Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Course Descriptions

Examines women, gender and feminist theory from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating approaches from the humanities and the social sciences. (Fulfills GER social sciences requirement.)

(Same as Sociology 225.) An examination of the nature, causes, and consequences of sex roles in our society, including how male and female roles are learned through socialization and how they affect work and family. (Fulfills GER social sciences requirement.)

Prerequisite: Women's Studies 100. Different versions of this course will be offered examining the historical development of feminist thought in a diverse range of cultures and regions, such as North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Europe with attention to colonial/post colonial and diasporic contexts.

Prerequisite: Women's Studies 100. Explores central problems in contemporary feminist theory that have arisen in different disciplines, with attention to the differences among different kinds of feminism and different theories of women's identities.

(Same as Psychology 305.) Theories and research examining the development of gender roles from infancy through adulthood.

Cross-cultural ethnographic study of women's religious lives, including ritual and leadership roles, forms and contexts of religious expression, and negotiations between dominant cultural representations and women's self-representations.

An introduction to the history and contemporary issues of South Africa designed to prepare students for their summer internship in Cape Town.

(Same as Anthropology 325.) Cross-cultural examination of how language reflects, maintains, and constructs gender identities. Topics include differences in male/female speech, the grammatical encoding of gender and childhood language socialization.

(Same as Anthropology 335.) Exploration of issues pertaining to women's bodies and health, juxtaposing Western women's Health problems with those faced by women in the non-Western (i.e., developing) world. The disciplinary/analytical perspectives of medical anthropology and feminist scholarship will be compared.

(Same as History 336.) Examines the lives of diverse groups of women in the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on race, class, ethnic, and regional differences among women. (Fulfills GER historical, cultural, international perspective.)

(Same as Anthropology 324.) Cross-cultural study of gender and women's lives in diverse cultures, including the United States. Comparative study of work, child-rearing, power, politics, religion, and prestige.

(Same as Anthropology 352WR.) This course explores the changing shape of the global economy and its relationship to "local" culture and gendered identities. Through transnational flows of capital, labor, tourism, media, consumer goods, etc., we will study local cultural practice and question whether a global economy implies global culture. (Fulfills GER historical, cultural, international perspective and postfreshman writing requirement.)

(Same as Sociology 349.) Explores the intersection between gender and crime. Course topics include gender differences in offending, social constructions of offending, the criminalizing of bodies, and experiences with the court system.

(Same as Religion 352R and Jewish Studies 352.) An exploration of the roles, images, and status of women in Jewish life from the biblical period through the present, using historical and religious documents, fiction, and film.

(Same as Political Science 357.) Overview of the role of gender in defining and shaping politics, political systems, political beliefs, political behavior, and public policy in the American and/or international context.

(Same as Political Science 358.) Comprehensive analysis of legal issues relevant to women's status in society. Constitutional and statutory law addressed.

(Same as Chinese Studies 359.) This course examines what impacts the religious traditions of China, including Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, have had upon shaping the social experiences, roles and images of women in twentieth century China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. (Fulfills GER historical, cultural, international perspective.)

(Same as Chinese Studies 360WR.) An examination of woman as trope in modern Chinese cinema and literature in the twentieth century. (Fulfills GER historical, cultural, international perspective and postfreshman requirement.)

(Same as Japanese Studies 361WR.) This course will use the text of Genji as a center point from which to explore various issues in poetry, aesthetics, the visual arts and cultural memory in Japan.

(Same as Japanese Studies 360WR.) This course familiarizes students with the multiplicity of the female voices that (re)emerged in Japanese literature from the Meiji period to the late twentieth century. (Fulfills GER postfreshman writing requirement.)

Examining lesbian/gay/queer histories and cultures through the study of literature, film, archival sources, oral histories, and contemporary scholarship. Considers identity, representation, gender, race, class, community development, and political movements.

This course examines the idea of feminine beauty in a patriarchal culture. Its purpose is to investigate how beauty operates and to consider how students might position themselves individually and collectively in relation to beauty as a dominant ideology.

(Same as English 381.) Explores the diversity of African American women's writing, with special attention to their self-representation.

(Same as English 382R.) Selected works of British and American women, including such authors as Browning, Rossetti, Dickinson, Plath, Levertov, Sexton, Rich, and Lorde.

(Same as English 383R.) Study of selected novels by women in English. Theme and selection of novelists vary and include private lives, politics, social vision, and self-representation.

Offerings vary each semester.

Advanced seminar for juniors and seniors only on selected topics in women's studies.

Prerequisite: Women's Studies 100. Offers students the opportunity to learn across boundaries by combining a weekly seminar with hands-on work experience in a variety of possible organizations dealing with gender issues in such areas as law, politics, health care, labor, environment, family, and sexuality.

Exploration of selected topics pertaining to women, gender, and feminist theory. Each year the seminar has a specific theme that is designed to integrate central questions, topics, and problems of method. This course is offered only in the fall and is open to seniors who are Women's Studies majors or minors.

Independent research for students eligible and selected to participate in the women¿s studies Honors Program. (Fulfills postfreshman writing requirement after completion of the honors thesis.)

Offered every semester by special arrangement with a member of the women's studies core or associated faculty. (Variable credit.)