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Explanation of the Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Due Dates:

Tuesday, February 20, 2018 (Section -202) or Wednesday, February 21, 2018 (Section -203) (Printed and in Dropbox)

Length: 12 high quality sources (total length will be approx. 5-7 pages)

What is an annotated bibliography? An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources about your research topic, each of which is followed by an annotation or descriptive evaluation of the item. The bibliographical entries must be in correct MLA format, and the overall paper must follow MLA style. The final assignment must be word-processed and printed. I will not accept e-files for either part of this assignment. Your annotated bibliography for this class must primarily be made up of books and articles from academic journals. See Source Requirements below.

Annotations may consist of all or part of the following list of items, depending on the purpose of the bibliography:

· Describe the content (focus) of the item

· Describe the usefulness of the item

· Discuss any limitations that the item may have, e.g. grade level, timeliness etc.

· Describe what audience the item is intended for

· Evaluate the methods (research) used in the item

· Evaluate the reliability of the item

· Discuss the author’s background

· Discuss any conclusions the author(s) may have made

· Describe your reaction to the item

Source requirements for this annotated bibliography: Your bibliography must include at least:

· 2 books

· 8 articles from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals

It may not include more than:

· 1 high quality corporate, government, educational or nonprofit website

What does an annotated bibliography look like? You write and arrange the bibliographic entries (citations) just as you would any other bibliography. This is arranged alphabetically by the first word, which is typically the author’s last name. The annotation then immediately follows the bibliographic information so as to make one paragraph. Single space the entry and skip one line between entries. Notice the hanging indent in the following example, and incorporate that, as well. Use 1” margins. Use Times New Roman font, 12 point. Number the pages in the upper right-hand corner.

The following is an example of a three-entry annotated bibliography in MLA style. Yours should look like this:

English 1020-Section

Your Name

Annotated Bibliography

Date:

Annotated Bibliography for Gendered Geographies

Hayden, Delores. “Housing and American Life.” Space, Gender, Knowledge: Feminist Readings, Linda McDowell and Joanne P. Sharp, editors, Arnold Publishing Co., 1997, pp. 269-284. This selection from McDowell and Sharp’s anthology examines two World War II-era planned communities to illustrate that urban designers create communities that reflect prevalent attitudes toward men and women’s roles within the family. Built during the height of war production in 1943, Vanport, Oregon was designed for workers at the shipyards on the Columbia River. This racially integrated community included 24-hour daycare centers to accommodate women working three shifts, public transportation to the worksites, and recognized all forms of family groups. In contrast, Levittown on Long Island was built in 1948 for returning veterans and their families. This community was racially segregated and offered none of the benefits of Vanport, as these single-family dwellings were built specifically for a male breadwinner, his stay-at-home wife, and their children. Delores Hayden is Professor of Architecture and Professor of American Studies at Yale University. This widely published authority specializes in the politics of place, including gendered space and the built environment, spatial methods and public practices. This scholarly resource will provide evidence to support my contention that the built environment is not neutral at all, but is gendered by design.

Massey, Doreen. For Space. Sage, 2005. Considered one of the canonical works in the field of geography, For Space asks the reader to reconsider all his or her former conceptions of space and place. For instance, Massey asserts that space is the product of interrelations that range from global to intimate, reinforcing the social nature of space; space is always under construction, she declares, and is the product of what she calls “a simultaneity of stories-so-far” (9). Because this book is considered essential reading, it provides valuable background information on current thought in the field of geography. I plan to use concepts from this book to describe space as an ever-changing product of social relationships. Surprisingly readable, For Space sparked my interest in the gendered nature of place and space. Doreen Massey is professor of geography at The Open University in London, an institution that is as creative in its approach to education as Massey is in her approach to geography.

Weisman, Leslie Kanes. Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment. U of Illinois P, 1994. In this contribution to the study of gendered spaces, Weisman examines the force of male dominance not only in the home, but also the design of hospital birthing units and public, urban spaces, which Kanes contends are decidedly gendered. She makes a strong appeal for architecture and urban planning that is flexible enough to accommodate all sexual orientations and family configurations. While other feminist geographers I have read treat most of her topics with more depth, Weisman’s explanation of the “sexual geography” of the street will be useful for my project (67). Weisman is the co-founder of the Women’s School of Planning and Architecture and is associate professor of architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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