******** PLEASE NOTE: THIS PAPER HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION. PLEASE DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHORS. CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THIS PAPER SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO ARNOLD KAHN AT FAC_ASKAHN@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU ******** A Computer Bulletin Board in Women's Studies Courses Sharon L. O'Hare and Arnold S. Kahn James Madison University Abstract We describe the use of a computer bulletin board in an Introduction to Women's Studies course. The bulletin board allowed the class discussion to be extended beyond the 150 minutes per week of class time, more intimate discussion of personal experiences and feelings, and more topics to be discussed. Samples of student bulletin board postings are included. The Introduction to Women's Studies course is often the first exposure many undergraduates have to a course in which an explicitly feminist focus and content is provided. A crucial element in this exploration is reflection on one's own beliefs and values, and a comparison of one's own attitudes with others in the class. -1 One challenge to the facilitator of a women's studies course is to engage students in dialogue in an attempt to help the more traditional student understand feminist perspectives. For many students there is an urge to immediately reject material which challenges their religious or traditional family values. Indeed, one of the frustrations for both instructors and students in the introductory course is the lack of time to fully discuss intriguing or controversial issues. How can an instructor ensure adequate time to discuss the large number of feminist issues for all students? We attempted to solve this problem in our introductory course through the use of a computer bulletin board system. A computer bulletin board (CBB) is part of a family of computer software programs that communication scholars have labeled computer mediated communication systems (Danowski, 1982; Hiltz, 1986; Rice, 1989; Steinfeld, 1986). A user, either a class member or an instructor, logs on to a mainframe computer and gains access to the CBB by typing a command. The user may then read messages posted by other class members and instructors, reply to one or more messages, or post a message on a new topic (Heydinger, 1979; Rice & Love, 1987). CBBs have been used successfully as teaching tools in a wide variety of college courses (e.g., Heydinger, 1979; Hiltz, 1986; Kahn & Brookshire, 1991). Through a CBB instructors can distribute information such as course outlines and sample exams, distribute assignments, and respond to student questions. Our purpose is to describe how the CBB was used to enhance the discussion of sensitive feminist issues in our Introduction to Women's Studies course. -2 Method Nature of the Course This was the first time Introduction of Women's Studies was taught at James Madison University. There were 20 students in the course, 18 females and two males, all of whom were white. Sixteen students were seniors, two were juniors, and two sophomores. Majors ranged from English to art to international business, with psychology being the most frequent major with eight students. The course met on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and was team taught. Both instructors, one female and one male, participated in each class session. We instituted a CBB in the spring semester, 1992. Our goal was to allow more time for discussion of course-related issues than is possible in the 150 minutes per week of class time. The CBB was intended to be an adjunct to the course, but it soon became an integral part. Nature of the CBB Arrangements were made through the Academic Computing Service to create a CBB. Each student obtained a computer course ID specific to the Women's Studies class. Only students with a course ID could gain access to the CBB. No previous computer experience was needed to use the CBB. To facilitate students' use of the CBB, instructions for obtaining a computer course ID, using the CBB and sending electronic mail were provided in the course syllabus. In addition, the instructors gave explanations during the first class period. The class met briefly in a computer lab during the second class period to give everyone hands-on experience with CBB and mainframe capabilities. A CBB can have categories under which messages can be posted. We set up the following: "thoughts," "public journal," "announcements," and "chatter." It soon became clear, however, that students paid little attention to the nature of the category. Most posting occurred in thoughts and public journal. Students were not required to read or post on the CBB. The only incentive for them to do so was that frequent postings would be one method used to resolve borderline grades. A common course computer ID was established so that students could post anonymously if they wished. Results Analysis of CBB Postings At the end of the semester, a total of 300 postings were generated by members of the class. For purposes of this paper the nature of 248 postings will be discussed. The remaining 52 postings were either blank screens, correction of errors ("oops, I forgot to sign my name"), or administrative postings by the instructors ("Don't forget your paper topic is due on Tuesday!"). After the semester was over, two students who were not members of the class and not aware of the identity of the students from the class, coded each posting based on a number of criteria. Coding rules were established prior to coding to give the student assistants basic guidelines to follow. Postings were coded on the following categories: participant number, student or faculty, number of lines in the message,-3 whether the posting was of a personal or impersonal nature,-4 the dominant emotion of the posting,-5 and the main topic of the posting.-6 When there were disagreements between the coders, a third student made the final decision.-7 Of the 248 postings, 214 were by the students and 34 by the instructors. Most postings were made shortly before class on either Monday (n = 66) or Tuesday (n = 68). The fewest postings were on Saturday (n = 4). Description of the Student Postings. For the present purpose, the greatest interest is the nature of the student postings. The 20 students posted 214 messages for an average of 10.89 postings per student. All students posted, but there was great diversity as to posting frequency--one student posted 34 messages and three students posted only twice. Eleven of the students posted at least 10 messages. The anonymous ID was used only twice. Postings also varied greatly in length, ranging from one to 139 lines of text. Thirty of the messages were very short (less than five lines of text), 111 messages were moderately short (5 to 15 lines of text), 39 were of moderate length (16 to 29 lines of text), 32 were long (30 to 100 lines of text), and two were very long (over 100 lines of text). Most of the postings were of a personal nature (n = 188, 87.9%). As might be expected in a class that deals with such topics as violence against women and patriarchy, there were more negative postings than positive ones. A wide variety of topics was discussed, although four topics--rape and violence, sexism in language, campus events, and abortion--made up over half of the postings. The topics and their frequencies are listed below: Topic Frequency Percent Rape and Violence 33 15.4 Sexism in Language 33 15.4 Campus Events 32 15.0 Abortion 20 9.3 Relationships 17 7.9 Class Activities 17 7.9 Stereotypes 11 5.1 Sexuality 11 5.1 Body Image 10 4.7 Work, Family, Career 9 4.2 Religion 6 2.8 Other (none of the above) 15 7.0 Samples of Student Postings To give a flavor of what the CBB discussions were like, we present below excerpts from student postings on the topic of rape and violence against women. These postings illustrate the nature of disagreement among students as well as the validation of emotions which students provided each other. They also show how students differ in their levels of political sophistication and the recognition by some that "the personal is political." The level of openness and self-disclosure is remarkable given that none of these postings were anonymous. Excerpts are presented in the order in which the posting was made. The students' use of upper- or lower-case as well as their misspellings have been preserved. The number before each excerpt is simply the posting number. #122 I was a victim of a date rape the third weekend of my freshman year. It was the first time I had ever had alcohol and I was given a huge plastic cup where people just kept pouring more and more beer into it. I have no idea how much I had. I passed out on the bed...and woke up to the guy ... raping me. I tried to fight him off - screaming no all the time - but I was still drunk and couldn't get away. I did not tell anyone about the acquaintance rape until two years later. Because I was drunk, I thought it was my fault. #132 Why is it overlooked or dismissed as a "domestic matter" when a man beats his wife or girlfriend, when in the same country a stranger who attacks someone is arrested as soon as that person is identified. WHEN IS IT NOT GOING TO BE OK ANYMORE FOR A MAN TO HAVE THE UNSPOKEN "RIGHT" TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIS WIFE OR LOVER? #129 ... I am wondering if I was really consenting the first time I had sex, with my boyfriend last spring. I guess the best way to describe what happened is coercion ... At the time I was very needy emotionally ... I wanted a relationship with him badly ... and so i submitted i guess the fact that submit is the first word that flies to mind kind of says it all ... #133 I too have been sexually assaulted, but it happened in my childhood. This is really hard for me to even write because I don't usually talk to anyone about it, not even my close friends. ... it's really scary. #135 ALTHOUGH I HAVE NEVER HAD AN EXPERIENCE SUCH AS THIS, I TRULY ADMIRE YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY AND WILLINGNESS TO HELP OTHERS. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT A TOLL IT TAKES ON SOMEONE TO BE SO BRUTALLY HURT AND INVADED. GOD BLESS!! #136 ok, if everybody's telling their stories, I guess I'll tell mine too. When I was about 16 and vacationing with my family ... I met this older guy ... He asked me to go for a walk ... and somehow we ended up beneath a building that was being constructed. (I was so stupid) Anyway, he attacked me but somehow I got away. I didn't tell anyone for a long time because I thought it was my fault for putting myself in that situation. If he had raped me, I know that I wouldn't have reported it and that makes me really angry. #137 how much do ya'll think that society enforces these ideas that a woman needs a man to be a real whole woman and a success? how much do you think that this may contribute to the problems of domestic violence? #156 I JUST WANTED TO SAY HOW BRAVE I THINK EVERYONE IS TO COME OUT AND TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT. THE CLOSEST THING I HAVE EVER COME TO WAS DURING MY SOPHOMORE YEAR ... IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT AND HE WANTED TO JUST TALK SOMEMORE. ... I INSISTED KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN. ... HE TOOK ME BY THE ARM AND PUSHED ME AGAINST THE WALL AND FORCED ME TO AT LEAST KISS HIM ... GOD I JUST WANTED TO DO ALMOST ANYTHING TO GET OUT OF THERE ... I WAS ANGRY ... AND I JUST RAN. I WENT HOME CRYING, CURSING, AND #$%&*$% MAD. ... EXPERIENCES LIKE THESE ... MAKE WOMEN DOUBT THEMSELVES SINCE THEY FEEL THEY CAN NO LONGER BE GOOD JUDGES OF PEOPLE, THEY MAKE WOMEN DOUBT MEN, AND THEN THAT LEADS TO SEPARATION AND FEAR. IT ALL MAKES ME WONDER HOW MUCH CONTROL I HAVE OVER SITUATIONS. #173 ... I am scared, and I think many women (are) scared. It is sad that women have to feel this way. I don't let it rule my life, but the fear of being raped never is far from my mind. I know I would fight for my life and if the attacker had a weapon I would rather die fighting than be raped. ... Would you fight? #175 If there was no weapon, I would definitely fight, but if there was a knife to my throat or a gun to my head, I doubt I would ... I would never rather die than be raped - I refuse to let some asshole be the cause of my death ... #177 I've also been thinking a lot about how much of my personal freedom I want to give up in order to avoid being in especially dangerous situations such as walking home alone at night ... Lately I've been getting really angry at the advice given to women to avoid being attacked. ... I would rather be raped than die, partly because I think the greatest power a rapist could have over me is the power of killing me ... Sorry about this senseless rambling! #180 I think that it is great that you are not being passive about this issue, but I do have some concern over your statement about preferring to die than be raped. It makes me sad that you feel this way. ... I got upset with the attitude of the [assigned] article ... that if you didn't try the various types of strategies [mentioned in the article] then of course you were raped. #178 who cares if the woman was 34 years old ... was she not raped? Who's life was destroyed here? Who was the one that got hurt? Doesn't anybody care? i feel for this woman and many others like her. i just can't wait until the day when the courts really do their duty and give women justice. #181 OK, let me try to explain how I feel using different words. Instead of saying people do stupid things, I would like to think that if I make "SMART" decisions I can partially control my chances of being mugged, raped, attacked etc. I'm not saying hide in your room let the world control you. I'm saying I'd like to think I do have some control over what I do by how I choose my actions. I believe that with some actions I will loose control. Make a little more sense? #187 First, I'd like to say thanks for sharing and offering different opinions, just because we don't agree about everything doesn't mean I don't like your opinions. I agree about what you said about being smart. I feel the same way. But, I guess where we might differ is just because I happen to make "smart" decisions, does that make it o.k. to blame other women for making not-so-smart decisions? We seem to blame eachother for everything that happens to us even things that are not our fault. I just want us to stop blaming...I have made many not-so-smart decisions in my life. I would not want to be raped just because I wasn't being "smart" in that situation, nor that I should blame myself for someone else's crime. #195 i was talking to some people the other day about responsibilities and we just happened to get on the subject of rape ... they were saying that if a woman dresses provocatively and is flirting with a man, she is sending him some pretty strong signals. they said that a woman must not lead a man on or else something may happen that they believed to be partially the woman's fault. now i am disturbed by this and at the same time i agree to some extent. i asked ... if this all meant that we as women had to watch every move we make -- watch the clothes we wear and our body language and such. i can see how this is a way of controlling women and limiting our expression ... maybe they are saying this because they feel if they can control the situation of rape and guard against it, then they are safe. but i realize that we are in danger no matter how hard we try tp protect ourselves. the whole thing has sort of gotten me down. peace #197 What bothers me and makes me feel somewhat helpless/hopeless, is that fact that no matter how I conduct myself in my own microcosm environment, it(rape) still remains a danger ... my father believes no amount of socialization will diminish the innate aggression in men which he ties to testosterone. So based on his theory, he believes that hunting, football, boxing, etc. are good ways to vent that aggression in a way that doesn't harm society. #204 That so many women answer that they have had unwanted sex but that they have not been raped confuses and saddens me. Does anyone agree that unwanted sex can be considered the same as rape in most - if not all - circumstances? #200 I'm getting frustrated with society always looking at the women's behavior and finding fault with it, instead of looking at the men's behavior. Why are we always doubting the women? Why can't we dress the way we want to, and act the way we want to? #205 Do not negate your mindset prior, during or following a rape as unimportant or unuseful in dealing with the daily fear of or daily torment following a rape. WE are womyn, WE are powerful regardless of what society and men and other women may happen to tell US. Let's look at ourselves and believe in ourselves first and foremost before any other opinion or social convention. WE cannot accept anything less. #208 It will never cease to amaze me that men use lack of control and being tempted beyond their limits as a DEFENS!!! moer thsn this, I am angered ny the idea of implied consent. In what other area in life in consent IMPLIED?????? #213 It would seem perfectly logical in our current social climate for a woman to not see a situation as rape if for any reason she were made to feel guilty about it - such as " I should have been a better judge of character" "I had too much to drink" etc. I also think in some cases there is the self-esteem factor - "This person wanted me so much he couldn't control himself, there must be something special or sexy about me" I'm just throwing out some ideas ... perhaps it will help give you some ideas on why we see denial. #236 I guess I'm kind of responding to [name]'s question about what we can do regarding stopping men from raping rather than always focusing on women having to prevent rape. ... I think that before any alteration of male attitudes toward women can take effect in a broad sense, large numbers of women must define their own rights for themselves and feel empowered. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that it will stop rape, nor am I negating the fact that that in many cases, absolutely nothing ... will stop a rapist. What I am saying is that as women continue to present themselves in more powerful, however subtle ways, there will be an impact on media's depiction of women and men's perceptions of them. ... It won't stop rape but it will make a difference. #237 I'm interested in your question, [name]. My answer depends on what you mean by unwanted sex. Many women I know have had "unwanted sex". I don't mean that sex was forced on them violently, but that they had sex when they DID NOT WANT TO but somehow felt obligated, like to make a boyfriend happy. I do not think that this should be construed as the rape of an individual. Of women as a sex, perhaps; but this is another issue. ... As long as there is no threat of violence, women can exercise frre will. To say, by calling it rape, that they do not have any choice implies that women are easily controlled and weak. ... this may not be the answer that you were looking for. #291 I read the information and excerpts from the marital rape trial in which the man claimed innocence by saying "How could I rape my wife"--Well there you have it, just another reminder that, according to many men and the dominant societal view, we, Womyn are still the property of men which means that when we marry, we lose our autonomy and ability to make decisions in our lives. I long for the time that this will change--I will keep fighting, but I am afraid I will not see it in my lifetime. Conclusions Feminist pedagogy is different from the traditional patriarchal classroom. Fisher (1987) states that both emotion and reflection are crucial in feminist education in order for participants to explore feminist beliefs and values. Schniedewind (1987) points out that content should not be the sole focus of the educator concerned with a successful first course in Women's Studies. She cautions that we must also be concerned with the process of education--feminist pedagogy--if we are to ensure that students in women's studies are to learn and maintain the skills developed in the women's studies course. Shrewsbury (1987) has given both goals and guidelines of feminist pedagogy. Among the goals are to engage reflectively with self, to be engaged with course material, to engage with others to enhance knowledge, and to break down prejudicial barriers and to engage with community to affect social change. To strive to achieve these goals the classroom must be set up in such a way as to "include a participatory, democratic process in which at least some power is shared". It is crucial that students act as subjects in the classroom environment, fully willing to be a part of the process of learning, not merely the recipients of knowledge. The CBB seems to have been an excellent tool for students to achieve these feminist pedagogical goals. Not confined to the traditional 150 minutes per week, the students were able to more fully express their beliefs and emotions on a variety of topics related to feminist issues. In addition, it allowed feedback from other members of the class concerned with similar issues. We observed both support of other students' statements as well as challenges to deeply held personal beliefs. Students receiving responses to their postings were given an excellent opportunity to rethink or further develop their views. Students responding to others' postings often commented that these particular issues were ones with which they were currently concerned, thus providing validation for both the original poster and the respondent. In addition, several students responded that this issue was NOT something with which they had concerned themselves previously but the original post had spurred their interest. The CBB also allowed students to explore some issues not discussed in class, and to elaborate on personal experiences which are too emotional to discuss face-to-face. For example, we knew abortion would be a divisive topic and pondered how to handle the topic in class. As it turned out there was no need to discuss it in class. As the excerpts above reveal, almost all viewpoints on the topic were expressed on the CBB and valuable class time was not taken up on an issue to which there could be no resolution. We did discuss sexual assault in class, but it was only on the CBB that students' personal experiences with sexual assault were revealed. Although electronic communication may appear impersonal, it gave our students the opportunity to expose very personal information and receive support from other students. The last item on the final exam asked students which aspect of the class had the greatest impact on them. Surprisingly, a number of students mentioned the CBB. They especially liked the opportunity to share personal information about topics not usually discussed, and the feeling of competence gained by learning to use a mainframe computer. This provided out final validation that the CBB was a valuable tool in the Introduction to Women's Studies course. NOTES 1. For a discussion of the role of reflection in feminist education, see Bernice Fisher, "The Heart Has Its Reasons: Feeling, Thinking, and Community Building in Feminist Education," In Women's Studies Quarterly XV:3&4 (Fall/Winter,1987): 47-58. 2. For more information on other possibilities of CBB in the classroom, see Andrew Feenberg, "Computer Conferencing and the Humanities," Instructional Science 16(1987): 169-186, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, "The Virtual Classroom: Using Computer Mediated Communication for University Teaching," Journal of Communication 36:2(1986): 95-104, and Arnold S. Kahn and Robert G. Brookshire, "Using a Computer Bulletin Board in a Social Psychology Course," Teaching in Psychology 18(1991): 245-249. 3. Lines in the main body of the text were considered message lines. Greeting, salutations, and self-identifiers were not counted. 4. A message was personal if the feelings, attitudes or beliefs of the poster were revealed. Those postings which simply restated or reposted information from other sources, or presented factual information were considered to be impersonal. 5. Emotion was rated on a five-point scale from very negative to very positive. The dominant emotion was determined by the expression of the post, not by the posting topic. For example, a posting about rape need not be considered negative unless the expression of the poster conveyed negative attitudes or emotions. 6. Topics were not predetermined. The content of the posts provided topic categories. 7. We wish to thank Carrie Hartwell, Kevin Plexico, and Katrine Weiss for their help with these tasks. REFERENCES Danowski, James A., "Computer Mediated Communication: A Network- based Content Analysis Using a CBBs Conference." In Communication Yearbook 6, edited by M. Burgoon, pp. 905-924. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1982. Feenberg, Andrew, "Computer Conferencing and the Humanities." Instructional Science, 16 (1987): 169-186. Fisher, Bernice, "The Heart has its Reasons: Feeling, Thinking, and Community-building in Feminist Education." Women Studies Quarterly, XV:3&4 (1987): 47-58. Heydinger, Richard B., "Computer Conferencing: Its Use as a Pedagogical Tool." 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