Women's and Gender Studies

Faculty

Ruth E. Schmitter, program chair and associate professor of biology.
B.S., 1964, Michigan State University; M.Sc., 1966, University of Edinburgh; Ph.D., 1973, Harvard University. Appointed 1982.

Trisha Franzen, professor of women's and gender studies.
B.A., 1978, State University of New York, Buffalo; M.A., 1984, Ph.D., 1990, University of New Mexico. Appointed 2003.

Introduction

Women's and gender studies is an interdisciplinary program that examines the role of gender in the construction of lives, cultures, community norms, meaning systems, and systems of representation. All of the areas of study within the program use cross-cultural or multicultural investigations to understand the dynamics and differences in the operation of gender. Within specific contexts but also across differences, the program also focuses on the lives of women--on women's past and present active involvement in the making of the world. Each of the areas of study also emphasizes the ongoing interplay of theory and practice.

The program also includes minors in both gender studies and women's studies (see below).

Majors and Minors

Requirements for Major

• Eight units as well as a senior capstone experience (one-half or one unit). The requirements for each track are described below.

A senior exit interview will be used for assessment purposes.

Six different courses, at least one from each of the following emphases. The six courses must be selected in consultation with the program director or the faculty member in the program.

Institutions or Knowledge Systems

This requirement emphasizes the study of the systemic nature of gender or of the critical perspectives brought to a discipline by feminist theory or gender theory.

Anthropology and Sociology 333: The Sociology of Sex and Gender, Melzer (if not taken as the theory requirement)
Anthropology and Sociology 360: Intimate Violence, Melzer
Biology 368, 368L: Behavioral Ecology, McCurdy
Communication Studies 207: Communicating Gender, Erlandson
English 363: Literary Theory, Collar
Religious Studies 320: Gender and Biblical Interpretation, McWhirter
Science 205: Women and Ethnic Minorities in Science, Schmitter

Representations

This requirement emphasizes feminist approaches or gender study approaches to the examination of gender in representations; this requirement also can involve the recovery and examination of representations that previously had been invisible due to gender bias.

Art History 310: Women and Art, Wickre
English 330: The Novel and the New: British Fiction, Behn to Bronte, Jordan
English 340: The Twentieth Century in “English” Literature, Collar
English 341: Contemporary Literature, Collar
English 345: Renaissance Women's Writing, MacInnes
English 347: The Age of Satire, Jordan
English 402: Southern Women Writers, Lockyer

Global Perspectives

This requirement emphasizes the importance of gaining knowledge far from one’s own subject position. For this unit, students must choose a course outside their own cultural and geographical experience.

For U.S. students, some options:
Anthropology and Sociology 332: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender, Mullin (if not taken as the theory requirement)
Art History 205: History of African Art, Staff
History 301: Gender and Sexuality in the Hispanic World, Kanter
History 365: Women and Gender in East Asia, Wu

For international students, an option:
History 340: History of Women in the U.S., 1877 to Present, Franzen

Historical Contexts

This requirement emphasizes the study of women or gender in specific and detailed historical context(s) or the study of the methodology of women’s or gender history.

Economics and Management 305: Women in Business and Leadership, Baker
English 220: The Making of Modern Masculinities: British Literature and Manliness,
1660-1914 , Jordan
English 243: Women and Literature, Lockyer
English 285: Gay and Lesbian Literature, Jordan
English 338: Eighteenth-Century Culture Shocks: Race, Class, and Gender in Eighteenth-
Century Britain, Jordan
English 344: Age of Elizabeth, MacInnes
English 345: Renaissance Women's Writing, MacInnes
English 347: The Age of Satire, Jordan
French 320: French Women Writers and Feminist Criticism, Guenin-Lelle
German 350: German Women Writers, Staff
History 301: Gender and Sexuality in the Hispanic World, Kanter
History 340: History of Women in the U.S., 1877 to Present, Franzen
History 365: Women and Gender in East Asia, Wu
History 390: Modern Germany, Cocks
History 395: The Irrational in History, Cocks
Physical Education 279: Gender and Sport, Staff

Self Making

This requirement emphasizes the feminist and gender studies examinations of processes and narratives that transform beings into gendered humans.

Anthropology and Sociology 230: Men and Masculinities, Melzer
English 220: The Making of Modern Masculinities: British Literature and Manliness,
1660-1914, Jordan
English 246: Immigration and Literature, Collar
Psychology 251: Developmental Psychology, Elischberger
Women's and Gender Studies 289: Sexuality, History, Identity, Franzen

Requirements for Minor in Gender Studies

• Five units, including: WGS 116, Introduction to Gender Studies; one from Anthropology and Sociology 332, 333 and WGS 360, Feminist Theory; three additional courses from the electives listed below, at least two of which must be at the 300 level or higher: Anthropology and Sociology 230, 332, 333, 360, Biology 368, Education 225, English 211, 220, 285, 337, 341, 344, 347, 351, 363, 370, History 308, 377, Physical Education 279, Religious Studies 320.
• Elective courses should be selected in consultation with a women's and gender studies faculty member and reported to the Women's and Gender Studies Program chair.

Requirements for Minor in Women's Studies

• Five units, including WGS 106, Introduction to Women's Studies, and WGS 360, Feminist Theory; one historical overview course; and two others from the electives listed below, at least one of which must be at the 300 level or higher: Art History 219, 310, 316, English 243, 338, 345, French 320, History 340, 370, SCI 205, Theatre 210.
• Elective courses should be selected in consultation with a women's and gender studies faculty member and reported to the Women's and Gender Studies Program chair.

Women's Studies Courses

106 Introduction to Women's Studies (1)
Introduces some of the basic issues, debates and language surrounding the feminist "revisioning" of the traditional academic curriculum. Issues—education, images of women in various media, work, sexuality, male violence and race—approached from various disciplines, with emphasis on literature and the social sciences. Franzen.

116 Introduction to Gender Studies (1)
An introduction to gender studies including works that place gender at the center of scholarly inquiry as well as related material drawn from women's studies, men's studies and lgbt/queer studies. Focuses on gender and difference, considering how issues of race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, age and abilities interact with gender. Though most of the studies are based in the United States, global issues are introduced. Franzen, Staff.

187, 188, 189 Selected Topics (1/4, 1/2, 1)
An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.

287, 288, 289 Selected Topics (1/4, 1/2, 1)
An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.

360 Feminist Theory (1)
Prerequisite: WGS 106 or WGS 116 or permission of instructor.
Explores twentieth-century feminist thought from the United States and Great Britain with some attention to other influences. Grounds feminist theory within the grassroots women's movement, a social, cultural and political movement for change. Tracing the influence of feminism in the academy, the course surveys not only the critical and analytical foundations of the field of women's studies but also the impact of women and gender-centered scholarship on the traditional disciplines. The challenges to feminist theory raised by U.S. women of color, working-class women, lesbians and other women who have experienced multiple oppressions are explored along with the women's examinations of the intersections of sexism and racism, classism, homophobia and other systems of power. Franzen, Collar.

387, 388, 389 Selected Topics (1/4, 1/2, 1)
An examination of subjects or areas not included in other courses. Staff.

391, 392 Internship (1/2, 1)
Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.

398 Practicum (1/2)
Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.

401, 402 Seminar (1/2, 1)
Staff. 

411, 412 Directed Study (1/2, 1)
Directed studies generally are reserved for those students who have schedule conflicts between two majors. They are also available for students pursuing honors theses. In specific cases, students may request directed studies that cover topics beyond the scope of the current curriculum. These students are expected to present their proposed plan of study to the instructor for approval well in advance of registration. Staff.