Feminist and Gender Studies
www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/dept/feministandgenderstudies/
Associate Professor Murphy-Geiss (Co-director); Associate Professor Tallent (Co-director); Assistant Professor LEWIS
The feminist and gender studies curriculum consists of critical examination of theories about and attitudes toward women, gender, and sexuality both in Western culture and globally, with the goal of broadening our perspectives as well as of considering the conditions for the creation of a more equitable society.
THE MAJOR — REQUIREMENTS:
Students majoring in feminist and gender studies must successfully complete a minimum of 11.75 units of feminist and gender studies courses. These courses must include 110, 200, 311, 404, 405, and 410. In addition majors must take a specialized theory course; e.g., 213, 216, 249, 250, 310 or other courses with consent of the student’s FGS major advisor. Majors must also complete at least five electives, at least three of which must comprise a thematic concentration, which may be in one of several suggested areas or may be a self-designed “thematic connections” concentration. Feminist and gender studies majors are encouraged to study foreign languages and to select electives, both in feminist and gender studies and in other departments or programs that examine race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class.
THE MINOR:
A minor in feminist and gender studies is also offered. Please look under Thematic Minors.
SUGGESTED AREAS OF THEMATIC CONCENTRATION:
- Feminism and Social Change
- Feminism in Science and Technology
- Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Women of Color
Courses in these thematic concentrations change from year to year. Please consult the program for current listings of courses in each thematic concentration. In addition, students may, with the approval of the student’s feminist and gender studies major adviser, combine any of the courses selected, from any other area of concentration and/or other appropriate topics courses offered in a given academic year, to create a coherent concentration organized around an area of special interest to the student.
Feminist and Gender Studies Courses
103 Asian Perspectives on Feminism
An examination of feminism in Asia. Emphasis will be placed on the diversity of goals and strategies adopted by Asian women for liberating themselves from oppressive attitudes and customs as well as for empowering them. Traditional philosophical works, contemporary literature, film, and journal articles by Asian women will be consulted. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
110 Introduction to Feminist and Gender Studies
An interdisciplinary critique and historical examination of the origins of patriarchy in Western culture. Emphasis will also be given to the impact of women on the growth of knowledge and the organization of society. Required for the major. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
1 unit —
112 Gender Inequality
How sex roles shape our experiences. Sources and consequences of the differences between males and females. Biological processes, participation in the economy and the family. Possibilities for and consequences of changing sex roles. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
118 Gender & Communications
This course investigates the differences and similarities between male and female communication in contemporary American society within the framework of communication and feminist theory from a number of contexts, including interpersonal communication in family contexts and the work environment, public communication about gender in the media, and interpersonal and mediated communication in the education system. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
138 Feminist Religious Thought
An introduction to feminist theology and ethics in the Christian and Judaic tradition, with attention to such issues as God, love, justice, community, sexuality, liberation, and ecofeminism. Readings to include Ruether, Plaskow, McFague, Welch, and Heyward. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
143 Psychology of Gender
An examination of research and theory on psychological gender differences and similarities. This course will explore the ways in which gender is a system of meanings that operate at the individual, interactional, and cultural level to structure people's lives. Special attention is made to methodological issues, and to feminist critiques of traditional methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Psychology 100 or 101 or 111 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
160 The Psychology of Women: Women and Madness
What does it mean to be 'mad'? Is madness in the eyes of the beholder? This course examines the concept of madness as it has been applied to women from historical, psychological, social and feminist perspectives. Our goal will be to critically examine the diagnostic criteria used by the psychiatric community and popular culture to case material and investigate the 'logic' of madness, asking to what extent madness might be a reasonable response to unreasonable conditions. This course will include a careful consideration of the rising use of psychopharmacology, particularly in the treatment of depression in women. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as Psychology 160.
1 unit —
182 Prejudice and Intergroup Relations
Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.
Also listed as Race and Ethnic Studies 182 and Psychology 182.
1 unit —
200 Introduction to Feminist Thought
Introduction to the variants of feminist theory and to the philosophical, political, and practical considerations and commitments which are their foundations. Examination of liberal, radical, socialist, and other variants of feminism, as well as of their bases in liberal, anarchist, socialist, and other traditions. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
1 unit —
203 Women in Art
A survey of women artists in Western Europe and America from ancient to modern times, contrasting feminist and conventional perspectives. Social and historical context as well as special problems faced by women. Why have there been so few 'great' women artists? Are there qualities unique to women's art? Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Prerequisite: Art History 112 or a Feminist & Gender Studies course.
Also listed as Art History 203.
1 unit —
206 Topics in Feminist and Gender Studies:
Focuses on contemporary areas of concern. Courses will vary from year to year. May be taught as a block or half-block course.
Also listed as Comparative Literature 200 and Comparative Literature 352 and Race and Ethnic Studies 200 and History 200 and History 262 and Japanese 252 and Music 227 and Asian Studies 250 and Portuguese 320 and Political Science 203.
.5 or 1 unit —
210 Race, Class & Gender
We will examine theories of race, class, and gender construction in the United States and other societies, focusing on their intersections in such areas as labor, sexual relations, community, law, and other forms of cultural production. We will analyze 'identity politics' as a standpoint and as vehicle for, or obstacle to, social change. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.
Prerequisite: Feminist & Gender Studies 110 or Race and Ethnic Studies 185.
Also listed as Anthropology 209 and Race and Ethnic Studies 212.
1 unit —
215 Ecofeminism
The interconnections between feminism and ecology. Ecofeminism explores the links between systems of domination such as sexism, racism, economic exploitation and the ecological crisis. We will assess criticism of ecofeminism and evaluate the potential of this philosophy for political practice. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
216 Gender & Science
The course will consider the scientific description of women at various historical periods and its impact on the social experiences of women. We will explore the lives and work on individual women scientists and assess their contribution to science. We will examine the current feminist critiques of science. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
220 Myth & Meaning
Religion and myth of ancient Greece and Rome in relation to that of the ancient Mediterranean (Akkadian, Hittite, Sumerian, Egyptian). Female presence in art, literature and religion compared to treatment of women in their respective cultures. Theoretical approaches to the understanding of myth (Comparative, Jungian, Structuralist) in relation to myths as they are encoded in their specific cultures. Students may trace a myth through Medieval, Renaissance and modern transformations in art, music, poetry and film, or study myth in other cultures (e.g. Norse and Celtic). Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
221 Women of the Negritude
Examines the role of women from French colonies in Africa and Caribbean in the anti-colonial Negritude movement in the first half of the twentieth century. Studies how the ideology and values of the Negritude movement engaged with the major political and aesthetic ideologies of the day. Students have the option of reading the class material in the original French for French or Comparative Literature credit. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
224 Chinese Women Writers and Their Works
This course will focus on a comparative study of the voice of Chinese women writers in the 1920s and 1980s, examine women writers' works in a social-historical context, and discuss the difference of women's places and problems in traditional Chinese culture and modern Chinese society. The course will also try to define the similar and different expressions of 'feminism' as a term in the West and the East. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
225 Empire and Power: Individual and Family in Ancient Rome
Focus on how conservative Roman republican ideals were reconciled in an increasingly Hellenized empire dominated by an imperial dynasty. Topics include the changing status of traditional gender types and established class systems, the role of rulers, women and freedmen in Tacitus, Juvenal Martial, Suetonius, Seneca, Apuleius, Lucian, Plutarch, Aristides, Dio Chysostom and Claudian. Attention will also be given to representations of women and imperial families in art and statuary. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
226 Topics in Feminist & Gender Studies: Gender and Politics
Examines the following questions: Are there politically relevant differences between the sexes, and if so, are they the product of nature and/or convention? What is/ought to be the relation between the political community and private attachments? How has liberalism answered these questions? How does consideration of gender challenge liberal theories such as contract, individual rights, and human nature? Readings in both political theory and in feminist literature.
Also listed as Political Science 226.
1 unit —
228 Human Sexual Behavior
A seminar considering and analyzing human sexuality from physiological, sociological, and psychological viewpoints. Discussions will place considerable emphasis on exploring the attitudes, opinions, and values of society, as well as of course participants, in regard to human sexuality and examining the bases, social purposes and consequences of these attitudes, opinions, and values. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as General Studies 228.
1 unit —
229 Performing Music, Performing Gender
How do musical experiences help define gender roles and sexuality? These experiences are examined across a wide range of musical genres and cultural contexts. How might gender and sexual identity be shaped, for example, by writing the biography of a homosexual classical composer, joining a community of heavy metal fans, singing as an Italian castrato, or a 19th-century Indian courtesan, impersonating Elvis? Theoretical approaches drawn from feminist studies, gender and sexuality studies, and queer theory. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
230 Women in Music
This course examines the interaction of women's musical lives with politics, society, and spirituality, and will focus primarily on the twentieth century. We will look at artists like Aretha Franklin and South Africa's Miriam Makeba and their relationship to the Civil Rights struggles in their countries; Joni Mitchell, Holly Near, punk rocker Patti Smith, and performance artist Laurie Anderson and their relationship to the feminist movement; Mary Lou Williams, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith and the integration of women into jazz; Joan Tower, Marin Alsop, Maria Callas, Marian Anderson and the traditions of Western Classical Music; and the role of the ingenue and character roles in the Broadway musical - from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim. In addition to twentieth century women, we will also review the lives of women frame drummers of earliest history, as well as the seminal figures Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, and the mystic visionary Hildegard von Bingen. Women's diaries and oral histories will be a major source for the class, as well as video and extensive listening to recordings. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
231 Women in America Before the Civil War
Women in American society, from colonial times to 1860, including issues of race, class and servitude; transformations in pre-industrial work and family relationships; women and slavery; women and religion; women's efforts to reorder their lives and society. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
232 American Women in Industrial Society
Women in American society from 1860 to the present, including Victorian women on the pedestal and in the factory; social and domestic feminism in the progressive era; work in the home; urban women; immigrant and minority women; women in wartime; contemporary feminism. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
233 Women, Religion, and Society: Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism
An exploration of construction of gender and the status of women in Hindu, Islamic, and Buddhist cultures, with attention to both texts and practices. Readings survey a variety of topics including marriage, sexuality, sati, Islamic law, devotion, renunciation, and tatra.) (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
234 Sociology of Women from a Global Perspective
Economic agreements, existence of multinational corporations, information technology, and dissemination of popular culture all remind us that globalism is real, diminishing national boundaries and changing people's lives. This course will cover issues women encouter globally. Utilizing comparative historical perspective we will study the role of religion, nationalism, and secularism in shapping women's roles. We will also examine issues such as women's roles in political parties and governments, education, health and the effect of international agreements on women's status. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: One 100 level SO course.
1 unit
235 Sociology of Family
An exploration of the social history of the American family from its extended kinship form through the development of the nuclear family ideal, to the more valid forms existing in contemporary society. Emphasis is placed on how gender and race structure relationships within the family as well as the family forms themselves. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as Sociology 235.
1 unit —
238 Gender and Class in Latin America
Introduces anthropological perspectives on gender and class dynamics, including South and Central America along with the Hispanophone Caribbean. Readings center on women's role in production, reproduction, and development, while also incorporating specific approaches to masculinity and men's social roles. Emphasizes ethnographic analyses in which class and gender are treated as interconnected categories. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
239 Women, Men, and 'Others.': Gender Cross-culturally.
A cross-cultural approach to gender, emphasizing variability in the ways gender shapes social interaction and organization. After addressing the relationship between biological sex and culturally constructed gender and diverse sex-gender systems, the course proceeds to closely examine non-binary gender systems, where 'third' (or more) genders emerge: hijras in India, berdaches in diverse Native American peoples, and travestis in Brazil. Diverse anthropological and feminist theoretical frameworks are applied. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.
Also listed as Anthropology 239.
1 unit —
243 Philosophy and Politics of Identity
Considers the meanings, problems, and possibilities of contemporary identity politics. Explores different approaches toward identity and politics, including liberal, existential, and traditionalist understandings. Traces the emergence of a new kind of identity politics out of racial, feminist, and queer movements of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Assesses contemporary discussions of identity and politics, in relation to both the history of Western thought and contemporary multicultural societies. Authors discussed may include Locke, Sartre, MacIntyre, Fanon, Young, Taylor, Butler, Elshtein, Appiah, and Nicholson. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as Philosophy 243.
1 unit —
247 Women, Children and Men: Families in Historical Perspective
This course treats gender roles and family life throughout the European past, with comparative attention to families of other historical cultures and to relationships within non-human primate communities. It emphasizes the historical agency of women and children generally elided from traditional master narratives of Western Civilization, demonstrating how feminist and ethnohistorical approaches can reveal their experience. Course materials will include historiographical and anthropological literature as well as primary documents, literary works and visual sources. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as History 249.
1 unit —
248 Women, Children & Men: Families in Historical Perspective
This course treats gender roles and family life throughout the European past, with comparative attention to families of other historical cultures and to relationships within non-human primate communities. It emphasizes the historical agency of women and children generally elided from traditional master narratives of Western Civilization, demonstrating how feminist and ethnohistorical approaches can reveal their experience. Course materials will include historiographical and anthropological literature as well as primary documents, literary works and visual sources. 1 unit Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
249 Feminisims in Religion.
An introduction to feminist theology and ethics in the Christian and Judaic traditions, with attention to feminist thought in Asian religions as well. Topics include God, love, justice, community, liberation, sexuality, reproduction, and social transformation. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
251 Japanese Women Writers [writing emphasis]
Japanese women writers wrote the most heralded novels and poetic diaries in the classical literary canon; this celebration of women's literary contributions is an anomaly among world literatures. Yet for over five hundred years, women's literary voices were silenced before reemerging in the modern era, when a renaissance of 'women's literature' (joryu bungaku) captured popular imagination, even as it confronted critical disparagement. This course traces the rise, fall and return of writing by women and the influence of attitudes toward gender on what was written and read through a wide array of literary texts, historical documents, and cultural artifacts. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
253 Women in Hinduism & Islam
An exploration of constructions of gender and the status of women in Hindu and Islamic cultures, with attention to both texts and practices. Primary and secondary readings survey a variety of topics from classical and modern periods, including marriage, sexuality and reproduction, sati, Islamic law, devotion, renunciation and tantra. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Religion 140 or 160 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
257 Women in Hinduism & Buddhism
An exploration of constructions of gender and the status of women in Hinduism and Buddhism, with primary focus on normative developments in ancient and medieval India and the impact of this formative history on the lives of contemporary women. Readings from primary and secondary materials, with attention to both ideology and practice. (Offered in alternate years.) (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Religion 160 or 170 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
258 Contested Masculinities
This course draws on feminist theory, institutional analysis and sociohistorical study to consider masculinity's meanings and practices. Male power, male pain and group-based differences among men are examined. A specific topic (sports, war/the military, social change movements, individual violence, religion) is covered in depth to assess how men sustain, resist and recreate available forms of masculinity. Requirements include an original research project. Our goal is to understand masculinity's power in shaping society and our power to reshape masculinity. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Any 100 level SO course or consent of instructor.
1 unit
259 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Literature
Introduces features of what might be called a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer literacy and theoretical tradition. Uses classical, Renaissance, modern postmodern, and contemporary literature, criticism, and film to examine the complicated status and experience of non-majority sexualities. Considers writers, theorists and activists who have explored the relationships among sexuality, knowledge, and literature, including Plato, Michel Foucault, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Nella Larsen, Leslie Feinberg and Jeanette Winterson. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
271 History of Sex: Traditions
The course analyzes sexual roles and sexual practices in the world before the concept of 'sexual identity' emerged in the late nineteenth century. It examines how different religious traditions, such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism, viewed sex, and explores a wide variety of topics, including pornography, prostitution, and same-sex sexual behavior, throughout the pre-modern world. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
272 History of Sex: Modernity
The course begins with an examination of the birth of 'sexuality' in late nineteenth-century Europe and then explores the acceptance of and resistance to this new conceptual model throughout the world. Topics include heterosexuality and homosexuality, intersexuality, and 'perversion'. The course concludes with an analysis of the contemporary cultural wars over sexuality in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
274 Literature of the 'New Woman' Era
Variable topics course including selected themes organized along regional, generic, interdisciplinary, and cultural boundaries. Also may address specific treatments of women characters in works by and women during different periods of English and American literary history. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
280 Topics in Women Studies:
Focuses on various topics in literature. Courses will vary from year to year; taught by Women's Studies faculty and visiting faculty. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
284 Feminist Philosophies
(Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Philosophy 100 or Women's Studies 110 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
285 Women & the Body
The course will explore the philosophical and rhetorical dimensions of women's bodily experiences. We will examine issues of women's identity, subjectivity and embodiment through an investigation of body image, race, reproduction, and sexuality. Readings will focus on theoretical discussion of these issues. We will also rely on film, music, and narrative to understand the relationship(s) between women's bodies, their identities, and their definition in society. Most importantly, we will also draw from our own experiences as women, and/or the experiences of women we know, to help us make sense of the information we read. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
303 Sociology of Sexuality
n advanced examination of the ways in which sexual identities, desires and practices are socially constructed and, as such, how they vary historically and culturally. Addresses a range of theoretical and methodological approaches that have contributed to the sociological study of sexuality, including psychoanalytic theory, survey research, social constructionism, feminist theory, critical race theory and queer theory. Specific topics include the political economy of sex; the construction of sexual identities; intersections of sexuality, gender, race and class; social movements; sexuality and institutions; families; marriage 'moral panics.' Offered in some years as a field research and writing course.
Prerequisite: any 200-level Sociology course and Consent of Instructor.
Also listed as Sociology 303.
1 unit —
304 Studies in European Social History:
(Not offered 2012-13).
306 Feminist and Gender Studies Colloquium
A critique of traditional knowledge based on interdisciplinary research on women in such fields as history, economics, literature, anthropology, psychology, etc. (Semester-long extended format course.) (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: consent of instructor or 3 Women Studies courses.
.5 unit
307 Feminist & Gender Studies
A student-designed course in which students in conjunction with the instructor will work and read on a topic or topics of mutual interest to the group, and meet regularly to discuss their work. (Semester-long extended format course.) (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: 3 FG courses.
.5 unit
308 Advanced Topics in Feminist & Gender Studies
Focuses on a problem, topic, or issue relevant to feminist and gender studies at the advanced level. Courses and instructors will vary from year to year (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Feminist & Gender Studies 110, Feminist & Gender Studies 200, or consent of instructor.
.5 to 1 unit
310 Feminist Theory
An exploration of the many 'feminisms' which pattern the rich and expanding field of feminist theory. Focus will be on feminism's intersection with many of the important theoretical movements of the 20th century, e. g., American pragmatism, French philosophies, Marxism, postmodernism, with special emphasis on postcolonialism, psychoanalysis, black, lesbian and gay studies, etc. Possible theorists are: Butler, Kristeva, Irigaray, Lorde, Hooks, Wittig, de Lauretis, Belsey, Minh-ha. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: 110 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
311 Feminist Research Methods
Consideration of the places where gender comes into the research process from the formulation of questions through the interpretation and write-up of data. A critical examination of the feminist analysis of standard social science methodologies, including experimental designs, case studies, surveys, ethnographies, and oral histories. Students will conduct their own research using feminist methods. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Feminist & Gender Studies 110.
1 unit
313 Social History of Dance: The Birth of Mod Dnc in Am and Abrd
Explores the social and political issues of the period 1880-1950 in the development of modern dance and studies the people -- mostly women -- who were the innovators of this unique form. Viewing of videotapes, readings about each artist, and interactive projects designed to develop full understanding of each choreographer, innovator, and dancer. Practical dance techniques will also be studies. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
315 French Feminist Theory
An exploration of the writings of several important feminist theorists often labeled collectively as 'French feminism,' including Beauvoir, Irigaray, Cixous and Kristeva. Focus on the key concepts of the Other, feminist interpretations of Lacanian psychoanalysis, language and gender, difference and the body, and also on critiques of these ways of understanding gender. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
321 Public Policymaking
Forces shaping public policies and decisions; internal politics of the national bureaucracy, the Presidency and Congress. Applies theories of policymaking to such cases as the environment, race and military affairs. (Women's Studies credit available only for appropriate paper topics.) (Not offered 2012-13).
2 units
326 Studies in Shakespeare: Women and Shakespeare
Detailed study of one of the following groups: 1) histories, 2) comedies and romances, 3) major tragedies, 4) a number of the works grouped according to a thematic principle. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
332 Animal Behavior
A comparative study of the diversities of behavioral systems of animals. Lecture, laboratory and field work include ethological theories and methods, emphasizing observation, denotation and analysis of behavior. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Biology 208 and either 106 or 109; or consent of instructor.
1 unit
335 Independent Study:
Library or primary research or a combination thereof in an area of Women's Studies in which the student has a personal interest and the background to undertake the project. Must be arranged at least one block in advance.
Prerequisite: A Proposal & Arranged at least one block in advance.
1 unit —
336 Independent Study:
Library or primary research or a combination thereof in an area of Women's Studies in which the student has a personal interest and the background to undertake the project. Must be arranged at least one block in advance.
Prerequisite: A Proposal & Arranged at least one block in advance.
1 unit —
338 Latina/o Literature in the United States
Comparative study of works of Chicana, Puerto Rican, and Cuban authors, as well as Latin American writers in exile in the United States, including works by Cherrie Moraga, Gloria Anzaldua, Cristina Garcia, Nicholasa Mohr, and Julia Alvarez. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
339 Chicano Literature
Critical study of the literary production of authors of Mexican heritage in the United States from 1848 to the present, with emphasis on contemporary Chicano works including Rivera, Anaya, Valdez, El Teatro Campesino, Cisneros, Castillo, and Moraga. (Offered alternate years.) (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Spanish 306 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
348 Women's Liberation Movement in Communist China
Traces the development of the women's liberation movement in China, the growth of 'Communist Party Feminism,' the transition of women from 'beasts of burden to second-class citizens. ' (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
351 Feminist Theology
Womanist theology is talk about God that concentrates on the religious experience of African-American women. Alice Walker's term, womanist, refers to a black feminist who transmits the wisdom of black women's cultural heritage and is concerned with issues of both racism and sexism. As theologian Karen Baker-Fletcher describes the problem, 'little attention has been given to women's nature in Euro-centric ontologies, and black women have been excluded most of all. ' If humankind has been conceived as 'man' to the exclusion of women, 'woman' has been conceived as white women to the exclusion of women of African descent. What it means to be black and female is an ontological questions: what does it mean to be human in relation to God and the world when one is black and female? This course will explore the question from historical, contemporary, ministerial, and personal perspectives as a way of understanding black women and their religious development. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
352 Holy Men, Manly Men: Gods, Buddhas, and Gurus in South Asia
Cults of masculinity have been intrinsic to South Asian culture for millennia. Whether in ancient vedic literature, or in the heterodox traditions of Buddhism and Jainism and the Hindu epics that followed; whether in the ascetic traditions of yoga, the popular puranas, or the lives of modern-day saints -- the leading Man has been carefully fashioned to represent power, purity and prestige. This course examines such texts and traditions from diverse periods in Indian history in order to identify and deconstruct the ideologies that divinize masculinity and masculinize divinity. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement.
Prerequisite: Religion 160 or Religion 170 or consent of instructor.
Also listed as Asian Studies 352 and Religion 352.
1 unit —
357 Women in Hinduism & Buddhism
Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as Asian Studies 357 and Religion 357.
1 unit —
360 Women and Public Policy in 20th Century America
This course will focus on gender issues and public policy. The course will encourage you to look for the structural influences that condition individual options and choices and provide some new tools for analyzing women's lives. Looking at gender justice from a public policy perspective should alert you to the importance of political battles over policy in shaping the context in which women operate as social actors. Our focus will not be on the technical aspects of policy making, but rather on the implicit and often explicit assumptions about gender incorporated into policy and on examining the context and causes of policy shifts over time. We will also be attentive to women as political claimants seeking to influence policies that affect their lives, and to the different ways that women experience politics. One of the primary goals of this course is to address the problem of agreeing on a definition of gender justice and the consequent challenges involved in developing gender-justice policies. Topics may include: reproductive technology and control; sexual violence; workplace problems (discrimination, pay equity, childcare); welfare; women's health; military obligation. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
363 Devi: Goddesses of India
A study of various Hindu goddesses, including their iconography and particular powers, as well as the ritualistic ways in which they are worshipped in diverse regions of India, with a glimpse of feminist appropriations of Kali in the West as well. Primary and secondary readings include poetry, theology, and historical-critical studies, and films depicting various rituals. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Religion 160 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
370 Nineteenth Century American Women Writers
We'll study prose works - ranging from previously neglected texts such as Hope Leslie to familiar texts such as Little Women - by American women of the nineteenth century. We'll look at some fundamental issues that creative women have faced during this time: the social construction of womanhood, the urgent moral and political issues of the day, the emergence of an American literary culture, and how each writer situated herself in relation to the power of the written word. We'll be looking at how literature of this period both reflects and shapes the lives of middle-class women, affluent women, women of color, immigrant women, working women, married women, single women, girls embarking on womanhood and older women coming to terms with their life choices and social constraints. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: English 221 or 250 or consent of instructor.
1 unit
381 Topics:
Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement.
Also listed as Economics 390 and English 381 and History 305.
1 unit —
382 Gender Differences and Similarities
An examination of research and theory on psychological gender differences and similarities. 'Nature and nurture' explanations for differences are explored. Special attention is paid to methodological issues, and to critiques of traditional, and androcentric methods of data collection and analysis. (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: Psychology 100 or 101 or consent of instructor (201 recommended).
1 unit
387 African-American Women Writers
Three centuries of texts by African-American women who have conspired with, rebelled against, and created literary traditions, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Pauline Hopkins, Rita Dove, Andrea Lee, and Nella Larsen. (Not offered 2012-13).
1 unit
404 Senior Seminar
Students meet as a group regularly during the semester to discuss their individual senior projects. By the end of the semester, students are expected to have settled on a research question, decided if their senior project will be a thesis or a project, secured first and second readers, and produced a senior project proposal and a preliminary bibliography of materials. (Women's studies majors must take this course autumn semester of their senior year.) (Semester-long adjunct course.) (Course may only be taken on the Pass-Fail track.)
Prerequisite: Feminist and Gender Studies major; senior status.
.25 unit —
405 Senior Project:
An independent project on a topic of the student's choice. The project might entail a position paper, empirical research, a community service project, a performance or exhibit, or a combination of the above dealing with an issue in women's studies or feminist theory.
Prerequisite: Feminist & Gender Studies 200, completion of 'special theory' requirement, 311, 404 or consent of instructor, major.
2 units —
406 Feminist and Gender Studies Seminar
Students will work on independent projects and meet as a group to discuss their work-in-progress. In addition, a central text may be discussed throughout the semester. (Semester-long extended format course.) (Not offered 2012-13).
Prerequisite: 3 Feminist & Gender Studies courses.
.5 unit
410 Practicum in Feminist and Gender Studies
Students are placed in organizations working on women's issues where they work about 12-15 hours per block. Students meet in seminar twice a block. In seminars and written work, students explore the connections between feminist theory and feminist practice, as well as the connections between academic Feminist and Gender Studies and work on behalf of women in the community. (Feminist & Gender Studies majors are strongly advised to complete this course during junior year.) (Semester-long extended format course.) (Course may be taken twice for credit toward graduation.)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor or Feminist & Gender Studies 110, junior status & FG major or minor.
.5 unit —
415 French Feminist Theory
Prerequisite: Feminist & Gender Studies 110 or consent of instructor.
Also listed as English 280.
1 unit —