Gender Studies Course Descriptions

What is gender? How is it constructed by the social world in which we live? How are our models of masculinity and femininity interwoven with models of race, sexuality, class, nationality, etc.? We will explore these questions theoretically and through interdisciplinary focal points - these may include "testosterone," "beauty," "domesticity," or other examples as chosen by the instructors.

A comparative world history of both gender relations and the emergence of a feminist consciousness within the past 500 years. Case studies drawn from different regions of the world will precede the examination of the emergence of a global feminism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Topics will include the social roles of men and women, ideas about masculinity and femininity, understandings of sexual orientation, forms of systematic subordination, and the politics of modern feminisms.

An introductory course focusing on human reproduction to demonstrate some basic biological principles. The course includes discussion of cellular and organismal processes related to the development of human biological complexity. Current research in reproductive biology and its impact on the individual and society is considered. Lecture and laboratory. Primarily for non-science majors; credit not applicable to the biology major.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

Internships may be obtained in a wide variety of field settings: agencies or organizations focused on education, health care, economics, violence, legal or counseling services, or other arenas in which gender plays a formative role. For example, students might work with a Gay-Straight Alliance or at Planned Parenthood. Students will integrate a scholarly component into their internship with the help of their faculty and on-site supervisor. Students’ Internships may be done during the academic year (at a local placement or on campus) or during the summer. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

The general goal of this course is to examine the diversity of human sexuality in contemporary American society. Students will explore various social, cultural, clinical, and health perspectives of human sexuality. Topics may include gender and gender roles, love and intimacy, communication, sexual expression, contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual coercion, challenges to sexual functioning, sexual transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, and commercial sex.

This lecture/discussion course applies the interdisciplinary study of gender--the social creation and cultural representation of femininity and masculinity--to sport cultures. The course addresses how sports are shaped by gender, race, class and sexuality. Exams and projects engage topics including athletic bodies, soical stratification, media, fandom, nationality and citizenship, ability and disability, sport economics, fitness and body image.

An examination of the experiences of women in early America, focusing both on women’s lives and on the changing economic, political, and cultural roles they played in American society. Themes include women and the family, women’s religious experiences, women and industrialization, and the effects of slavery on black and white women. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course will explore the relationship between music and gender in the Western world from the Middle Ages to the present. Considering classical and popular music, including music videos and film, as well as writings about gender and music, we will explore music's role as a reflection of, reaction to, and active participant in gender construction. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This course explores Gender Studies knowledge production, including devising research questions, data gathering, writing practices, and analytical approaches. We explore the origins and ideas behind feminist and queer approaches to historical research, literary analysis, ethnography and oral history, science studies, and cultural analysis, and how methodologies combine in interdisciplinary scholarship. Students will strengthen Gender Studies understanding while developing writing skills through a research paper. PREREQUISITES: GEST 100 or any two GEST courses

An introduction to the historical and literary representations of transgender people. Using a feminist lens, this course will examine issues such as identity, pathology, representations of the “other,” and of course, cultural ideas about gender norms and appearance. PREREQUISITES: GEST 100 or consent of instructor

A consideration of the contribution of feminism to a range of subjects of philosophical inquiry, including: the philosophy of mind, ethics and the history of philosophy. PREREQUISITES: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of instructor

An examination of theory and research on gender identity, gender roles, discrimination, and gender similarities and differences. Topics include gender stereotypes, gender identity development, sexual orientation, sex education, as well as intersections of gender with other aspects of identity. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

Explores a particular topic of current interest in gender studies, and may be cross-listed with other departments. Topics will vary with each offering of the course. Different iterations of the course may be taken for credit with the instructor's consent.

This seminar engages students in critically reading literature for and about adolescents that focuses on depictions and constructions of gender and sexuality. Readings may include novels/graphic novels, poetry, and memoir, as well as scholarship on young adult literature with approaches drawn from gender, literacy, literary, ethnic, and disability studies. Discussion, short papers, and final project. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

Offers theoretical frameworks for grappling with social constructions of sexuality alongside those of gender, class, race, and other identity categories. This class, like the field itself, uses the term “queer”  to designate not just people but also practices: it explores representational and interpretive strategies that highlight inconsistencies within our cultural models of sexuality, desire, and subjectivity. PREREQUISITES: GEST 100, or another GEST class and consent of instructor

What is feminism? What are its central tenets, and how have they changed? How do they affect me now? These questions and more animate our exploration of feminist theory and practice, culminating in a final independent paper. The course includes core texts in feminist theory, with particular attention to standpoint theory, essentialism and constructionism, women-of-color feminisms, intersectionality, and work in Western and non-Western feminisms. PREREQUISITES: GEST 100 and either GEST 240 or two GEST courses numbered 100-299, or consent of instructor.

This course examines theories and experiences of race, class, gender, and sexuality that shape public and private lives. Themes include racialized sexualization; gendered participation in labor, politics, and social reform; the intersections of class, race, and gender; changing meanings of femininity, masculinity, sex, gender, and sexuality; trends in sexual expression, gender presentation, sex work, reproduction, and family formation; and feminist and other gender-equity movements. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course examines queer and trans approaches in religious studies. Discussions examine concepts of (homo)sexuality and (trans)gender in various global and historical contexts, ranging from ancient and medieval sources to contemporary communities. Readings include works in queer and trans religious studies (e.g., Gloria Anzaldúa, Michel Foucault, Hsiao-Lan Hu, Afsaneh Najmabadi, Jasbir K. Puar, Max K. Strassfeld, Roberto Strongman, Melissa M. Wilcox). Discussion, presentation, final paper.

An examination of the changing roles of African men and women in the 20th century. The course will focus on the rapid social transformations of the 20th century — colonialism, abolition of slavery, the spread of Christianity and Islam, urbanization, the birth of new nations — and their challenges to traditional understandings of what it meant to be a man or woman. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing or some gender studies background

An interdisciplinary examination of issues facing Native American women today. This course explores the ways gender, race and ethnicity shape identity as well as narrative constructions of nation in regional contexts. Readings by contemporary indigenous women authors, with field trips to federally recognized tribal lands and discussion with Native American women leaders, activists, scholars, musicians, artists and business leaders from a variety of nations.

Focusing on an array of well-known American films — “The Maltese Falcon,” “Red River,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” “Chinatown,” “Die Hard,” and “American Beauty” among them — the course will integrate film theory, gender theory, and American history to address the problem of how masculinity has been constructed in American culture since World War II. Not open to students who have previously received, or need to receive, credit for HIST 400. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore level or above

Visual culture has long defined that which is not white, not queer, and not male as deviant from the visual norm. This course will explore the way in which film culture has traditionally positioned people it defines as deviant from the racial, ethnic, gender or sexual norm and the ways in which filmmakers have responded to that positioning. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course explores how the female body and the gendering of space has been addressed in murals, paintings, performance, film, and popular culture during the course of East Asian art history. We will discuss how social and political issues were defined through images of bodies in Japan, Korea, and China in the context of national identity formation, historical reconstruction, subjectivity, and sexuality. Students will also work to develop and refine the quality of their communication skills by presenting and debating their ideas throughout the course. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

An anthropological approach to the study of gender and a/sexuality, and how they intersect with other dimensions of social difference such as race, class, and ethnicity. Topical, ethnographic approach to examining these intersections. Focus on issues such as sexual behavior, reproduction, parenting, trans* identity, work, communication, and violence. PREREQUISITES: ANTH 110 or GEST 100

An examination of the relationship between gender, social class, and material culture. Focus on how social roles and statuses are reflected in the archaeological record and on the problems in identifying and determining social roles and statuses in prehistory. Readings include studies from both the Old and New Worlds and modern theoretical approaches. PREREQUISITES: ANTH 120

This discussion-based course investigates the ways in which women and gender minorities participate in Buddhist culture around the world. By reading texts by and about Buddhist women, this course will explore the extent to which gender affects social status, leadership roles, and access to education in Buddhist communities in South Asia, East Asia, and the United States.

This course seeks to reveal the ways in which the question of monstrous difference is articulated in a variety of German “texts.” Its main goal is to examine the ways that representations of monstrousness are employed to stage complex public and private anxieties as well as to provide an expression of rebellion against various systems of hierarchy. Featured in the works of canonized authors as well as within the realm of popular culture, the representational functions of the monster can provide valuable insight into numerous aspects of German history and psychosexual relations.

This course examines the borders of the human through the figures of the vampire, monster, and femme fatale in literature, film, and the visual arts. Featured in the works of canonized authors as well as within popular culture, “monstrousness” can provide valuable insights into numerous aspects of German history and psychosexual relations. Possible texts include the early vampire film Nosferatu, Wedekind’s Lulu tragedies, Patrick Süskind’s Das Parfüm, and paintings by H.R. Giger. PREREQUISITES: GER 312

This discussion-based course examines the role gender has played in the development of Western art from the modern and post-modern periods. The student should expect to achieve an understanding of the following topics: how artists have represented, theorized, and politicized gender in their work, the gendering of the art historical canon and its marginalized artists, and how the act of looking in art reception is informed by gender and sexuality. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or GEST 100 or approval of instructor

Advanced study, arranged and carried out under the direction of an advisor. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Internships may be obtained in a wide variety of field settings: agencies or organizations focused on education, health care, economics, violence, legal or counseling services, or other arenas in which gender plays a formative role. For example, students might work with a Gay-Straight Alliance or at Planned Parenthood. Students will integrate a scholarly component into their internship with the help of their faculty and on-site supervisor. Students’ Internships may be done during the academic year (at a local placement or on campus) or during the summer. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

Nonprofit organizations have been spaces where radical social movements have found liberation and domestication. This course will explore the ways that intersectional, decolonial and queer activist negotiate, leverage, and collaborate with the nonprofit industrial complex to create social change in a system created to model oppressive structures rather than change them. Students will work with nonprofits to experience how activists create liberatory spaces in these organizations and enact social change. PREREQUISITES: GEST 300, 301 or 305. If students do not have prerequisite courses, they may obtain instructor's approval to enroll in the course.

Advanced study, arranged in consultation with an advisor. Students considering an honors project should register for this course for one or more terms. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

In this course, students will explore gender and intersectional identities in video games from an advanced and in-depth level. Students will analyze literature, multiple video games, and metacultural content while exploring the topics of gender and other forms of identity. Students will produce their own media content to share their findings with the gaming community. PREREQUISITES: FIST290, GEST100 or instructor approval

A critical analysis and discussion of recent and current events in Spain with a focus on issues of gender and sexuality, immigration, and nationalism. Students study and present on topics that affect Spanish society today by reading, watching and listening to a variety of media sources, articles and theoretical readings. PREREQUISITES: One 300-level Spanish course, its equivalent, or consent of instructor

A seminar, organized topically, exploring changing gender definitions, economic and social roles, family structures and functions, and styles of intimacy from 1000 to 1800. A variety of primary sources and scholarly interpretations examined. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing or consent of instructor

In this course we will explore some of the relationships between western musickings and gender identities in specific contexts. We will consider musickings' functions as reflections of, reactions to, and active participants in gender construction, experience, and expression. We will examine musicking as a normative force and as a space for being and making in defiance of or complex interaction with hegemonic control. We will explore ambiguities and possibilities of queer musicology, virtualities, and intersectionalities. PREREQUISITES: MUCO 212 or MUCO 202

At the upper level, the course will serve as a history seminar in preparation for the history department's capstone course. Those taking it at that level will be required to write at least one paper addressing film or gender theory and to write a 10-15 page research prospectus. Not open to students who have previously received credit for HIST 300. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing or above

This course critically examines how conceptions of love and sex encounter, confront, and negotiate capitalism’s market logic, postcolonial geopolitics, and the ethics of pleasure in building a modern nation-state. This interdisciplinary course will utilize literature from political science, sociology, and anthropology to explore these issues. PREREQUISITES: GEST 300, 301, or 305 or instructor approval

A study of the construction of gender in early 20th-century fiction and poetry. Authors include Cather, Woolf, Lawrence, Hemingway, Sassoon, and others. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing, an intermediate course in English or gender studies, or consent of instructor

This course will examine writings by both men and women that reflect on the changing social roles for women in eighteenth-century Britain. Focusing on women's labor, reproduction, reading, and writing, the course will consider to what extent women could participate in the project of the Enlightenment. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing, ENG 230, or consent of instructor

This seminar explores how French-language feminist writers sharpen visions of utopia in novels that confuse the fantastic and the mundane. From gender ambiguity to hidden lives, all-consuming passions to militant prophecies, course readings address intersections of identity (especially race, class and gender) with real-world systems of power. Assignments include daily reading reflections, presentation and discussion questions, peer-writing workshop, and creative final project. PREREQUISITES: At least one 300-level FREN course or instructor approval.

An exploration of 19th century women writers, including Sigourney, Harper, Stowe, Jacobs, Dickinson, Harding Davis, Chopin, Lazarus, Johnson, Zitlaka-sa and/or others. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing, an intermediate course in English, or consent of instructor.

In this lecture/discussion course, we will grapple with the difficult poetry of Emily Dickinson, one of the greatest, and most mythologized, of American poets. Cutting through the myths of Dickinson, we will attempt to get to the truth of Dickinson by careful readings of her poetry and archival investigations of its historical and material contexts. Assignments will include short weekly papers, presentations, and a substantial final research project. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing or one course in English at the 200-level or above, or consent of instructor.

This course examines the relationship between the constructions of gender identities and music performance and practice, and looks at history and development of approaches, theories, and studies regarding this relationship. Each week contains theoretical readings from gender studies, women’s studies, or feminist scholarship as well as ethnomusicological case studies from a variety of locations around the world. PREREQUISITES: MUCO 212 or MUCO 202 or GEST 100 or GLST 100 or consent of instructor.

Seeking to uncover lives that had remained largely hidden, women writing in French have revealed and shared their innermost desires and frustrations. French and francophone women writers have braved ostracism to question their identity and their relationship to family and society. Authors may include Duras, Djebar, Cixous, Bugul, Kristeva, Sebbar, Sand, Colette, and Hébert. PREREQUISITES: One 400-level French course or consent of instructor

In this lecture/discussion course, we'll look at the great stylistic variety of poetry that Black women have been writing during the past twenty years. Students will consider poetry through the lenses of critical race and gender criticism and will write weekly short papers and a substantial research paper. Poets may include Marilyn Nelson, Natasha Trethewey, Claudia Rankine, Tracy K. Smith, Nikky Finney and others. PREREQUISITES: ENG 250, ENG 260, or junior standing; or consent of instructor

This course examines social development with a particular focus on gender issues. Topics include gender identity in intersection with other types of identity development (e.g., ethnicity), sex education, gender role socialization, sexual orientation development, and parenting.

Advanced study, arranged and carried out under the direction of an advisor. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Internships may be obtained in a wide variety of field settings: agencies or organizations focused on education, health care, economics, violence, legal or counseling services, or other arenas in which gender plays a formative role. For example, students might work with a Gay-Straight Alliance or at Planned Parenthood. Students will integrate a scholarly component into their internship with the help of their faculty and on-site supervisor. Students’ Internships may be done during the academic year (at a local placement or on campus) or during the summer. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

Advanced study, arranged in consultation with an advisor. Students considering an honors project should register for this course for one or more terms. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

A debate and discussion of particular topics, methods, issues or research of current interest in gender studies or feminist theory. May be used to meet the Senior Experience requirement. PREREQUISITES: GEST 100 and 240

Advanced study, arranged and carried out under the direction of an advisor. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Internships may be obtained in a wide variety of field settings: agencies or organizations focused on education, health care, economics, violence, legal or counseling services, or other arenas in which gender plays a formative role. For example, students might work with a Gay-Straight Alliance or at Planned Parenthood. Students will integrate a scholarly component into their internship with the help of their faculty and on-site supervisor. Students’ Internships may be done during the academic year (at a local placement or on campus) or during the summer. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

Advanced study, arranged in consultation with an advisor. Students considering an honors project should register for this course for one or more terms. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.