Spring 2026 Course Descriptions

ANTH 049: Indigenous Knowledge
Professor Daria Trentini | M/W 9:30-10:45 AM 
This course serves as an introduction to Indigenous ways of knowing, transmitting knowledge, and worldviews related to environmental issues, gender space, power structures, technologies, and social justice. By examining case studies from the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific, the course aims to promote a decolonized approach to knowledge production and transmission that expands Western perspectives on societal challenges. The course is structured into three modules. The first module introduces critical Indigenous theories. In the second part, we will explore specific examples of Indigenous worldviews. Lastly, in the third module we will conduct a study of the history and contemporary experiences of Native American communities in Iowa through library resources and, more importantly, through direct engagement with local Indigenous communities.
Cross listed with ENSS 050-02.

ANTH 175: Medical Anthropology
Professor Daria Trentini | M/W 12:30-1:45 PM
The course examines illness and healing from a cross-cultural perspective, highlighting how cultural, environmental, biological, and political/historical factors influence illness, pursuits of health, and routes to recovery. Key inquiries addressed in this course revolve around the impact of societal norms on medical interventions, the intersection of culture with biological processes, pain, chronic conditions, and mental well-being, as well as the dynamics between biomedicine and alternative healing methods. Students will engage these inquiries by studying the works of medical anthropologists globally and honing their skills in collecting and analyzing illness narratives within their broader social and cultural context. 

EDUC 164: Perspectives in Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
Professor Kevin Lam |M/W 12:30-1:45 PM
An historical, social, and cultural analysis of the interrelationships among racial, ethnic, class, and gender experiences in conjunction with an examination of the individual, institutional, and social constructs of prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping. The course will, through its comparative approach, aim to increase understanding of race, ethnic, and gender identity, and sensitize students to the subjective experience of marginalized groups. Case studies will augment the course content for the direct application of the course content to the development of instruction programs. There will be an emphasis on African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, gender, sexual orientation, class structure, and people with disabilities. A 10-hour service- learning component at a social service organization is required. The course meets the human relations standards for teachers as outlined by the Iowa Department of Education.

ENG 075/SOC 075/WGS 075:
Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
Professor Sandra Patton-Imani | T 4:00-6:50 PM
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 societal roles and their personal experiences, discussing points of congruence and dissonance. As an interdisciplinary course, reading and discussion material are drawn from fields such as religion, sociology, psychology, political science, and literature, among others, so students can examine the view, status, and contributions of women. Class sessions consist of a mixture of lectures, guest speakers, films, and discussion.

ENG 075/SOC 075/WGS 075:
Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
Professor Beth Younger | T/TR 2:00-3:15 PM
As bell hooks defines it, "feminism is a movement that aims to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” This course takes that definition as a starting point, and explores how questions of gender, ethnicity, race, class, culture, and sexuality impact access to opportunity, power, and resources in a patriarchal system. We will approach these analyses through an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens, utilizing various feminist theoretical frameworks. We will ask questions, explore our own relationship to feminism, as well as how the dominant culture sees feminism. We will use theoretical writing, popular culture, and fiction to help us understand women's and gender studies as a discipline.

ENG 077: Reading Gender
Professor Beth Younger | M/W 12:30-1:45 PM
What does reading gender mean? In this course it means that we will read short fiction, poetry, and several novels with a critical eye towards depictions of gender and how those representations function in each narrative. We’re going to read some classic literature, some contemporary literature, as well as critical writing.  We will also discuss how race, sexuality, class, ability, privilege, and violence are depicted in these novels and stories. The emphasis will be on close readings of and thoughtful engagement with the primary works, but we will also read critical essays meant to complicate our discussions of the texts. Texts may include Sula (Toni Morrison), Kindred (Octavia Butler), and So Much Pretty (Cara Hoffman). Short stories by Margaret Atwood, John Cheever, Joyce Carol Oates, Jamaica Kincaid, and Roxane Gay.

ENG 129:  Advanced Topics in Film: American Road Movies
Professor Dina Smith | M 4:00 pm - 6:50 PM
This course will trace the development of the feature-length "road movie" and its importance to American discourses on (physical, social and class) mobility. Does the road, like the mythological frontier, continue endlessly or does it have the occasional detour or accident, one embedded in larger American anxieties? Along the way, we will examine a series of definitive American road movies (from earlier westerns to Thelma and Louise, from The Wizard of Oz to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle). We will explore how these films represent crucial junctures in Hollywood history and how they engage with larger cultural discourses.  

ENG 131: Major Historical Figures Before 1900:
Jane Austen and Adaptation
Professor Melissa Klimaszewski | T/R 11:00 AM-12:15 PM
The recent success of the Bridgerton series has brought renewed excitement to the study of Jane Austen’s novels and Regency England. What makes the films Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Clueless resonate over 200 years after Jane Austen published the novels Pride and Prejudice and Emma? How do Austen’s novels relate to race, slavery, and marriage laws? What sorts of fantasies do they inspire, and what is at stake in those fantasies? How much feminist empowerment is present in these novels and future adaptations?

Together, we will discover and analyze how Austen’s novels achieve their effects. What makes Austen’s writing funny? How do irony and narration function in these texts? What types of social commentary do readers discover, and how radical or conservative are those messages? How do our answers change when we evaluate adaptations? Reading three Austen novels, viewing films, conducting research, and studying literary criticism, this class builds critical thinking and writing skills while investigating the intriguing questions above.

ENG 137: Gender and Horror
Professor Beth Younger | W 5:00-7:50 PM
This course critically examines depictions of women and gender in horror fiction and film, with an emphasis on film. Primary texts are horror films and horror fiction from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Our reading is framed by theoretical and critical writing on gender and horror. Students will analyze horror films as a genre, read horror fiction, and create critical essays. This course explores depictions of gender in horror film and fiction. We will experience and analyze this genre by reading horror fiction, watching horror movies, and reading and analyzing critical essays. You will analyze both the fictional and film texts and critical essays written by theorists, cultural critics, and film scholars. Class will be primarily small and large group discussions. We will analyze fictional and film texts that portray women/men/gender in roles that extend beyond the stereotypical “victim” status; i.e., we will study depictions that complicate, challenge, and problematize the idea of gender in horror, as well as issues of race, class, and ability.

HIST 099: European Women’s History
Professor Deborah Symonds | M/W 2:00-3:15 PM
A survey course, covering both women's experiences and the shifting definitions of gender in Western and Central Europe and its colonies from 1400 to 1945. Topics include peasant women, the witch hunts, aristocratic women, the female intellectual tradition, factory women, socialists, and feminists.

HIST 115: Native America
Professor Amahia Mallea | T/R 2:00-3:15 PM
This course aims to understand the history of North American indigenous peoples and to better (perhaps differently!) understand American history. Using primary and secondary sources, we will complicate the "native" experience, explore the historical tensions between peoples and nations, and place Native Americans at the center of the American historical narrative.

HONR 191: Women & Hebrew Scripture
Professor Sally Frank | M 4:00-6:50 PM 
The basics of the course include reading Biblical accounts involving women and various commentaries on those Biblical accounts with a critical eye. These accounts will include "Genesis", "The Red Tent", and "The Five Books of Miriam". The goal is to come to an understanding of how the Jewish Bible deals with issues involving women and how such an understanding can help us understand issues today. Women and Gender Studies concentrators and Religion Majors/Minors can apply this course to these fields of study. Open to all students.

POLS 162: Gender and War
Professor Debra DeLaet | M/W 12:30-1:45 PM 
This course addresses the relationship between gender and war in historical and contemporary contexts. The course examines the ways in which socially constructed gender norms shape the causes, tactics, and consequences of war. Topics include an examination of gender in war propaganda and military training, gender roles in combat, and the gendered construction of the innocent civilian.

SOC 050: Sociology of the Family
Professor Amira Allen | M/W 9:30-10:45 AM 
Sociological and social psychological perspectives are used to explore aspects of the development, maintenance, and dissolution of intimate social relationships, especially those characterized as marriage and family relationships.

SOC 174: Feminist Theories
Professor Amira Allen | M/W 11:00 AM-12:15 PM
This course is a critical, in-depth examination of contemporary feminist theories of subjectivity. The central concern is for students to gain an understanding of the relationships between sexual difference, subjectivity, and social relations of power. Students 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. Materials and the approach used in the course are interdisciplinary, drawing on sociology, literary criticism, film studies, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. Counts toward SOC and ANSO theory-intensive requirements. May be used as part of Women's Studies Concentration.

SOC 175: Theories of Inequality
Professor Sandra Patton-Imani | M/W 11:00 AM-12:15 PM
This course examines class, race, and gender inequality in the United States by combining hands-on experiences with careful consideration of sociological theory. Through service learning, reading, writing, and classroom discussion, students will evaluate the effectiveness of social theory to explain stratification in the United States as well as responses to structural inequality. Students must commit to working at a service-learning partner site eight hours per week. Counts toward the SOC and ANSO theory-intensive requirement.

SPAN 157: Legends and Myths
Professor Inbal Mazar | T/R 11:00-12:15 PM
This course will introduce students to primary and secondary sources to comprehend the historical and cultural value of legends and myths, encouraging students to further their language skills through the study of oral tradition.

WGS 145: Women, Power, and Status
Professor Claire Musselman | T/R 12:30-1:45 PM
This interdisciplinary course explores the dynamics of gender, power, and status, focusing on how women navigate and reshape power structures. Through historical and modern frameworks, students will examine the challenges and triumphs of women in leadership across industries. Interactive case studies, readings, and assignments will equip students with practical strategies for building confidence, leveraging power effectively, and challenging societal biases.

WLC 150: Latin America Through the Arts
Professor Inbal Mazar | T/R 12:30-1:45 PM
This interdisciplinary course explores the diverse cultures of Latin America through a range of artistic expressions, including music, film, literature, and visual art, examining how artists and works from across the region have reacted and resisted to social, political, and historical contexts. Engagement and analysis with an emphasis on women and indigenous artists offers insight into issues such as migration, health, gender, and identity. The course is taught in English with some materials in Languages native to Latin America (with English subtitles or translations). It will be an elective for the Spanish for Medical Health Professions minor and the Spanish major and minor.

 J-Term 2026

ENG 125: Feminism in American Film and Fiction
Professor Beth Younger | MTWRF 12:00-3:00PM
This course is an exploration of the way American film theorizes feminism and feminist identity. We will read feminist essays, stories, and film reviews; we will also consider our own relationship to feminism as a social and political movement. We will expand our analysis outward by analyzing (through film narratives) the broader cultural construction of feminism as a movement, theoretical framework, and fraught political force. We will consider issues such as race, gender, class, economics, violence, and politics. It will be our job to see how these narratives complicate, critique, and challenge dominant cultural views of feminism and feminists.