WOMEN'S STUDIES (WMS-Arts and Science)

425 Black Feminist Theory (3)

Seminar examines black feminist theory from a variety of perspectives. Course samples a diversity of texts by theorists in the U.S. and African diaspora. Readings include both well- and lesser-known thinkers/scholars as well as classic texts and newly published works. Cross-listed with BWS 425.

431/531 French Feminism in the Age of Globalism (3)

Examination of major recent currents of French thought, such as existentialism, structuralism, and post-structuralism, with emphasis on their relation to the study of literary texts. Course content will vary.

436/536 Women, Gender and the Environment (3)

Seminar discussing literature on the role of women in their relationships with natural resources as advocates, practitioners, and scholars. Ideas on eco-feminism will be introduced from more-developed “north” and developing “south” perspectives, and then directed toward the study of gender and development, and participatory tools in gender analysis.

450/550 Topics in Women’s History (3)

In-depth study of a selected topic in the history of women, focusing on either a specific period and place, or a theme.

451/551 Family Violence (3)

Analysis of research and theory on family violence, physical abuse of children, sexual abuse, neglect, premarital abuse, wife abuse, gay/lesbian battering, elder abuse, prevention and intervention. Historical, social, and patriarchal contexts will be examined.

463/563 Sociology of the Older Woman (3)

Examination of various social psychological, physical, and cultural factors that affect women as they grow older.

475/575 Women, Gender Relations, and Sport (3)

Explores the meanings of women’s participation in sport and physical activity using sociological, feminist, and cultural studies perspectives. Special consideration given to the ideological significance of sport in U.S. culture and ways in which sporting women accept and challenge contemporary gender relations.

601 Introduction to Women’s Studies (3)

A seminar that focuses on Women’s Studies as an academic project and a force for social change in the U.S., tracing its historical development and identifying some of its central issues. Readings, discussion, and assignments help students understand the impact of Women’s Studies upon academia and upon their own lives.

602 Feminist Theory & Methodology (3)

A seminar that investigates major research methods (empirical studies, case studies, ethnographies, rhetorical analyses, textual and historical studies) as they are theorized and practiced within contemporary feminism. As an interdisciplinary project, feminist academic research includes work from psychology, sociology, literary studies, languages, the arts, anthropology, philosophy, education, mathematics, political science and law, and the sciences. This seminar highlights the ways in which research methodology and theorizing are informed by feminist analyses of institutional power, social difference, and position of the researcher