Undergraduate Courses

Sections

• IN PERSON:  TU/TH 9:30-10:50 am - Marleen Villanueva
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Jose Flores Sanchez
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Galia Cozzi Berrondo
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Jade Kai
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Lynette Kwaw-Mensah
• ONLINE Asynchronous - LaQuette Holmes
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Tasmia Haque

Description

• 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.

Sections

• IN PERSON: M/W - 11:00-12:20pm - Sonbol Bahramikamangar
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Instructor Nancy Hiemstra, TA's: Maura Conley, Arundhati Agomacharyya, Toni Gaudiosi, Luciana Lewis, Heewon Sohn
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Emillion Adekoya
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Lizbeth Zuniga
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Suzanne Staub

Description

• 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.

Sections

• IN PERSON: Tu/Th 12:30-1:50pm - Kassel Franco Garibay
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Mar Galvez Seminario

Description

• 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.

Sections

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 11:00-12:20pm - Marleen Villanueva - "Water is Life: Indigenous Environmental Justice"
• IN PERSON: M/W - 2:00-3:20pm - Manisha Desai - "Gender and Globalization"

Descriptions

• "Water is Life: Indigenous Environmental Justice" - Drawing on Indigenous feminist scholarship, activism, and cultural knowledge, this course examines the intersections of Indigenous sovereignty, gender, and environmental justice. Through historical and contemporary struggles around land, water, and resource extraction, this course considers how Indigenous communities resist environmental violence and envision sustainable futures. Students will engage critically with topics such as settler colonialism, climate justice, pipeline resistance, and the protection of sacred lands and waters. 
• "Gender and Globalization" - In this course we will examine how gender, class, race, sexuality, disability, and location shape how people encounter and experience the economic, cultural and political processes of globalization. Who benefits, who loses out, whose rights are protected versus whose rights are trampled upon and how do all these actors respond and in turn shape these processes. These are among the questions we will explore in this class through films, readings, and in-class activities.

• IN PERSON: M/W 11:00-12:20pm - Suzanne Staub
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Ritch Calvin
• ONLINE Asynchronous - Hayden Cuttone

Description

• 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.

Sections

• IN PERSON: M/W 11:00-12:20pm - Ritch Calvin
• ONLINE Asynchronous - AJ Castle

Description

• 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.

Sections

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 12:30-1:50 - Victoria Hesford

Description

• A study of major feminist and queer texts in the social sciences and humanities, providing a deeper examination of theories of bodies, power, and subjectivity. Embodiment, intersectionality, psychoanalysis, political economy, knowledge production, and representational systems are among the topics covered.

Sections

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 12:30-1:50pm - Peter Bruno

Description

• If fascism cannot solve the material basis for class antagonisms, but instead must provide never-ending psychological investment in the form of impossible nostalgia and manufactured scapegoats, then how exactly does this work? And, more importantly, why does this work? With the rise and fall of fascisms repeated around the world, shouldn’t we all know better by now? While there is some truth to this popular account of fascism, its causes and effects remain vague and obfuscated. Although fascism does create victimized in-groups while attempting to cleanse and purify the nation of demonized out-groups, this is not a random or arbitrary process. Rather, fascism promises a return to the “natural order” of things. Crucial to this fantasy of supremacy against degeneracy is biological essentialism—that of sex, race, IQ, ability, etc. This semester, our class will interrogate how fascist social reproduction is haunted by fears of equality and dangerous freedoms that threaten to undo these supposed natural hierarchies. We will do this by refusing the tendency to view patriarchal restoration as merely incidental to fascism, and instead, understand how the category of gender is fundamental to fascism’s character and appeal.

Sections

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 11:00-12:20pm - Cristina Khan

Description

• Today, about 130 million people of African descent live in Latin America, which constitutes a quarter of the total population. In this course, we will study the development and expansion of Afro-Latinx as an identity category claimed by Latinxs both in the U.S. and Latin America. Beginning from the Atlantic slave trade onto present day, we will examine the intersections of Blackness and Latinidad relative to imperialism, diaspora, and race. We will study the histories of Caribbean afrodescendientes, including Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans, and survey the contributions and experiences of afrodescendientes in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. The guiding questions we will undertake include: what does it mean to be both Black and Latinx in the U.S.? Who gets to claim Afro-Latinidad? What are the politics behind the “Afro” prefix? Central themes include colorism, how identity is constructed differently across time and space, the racialized coding of language (i.e. “pelo malo,” “mejorar la raza”), and media representations of Afro-Latinxs across the Americas. 

Sections

• IN PERSON: Wednesdays 2:00-4:50pm - Genie Ruzicka

Description

• "We all the have same 24 hours in a day." This phrase is often used to shame others for their lack of accomplishments in comparison to famous figures, but is it true? This course critically engages with the concept of time as a foundational organizing principle of our society. Students will learn how time, like race, gender, and sexuality, is a social construct that shapes and is shaped by privilege. We will discuss time in relation to three key themes: identity, history, and futurity. Students will learn to apply their knowledge from this course to analyze real-world events, such as the push to ban Critical Race Theory from schools, among others. Many of the assignments/activities in this course will be interactive so students can engage with the concepts and themes in an immersive manner.
   

Sections

• IN PERSON: Thursdays 2:00-4:50pm - Liz Montegary

Description

• Abolish the family! Wait, what? Which family? What do we mean by “abolish”? Is this a good idea? These are the questions we will explore in this special topics course. Feminist and leftist thinkers have been calling for the abolition of the family for over a century. While these thinkers understand that families are often sites of love and support, they also know that the private family can be a place of pain, coercion, and even violence. So, they have tried to think beyond the nuclear family and to imagine better and more sustainable ways of loving and caring for each other. In this class, we will learn about the history of family abolitionism, and we’ll consider the limits and possibilities of abolishing the family. Along the way, we’ll look at how family abolitionist demands have figured into Marxist (feminist) projects, utopian socialist imaginaries, gay and women’s liberation, queer Black and indigenous feminist thought, and anti-fascist trans feminist organizing. In addition to situating family abolition with respect to Black freedom struggles and prison abolition movements, we will also think seriously about the practical implications of family abolitionist politics at a moment when rightwing forces are accusing feminist, queer, and trans communities of destroying families and, by extension, the foundations of western civilization. 

Sections

• IN PERSON: Mondays 2:00-4:50pm - Nancy Hiemstra
• IN PERSON: Tuesdays 2:00-4:50pm - Lisa Diedrich

Description

• The senior research seminar is the capstone course for the interdisciplinary major & minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Utilizing research skills, concepts, methods, and materials generated from their coursework in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, students conduct interdisciplinary research to produce a research paper and formal presentation on their topic of choice formulated and developed in seminar activities.

• IN PERSON: M/W 5:00-6:20pm, Instructor Adryan Wallace

• IN PERSON: M/W 3:30-4:50pm, Instructor Adryan Wallace

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 9:30-10:50pm, Instructor Tracey Walters

• IN PERSON: M/W 5:00-6:20pm, Instructor TBD

• IN PERSON: M/W 11:00-12:20pm, Instructor Illeana Jimenez

• IN PERSON: M/W 11:00-12:20pm, Instructor Asha Bhandary

• IN PERSON: M/W 5:00-6:20pm, Instructor Juliette Passer

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 6:30-7:50pm, Instructor Victoria Smith

• IN PERSON - Tu/Th 11:00-12:20pm - Marci Lobel

• IN PERSON - M/W 2:00-3:20pm - Stephan Brandt

• IN PERSON: Tu/Th 11:00-12:20pm, Instructor Rachelle Germana 

• IN PERSON: Wednesdays 6:30-9:20pm, Instructor Catherine Marrone 

• IN PERSON: M/W 2:00-3:20pm, Instructor Rebekah Burroway

• IN PERSON: TU/TH 12:30-1:50pm, Instructor Nick Mangano