Ethnobotany fall 2004 final essay

Answer the following essay question using on the order of 400 to 600 words, roughly five to seven paragraphs. This will likely be on the order of three to four pages, possibly more depending on spacing. Spelling, grammar, and clarity of thought will all be marked. I prefer a typed essay, but will accept a very legibly hand written essay. You can email your essay to me as an attachment if you like: dleeling@comfsm.fm. If you do send in your paper by email and your email address is something like "serepeinmasamwahu@yahoo.com," then please make sure your name is on your paper!

Quotes to help frame your thinking prior to reading the topic:

• Women are the architects of society. - Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Life on the planet is born of woman. - Adrienne Rich
• The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. - William Ross Wallace
• The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all. - Aung San Suu Kyi
• Men merely participate in a culture, it is women who actively transmit the culture to a new generation. Left to men, cultures would vanish. - Anonymous
• A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform. A woman knows that nothing can come to fruition without light. Let us call upon woman's voice and woman's heart to guide us in this age of planetary transformation. - Diane Mariechild
• Women never have young minds. They are born three thousand years old. - Shelagh Delaney

This has been a very unique term in SC/SS 115 Ethnobotany. This is the first, and quite likely the last, term in which the class has been composed solely of female students. Your essay should focus on the role of women in the transmission of ethnobotanical cultural knowledge to the next generation. Your essay should address/answer questions such as:

• Are there separate spheres of ethnobotanical knowledge for men and women in your culture?
• In your culture, who knows more - ethnobotanically speaking - men or women?
• What are some examples of ethnobotanical cultural knowledge in your culture that is known/practiced only by women?
• What is the role of women in teaching children ethnobotanical knowledge?
• What is the role of women in conserving and passing on ethnobotanical knowledge in a society?
• Who bears the greater responsibility for transmitting culture to the next generation, men or women?

As your write your essay, think too about the "framing" quotes to help you focus your essay. Do not necessarily limit yourself to the above questions, they are intended to help guide you. Your essay should be based on your own personal experience and knowledge. The essay should exhibit careful and critical thinking, clarity and coherency as an essay, demonstrate thoughtful reflection on the role of women in ethnobotanical knowledge and culture, and be supported by examples from your own life and experiences.

Due 4:15 P.M. Tuesday 14 December 2004