Gender & Women's Studies

Undergraduate Courses

See Topnet for Class Meeting Schedule

 

Winter 2024

Social Work 305, Environmental Justice: Theory, Policy, and Practice 

This elective course explores the relationship between the environment and inequity regarding race/ethnicity and social class by introducing key theories, policies and intervention skills related to environmental justice. To facilitate the learning process, students will review the impact of historical, political, and economic issues on environmental justice, including local, state, and national policies in the United States. Students will also be introduced to theoretical frameworks that inform issues of environmental justice, as well as content on the role of values, ethics, diversity, and discrimination. Implications for micro, mezzo, and macro practice will be explored.

 

Spring 2024

Core Courses:

GWS 200 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies

Drawing on historical perspectives and cultural analysis, this course examines such topics as women and work, violence against women, family, and the social construction of gender, sexuality, race, and class. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code E-SB | SB

GWS 400 Western Feminist Thought
This course presents the fundamental concepts embodied in Western feminist thought as it has developed from the eighteenth century to the present. It emphasizes a close analysis of individual works and critical evaluations of the assumptions and central concepts that inform the works under consideration.

 

Approved Electives:

AFAM 353 Radical Blackness
Interdisciplinary study of contemporary Black radical thought through an examination of African American material culture, i.e. symbols, art, music, literature, performance, and cultural studies.

DANC 360 Dance In Culture (Web Course)
Survey of world dance forms, emphasizing social, cultural and aesthetic principles
defining these forms. Gender, racial, political and religious orientations shaping dance history are examined. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

ENG 295 Pop Culture & Gender (Web Course)
Through the study of signs and narrative structures, this course investigates
contemporary Western popular culture's concepts of gender. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

ENG 324 Queer Music
A survey of music and lyrics created by, about, and for the LGBTQIA+ community,
including historical, social, economic, cultural, and political influences on the
development of queer music. The course content will focus on musical works based on literature, including vocal, choral, theatrical, and film music from antiquity to the present day. Students will study music as a system and explore how queer artists have shaped this system over time. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SY

ENG 465 Film Genres
Study of the historical development, thematic and stylistic conventions, and cultural significance of film genre(s). Surveys representative films from one or two genres, e.g. film noir and the Western; romantic comedy and family melodrama; horror and science fiction; the musical; the war film; the epic. May be taken twice as long as genres differ. Note: Permission of instructor

ENG 388 Postcolonial Studies
A survey of postcolonial literature and theory, including works from Australia, India, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-LG

ENG 468 Early Modern English Literature
A study of selected literary works from sixteenth-and seventeenth-century England, with attention to the historical, theoretical, and aesthetic conditions that shaped the imaginative development of English literature.

ENG 497 Women’s Literature (Web Course)
Study of the literary history, criticism, and theory of women's writing, with an emphasis on American and British writers.

FACS 311 Family Relations (Web Course)
Study of issues affecting individual and family well-being. Interpersonal relationships and communication skills necessary to achieve quality of life are
addressed. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code SB

FLK 373 Folklore and the Media
Variety and characteristics of folklore in the media including newspapers, television, magazines, comics, movies, photographs, cartoons, and
advertisements. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-LG

FLK 480 Women’s Folklife
The various images and roles of women in the U.S. and selected world cultures as
reflected in folklife materials such as narratives, beliefs, ballads, rhymes, games, customs, and folk arts.

FILM 363 Intro to World Cinema
Examines cinema in several regions including China, India, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Viewing of representative films accompanied by background readings on history/culture. Note: Permission of instructor

HIST 329 Black Intellectual History
An examination of the contributions of Black intellectuals to an understanding of the modern world. Emphasis is given to the intersection of historic claims to human rights, citizenship, and independence to promote an awareness of this tradition's multiple geographical nodes, collaborations, and solidarities. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

HIST 335 20th Century Europe (On Demand Course)
A survey of Europe during the twentieth century that covers developments in social, cultural, political, intellectual, and gender history. Note: Permission of instructor.

HIST 446 American Legal History since 1865
A survey of the development of American law and its relationship to political, economic, and social trends in modern American society

HIST 453 American Women’s History
Social, cultural, and political history of American women from pre-colonial times to the present.

PH 365 Human Sexuality
Examines sociological, physiological, and psychological aspects of human sexuality in relation to family life, courtship, marriage, reproduction, education, and aging. Includes information on sexual assault, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and
HIV/AIDS. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

PH 464 Women’s Health
An analysis of the major health problems of contemporary women, with a special
emphasis on health promotion, disease prevention, and consumer health concerns. Note: Permission of instructor is required.

PS 373 Minority Politics
A study of the contemporary status and efforts made by African Americans, Hispanics and other minority groups to organize for political action; discusses political and socioeconomic constraints on the development of that power. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

PSY 350 Social Psychology
A general introduction to social psychology for majors and non-majors in psychology. The psychology of how people think about and relate to others. Topics include love, altruism, aggression, conformity, behavior in groups, leadership, intergroup conflict, prejudice, and persuasion. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC | SB

PSYS 355 Cross-Cultural Psychology
Examines the impact of culture on major principles, theories, and applications of
psychology, including social behavior, gender, communication, development and
abnormal psychology. Involves interacting with people from diverse cultural
backgrounds.

PSYS 453 Psychology of Women
Scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of girls and women. Topics include gender differences and similarities, inclusion of females in psychological research, psychological development of girls and women, sexuality, and mental health issues. Note: Six hours in psychology are required in addition to the prerequisites or permission of instructor.

PSYS 483 Psychology of Sexuality
Prerequisite(s): 21 hours of Foundations and Explorations courses, or junior
status. PSY 100 or PSYS 100, or PSY 220 or PSYS 220. Explores psychological, social,
emotional, spiritual and cultural aspects of sexuality including sexual development
across the life span, consensual and coercive sexual behavior, sex and gender, sexual orientation, sexuality and religious traditions, and sexuality education. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SY

RELS 333 Women and Religion
The examination of ideas and roles of women in local and global religious traditions, societies and cultures. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

SOCL 220 Marriage/Family (Web Course)
Analysis of the family institution, its structure and function and the dynamics of social change in family interaction and organization. Note: Consent of
instructor. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC | SB

SOCL 359 Sexuality and Society (On Demand Course)
Sociological examination of issues, debates, and research on pornography, prostitution, sexual orientation, and sex and the law.

SOCL 435 Family Violence
A sociological perspective on family violence in the United States, emphasizing child abuse and intimate partner violence. Research, theory, laws, treatment and prevention are analyzed.

SOM 310 Media Diversity
Explores journalistic coverage of diversity in terms of race, culture, gender, and sexual orientation in a number of mass media areas including newspaper, radio, television, film, video games, digital media, advertising, and public relations. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

THEA 341 Culture and Performance
An exploration of how dramatic works reflect, challenge and influence cultural norms and how performance can identify and address social problems. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

THEA 375 Topics in Drama
Topics-based course focusing on a particular area of dramatic theory and/or literature.