Summer Session

WST 102: Intro Women's Stds in Soc Sci

Undergraduate 3 credits

DEC: F SBC: CER; DIV; SBS

An introductory social sciences survey examining gender and sexuality theories, women's and feminist movements, and current debates within Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. The course draws on theories and methods of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology to explore how gender intersects with sexuality, race, ability and other constructed identity categories to structure power, hierarchy, and privilege.

WST 103: Women, Culture, and Difference

Undergraduate 3 credits

DEC: G SBC: CER; DIV; HUM

An introductory humanities survey focusing on evolving ideas of gender and gender roles, and how gender intersects with sexuality, race, ability and other constructed identity categories. Through the disciplines of literature, art, philosophy, and history and the critical analyses of texts, objects, historical accounts, social media, and current events, the course explores how cultural ideas of gender are expressed in different genres in the humanities.

WST 111: Intro Queer Studies/Humanities

Undergraduate 3 credits

DEC: G SBC: CER; DIV; HUM

A survey of historical representations of sexuality and queerness from the late 19th century to the present. Through examination of art, media, literature, and philosophy, and critical theory, students develop an interdisciplinary understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer identities and the moral and ethical issues surrounding sexuality. Themes include the social construction of sexuality; theories of sex, desire, bodies, and sexuality; cisheterosexism and other intersecting forms of oppression; and the historical roots of these issues.

WST 291: Introduction Feminist Theory

Undergraduate 3 credits

Prerequisite: WST 102 or WST 103

DEC: G SBC: DIV; ESI; HFA+

An introductory survey of historical and contemporary interdisciplinary theories used in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Theoretical debates on race, class, gender, nation, disability, sexuality, representation, and social movements are among the topics considered. The course will provide a strong theoretical foundation for further studies in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

WST 301: Histories of Feminism

Undergraduate 3 credits

Advisory prerequisite: WST major or minor or WST 102 or WST 103

DEC: K SBC: DIV; SBS+

A historical study of the theoretical and practical developments that form contemporary feminism and gender studies. Although the course concentrates primarily on feminist histories in the United States, it also places those histories within a transnational frame, paying close attention to class and race as well as gender. Key historical movements and events examined in the course include the suffrage movement, liberalism, socialist feminism, feminist internationalism, Black and women of color feminism, the women's liberation movement, radical feminism, and queer studies.

WST 331: JapaneseLit FemDomain

Undergraduate 3 credits

DEC: J SBC: HFA+

This course examines both writings of Japanese women and writings about Japanese women. It will challenge the application of current Western feminist standards to Japanese culture through the analysis of Japanese literary works. We will begin with Japanese mythology focusing on the stories of the creator goddess and Amaterasu, the sun goddess, from whom the imperial line was descended. We will consider the great Heian Era women writers and their culture, examining the difference between men's and women's writing. From the Heian era we will move to the Meiji Era, when Japan's isolationist period had ended and centuries' worth of Western literature was introduced to Japan. We will concentrate on the writings of Higuchi Ichiyo, noting how the position of women had changed by her day and how it affected her literary style. The course will close with a focus on how literature treats Japanese women in our own time. This course is offered as AAS 331 and WST 331.