WST 103: An Introduction to Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Project #1: Screenplay This semester, you will complete three projects: one at the end of each our three units. All three projects will provide you with the opportunity to explain the key concepts from the unit in your own words and then apply the concept to create new content or to conduct your own original analyses. Each project will take a different form, so be sure to read the specific directions for each assignment. What Do I Have to Do for Project #1? For Project #1, you will write a screenplay featuring a conversation about social construction and the sex/gender/sexuality system. You will need to create at least two characters who will participate in the conversation. One of those characters must hold essentialist beliefs about sex, race, gender, and sexuality, and another character must take a social constructionist approach to thinking about these identity categories. Your screenplay will imagine a conversation between the characters in which the social constructionist tries to convince the essentialist to change their point of view by giving specific examples of how science and medicine have helped construct dominant ideas about sex, race, gender, and sexuality. IMPORTANT! Your screenplay should be approximately 500 words, include direct references to at least 2 assigned texts (readings, films, or podcasts) from the syllabus, and demonstrate your understanding of: a) the concepts “essentialism" and "social constructionism" b) how social constructionism challenges essentialist ways of thinking c) the role science and medicine play in the invention of the sex/gender/sexuality system d) how the construction of gender and sexual norms interconnects with the construction of racial and ethnic hierarchies. But I Don't Know How to Write a Screenplay?! That's okay! Neither your TA nor the professor are screenplay experts. We definitely don't expect you know how to write perfect dialogue or how to perfectly format a screenplay. You will not be graded on your creative writing skills. That said, we do expect you to embrace the spirit of this assignment. We want you to come up with two or more characters (including one essentialist and one social constructionist), imagine a scene in which they end up talking about sex, race, gender, and sexuality, and create lines of dialogue where the characters debate essentialist and social constructionist ways of thinking. Some of you might want to take a minimalist approach to the assignment, offering little information about the characters or about the setting where the conversation takes place. Others may find it super fun to come up with detailed backstories for your characters and to spend a lot of time describing the specifics of your scene. Either approach is fine – as long as your screenplay meets the criteria outlined above and in the rubric below. What Should My Screenplay Look Like? You can use the sample screenplay below as a model for your assignment. But please do not stress about getting the format exactly right! You will not be graded on how well you follow official screenplay rules. Scene Heading Action- ● Character Name Parenthetical Dialogue Transition INT. OFFICE - DAY RUFUS sits at a desk, fingers furiously tap dancing on a keyboard. He pauses for briefing and looks at the clock on the wall. The digital display reads "5:34" A TIRE SCREETCH Rufus looks out the office window to see JOHN storming into the office complex. RUFUS (V.O.) (sarcastically) Here comes the sexiest man in the universe. John bursts in through the front door. JOHN (breathing heavily) Hell's Bells Rufus, the traffic is bananas. Is it ready? RUFUS Is what ready? JOHN (repeating himself) Is it ready? RUFUS You said you wanted uncompressed video. It's going to take an hour to transfer... at least. INT. OFFICE - THE NEXT DAY Rufus is again typing away at his desk when John burst in. JOHN Is it ready? FADE OUT RUFUS No... these files are huge... What Do I Need to Do to Succeed on Project #1? Try to format your screenplay like a screenplay, but know that it's okay if you don't get it exactly right. Your screenplay should be at least 500 words (but not longer than 1000 words), including scene headings, actions, character names, parentheticals, dialogue, and transitions. Your screenplay should feature at least two characters: one who holds essentialist beliefs about sex, race, gender, and sexuality; and another who takes a social constructionist approach to understanding these identity categories. Your screenplay should include lines of dialogue in which... O a character explains or gives examples of an essentialist understanding of sex, race, gender, and/or sexuality O another character explains social constructionism and how it challenges essentialist understandings of sex, race, gender, and sexuality the social constructionist character should try to persuade the essentialist character to change their perspective by giving specific examples of how science and medicine have played a role in inventing racial hierarchies and the sex/gender/sexuality system Your screenplay should reference at least two texts (readings, films, or podcasts) from Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. You can write dialogue in which characters say the names of specific texts or authors. Alternatively, you can have your characters quote or paraphrase the assigned material and then include in-text citations (as you would do in a traditional essay). Your works cited page should include bibliographic information in MLA style for each text you reference. You can find citations for all the assigned texts in the “Content" section of Brightspace under the heading "Syllabus and Course Information." HOW DO I TURN IN PROJECT #1? Once you're done with your project, please submit the assignment via Brightspace as a single file. (Click on "Assignments” in the Navbar, and then choose "Project #1.") You can, of course, upload your reflection an MS Word document, but Brightspace will also accept PDF, GIF, JPG, PNG, PPT, and TIF files. HOW WILL PROJECT #1 BE GRADED? For this assignment, you will be assessed on a scale of Strong, Satisfactory, Getting There, and Falling Short. You can earn up to 15 points on this assignment. See below for a rubric describing what screenplays will look like at each of these levels and clarifying how many points you'll earn for each level. Strong (15 points) 500 - 1000 words (give or take) No spelling or grammar errors Offers a very thorough explanation of essentialism Offers a very thorough explanation of social constructionism Includes and explains specific examples from science and medicine that explain why social constructionists are critical of essentialism Discusses the sex/gender binary and racial hierarchies in sophisticated ways Satisfactory (13.95 pts) 500-1000 words (give or take) Minimal spelling or grammar errors Offers a fairly accurate explanation of essentialism Offers a fairly accurate explanation of social constructionism Includes specific examples that explain why social construction- ists are critical of essentialism Acknowledges the construction of sex, race, gender, and sexuality as interconnected processes Getting There (12.45 pts) A little shorter or a lot longer than 500 words Some spelling or grammar errors Tries to explain essentialism, but doesn't get it exactly right Tries to explain social constructionism, but doesn't get it exactly right Demonstrates a sense of why social construction- ists are critical of essent- ialism but does not provide details or examples Little to no discussion of interconnections between sex, race, gender, and sexuality Falling Short (9 points) Far below the 500 word requirement Significant spelling or grammar errors No explanation or an incorrect explanation of essentialism Demonstrates confusion about social constructionism Does not explain why social constructionists are critical of essentialism No discussion of race in relation to sex, gender, & sexuality Incorporates references to two assigned texts in ways that strengthen the points being made References two assigned texts that are relevant to the points being made Only references one assigned text; or references texts not relevant to reflection Does not reference assigned texts at all or not in a way that demonstrates an understanding of them