Course Descriptions

The Women’s Studies Concentration is a multidisciplinary program that focuses on the totality of women’s experience, with attention to the social construction of gender identity and gender relations, and the intersection of gender with other categories of analysis and structure, namely race, class, and sexuality. Women’s Studies programs promote the comparative study of women and women’s issues from a global perspective.

Women's Studies Concentrators choose from nine disciplines to complete their concentration requirements, only 6 credits of which can be selected from the same academic discipline. The concentration consists of 21 hours of course work distributed as follows:

3. Three hours of Senior Seminar: Topics in Women’s Studies (seniors only). One course chosen from:

***Prerequisites: Minimum of nine credit hours completed in Women’s Studies and the approval of a women’s studies faculty advisor. An additional prerequisite of a minimum GPA of 3.00 is required for the internship (WS 191).

5. Three hours of coursework in related courses. Related courses are designated by the Women’s Studies Program and should be selected with the assistance of a Women’s Studies Advisor.

This course is designed to familiarize students with women’s experiences as well as with the ways in which society shapes notions of gender. The course also provides ways to identify and analyze how a society’s notions of gender shape the ways in which a society sees and organizes itself. Class members examine the construction of women’s social roles and their personal experiences, discussing points of congruence and dissonance. In this interdisciplinary course, reading and discussion material are drawn from fields such as religion, sociology, psychology, political science and literature, among others, so that students may examine the views, status and contributions of women. Class sessions consist of a mixture of lectures, guest speakers, films and discussion.

This course is designed to focus on from three to six writers each semester it is offered. For example, one version of the course features Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edith Wharton, Anzia Yezierska, Gertrude Stein and Zora Neale Hurston. By reading Gilman’s economics against her fiction, Hurston’s anthropology against her fiction, and so forth, students are invited to revise their sense of the roles these writers played as critics of the societies in which they lived and wrote, especially surrounding the questions of race, gender, ethnicity and class. Underlying this course is a question of the emancipatory properties of the writing act. Prereq.: WS 1

This course studies women writers and the historically and culturally specific conditions that have affected their production, women characters (literary representations of women ranging from the stereotypical and normative to the challenging and visionary), and women readers. Special attention is given to the inclusive category "women," which ignores differentials such as race, class, age, ethnicity and sexual preference.

This course is an introduction to the issue of multiculturalism within U.S. society. Through reading texts from different cultural traditions such as African American, Anglo American, Asian American, Chicano and Native American, students study the relationship between the dominant U.S. culture and marginalized U.S. cultures and the ways in which American identities and values are formed and challenged.

17. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY: GENDER, NATURE, AND SCIENCE FICTION (SOC 10) 3 hrs.

This course introduces students to ways of thinking sociologically about gender arrangements in society. This course focuses on analysis of the dynamics of gender and power in specific cultural spheres such as media, language, science and technology, or family/kinship arrangements. Students learn conceptual frameworks that enable them to critically examine taken-for-granted beliefs about gender and to develop an awareness of its social construction.

This course will introduce students to a variety of feminist perspectives on a few issues. We will investigate a number of differing opinions on specific issues with the intent to critically examine and fully understand the positions as well as get a grasp of some of the underlying and surrounding issues.

This course explores contemporary conceptions of sexual identity with particular emphasis on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer identities. The course examines theories and practices of representing sexuality, including conventions for talking about or censoring talk about sex. Writing assignments are designed to help students think critically and creatively about the complex phenomenon of human sexuality.

This course is an introduction to Chicano literature and film, especially to their cultural influences and effects. Chicano texts are studied in context with the history of relations between Mexico and the United States, with Anglo-American representations of Hispanics, and with contemporary cultural issues such as bilingualism. Prereq.: ENG 1 and one other English course at the 20-99 level or a Spanish literature course in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

This course explores the social and political uses of autobiographical writing. You will be asked to read a range of autobiographical texts by writers of different cultures, ethnic, gender, race, and class groups. And you will have occasions to experiment with different ways of composing your life-stories. To provide perspectives for your reading and writing, we will also examine some critical essays.

--Is "individual identity" (or "life") best perceived as singular, unified, and static or as heterogeneous, contradictory, and in process? Why?

--What might be the relationship between language, culture/society, and the construction of "self" and "life"?

--What might be the relationship between writing one's life-story, understanding one's self and life, interpreting and confronting the social contexts of one's life, and exploring alternative ways of constructing one's self and living one's life?

--How and why do different social groups use autobiographical writing differently?

--How and why have various socially disempowered groups used autobiographical writing to give voice to their often "silenced" stories?

--To what extent do autobiographical texts problematize the boundaries between categories such as autobiography /biography, history/case-history/fiction, or content/style?

--What might be the social and political uses of autobiographical writing for someone like yourself in your present and future life? Texts for this course include: Angelou, Maya I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; hooks, bell, and Cornel West Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life; Cofer, Judith Ortiz. Silent Dancing: A Portrait of Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood; McCarthy, Mary. Memories of a Catholic Girlhood; Steedman, Carolyn Kay. Landscape for a Good Woman, and other essays.

The course is designed to familiarize students with the different ways theorists have studied and defined language and discourse. Theories constructed by philosophers, psychologists, linguists and social theorists are examined, and students become involved in critical analysis of the epistemological assumptions of these theories.

This course examines early modern texts (1500-1780), focusing critical and cultural attention on those issues that make them both "early" and "modern." Topics to be considered include the construction of subjectivity, colonialism, gender and power relations/self-representation, literacy, the body and others. May be repeated once for credit when the topic varies.

This course is an introduction to literature by writers from nations that were formerly European colonies. Influential texts by European writers about the colonial situation are also studied. The course introduces students to the critical framework and primary debates within the field of postcolonial literature.

This course centers on reading selected Shakespearean plays closely and imaginatively, focusing especially on how they are shaped by and, in turn, give shape to the culture that gave rise to them as well as to how they circulate and are appropriated to various agendas in late 20th-century culture(s).

Reading fiction and theoretical writings by French men and women, we will explore the differences between Anglo-American and French feminist thought and writing, the differing contexts from which they emerge, and the ways each text engages the various concerns, debates, practices, and theoretical approaches that shape their worlds and our own. In attending to the ways in which gender and sexuality are tied to other culture- specific issues (to questions of race, class, hierarchy, and power) we will reflect upon the ways that French women's writings undo or re-structure traditional categories of thought, and thereby the relations of hierarchy and power they depend upon. Readings include Maupassant, Avital Ronnel, Drucilla Cornell, Hélène Cixous, George Sand, John Stuart Mill, Elizabeth C. Stanton, André Gide, Marilyn Frye, Freud, Luce Irigaray, Elizabeth Spellman, Nancy Chodorow, Jessica Benjamin, Judith Butler, and Marguerite Duras.

The objective of this course is to foster critical thinking by testing assumptions about Latin American women against representative concrete situations as described by contemporary Latin American women in their own words. Emphasis is placed on women’s leadership in the Latin American social movements of the 20th century, particularly the Mexican Revolution, Chile’s Allende Administration, the Indigenous Rights Movement, the Mothers of the Disappeared movements’ overthrow of dictatorships, and Central American’s Peasant Revolt of the 1980s. Special attention will be devoted to the rise of women’s voices in literature as an alternative medium to compensate for women’s exclusion from traditional historiographical and other written forms of expression.

This course is a study of Post-Colonial Francophone Literature written by women, African feminism in relation with French feminism, and criticism and interpretation. The main goal of this course is to explore the ways in which novels by African Women reflect social and historical changes in the ways those women define themselves and are defined by others. Through a combination of lectures, group discussions, research and presentations, students will define the nature of the voice that claims to be a subject rather than an object; they will also be confronted with challenges that face women in the Post-Colonial African Societies such as gender roles, traditions and modernism, search of the self, ethnic conflicts in relation with political structures etc. Possible authors include: Mariama Bâ, Aminata Sow Fall, Angèle Rawiri, Calixthe Beyala,Myriam Wagner Vieyra, Régine Yaou, Robert Cornevin, Richard Bjorson, Maryse Condé, and Simone de Beauvoir.

This course examines women’s experience in Europe and the Americas, from roughly 1100 to the brink of World War II. That experience was not static, for women's labor and talents have been utilized in very different ways in various regions of the medieval and modern worlds, and men and women have formed and reformed their opinions of womanhood and manhood according to the requirements of local economies and political systems. We will concentrate on work, politics, and culture, particularly the degree to which women have been able to speak for themselves, or their communities, as writers, artists, or social theorists.

This course is an inquiry into the lives of European, and expatriate American women from the years of first wave feminism through WWI, the "roaring" twenties, and the disillusion of the Depression, the rise of fascism, and WWII. Women rose to public prominence in the West precisely as European hegemony declined, so as we investigate their struggles to find work and careers, control their reproductive ability, understand sex, and find the words to tell their stories, we will see their lives shaped not only by their desires, but by the decline of the West. In other words, they get to be captains on a boat that is going down.

We will examine women's participation in the greatest political and cultural transformation the western world has experienced, the period of the bourgeois revolutions in the U.S. and Europe, lasting from 1776 until 1848. Along with their participation, we will look at the words written about women's place in the new social order that followed the destruction of monarchies. For both women and men, words flowed in torrents, as one historian has written, as the revolutions unfolded, and we will be reading only a small sample of primary sources and historians' analyses.

This course is about men and women in European peasant societies, from the decline of serfdom in the late middle ages (in the West) to the triumph of agricultural capitalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As the title implies, our primary focus will be on gender relations in this world and on understanding gender relations as part of the social, rather than natural, order. Examining life in peasant society in detail, we will note changes in our villagers' lives, and learn to trace those changes back to sources that villagers could not control: nature, landlords, merchants, large scale economic and political change.

The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the emerging field of liberation theologies as this discipline is related to contemporary religious, social and political issues. The course will give primary attention to theologians in Latin America and North America. We will explore the relation between theological reflection, social context, and the social-political location of theologians. Through a combination of lectures, discussion, readings and research, students will be encouraged to both clarify their own personal stances as well as understand perspectives and contexts radically different from our own. Students are encouraged to examine how their own experience influences the way each approaches theological issues.

This course is designed to explore the effect of gender on politics in the United States. Through readings and discussions, we will examine the nature of gender equality, the impact of gender on political behavior, and the impact of various public policies on women. Although women have had the vote since 1920, they are still not fully integrated into the political system. The class explores the reasons for this and the likelihood for change.Prerequisite: Political Science 1 or consent of the instructor.

The primary purpose of the course is to engage students with the emerging debates about the roles of gender and sexuality in Christian theology and ethics using the issue of homosexuality in religious communities and society at large as a case study.

The course begins with an overview of current issues around homosexuality and Christianity. It then moves to discuss the claim that the central ethical and theological issues facing the church today are homophobia and heterosexism, rather than homosexuality. A distinguishing factor of the course is that the majority of the authors of the books and articles self-identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual theologians and ethicists, voices not typically heard in church debates on these issues. The course will also examine topics such as reclaiming the erotic in relationships, common points and tensions between lesbians and gay men, perspectives of queer people of color, and the relationship of gay issues to ecology.

The purpose of this course is to continue developing critical thinking skills and gain critical understanding of works in feminist ethics. Emphasis will be placed on an understanding of the positions discussed as well as the surrounding issues which may be brought up.

This course studies traditional and contemporary theories and research on the psychology of sex and gender. Explores the relationship of theories and research to social and relational behavior and to educational, economic, institutional and therapeutic assumptions and practices. Prereq.: PSY 1 and 7.

Sociological perspectives are used to examine gender issues including the evolution and maintenance of gender based systems of opportunity; the contemporary situation of women in the work place, family and politics; and institutionalized violence against women. Prereq.: An entry-level sociology course or Introduction to Women’s Studies.

171. African-American Women: A sociological perspective (sociology 169) 3 hrs.

This course is concerned with the experiences of African-American women. It focuses on the socio-historical context of the realities of being Africana women in the US. We examine the position of Africana women in US society and in the African-American community. African-American women are placed at the center of analysis, as both subject and investigator. Prereq.: An entry-level sociology course or instructor consent.

This course explores the relationship between gender and socio-cultural definitions of mental health and illness, and examines the history of the treatment of women within the major settings of the mental health system: psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and asylum. The first major goal is to understand the social relations of power within which psychiatry emerged, and within which women became defined as "hysterical," "irrational," or "mad." A second goal is to chart the relationship between women’s social roles and the experience and treatment of mental illness, making use of autobiographical and fictional accounts by women, films, and other materials. Prereq: One entry-level sociology course or Introduction to Women's Studies.

This course is a critical, in-depth examination of contemporary feminist theories of subjectivity. Our central concern is to gain an understanding of the relationships between sexual difference, subjectivity, and social relations of power. We will explore theories that address the psychic and subjective roots of relations of gender, power and domination, as well as the socio-historical dimensions of gender subjectivity. The materials and the approach used for the course are interdisciplinary, drawing on sociology, literary criticism, film studies, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. Prereq: One entry-level sociology course or Introduction to Women's Studies.

This course introduces the themes and theories central to feminist anthropology. It illustrates the emergence and implications of feminist perspectives for cultural anthropology by examining the distinct ways anthropologists have approached the entanglements of gender, culture, and power. It begins by considering the marginalized history of women as both anthropologists and subjects of anthropological analyses. Against this background, it devotes attention to specific problems and strategies, including the body, sexuality, the state, kinship relations, and economic production. Throughout readings, class discussions, and student projects we will seek not only to work through the awkward relationship between feminism and anthropology, but also to address the varieties of women’s experiences and identities cross-culturally. Prereq: Introductory course in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, or women’s studies. Counts toward SOC and ANSO theory-intensive requirements.

A growing number of feminist scholars have challenged the traditional approaches to the study of world politics. According to these scholars, not only do men and women impact international relations in different ways, but issues and events in world politics also have diveregent effects on men and women. Moreover, most of these scholars argue that gender, conceived of as socially constructed notions of masculinity and femininity, fundamentally shape world politics. In this course, we will examine a variety of topics, including national security and war, human rights, economic development, and the participation of women in world politics, through a "gender perspective" and will consider the ways in which this perspective is useful in broadening our understanding of world politics. Prereq.: POLS 1 or instructor’s consent.

Opportunity for practical application of theoretical and research issues in applied work situations, with faculty supervision and evaluation. Prereq.: Nine credit hours of completed work in women’s studies, written consent of women’s studies faculty advisor, and minimum WS grade point average of 3.0.

Directed independent study. Prereq.: Nine credit hours of completed work in women’s studies and written consent of advisor.

This course is designed to explore women's/girl's impact on and experience with education.

•Females' experiences with education and educational institutions: Where are we now?

The focus will be on the formation and enactment of the concept of "gender" within social and educational institutions. How and what do educational institutions teach about gender? How does schooling contribute to the different experiences of women and men in their transitions to adult work? How can education contribute to societal changes in sex equity?

This course is a law school seminar course open to up to five undergraduates each fall as a Women's Studies Senior Seminar. It looks at how sex role stereotypes effect every aspect of the law. By focusing on a different area of law each week, students gain an insight into both how the law works and how it often harms women. The class also explores ways that the harm might be remedied and how the students can function as future lawyers to improve the lot of women. While focusing on issues of gender, the course also acknowledges and discusses issues of race, class, sexual orientation, and other biases that are raised in the cases and readings.

A seminar on the theories and practices of global feminisms, this course engages students in the study of women cross-culturally and transnationally. Students consider and integrate different disciplinary approaches to the study of women in ge commonalties and differences that women’s organizing has taken worldwide. Questions addressed include the relationship of gender to nationalism; gender and the global distribution of wealth; and women’s access to political and cultural power in the international arena. Prereq.: ENG 75/WS 1 and senior or junior standing.