University of Connecticut

Women's Studies Program

WS 263

Assignment for Panel Presentation
on issues raised in
Understanding Sexual Violence: a Study of Convicted Rapists

Re-read the general assignment information for completing your optional book reading and panel presentation.

Your group presentation will deal with the issues raised by Diane Scully. The topic for the week is "Feminist Analysis of Sexual Assault". This is a very broad and complex subject. Your group is to decide how to best present the various facets of topics raised throughout the book. This book examines the need for feminist research on men's world. Explain how and why this book came to be written.

Some possible issues to consider.

1. What are some theories about rape that the author challenges in this book?
2. What did you learn about men who rape and women who are raped? What assumptions were challenged?
3. What do you now believe about patriarchy and the inevitability of sexual violence?
4. How do issues raised in this book relate to things we have studied thus far this semester?
5. What can feminist thought contribute to addressing this issue?
6. What have you learned about the structural supports for rape in sexually violent cultures?

Marita McComiskey