Due Fri. June 2, 2023

You will be comparing western and non-western women’s rights. You’ll be doing this by analyzing patterns of continuity and change.

This is an ALL in-class assignment. 

Suggested Starting Process:

1. read over the timelines (China and US) – use different colours to track themes in both timelines (e.g., fertility rates, divorce rates, workforce rates, etc.)
2. within each, annotate for patterns of continuity and change

• perhaps highlight in different colours
  • continuity
  • change
  • progress
  • decline
  • turning points
  • start to identify different sub-topics or categories (e.g., education, fertility rates, etc.) that are shared between China and the US

3. Decide whose lives changed more, American or Chinese?

Once you have your decision, organize your comparison. 

Side-by-side Method

You can compare side-by-side, meaning one sub-topic at a time, that includes both countries. Just make sure the first sentence of each paragraph makes it clear what the sub-topic being compared is (i.e., education). The number of paragraphs would depend on the number of sub-topics (don’t do more than 3 or 4 sub-topics). 

Country Method

Or, you can do one country at a time (one paragraph each). Then at the end you’d bring them together for the analysis. That would end up as three paragraphs. This version is harder, if you ask me. Again, don’t do more than 3 or 4 sub-topics)

Intro and Conclusion

Whichever structure you choose, a short intro is required – it doesn’t need to be long or deep – even a sentence to explain your purpose and decision would be okay. It must have your decision (whose lives changed more), otherwise it’s hard to mark.

The conclusion should directly state who experienced more continuity or change: women in China or US. The conclusion should be longer than the intro but it doesn’t need to summarize all of your sub-topics.

Importance of COMPARISON and HTC Analysis

Either way, you really need to emphasize the comparison – your write-up should not just be a list of facts about women in each country. All your facts need to support your main argument (your decision on whose lives changed more).

In a comparison, you need to present evidence from both countries (not just the one whose women’s lives changed more). In other words, you need to show why the other country’s women didn’t change as much.

The other thing you have to make sure to do is analyze the pattern of continuity and change within each group of women, not just repeat the wording of the timelines back to Ms. G (who wrote them).

• progress and/or decline
• overlap of continuity and change
• turning points (don’t forget that before and after need to be shown and you need to identify whether the criteria is pace of change or direction of change – this needs to be done DIRECTLY even if it seems obvious)
• use of HTC vocabulary
• point by point comparison: fertility of one compared to fertility of the other, education to education, etc.

Vocabulary starter list: (see HTC page for complete list)

Change: evolution, revolution, stray, develop, speed up

Progress: benefit, improve, develop, advance, innovate

Decline: suffer, harm, spiral down, reverse, slow down, regress, collapse, slide

Continuity: same, tradition, holdover, hang onto, preserve, perpetuate

Comparative Vocabulary:

Similarity: likewise, similarly, also, in the same way

Differences: by contrast, whereas, instead, on the one hand/on the other hand, yet, but, conversely