional prescription for female behavior within her culture.  Do we have similar prescriptions in American culture?  Are there ways in which boys should act to become respected men?
•  How do Devor's claims correspond with your own observations?
• Do gender expectations limit opportunities to achieve one's dreams?