150. Humanities Seminars on Women and Gender. (3). (HU).
Section 001 - Fairy Tales and Gender. (First year students only). Walter
Benjamin says that fairy tales teach children to greet the difficulties
of everyday life with high spirits and courage. Is this true? Or do they
teach something else? Did Snow White and the Prince live happily ever after?
What is the moral of "The Snow Queen"? What are the class and
gender assumptions that drive Little Red Riding Hood into the forest or
Rapunzel into her tower? This will not be a course about sentimentalizing
Cinderella. We will look at stories by the Brothers Grimm, Charlotte Brontë,
Virginia Wolf, Ann Sexton, Carson McCullers, Jamaica Kincaid, Walt Disney,
and Madison Avenue. While we will think about villains and vampires, heroes
and heroines, magic and marvels, we will also investigate the gendered component
of fairy tales and examine the mythic apparatus of a wide range of texts,
including A Room of One's Own and Annie John. (Yeager)
Section 002 - Victorian Women. For Fall Term, 1996, this section is offered jointly with History 197.002. (Israel)
151. Social Science Seminars on Women and Gender. (3). (SS).
Section 001 - Sex Discrimination and the Law. (First year students only).
What is sex discrimination? What legal recourse exists for victims of sex
discrimination in the U.S. today? This course will begin to answer these
questions by investigating theoretical writing and litigation on such issues
as sexual harassment, domestic violence, affirmative action, rape, hate
speech, and pornography. Students should leave this class with a basic understanding
of two pieces of legislation key to sex discrimination litigation (i.e.,
the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), as well as improved critical
thinking, writing, and speaking skills. Grades will be based on in-class
participation, weekly short written assignments, a take-home midterm exam,
and a final "moot court" project. (Hackett)
210/Amer. Cult. 170/Hist. 170/UC 170. New Worlds: Colonialism and Cultural
Encounters. First-year students only. (4). (Introductory Composition).
See American Culture 170.
(Karlsen)
220/Nursing 220. Perspectives in Women's Health. (3). (SS).
In this course we will examine women's health issues, across the lifespan,
from feminist and sociocultural perspectives. It will explore the social
construction of women's sexuality, reproductive options, health care alternatives,
and risks for physical and mental illness. Attention will be paid to historical,
economic, and cultural factors which influence the physical and psychological
well-being of women. (Contratto)
240/Amer. Cult. 240. Introduction to Women's
Studies. Open to all undergraduates. (4). (HU). (This course meets
the Race and Ethnicity Requirement).
Designed as an introduction to the new feminist scholarship on women.
This course is an interdisciplinary course which acquaints students with
key concepts and theoretical frameworks to analyze women's condition. We
will explore how women's status has changed over time, but we will concentrate
on the situation of contemporary American women. The course will not only
provide students with an analysis of women's oppression, but will suggest
strategies for ending sexual inequality.
270. Women and the Law. (3). (SS).
"Women and the Law" covers selected topics in American constitutional
and statutory law which have a special effect on women. The class focuses
on ideals of sex equality and how they are incorporated into the American
legal system. Topics usually covered include constitutional equality, employment
discrimination, family law, rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment,
reproductive rights, pornography, and women in poverty.