ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author's vision was a course that empowered students to defy cultural norms and community expectations, placing them on a trajectory toward academic and professional success. She believed launching a women's studies course in the high school setting afforded students an integrated approach to history. In the winter of 2007, she developed a course that created a forum for feminist discourse, and highlighted significant female figures in United States history. In an effort to reach a multitude of modalities, the use of films, photographs, books, and music allowed students to study women's achievements and struggles in both the public and private realms of their lives. In analyzing the manner in which music and fashion have historically been utilized as political tools, students view the expanding role of social media as adversely affecting them and contributing to the decline of the political representation of women in the United States.
