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Courses
Women's Studies Courses
See the course descriptions below of Women's Studies (WSP) and cross-listed classes that can count toward the Women's Studies major or minor.
WSP 101 Women's Perspectives & Values
Examines the lives of women and the impact that ethnicity, race, class, and sexual orientation have in determining women's status in our society. This course is a General Education course and fulfills a Humanities requirement.
WSP 150 Women's Self Defense (1 credit hour)
This course develops a framework for understanding violence and self-defense. Major focus is on learning and practicing awareness, prevention, assessment, verbal boundary setting and physical self-defense skills in simulated scenarios.
WSP 201 Feminist Ideas: Women's Work, Women's Lives
WSP 201 is intended to insure that women's studies students understand what feminist perspectives are and their relationship to women's studies, social issues, and social change. With a focus on feminism, students will learn to recognize historical and contemporary feminist leaders, understand the implications and applications of feminist ideas, apply lessons learned from past struggles to contemporary social issues, and evaluate women's changing status by race, class, sexual orientation, and other social statuses. Prerequisite: WSP 101
WSP 202 Feminist Activism: Grassroots Resistance in the U.S.
In this course we focus on women as social actors challenging gender stereotypes; organizing to reduce poverty, racism, homophobia and violence; working to expand opportunities; and confronting barriers in education, the criminal justice system and politics. Popular analyses of women and social change often limit themselves to women's roles in the family and the paid workplace. In Feminist Activism we will focus on ordinary women who are working collectively in diverse social settings to empower themselves and others. We will explore barriers women face, goals and strategies for social change, and the rewards and challenges of feminist grassroots activism. Prerequisites: WSP 101
WSP 301 Current Issues in Women's Studies
This is an advanced level course exploring current issues and special concerns in Women's Studies.
WSP 301A Race, Class, and Identity in Lesbian Cultures
The objective of this interdisciplinary course will be to consider the following questions: In what ways are lesbian cultures established, created, developed, and organized, and by whom? The course will deal with these questions in the context of various struggles over meanings and identities, keeping in mind that those meanings change over time, context, and differ across race, class, and other identity markers. Historical and theoretical research will be introduced through a series of topics: Identity, Sex, Violence, Activism, Media, and Family. These topics will form the contexts for our exploration of the issues and questions surrounding lesbian cultures. Prerequisite: WSP 101 or consent of instructor
WSP 301B International Human Rights, and Women's Rights
Explores the conceptualization and contestation over human rights wtih respect to women's lives. Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Commission for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Prerequisite: WSP 101 or consent of instructor
WSP 301C Gender, Race, Class, and Education
This course focuses on the role of the educational system in the constructions and reproduction of gender, class, and racial inequality. It examines the macroscopic relations between schools and society, specifically the institutional connections between structures of learning, the State and the organization of work. Topics to be addressed include contrasting perspectives on the role of the educational system, the control and governance of schools, the construction of educational goals and curricula, classroom practice and social structure, the construct of the "hidden curriculum", and the reproduction of social inequality, and the "effects" of schooling on men of color and women. Prerequisite: WSP 101 or consent of instructor
WSP 301D Gender , Family & Community: Redesigning the American Dream
The built environment�our living, working, and community space�is something that we often take as a given, a backdrop for our lives. We may not be aware that the architectural forms and spatial arrangements of our homes, buildings, neighborhoods and cities reflect and reinforce gender, race, class and age relations in society. This course examines the thoughtful work and actions of social scientists, architects, geographers, urban planners, and community-based activists who are developing innovative spaces and places that attempt to shape and sustain more liberatory personal and community ties.Prerequisite: WSP 101 or consent of instructor
WSP 301E Issues in Women's Studies: Radical Feminist Imagination in U.S. Literature
This course will survey a range of literary works from the 1930s to the present which can be construed as broadly representative of something called the feminist imaginative response to U.S. patriarchy, specifically U.S. racial patriarchal capitalism. Spanning key historical moments such as the Great Depression or the "Red Decade", the Cold War, the 1960s and its contemporary aftermath, this course will investigate the meaning of "radical feminism" as authors from a range of racial, class, and sexual identities are placed in dialogue with each other and with their respective socio-historical and cultural contexts. Focusing on imaginative literary works, discussions will concentrate on textual interpretation, exploring how each work attempts to develop its own version of feminist consciousness and to formulate a narrative of women's liberation against the dominant patriarchal narrative that informs the dominant cultural consciousness and social relations. Prerequisite: WSP 101 or consent of instructor
WSP 302 Feminist Theory: Questions of Race, Class and Sexuality
This course is designed to give an introduction into conceptions of feminist theories. Moreover, much of the course will be spent reading and writing about theory. We will begin with an attempt to articulate the assumptions that underlie contemporary feminist theories by tracing the theoretical conceptions they are based upon. Our focus will be on the importance of the position and situation of the subject with respect to questions of class, race, sexuality, gender, historical moment and social location. Prerequisites: WSP 101
WSP 321 (1 credit hour), WSP 322 (2 credit hours), WSP 323 (3 credit hours) Internship in Women's Studies
Internships from 1-3 credit hours are available for Women's Studies Majors and Minors who have completed at least three Women's Studies courses. The internship goal is to work with women in theirchosen field or career. Internships can be arranged with Laurie Fuller.
WSP 331( 1 credit hour), WSP 332 (2 credit hours), WSP 333 (3 credit hours) Independent Study on Women's Studies
An intensive investigation of a special area of Women's Studies for Majors and Minors of the Program. Independent study can be arranged with Laurie Fuller.
WSP 350 Seminar in Women's Studies
This interdisciplinary seminar builds on knowledge gained in other Women's Studies classes. Research will focus on a different topic each year. Topics may include women and health, feminist research and theory, international women's movements, Latin American feminism, and others. This course is a requirement for students competing the Women's Studies Minor and Major. Prerequistes: WSP 101 plus 9 credit hours of Women's Studies and cross-listed courses or consent of instructor.
Anthropology
ANTH 307 Anthropology of Gender, Sexuality and the Body
This course is based in the theory that has emerged from the cultural anthropological study of gender. Students analyze the relationships among social institutions as they are implicated in inequality and oppression. This course examines the ways gender is constructed and deployed in various cultural settings and the power of cultural institutions associated with marriage and family, labor and economy, politics and authority, media and representation and health and medicine.
EnglishENGL 303 Gay and Lesbian Literature
This course explores the impact of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered literature on contemporary culture. We will take a multicultural approach that recognizes the importance of sexual identuty to late twentieth-century fiction and the ways such fiction affects and is affected by art, politics, entertainment, the law, and other notions of identity, such as race, class, and gender. This course will emphasize close reading of fiction, the ability to write clearly and analytically about literature, and a careful analysis of the role literature plays in our everyday lives.
ENGL 318N American Women Writers of The 19th Century
An intensive study of selected literary movements, figures, or themes in American literature.
ENGL 371 Studies in Women's Literature
Literature by or about women; includes writing by women, portrayals of female characters, attitudes toward women, and women's roles; other thematic concerns.
Communication, Media and Theatre
CMTC 313 Communications and Gender
Investigation of the effects of gender roles on communication behaviors, such as naming behavior, language acquisition, professional orientation, conflict management, self-image, dress and social roles.
CMTM 369K Studies in Mass Media: Gender & Media
This course analyzes mass-mediated constructions of gender from several critical and historical perspectives.
CMTT 337 Women Playwrights
Chronological study and analysis of literary texts in historical and social contexts that are written by women, that deal with social issues about women, and are about women's rights.
History
HIST 338 Women in American History
Survey, from colonial times to the present, of the role of woman in America including women's reform movements.
HIST 349 Women in Popular Culture
Movies, television, popular novels, and popular music and their treatment of women's roles, images, and performances. Women writers, singers and actresses will be studied along with male writers and performers' interpretations of women's roles.
Justice StudiesJUST 311 Women, Crime, and The Criminal Justice System
The position of women in society; theories of female criminality; crimes committed by and against women such as prostitution, rape, woman abuse, and forced sterilization. Treatment of women by various social and criminal justice agencies.
JUST 315B Women, Poverty, and Justice
This course will examine the astronomic rise in poverty among female heads of households, the economic losses which have accompanied women's political "gain," and the new generation of women's revision of the American Dream. The course will also analyze the links between gender, race, and economy.
JUST 321 Violence Against Women
Overview of the legal, sociological, psychological, and medical aspects of rape, battering and related forms of gendered violence. Explores social and cultural context of violence against women, changing definitions of violence, and the criminalization of sexual assault and family violence, and responses to violence, including the anti-rape and battered women's movements.
JUST 322 Women, Justice, and The Law
A discussion of justice and its intersection with gender. The course focuses on federal statutes and their intrepretation, on sexual harassment and employment, and state statutes focusing on family law and criminal law.
JUST 324 Women as Political Prisoners
This course examines the three areas in which women can be defined as political prisoners: 1) women imprisoned for political acts; 2) women imprisoned for self-defense measures; 3) women imprisoned for petty 'economic' crimes such as prostitution.
JUST 325 Women and Revolution: Theories of Justice
Theories of justice informing revolutionary practice with attention to the role played by women in revolution, especially in liberation struggles in Central America.
PhilosophyPHIL 105 Feminist Philosophy
Analysis of recent work in feminist theory in order to investigate woman's situation and its foundations in culture, perception, and reality.
PHIL 291 Philosophical Foundations of Oppression
Analysis of concepts emerging from Anglo-European philosophy which support domination, particularly as they function in colonialism, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and heterosexism.
PHIL 351 Sexism and the Philosophy of Language
Analytic examination of sexism in English in order to facilitate discussion of the relation between language, thought and reality.
PHIL 353 Feminism and the Philosophy of Science
Analytic examination of the concept of femininity as found in the biological and social sciences in order to facilitate discussion of the nature of objectivity and scientific investigation.
PHIL 373 Advanced Feminist Philosophy
Analytic investigation of the latest feminist theory in order to study the development of feminism.
Political SciencePSCI 307K Gender and Development
This is a course on Gender and Development from a Comparative Perspective. Thus cases from numerous countries will be used to demonstrate the differences between gender-aware programs and politics and ones that are gender-unaware.
PSCI 373 Gender and Politics
A study of the relationship of gender and gender roles to political attitudes, beliefs and behavior. The nature of political socialization is considered as well as political and economic structures pertinent to gender distinctions. The approach is comparative.
PSCI 398 Law and Social Change
An assessment of the possibilities and limitations of law as an instrument of social change through an examination of the status of minorities and women, the social control of corporate behavior, and the politics of rights.
Psychology
PSYC 312 Psychological Development in Women
Psychological development and identity formation in women with emphasis on personality, psychosexual, and cognitive development.
Social Work SWK 312 Women and Social Work
This course focuses on women's issues in social work, both for women as social work practicioners and for women as clients/participants in social service delivery systems. The course will cover aspects of feminist thought, non-sexist therapy, feminist therapy, sexist biases in research, feminist research in social work and social welfare policies and practice which have an impact on women.
SWK 360J Domestic Violence: Theory and Intervention
Explores theories regarding various types of abuse that occur in relationships and strategies for alleviating family violence
Sociology SOC 105 Women, Men, and Social Change
This course will examine the roots of gender expectations and gender divisions; and historical and cultural variations in how gender has been and is perceived. The course will raise questions about the consequences of the social organization of gender relations and possibilities for change in the positions of men and women in society. (This is a General Education course and fulfills a Behavioral/Social Sciences requirement.)
SOC 214 Sociology of Intimacy, Marriage and Families
The major issues involved in the criticisms of family systems with a view to predicting how current forms are likely to mesh with changing trends to form marriage and family patterns in the future. Areas of study include family history, changing demographic patterns, family structures, gender roles, sexuality, reproductive technology, marital interaction and power, marital dissolution, and reconstituted families.
SOC 270 Sociology of Latinas
Study of the role played by the Latina, and the social, economic and political issues that affect her life. The relationship between class and gender, and the impact of modernization on women's roles and status will also be examined.
SOC 306 American Women: The Changing Image
This course will analyze women's varying roles, statuses and life opportunities; covers the feminist movement, past and present with special emphasis on the intersection of gender, race, and social class.
SOC 320C Topics: Race, Sex and Class
Exploration at an advanced level of current issues and concerns in the sociology of race, sex and class. Consult the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Topics will vary.
SOC 320D Topics: Women and Social Action
Explores gender stereotypes and barriers, examines the impact these factors have on women's lives and examines the myriad ways women are involved in challenging these obstacles. An integral part of the course is how gender intersects with age, class, race, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation.
SOC 329 Sociology of Violence
Cross cultural study and focus on social and psychological explanations of violence in American society.
SOC 340 Sociology of Sexualities
Critical discussion and reading of current research and literature on human sexuality; the continuous psycho-sexual development of children, adolescents and adults; heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality; the use of sex by the media; pornography; prostitution; sex and the law; institutional sexuality; population control; martial sex; the effects of class background on sexual practices.
SOC 344 African American Women: Feminism, Race and Resistance
This course will take a systematic examination of the collective experiences of African American women, historical and contemporary; the myths versus the realities of their everyday lives, including the inter relatedness and simultaneous affect of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and age in their lived experiences.
SOC 347 Sociology of the Media
A systematic examination of mass media as a social construction of knowledge. Major focus is on the social and historical contexts within which the media are created, the powerful influenced of the various media on the socialization process, and the intersections of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and age in the images and knowledge created by mass media.
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Course offerings for following semesters
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