Research Proposal

Feminist Literacy: The Catalysts to Feminism for US

Millenials
Morgan Tuscherer
October 27, 2015

Proposal
Much of the research done on feminism today is focused on very specific topics
analyzed though a narrow feminist frame. For example, there is a lot of focus on
media outlets, like popular books or television programs, examined through a feminist
lens and then critiqued on its ability, or inability, to perform well under this critique.
Many people in my generation, millennials, are aware of feminism in this capacity. They
can apply what theyve learned to the world around them and understand the
wrongdoings of the world. Women know that when a strange man says Hey lady!
Why dont you smile for me? to them as their walking down the street its not okay,
and in fact a violation of their personal space.
My question, then, is where and when are young people learning about feminism? This
research project will focus on finding the answer to the question of where people are
finding their catalysts of feminism today. These catalysts will consist of events,
people, books, movies, or any other major incident leading to the discovery of
feminist literacy. Feminist literacy, in this context, refers to the knowledge base of the
topic that millennials have, as well as the incidents that mentor the literacy. The
catalysts of feminist literacy are what concerns my research, specifically in the
millennial generation living in the United States, and especially the people around me
studying feminism. I will be working with Dr. Alison Graham-Bertolini on this project.
From the research I will do on this topic, I will produce a 10-12 page report on where
US millennials are gathering their feminism literacy from and what the significance of
this is. I will aim to compare and analyze the catalysts against well known methods of
promoting feminist literacy to determine their effectiveness, and also identify
unexpected ones that should be receiving increased attention. A second result of this
research will be a presentation at the end of the semester defining the catalysts and
also analyzing their effectiveness. Both of these results will demonstrate what Ive
learned about the catalysts while also suggesting improvements for learning based on
the data I gather.
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Objectives
As an English major with a minor in Women and Gender studies, I find frequently that
the two disciplines intersect. Ive spent a lot of my undergraduate career applying
feminist critiques to literary texts while also learning academically what feminism is.
While I know what my feminist catalysts are, my main goal for this project is to learn
what the common catalysts are for others and to write about them in my research
paper. This will also A second objective will be to approach feminist research from a
different perspective than what is currently most prominent. By conducting my own
primary research and combining that with secondary research of scholarly work, I aim
to produce a paper and presentation that highlight a unique insight into our feminist
lives. Finally, my third goal is to effectively combine my knowledge of English
analytical skills with my Women and Gender studies social skills. By doing this I hope
to generate a paper and presentation that will be relevant to me as I continue on into
my career. The intersection of these two fields of study, if done effectively, will
demonstrate cultural knowledge of the diverse world around me.
Through these objectives I hope to understand the catalysts better and from there
draw conclusions on what can be done to improve the quality and quantity of
catalysts. If people are not getting the right information, we need to know when and
where that information is distributed in order to change it. I may also be able to draw
conclusions on what ways to better implement feminism in the classroom, especially in
ways aimed at younger students in school.

Methods
The research for this project will be done through two primary methods: secondary
research of scholarly articles and primary research through personal interviews. The
former will involve extensive library research via databases to help me formulate what
ideas researchers already have about this subject. My findings so far suggest that a
lot of the research has been focused on feminism in the classroom and influences
from the media. There also tends to be a distinction between what goes on in the
classroom and what is being done within the social movement.
Another aspect of secondary research will be gathering definitions of feminism from
well known and respected authors on the subject. Authors I would like to include for
this portion are bell hooks, Jessica Valenti, and Roxane Gay. These three women are
well respected in the field, so their insight into what feminism is will be invaluable to
my project. By collecting and analyzing their definitions I can then compare what they

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say to the catalysts I find, and from there I can determine the effectiveness of the
catalysts by how well they fit into those definitions.
My final method of research will be to conduct personal interviews with other
millennials in an effort to pinpoint what their feminist literacy catalysts are. The
following is a preliminary list of questions I will ask each interviewee:

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

Where did you learn about it?
What is the single most important thing (person, book, blog etc.) that

taught you about it?

Where do you think other millennials are learning about feminism?
At what age do you think people should learn about it? Should there be
standards?
From these questions I can begin to better understand what methods and ideas are
working best to generate feminist ideals, which will help guide my research project to
help me achieve my long-term goals.

Timeline
In the following table I provide a timeline of important events and deadlines for my
upcoming Capstone project:
Task Name
Turn in proposal

Start

End
10/27/15

10/27/15

10/29/15

11/3/15

11/4/15

11/27/15

10/21/15

11/19/15

11/10/15

11/19/15

11/3/15

11/19/15

Proofread annotated bib

prior to submission

11/17/15

11/19/15

Submit draft to mentor

11/16/15

11/16/15

Revise questions for

interview
Start conducting
interviews
Set aside two hours a
week for reading and
summarizing
Fine tune what research to
use for final project
Start drafting sections

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Task Name

Start

End

Progress report and

annotated bib due

11/19/15

11/19/15

Finish abstract

11/22/15

11/24/15

11/22/15

11/30/15

12/1/15

12/10/15

Create and finish

presentation
Paper and presentation
due

The timeline accounts for all major deadlines as outlined in the English Capstone
Experience course, as well as personal goals and deadlines I would like to have
accomplished for my own project. All dates that are bolded are ones that I would like
to keep firm in order to stay on track with my task management.

Working Bibliography
Bulbeck, Chilla. Young Womens Views of Feminism and Womens History.
Outskirts.(2011): 1-11. Print.
hooks, bell. Feminism is for Everybody. Cambridge: South End Press, 2000. Print.
Gay, Roxane. Bad Feminist. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. Print.
Parsons, Sarah. Radical Possibilities: Feminism, Pedagogy, and Visual Culture.
Resources for Feminist.3/4 (2002): 155-166. Print.
Steenbergen, Candis. Feminism and Young Women: Alive and Well and Still
Kicking. Canadian Women Studies.(2001): 6-14. Print.

Thiel-Stern, Shayla. Girl Zines: Making Media, Doing Feminism. Journalism and
Mass Communication Quarterly. 88.1 (2011): 209-210. Print.
Thornham, Sue. Women, Feminism, and Media. Book Review.(2009): 169-184
Print.
Valenti, Jessica. Full Frontal Feminism. Berkeley: Seal Press, 2007. Print.
Wiegman, Robyn. Academic Feminism Against Itself. NWSA Journal.14.2
(2002): 18-37. Print.
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