Explores how norms of sex, gender, race and sexuality find expression in institutions and policies in ways that legitimize only certain individuals as political actors, certain identities as politically relevant, and certain relationships as important. Critically examines how norms may be exposed, resisted, and changed by studying the politics of the women's, gay liberation, and men's movements in the U.S. Recommended prereq., PSCI 2004 or WMST 2000 or LGBT 2000. Same as PSCI 3174. Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Examines the origin of patriarchal culture in the theology and practices of Judaism and Christianity. Explores attitudes and beliefs concerning women as Judeo-Christian culture impacts gender roles and gender stratification through reading and discussion. Women's religious experience is studied from the perspective of feminist interpretations of religiosity. WMST 3200 and JWST 3200 are the same course.
Examines the role and status of women and marginalized social classes in the Nordic countries, whose societies have been heralded as egalitarian models since the twentieth century. Texts include a variety of media, from literature to sociological works to artifacts of political and popular culture. Same as SCAN 3208. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.
Explores the experiences, perspectives, and status of American Indian women in historical and contemporary contexts. Examines representations of Indigenous women in mainstream culture. Emphasizes the agency of American Indian women-their persistence, creativity, and activism, especially in maintaining Indigenous traditions. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600 or ETHN 2001 or 1023. Same as ETHN 3213. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity. Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Examines the historical and contemporary relation between women, gender and Islamic cultures in different parts of the world. We will consider the role and rights of women in Islam, historical and literary representations of Muslim women, and the historically changing constructions of gender and sexuality in Muslim societies. In addition, we will critically explore the construction of Muslim women in western discourses, including liberal feminist discourse, and ask whether the representation of Muslim women in these discourses achieves or undermines ends that we might consider "Feminist". In attending to the wide range of Muslim women's lived experiences in Islamic communities and cultures, as well as the self-representations of Muslim women themselves, our readings will urge us to reexamine our presumptions about piety, secularism, modernity and feminism. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600.
Contemporary and historic overview of U.S. courts' treatment of sex and gender. Using the case method, examines policy issues including, but not limited to: same sex marriage and civil unions; privacy; affirmative action; abortion; reproductive technologies; and discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation in education and in the workplace. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or PSCI 1101. Same as PSCI 3301. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.
Students gain knowledge and skills that enable them to become effective agents of community change. Focuses on understanding the processes of community building with a multicultural emphasis. Students are encouraged to apply their own life experiences and to examine themselves as potential change agents. Same as INVS 3302.
Provides an overview and critical examination of women as political actors within the United States. Students will examine the gendered components of citizenship, election, political office, and public policy. Furthermore, students will explore the ways in which gender intersects with class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other identities in U.S. politics. Same as PSCI 3311.
Focuses on aspects of the victimization of women and girls that are "Gendered" - namely, sexual abuse and intimate partner abuse. Also explores the importance of race, class, and sexuality in gendered violence. Recommended prereq., SOCY 1016 or WMST 1016. Same as ETHN/SOCY 3314.
Explores the relationship among gender, culture, and personality. Brings together the disciplines of psychology and sociology in the study of gender and personality formation through investigation of psychoanalytic theory and the social environment. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2700.
Introduces global gender issues, such as the gendered division of labor in the global economy, migration, women's human rights, environmental issues, gender violence in war, women in the military, nationalism and feminism, and the representation of the Third World in the United States. Offers students the opportunity to broaden their perspectives beyond the borders of the United States. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2050 or WMST 2600. Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Explores the social, economic, political, historical, and cultural role of African American women from an interdisciplinary perspective. Special emphasis is placed on African American women's rich oral and literary tradition. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or ETHN 1022 or ETHN 2001 or equivalent. Same as ETHN 3502.
Drawing from work produced by and about Latinas, discusses the social and cultural construction of race and ethnicity, the function of nationalism, the politics of migration and citizenship, Latina literary production and theory, historiographical trends, Latina feminist theory, activism and the academy, and Latina/o political organizing. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600.
Examines Latin American politics with particular focus on women's participation in social movements, war, revolution, and elections. Compares women's and men's politics and activism and examines changing gender and sexuality policies, gender relations, and the differential impact of political, economic, and social changes on men and women. Recommended prereq., WMST 2600 or PSCI 2012 or PSCI 3032. Same as PSCI 3052. Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Critical examination of immigrant women's participation in the global economy. Focuses on the relationship between larger social forces and the role of women in migration and the labor force. Emphasis on Latinas and Asian immigrant women. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.
Recommended prereq., GEOG 1982 or GEOG 1992 or GEOG 2002 or GEOG 2412 or WMST 2000 or WMST 2600. Same as GEOG 3672. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity.
Examines selected topics in women, gender, and sexuality in the US context. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours for different topics. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600. Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Content varies by semester and reflects relevant issues in global feminist scholarship. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600. Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
Examines the history, characteristics, problems, status and role of Third World women in development itself. Includes the interrelationships between development and population growth, transnational economics, migration, education, agriculture, health, urbanization, development policy and planning, and their impact on women and men in urban and rural areas in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Melanesia. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600.
Explores diverse representations of the female in Buddhist literature and the social realities of actual women in Asian historical contexts. Through case studies that traverse Buddhist Asia, we delve into monastic views of the female body, philosophical analyses of the emptiness of gender, idealized images of the feminine in Buddhist tantra, and contemporary issues such as the nun's revival moment. Same as RLST 3750.
Offers expository writing and training in analytical and descriptive skills, structures or argument, critical thinking, the rhetoric of persuasion, and the development of a personal voice. Readings and papers focus on basic issues in gender studies. Recommended prereq., WMST 2000 or WMST 2600. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: written communication. Requisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).
Under faculty supervision, students participate in a service learning project correlated with the academic subject. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
Provides field experience in local and national government and non-governmental agencies focusing on women and gender-related issues. Supervision by approved field instructors. Students must relate their academic experience to their field work experience though a portfolio and a final paper. Department enforced prereq., 6 hours of course work in Women and Gender Studies and 30 cumulative credit hours. Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors) only.
