Graduate Women and Gender Studies Courses

Graduate Courses

WMS 502 Women's Health (A)

Studies women as healthy functioning human beings. Includes lectures and discussion with guest speakers to present positive information and insights on anatomical, physiological, mental, spiritual and emotional aspects of today's woman. 3 Cr.

WMS 503 Biography and Life History (A)

Studies the expression of life stories, their collection and recording, and their presentation in written format. Includes the evolution of the life history in anthropology and oral history; genres of life history; gender and life stories; the life history as an expression of the self vs. the life history as a window on culture; and the limitations of life history research. 3 Cr.

WMS 509 Feminist Theory (A)

Provides an advanced interdisciplinary and multicultural introduction to the main traditions of feminist theory, to the impact of feminist theory on a variety of disciplines, and to feminist theory as applied to various issues in society and culture. Major/Minor requirement. 3 Cr. Spring.

WMS 510 Contemporary Women Playwrights (A)

Examines selected works by 20th-century female playwrights from America, Africa, China and England, (with units on African-American, Chicana, lesbian, and Asian-American writers) in the context of feminist theory as it applies to theatre practices. Includes explorations of the ways in which contemporary female playwrights present gender and gender experiences as staged with multiple cultural contexts. 3 Cr.

WMS 511 Feminist Research Methods (A)

This course provides an advanced framework for learning about methods of research from a feminist perspective. The course content explores the research process as a whole with a focus on gathering and interpreting data that gives voice to women and gendered experiences. Readings, written reflections, and a final research project shape the course structure and its learning outcomes. 3 Cr.

WMS 519 Human Sexuality (A)

Provides each student with the opportunity to gain an awareness of him/herself and others as sexual beings. Examines sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors throughout the various life stages, in order to integrate human sexuality into one's total health and well-being. 3 Cr.

WMS 521 Women in the English Novel (A)

Studies significant authors treated singly or in coherent combinations. Content varies with appropriate subtitles provided for the individual course. May be repeated for credit with significant change in focus. 3 Cr.

WMS 522 Womens Education in the Developing World: Comparative Perspectives (A)

This course looks at women's education in the developing world. It raises questions on social mobility, inequality, women's role in the economic and social development of the third world society. Recent research on the topic will be reviewed; case studies will be drawn from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A comparative analysis approach will be used throughout this course. 3 Cr.

WMS 523 Black Feminist Theory (A,I,W)

A critical analysis of Black feminist theoretical approaches to studying Black women's oppression and liberation struggles from 1800s to present. Focus on race, sexuality, gender identity, and expression to understand ways systems of power and dominance operate across state, nation, empire. Analyze seminal theoretical texts, fiction, and poetry to locate feminist theories and practices within a tradition of Black women’s activism, theory, and cultural production. Requires minimum grade of C for general education/major/minor/certification 3 Cr. Every Semester.

WMS 525 Women and Safety (A)

Examines issues of violent crime and personal victimization, especially for women, and the implications for personal crime prevention. Includes an in-depth examination of these violent crimes (e.g.: sexual assault, relationship violence), followed by a focus on individual strategies for maintaining personal safety and reducing crime risks. Considers crime prevention for children and other special populations. 3 Cr.

WMS 527 Women in the Novel (A)

Examines in-depth select novels and, on occasion, novels from other countries, to consider their thematic forms and functions, their literary significance, and especially what they reveal about the roles of women and attitudes to patriarchy. 3 Cr.

WMS 536 Gender Issues K-12 (A)

Focuses on the issue of gender in schools K-12. Identifies and examines the ways in which gender roles are reinforced in schools and studies the ways in which race and class interact with gender to influence the schooling experience. Presents ways in which teachers and other educators can promote an equitable educational experience for all students. 3 Cr.

WMS 538 Women and Gender in Latin American History (A)

Examines at an advanced level the diversity of Latin-American and Caribbean women's experiences from Iberian conquest to the 20th century. Analyzes the gender dynamics of colonial, national, dictatorial and revolutionary states, economies and cultures, as well as the importance of women's movements and feminism. Discusses Latina history in the US and Latin-American and Caribbean masculinity in historical perspective. 3 Cr.

WMS 542 Topics in Women's Literature (A)

Provides advanced study of women in literature and women's literature, focusing, for example, on some aspect of female lives, such as adolescence; on one or more female authors writing in a shared tradition, genre or period; or on women writing on a common topic or from perspectives held in common. 3 Cr.

WMS 544 Sexuality, Gender, and Identity in Medieval Europe (A,W)

Studies thematic history of gender and the roles of women in medieval societies (ca. 500-1500 CE) and the historical study of the European Middle Ages, particularly as women experienced them. Considers the “social construction” of the category of “woman” or “women,” and examines the perceptions medieval society fostered about gender; analyzes how factors such as social class, work and professional status, legal structures, and sexuality created differences among individuals of both genders in medieval society, and compare/contrast how such structures affected both women’s and men’s lives. 3 Cr.

WMS 551 Women and Work (A)

Examines women's work from cross-cultural, historical, and sociological perspectives, with particular emphasis on the analysis of the role assigned to women in late industrial society as housewives. 3 Cr.

WMS 552 Women and Health (A)

Analyzes the myths and realities of women, health and illness. Includes a review of the place of women in the health-care system as patients and health-care providers. Concentrates on women/health/illness in the 20th-century US, but uses cross-cultural and historical materials to give an added dimension to the theories and substantive materials of this field. 3 Cr.

WMS 553 French Female Gaze: Women Writers and Filmmakers (A)

Through an exploration of texts and films authored by women, introduces students to a range of leading contemporary French-speaking writers and directors. Students examine recurrent themes and forms in recent women’s writing and film making, including the representation of identity; the concept of origins; the intersection of class, race and gender; sexual repression and/or liberation; and the textual and cinematic strategies underpinning these considerations. 3 Cr.

WMS 557 Women and Film (A)

Focuses on films by women. Considers the following questions: Have women filmmakers depicted the world differently from "dominant" cinema? What possibilities exist for forms of "feminine" film discourse that are truly different from dominant film discourse? What has been the history of women filmmakers? How many of these women have indeed tried to speak a different "language"? 3 Cr.

WMS 558 Women and Education in the Arab World (A)

Examines the persistent cultural and socioeconomic barriers to women’s education in the Arab World. Investigates how women’s education is influenced by religion, culture, family, teachers and costs, not only in relation to the decision of going to school but also to their education path. Contemporary concerns in education such as equity in schools, in higher education, and in the job market are also addressed. 3 Cr.

WMS 570 Women's Popular Culture (A)

Explores women's popular culture to engender a cultural analysis. Considers such questions as how women's popular culture responds to women's psychosocial needs and how it functions within the dominant culture. Examines samples of the fiction and films that represent 20th-century American women's popular culture. 3 Cr.

WMS 578 Gender and Race in Modern America (A)

This course is equivalent to HST or AAS 578. This reading seminar will focus on ideas about, and the lived experiences of, gender and race from Reconstruction (1865) to the present. This course explores the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality and examines a multiplicity of themes affecting differing women's lives. Discussions will include a focus on the historical social construction of gender, the impact of race, sexuality, reproduction, work, education, media, material condition (class), and women's agency. Graduate students are expected to do extra reading and lead at least one discussion as well as write longer papers. 3 Cr.

WMS 581 Women and the Criminal Justice System (A)

Examines women's relationship with crime and the criminal justice system. Specifically provides a study of women and crime, victimization and occupational obstacles and opportunities. Develops students' understanding of how social, political and economic conditions affect these problems. 3 Cr.

WMS 585 Public History Internship (A)

Combines a ‘hands-on’ public history internship experience with classroom seminars for discussing readings and sharing experiences. Students will intern in local or regional archives, historical societies, historians’ offices, and museums. 3 Cr.

WMS 596 Sex and Censorship (A)

Considers the expression of sexual themes-and censorship of them-in contemporary literature, film and media. Includes topics such as the erotic in art, definitions of pornography and obscenity, evolution of censorship standards and practices, the Hollywood Code, the US Commission on Obscenity and Pornography (1970) and its critics, and recent feminist perspectives. 3 Cr.

WMS 599 Independent Study in Women's Studies (A)

Designed individually through consultation between the student and instructor to suit the student's needs and interests and the special competence of the instructor. Additional requirements may be established by the department. 3 Cr.

WMS 643 Safe and Healthy Relationships (A)

Crosslisted with: PBH 643. This course examines safe and healthy relationships throughout the life cycle. It will provide an emphasis on health literacy, as well as effective ways to teach about safety skills to manage healthy relationships. This will include issues in teaching and learning about social emotional learning (SEL), conflict resolution, violence prevention, HIV/AIDS/STl's and sexuality. The course will also examine risk factors, prevention methods and skill strategies to effectively promote positive safe and healthy relationships in schools and communities. 3 Cr.

WMS 651 U.S. Women’s History Seminar (A)

Crosslisted: as WMS651. Students will explore the history of women in the United States. Seminar readings will begin with the colonial period and continue through the latter twentieth century. Topics of focus include women’s work and family lives; involvement in political movements; differences and conflicts across race and class; the expression and regulation of female sexuality; changing definitions of femininity and womanhood; and women’s relationship to the state. Students will also explore historiographical trends in women’s history and read feminist theory that is relevant to historical interpretation. Regular short writing assignments, one longer book essay, and a longer final paper are required. 3 Cr.

WMS 699 Independent Study in Women's Studies (A)

Designed individually through consultation between student and instructor to suit the student's needs and interests and the special competence of the instructor. Additional requirements may be imposed by the department. 3 Cr.