01-02 LS&A Bulletin

Courses in Women's Studies (Division 497)

WOMENSTD 400. Women's Reproductive Health.: WS 220. (3).; This course permits students to explore medical, social, and political aspects of Women's reproductive health. Medical, nursing, public health and feminist perspectives on topics such as prenatal care, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease and menopause is covered.
WOMENSTD 415 / HISTART 415. Studies in Gender and the Arts.: Upperclass standing, and one course in women's studies or history of art. (3). May be repeated for a total of nine credits.; This course incorporates the analysis of gender issues into the historical examination of selected aspects of artistic and cultural production.
WOMENSTD 416 / ENGLISH 416 / HISTORY 487. Women in Victorian England.: (3; 2 in the half-term).; Literary and historical sources are used to examine cultural proscriptions regarding the role of women and the actuality of women's lives in Victorian England. Topics to be discussed include women as daughters, wives, and mothers; women as workers, writers, governesses, factory operatives, teachers, and prostitutes; women in reform movements; women's education; and aspects of the nineteenth century women's rights movement.
WOMENSTD 418 / POLSCI 418. Women and the Political System.: Two courses in political science. (3).; The purpose of this course is to examine the role of women in the political system, their involvement in and influence on the political process, and the impact of various policy decisions on women.
WOMENSTD 419 / PSYCH 411. Gender and Group Process in a Multicultural Context.: One course in women's studies or psychology. (3).; This course provides an introduction to theories of group dynamics that illuminate stages of group development and productivity. It includes teaching and practice of group facilitation skills. The course combines theoretical presentation with an experimental learning model; material discussed and modeled in class is applied in home-base groups with opportunities for skill practice and feedback. Special attention is given throughout the course to the influence and manifestation of gender, ethnic and race dynamics as they shape events, conflict and communication patterns in various group formats.
WOMENSTD 420. Group Facilitation in Women's Studies.: WS 419 and permission of instructor. (3).; Students study interpersonal and small group dynamics in general, and as these vary with leader gender and group gender composition. The course includes a closely supervised experience in facilitating a small group.
WOMENSTD 427 / ANTHRCUL 427 / WOMENSTD 427. African Women.: One course in African Studies, anthropology, or women's studies. AAS 200 recommended. (3).; The active roles African women play in their communities as these have changed from pre-colonial to contemporary times are discussed critically through the themes of autonomy and control of resources, esp. land, labor, income, education, and political authority.
WOMENSTD 440. Issues and Controversies in the New Scholarship on Women.: WS 240 and one 340-level course. (3).; The course provides detailed analysis of major theoretical areas of dispute for the women's studies scholar. Three to five such controversies are addressed.
WOMENSTD 447 / SOC 447. Sociology of Gender.: (3).; This course asks: Why is there gender inequality? and What are women's experiences of the inequality? This course examines politics, the state, work, family, body, and sexuality, all areas of social life that have been theorized as the locus of women's oppression.
WOMENSTD 455 / ANTHRCUL 455. Feminist Theory and Gender Studies in Anthropology.: Junior standing. (3).; Student-directed seminar on the history of feminist thought in Anthropology and on salient issues in the field of feminist anthropology today.
WOMENSTD 461 / FILMVID 461. Explorations in Feminist Film Theory.: Junior standing; and F/V 414 or Women's Studies 240. (3). Laboratory fee ($50) required.; The course offers an in-depth exploration of feminist theories that address film in relation to gender. Discussion focuses on contemporary feminist scholarship that draws upon a variety of viewpoints, including psychoanalysis, cultural theory, postmodernism, historical research and ideological theory.
WOMENSTD 470 / HISTORY 471. Gender & Sexuality in India.: (3).; This seminar considers the transformations of gender and sexual relations through time and across regions and social communities in India. The aim of the course is to examine the significance of gender and sexuality as historical constructs for the study of India.
WOMENSTD 471 / AAPTIS 495 / HISTORY 546 / RELIGION 496. Gender and Politics in Early Modern Islam.: Students should preferably have had one course in Islamic Studies. (3).; An introduction to Muslim understandings of gender and gender relations, first, through a study of those sacred texts (Qur'an & Hadith) that came to define the ideal woman and man, as well as their roles and relationships. Then, gender participation in the political and cultural life of the Safavi, Ottoman and Mughal Courts shall be explored to view the interplay between theory and practice.
WOMENSTD 481. Special Topics.: WS 240. (1). Degree credit is granted for a combined total of seven credits elected through WS 481, 482, 483, and 484.; This course takes up a single topic of a very specific or contemporary nature.
WOMENSTD 482. Special Topics.: WS 240. (2). Degree credit is granted for a combined total of seven credits elected through WS 481, 482, 483, and 484.; This course takes up a single topic of a very specific or contemporary nature.
WOMENSTD 483. Special Topics.: WS 240. (3). Degree credit is granted for a combined total of seven credits elected through WS 481, 482, 483, and 484.; This course takes up a single topic of a very specific or contemporary nature.
WOMENSTD 484. Special Topics.: WS 240. (4). Degree credit is granted for a combined total of seven credits elected through WS 481, 482, 483, and 484.; This course takes up a single topic of a very specific or contemporary nature.
WOMENSTD 486 / PHIL 486. Topics in Feminist Philosophy.: Two courses in either Philosophy or Women's Studies. (3).; This course offers a philosophical examination of gender and feminism as these relate to topics of traditional philosophical concern. Topics to be studied may include feminist moral and political philosophy, feminist epistemology and philosophy of science, and feminist theories of the self, sexuality, and society.
WOMENSTD 487 / ACABS 487. Gender and Society in Ancient Egypt.: Some familiarity with Egypt is helpful. (3).; Using ancient texts in translation, secondary readings and artifacts in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, students in this course examine the definitions of gender, gender roles, and relations and the impact of status, religion, sexuality, and ethnicity on ancient Egyptian understandings of gender.
WOMENSTD 492 / SOC 490 / REES 490. Women and Islam: A Sociological Perspective.: (3).; This course explores the theoretical and methodological issues involved in studying women. The course starts with an introduction to the existing paradigms on women's position in sociology, women's studies, and Near Eastern Studies. After a lecture on the position of women in Islamic history, it proceeds to study women in contemporary contexts such as in Iran and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and the Fertile Crescent, North Africa, Central Asia and the Balkans, and contemporary U.S. society.
WOMENSTD 496 / AAPTIS 496. Gender and Representation in the Modern Middle East.: (3).; An examination of the construction of gender as pertains to the contemporary Middle East (predominantly but not exclusively the Arab Middle East) as found in a wide array of literary and cultural representations (fiction, travel accounts, photographs, painting, film) produced both in the Middle East and outside of it.
WOMENSTD 530. Theories of Feminism.: Graduate standing. (3).; Provides an interdisciplinary exploration of various schools of feminist thought. Specific content varies, depending on the particular interests of the instructor.
WOMENSTD 580. Independent Study.: Wom. St. 530 and Graduate standing. (1-3). (INDEPENDENT).; Directed readings or research in consultation with a member of the department faculty.
WOMENSTD 601. Approaches to Feminist Scholarship in the Humanities.: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. (3).; This course is designed to familiarize graduate students with the methodologies of feminist scholarship in a range of disciplines in the humanities, as well as the theoretical and critical debates in the fields. Conducted as an interdisciplinary seminar, the course will critically explore a variety of methods of documenting and theorizing women's relations to systems of meaning. The course is designed to encourage students to work together productively across disciplinary difference.
WOMENSTD 602. Approaches to Feminist Scholarship in the Social Sciences.: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. (3).; This course is designed to familiarize graduate students with the methodologies of feminist scholarship in a range of disciplines in the social sciences, as well as the theoretical and critical debates in the fields. Conducted as an interdisciplinary seminar, the course will critically explore a variety of methods of documenting and theorizing women's relations to systems of meaning. The course is designed to encourage students to work together productively across disciplinary difference.
WOMENSTD 603. Feminist Scholarship on Women of Color.: Graduate standing. (3).; Designed to examine various theoretical, substantive and methodological issues in feminist scholarship in relation to the paradigms of traditional disciplines.
WOMENSTD 604. Approaches to Feminist Practice.: Practice experience and course work in some field/profession. Graduate standing. (3).; In this seminar, students and faculty from different disciplines and professional schools will study a number of approaches to feminist, anti-racist, and multiculturalist praxis, the systematic examination of the inter-relationships of theory and practice, through cycles of action and reflection. Participants will review the ways in which (1) feminist knowledge, principles, and practices have been applied in different disciplines, professions and practice settings; and (2) feminist perspectives and/or feminist practice skills can incorporate class, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, differently abled, and other factors often associated with societal oppression, and that affect the lives of women.
WOMENSTD 605. Interdisciplinary Approaches on Women's Health Issues.: Graduate standing. (3).; Covers aspects of health (human sexuality, contraception, pregnancy, adolescent pregnancy, abortion, infertility, menopause, cancer, violence, wellness and prevention) that influence women's lives. Attention is paid to areas where gender bias has adversely influenced research, policy, and common practice. Pertinent scholarship from feminist theory, public health, medicine, law, social science and the humanities emphasize the possibilities for interdisciplinary research.
WOMENSTD 621 / HISTORY 621. Studies in Women's History.: Graduate standing; Upperclassmen with permission of instructor. (3).; This course is designed for graduate students who plan to research and teach in the field of U.S. women's history or would like to incorporate women's history scholarship and methodology into their interdisciplinary research and undergraduate teaching. It also devotes some attention to feminist pedagogy. The course begins by placing U.S. women's history in the context of European colonization and an emerging Atlantic world and concludes by drawing connections between late nineteenth-century gender constructions and U.S. empire-building in the Pacific. Throughout, our goal will be to assess the most recent trends in the field and how we can best convey their significance in undergraduate classrooms.
WOMENSTD 642 / AMCULT 642. Gender and American Families.: Graduate standing. (3).; Seminar focusing on interdisciplinary analysis of gender in American families. Attention to literary representations of gender and families, historical exploration of changing gender and family norms, and/or sociological and psychological studies of men's and women's experiences in American families.
WOMENSTD 655 / PSYCH 655. The Psychology of Women.: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. (3).; This course will address key topics in contemporary scholarship on the psychology of women and gender. We will examine epistemological and methodological issues as they arise and affect the study of a variety of phenomena including the psychology of gendered bodies, gender and mental health, life course approaches to studying women and men, gender socialization, gender in groups and families, and gender in society (including violence and political participation). We will examine intersections of race, class and other social statuses with gender, as well as differences among women.
WOMENSTD 666 / HISTORY 666 / CAAS 630. Race, Class, and Gender in Latin America.: Graduate standing. (3).; Provides an overview of major themes in Latin American history (colonial to the present), organized around the reading of recent works that examine aspects of race, class, and gender. We draw on the writings of anthropologists, sociologists, literary critics and historians, examining the relational character of the concept of ethnicity, connections between race and class, and social construction of gender in different settings.
WOMENSTD 690. Directed Readings.: Wom. St. 530 and 601 or 602. Graduate standing. (1-3). (INDEPENDENT).; Designed for individual students who have an interest in a specific topic (usually that has stemmed from a previous course). An individual instructor must agree to direct such a reading, and the requirements are specified when approval is granted.
WOMENSTD 698. Special Seminar.: One graduate course in Women's Studies. Graduate standing. (1-3). May be repeated for credit.; Explores in greater depth some of the topics offered at lower levels in the WS curriculum. The special topics rubric allows for research, readings, and/or discussions of the topic in greater depth.
WOMENSTD 702. Feminist Studies in Gender and Sexuality.: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. (3).; This course concentrates on recent theoretical work treating the sexuality of women, especially "lesbians." It covers such matters as the inter-relationship of various systems of sexuality; the reception and application of Foucault�s interpretation of discourses about sexuality; the implications of historical perspectives; the rise of "queer theory;" discussions of "performance," subjectivity and desire; disagreements between proponents of social constructionism and "essentialism;" debates about "identity politics," including the complications of racial identity and the representation and reception of lesbianism in various media, including film, advertising, music and television.
WOMENSTD 720 / HISTART 720. Gender and Sexuality in the Visual Arts.: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. (3).; Intended as a guide for students in a variety of disciplines that wish to investigate the complexities of visual analysis by considering the lively problematics of gender and sexuality, the course covers chief trends and changes in the analysis of visual representation of gender and sexuality. It opens with a historiographic survey of the developments in the field, then concentrates on key case studies and themes. It does not focus on women as artists, but instead considers the construction of gender roles and sexual identitees in the visual realm (e.g., the hypermasculine hero, the reclining female �:nude� the colonizing soldier, Picasso's portrait of Gertrude Stein, the male artist as a performative function, female viewers finding pleasure in 'the erotic,' the homoerotic body, the gendering of non-figurative elements such as color and abstraction, alternative sexualities represented by the School of Fontainebleau and contemporary artists treating the issue of AIDS.
WOMENSTD 801. Special Seminar.: Graduate standing. (3).; Advanced seminar offering interdisciplinary perspectives on selected topics relating to feminism (both theory and methodology), gender, women's health issues, psychology of women, historical perspectives, women and literature, anthropological studies, and sociological issues.
WOMENSTD 890. Advanced Research.: Wom. St. 530 and 601 or 602. Graduate standing. (1-3). (INDEPENDENT).; Every Women's Studies graduate certificate student is required to carry out a research project with a feminist perspective. The form of the project will vary with individual students and is subject to approval by the student's faculty advisor. This can be a chapter of a dissertation, a prelim, a master's thesis project or a project undertaken in the Women�s Studies Program
WOMENSTD 891. Joint Ph.D. Advanced Research.: Must be admitted to joint Ph.D. in English/WS or Psych/WS. Graduate standing. (3). (INDEPENDENT).; The course is designed to culminate in the production of an interdisciplinary research paper. The process for achieving this goal will vary from year to year. However, students are encouraged, wherever possible, to build on the work they began in their first year, in the required courses on Feminist Theory (WS 530) and Approaches to Feminist Scholarship (WS 601 or 603).
WOMENSTD 892. Supervised Field Practicum.: Graduate standing and permission of instructor. Students in Certificate Program in Women's Studies. (3). (EXPERIENTIAL).; Supervised field placement. Student experience is analyzed in light of feminist theory and principles of feminist practice. A substantial paper integrating academic scholarship on feminist practice with the students' experience in the setting is required.
WOMENSTD 893. Feminist Pedagogy.: Graduate standing. (1).
WOMENSTD 990. Dissertation-Precandidate.: Advanced Doctoral Students. (1-8; 1-4). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit.; Election for dissertation work by doctoral student not yet admitted as a Candidate.
WOMENSTD 993. Graduate Student Instructor Training Program.: Must have Teaching Assistant award. Graduate standing. (1).; A seminar for all beginning graduate student instructors, consisting of a two day orientation before the term starts and periodic workshops/meetings during the Fall Term. Beginning graduate student instructors are required to register for this class.
WOMENSTD 995. Dissertation/Candidate.: Doctoral Candidates. Graduate standing. (8; 4 in the half-term). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit.; Graduate School authorization for admission as a doctoral Candidate. N.B. The defense of the dissertation (the final oral examination) must be held under a full term Candidacy enrollment period.

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