Women's and Gender Studies (WGST)

WGST 105     Exploration in Leadership and Social Change     1 Credit Hour

This course allows students to apply the knowledge they have gained in the academic component of the will+ program to practice through the implementation and evaluation of an in-depth collaborative social action project. It is also focused on fostering, developing, and supporting leadership by women and persons from other groups historically under-represented in positions of power. In the course students will thoughtfully consider the relationship between personal experience and action for social change to promote gender equity. They will also consider different strategies and methods for change drawing on historical and current scholarship on feminist activism. The course engages students in planning and carrying out a collaborative social change project that develops their leadership capabilities while enriching the campus and surrounding community. Finally, it offers an opportunity for students to reflect on their experiences as problem-solvers and team members and build upon those reflections to develop a plan for academic, career, and leadership development. (F, W).

WGST 303     Introduction to Women's & Gender Studies     4 Credit Hours

This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of the key theories and topics in Women's and Gender Studies. Special attention is given to how gender intersects with class, race, nationality, religion and sexuality to structure women's and men's lives. Students are also introduced to methods of gender analysis and will begin to apply these methods to topics such as women and health, gender roles in the family, violence against women, and gendered images in the mass media.

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman

WGST 323     Introduction to Critical Disability Studies     4 Credit Hours

This course is an introduction to the emergent field of Disability Studies and to the relationship between disability and gender, sexuality, race, class, and other identities. Students will engage the topic of disability through diverse perspectives, including their own personal values and beliefs as they relate to disability and society. This course will include an introduction to Disability Studies history, vocabulary, and the models that frame disability discourse as well as an exploration of key concepts from women’s and gender studies such as the social construction of identity and intersectionality through the lens of disability. Course readings and topics will include the history of immigration and disability, eugenics, the disability justice movement and its relationship to the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement, disability culture, and disabled sexuality and reproductive justice. The course materials will include academic articles, personal narratives, films, and podcasts and course assignments will encourage students to connect course content to their own experiences, identities, and future careers. (W).

WGST 325     Gender, Science & Engineering     3 Credit Hours

Explores some of the history of women in science and engineering, the current status of women in science and engineering, and feminist theory in research. Topics include cultural influences on women in science and engineering, careers and life balance, and a feminist approach to scientific and engineering teaching and research.

WGST 326     Poverty and Discrimination     3 Credit Hours

An analysis of the economic aspects of poverty and discrimination. Emphasis on the theoretical economic causes of poverty and the economic bases for discriminatory behavior, the impact of poverty and discrimination on individuals and society and the effect of reform policies on the two problems.

Prerequisite(s): ECON 201 and ECON 202

WGST 335     Women in Medieval Art     4 Credit Hours

Women have often been regarded as the second sex of the middle ages due to the misogynistic attitudes of that era. Recent scholarship, however, has unearthed a significantly more complex picture. Through a study of visual representations of women in medieval art, this course will examine women's roles in the creation and patronage of art and literature, economic and family issues, and women's participation in new and innovative forms of religious piety. (OC).

WGST 336     Perspectives in Women's Health     4 Credit Hours

This course examines women's health issues across the human lifespan, using feminist and sociocultural perspectives. Topics to be explored include the social construction of women's sexuality, reproductive options, health care alternatives and risk for physical and mental illness. Attention to the historical, economic, and cultural factors that influence the physical and psychological well-being of women is an underlying theme. (F, S, W, Y).

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman

WGST 337     Women Musicians/West Mus Hist     4 Credit Hours

Through a historical survey of female musicians from the Middle Ages to the present day, this course takes a critical look at theories of creativity and professionalism as they relate to female musical production. The course deals with women in European "art music" traditions and also in jazz and poplar music. Social and cultural norms dictating appropriate female involvement with music are examined. The historical approach will serve to reveal ways in which terms such as professionalism and virtuosity have continually shifted and changed in reference to female musical performance. The course challenges students to re-think many of the commonly accepted gender-based descriptions of particular genres and elements of music through listening and musical analysis. (AY).

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman

WGST 338     State Feminism in the Modern Middle East     4 Credit Hours

Starting in the late 19th Century governments in the Middle East began responding to calls to open new opportunities for women in society, less for the benefit of women then for the benefit of "the nation" and the men who led it. By the middle of the 20th Century women's movements across the region were pushing for full equal rights, testing the original limits of state feminism. This is the story of that process and its complicated legacy.

WGST 3385     Sex, War, and Violence     4 Credit Hours

Full Title: Gender, Sexuality, and War: Conflict and Violence in the 20th century. This course centers the often overlooked role of gender and sexuality in the 20th century European mobilizations of state violence such as the Holocaust, Armenian Genocide, and conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. It emphasizes the clashes that occured between gains in gender and sexual rights during the century and projects of state violence that were frequently aimed at dismantling these gains. Attention is paid to the intersection of race, class, religion and gender in the (re)construction of new gender and sexual heiarchies in conflict and post-conflict contexts in the region. (OC).

WGST 340     Gender and Identity in Bollywood Cinema     4 Credit Hours

India is home to the largest film industry in the world, and Bollywood, or the Hindi language film industry, plays a particularly important role in representing and influencing Indian culture. This course focuses on constructions of gender identity in Bollywood film. Through films and readings, the course examines the ways that Bollywood film addresses issues of gender, caste, sexuality, class, ability, and nationalism. It critically analyzes the cultural, historical, and political effects of these depictions as they manifest themselves in both public and intimate spheres of Indian life. The course also explores questions of “global Bollywood” and the transnational circuit of images and ideas in globalized film. Finally, the course examines subversive representations that are emerging to challenge mainstream Bollywood films’ restrictive ideas about gender and sexuality. (W, YR).

WGST 362     Women, Politics, and the Law     4 Credit Hours

An examination of the political behavior of women in American politics. Included is an analysis of the legal and legislative demands of American women. (F).

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Level is

WGST 3652     Sex Has a History     4 Credit Hours

Sex has a history. How sex has been defined and understood has changed over time. This course covers social and historical understandings of sex in America from the colonial era through the early twenty-first century. What society deems appropriate or normal shifts according to political, economic, and cultural developments, as do the consequences for acting outside of the boundaries those norms created. We will explore these transitions both through societal structures (such as laws and schools) as well as through the lived experience of everyday Americans. (OC)

WGST 366     Sexualities, Genders, & Bodies     4 Credit Hours

This course introduces key questions and debates in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer studies. Through engagement with multidisciplinary sources, students explore how sexualities, genders, and bodies are constructed and contested, how these constructions vary in diverse contexts and historical moments, and what gaps remain in our knowledge of LGBTQ lives. (YR)

WGST 370     Women in America-Hist Perspect     4 Credit Hours

A survey of American women's history from the colonial period to the present. Among the topics included are family roles, women's economic status, women's education and women in American political life. (YR).

WGST 384     Feminist Philosophy     4 Credit Hours

Feminists working in philosophy, most notably in the 19th and 20th centuries, have altered the traditional philosophical canon by first, recovering women philosophers who were essentially erased from the history and secondly, by extending and contributing to the standard questions of philosophy. For example, one central question of philosophy; "What can we know with certainty?" has been transformed through a feminist lens and reinterpreted as "What does one's gender, social location, and cultural framework contribute to what one knows?" In this course we will look at the variety of feminist philosophical theories with a focus on epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics.

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 100 or WGST 303 or HUM 303 or ANTH 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or PHIL 233 or PHIL 240 or PHIL 301 or PHIL 302 or PHIL 306 or PHIL 335 or PHIL 365 or PHIL 375 or PHIL 441 or PHIL 442

WGST 385     Language and Gender     4 Credit Hours

This course provides a sociolinguistic overview of major paradigms and critical concepts in language and gender research. It surveys linguistic features and discursive practices of gendered speech, critically examines representations of gender stereotypes in communication, and discusses myths and facts about gendered language. (OC).

WGST 386     Gender Issues in Literature     3 Credit Hours

A study of gender issues in English and American literature. The exact topic will vary from semester to semester, but the course may feature such topics as gay and lesbian literature, feminist criticism, images of masculinity, the representation of sexual ideologies, etc. Course may be repeated for credit when specific topic differs.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 231 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 235 or ENGL 236 or ENGL 237 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239

WGST 387     Gender, Sexuality, and Power in American Film     4 Credit Hours

This course examines representations of gender and sexuality and their intersections with race, class, and ability across the history of American film. The course will engage with a range of debates in film theory and women’s and gender studies, and enable students to apply concepts and theories to specific media texts. The course integrates basic elements of media production to explore means of argumentation and analysis outside the traditional essay format. (AY).

Prerequisite(s): HUM 240 or JASS 240 or ENGL 248 or HUM 248 or JASS 248 or FILM 240 or FILM 248 or WGST 275 or WGST 303 or ANTH 275 or ANTH 303 or PSYC 275 or PSYC 303 or SOC 275 or SOC 303 or WST 275 or HUM 275 or HUM 303 or JASS 350 or JASS 315 or JASS 312 or JASS 403

WGST 388     LGBTQ Religious Experience     4 Credit Hours

This course explores intersections of religion, spirituality, and faith with sexuality and gender. We center LGBTQ journeys within diverse faith traditions, including, but not limited to, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, land-based religions, new spiritual movements, and interfaith work. Assignments create room for students to engage traditions that are not covered in the course readings. The course highlights intersections at three levels of analysis: the individual or personal level (how do LGBTQ identities intersect with religious freedom and practice?), the community level (how do LGBTQ people experience belonging and rejection in diverse faith communities?), and the institutional level (how do the structures of these belief systems shape the life chances of LGBTQ people in society?). (YR).

WGST 390     Topics in Women's Studies     4 Credit Hours

Examination of problems and issues in selected areas in Women's and Gender Studies. Title in Schedule of Classes will change according to content. Course may be repeated for credit when specific topic differs. (OC).

WGST 393     Black Women, Rel & Spiritualty     4 Credit Hours

This lecture course surveys descriptive and critical literature relevant to the religious and spiritual experience and thought of African diasporic women. Studying religiosity and spirituality among this population helps students understand this influential, culturally-constructed world view of Black women as they engage in a variety of institutions including healthcare, economic activity, the criminal justice system, politics, and social relationships. The course gives particular attention to Black feminist and Womanist literature on these topics. (F).

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman

WGST 3955     Diversity and the Workplace     3 Credit Hours

This course will: 1) discuss gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, and appearance as aspects of diversity; 2) examine social values and practices, and organizational policies and procedures that affect or have affected the employment opportunities of underrepresented groups; 3) examine individual (e.g., prejudice, stereotypes), group (e.g., in-groups and out-groups), and organizational (e.g., climate and culture) processes that affect work place diversity and; 4) discuss "best practices" for promoting an organizational culture that values diversity, along with a diverse work force. (YR).

Prerequisite(s): PSYC 170 or PSYC 171 or WST 275 or OB 354 or HRM 405 or WGST 275 or WGST 303 or PSYC 275 or ANTH 275 or SOC 275 or HUM 275 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303 or PSYC 101

WGST 405     Gender Roles     4 Credit Hours

This course will investigate the development of gender roles in childhood and adolescence due to either innate physiological differences or sociological patterning, the effect of gender roles upon male-female relationships within our society, and the possibility of transcending sociological gender roles in alternate modes of living. Students cannot receive credit for both SOC 443 and SOC 543. (F, W, S).

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or PSYC 170 or PSYC 171 or SOC 201 or PSYC 101

WGST 406     Sexuality and Culture     4 Credit Hours

This course surveys distinct ways in which sex and gender roles, ideologies, expectations and relationships are socially constructed in cross-cultural contexts from an anthropological perspective. A principal focal point of exploration in the course will be the investigation of diversity and fluidity of sex, sexual orientation and gender roles found in cultures throughout the world. Students cannot receive credit for both ANTH 406 and ANTH 506. (W, YR).

WGST 409     Feminist Theories and Practices     4 Credit Hours

This course examines the different perspectives that feminist theorists have offered to analyze the unequal conditions of gendered lives. Students taking this course will develop an understanding of how theory functions as a way to know, understand and change the world. They will also be provided with a lens for comparing the assumptions and implications of alternative theoretical perspectives. A particular emphasis of this course is on theorizing the interrelationships among gender, race, class, sexuality and nationality. Course material includes applications of feminist theory to issues such as gender identity formation; sexuality; gender, law and citizenship; women and work; and the history and politics of social movements. Students will not receive credit for both WGST 409 and WGST 509. (YR).

Prerequisite(s): WGST 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303

WGST 412     Men and Masculinities     3 Credit Hours

This course addresses the question, "What is a man?" in various historical, cross-cultural and contemporary contexts. A major focus is on the social and cultural factors that underlie and shape conceptions of manhood and masculinity in America as well as in a variety of societies around the globe.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or SOC 201 or ANTH 101 or WST 275 or WGST 275 or PSYC 275 or SOC 275 or ANTH 275 or HUM 275 or WGST 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman or Sophomore
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 414     Sexuality, Gender and the Law     4 Credit Hours

This course will incorporate social scientific, feminist and queer theory, and legal perspectives to emphasize the dynamic relationship among sexuality, gender, and law. In this course, we will focus on the history of gender and law in the United States while we simultaneously focus on the changing current landscape of law and society, including laws pertaining to equal employment opportunity, violence against women, sexual orientation, and gender identity. As a result, we will assess the factors that govern the relationship between gender & sexuality and the law over time and in current events. (F).

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or WGST 303 or HUM 303 or SOC 303 or PSYC 303 or ANTH 303

WGST 416     Earl Mod Jpn Paint&Wood Prnts     4 Credit Hours

Paintings and woodblock prints of the Edo/Tokugawa (1600-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods are considered in light of competing developments that on the one hand looked to Japan's classical tradition and on the other to the influence of art and artists from China and the West. Special attention is given to female artists and images of women. Students cannot receive credit for both ARTH/WGST 416 and ARTH/WGST 516. (OC).

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Graduate

WGST 420     Kinship and Marriage     4 Credit Hours

This course draws from some of the best ethnographies of kinship and marriage to introduce students to a diverse range of kinship practices across the world. Topics include procreation, adoption, making kinship through land, houses, or food, LGBTQI families, spiritual kinship, new reproductive technologies, and transnational families. Beginning with the cultural logic of the Euro-American family, this course will spark debate about definitions of kinship and marriage, nature and nurture, and the biological and the social. It will query how and to what extent kinship matters in the 21st century. (F, YR).

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 423     Disability, Gender, and Sexuality     4 Credit Hours

This course introduces students to the relationships between disability, gender, and sexuality in society. It includes an overview of key terms and concepts from the fields of disability studies and women’s and gender studies such as intersectionality, the social construction of identity, the social model of disability, ableism, and disability justice. These frameworks will be used to explore the relationship of disability, gender, and sexuality in politics, healthcare, and culture with a focus on current issues such as abortion access, reproductive justice and the relationship between COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS. Class activities will provide students the opportunity to critically examine current and past events and media artifacts related to disability, gender, and sexuality and apply the course material to their own lives. (F).

WGST 433     Writing Women In Renaissance     3 Credit Hours

This course will be taught in English, and will focus on the influence of Italian literary models for the construction of female literary types as well as female voices in France and Italy from 1300 to about 1600. Italian authors studied include three very influential Florentines, Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, as well as Castiglione and Asiosto. We will read women poets, patrons, prostitutes and queens from Italy and France such as Veronica Gambara, Isabella di Morra, Vittoria Colonna, Christine de Pizan, Louise Labe and Marguerite de Navarre. At issue will be women's roles and women's images in city and court culture during the early modern period and the interaction of their writings with the literary canons of Italy and France.

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Graduate

WGST 436     Reproductive Health Policy     3 Credit Hours

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of reproductive health in the US. Understanding women’s reproductive health requires consideration of the intersections of gender, race, class, culture, geography, economic status, and nation within a sociopolitical context. The course introduces students to the historical trends in the regulation of women’s fertility and reproductive health. Readings draw from a number of different disciplines, including: law, medical studies, history, social sciences, and personal narratives to critically examine the intent and impact of current standards for reproductive health policy and practice. Topics include: reproductive justice, contraception, pregnancy, reproductive control, and family leave. Course discussions include a focus on health policy and activism to affect change related to women’s reproductive health, all within a framework of reproductive justice. A major emphasis is on developing critical thinking skills that can be applied to issues of women’s reproductive health in order to educate and empower students to become proactive healthcare consumers.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 201 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303 or SOC 303 or PSYC 303 or WGST 303

WGST 445     20C/21C Women Authors     3 Credit Hours

An analysis of selected works by significant and emerging 20th and 21st century women authors writing in English, with special emphasis on issues of gender and social and cultural identity.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Graduate
Cannot enroll if Level is

WGST 446     Marriage and Family Problems     4 Credit Hours

Sociological analysis of problems encountered within the institution of marriage with particular reference to such issues as choosing a marriage partner, sexual adjustment, occupational involvement, conflict resolution, child rearing, divorce and readjustment. Students cannot receive credit for both SOC 446 and SOC 546. (OC).

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or SOC 201

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 447     Family Violence     4 Credit Hours

Sociological analyses of various forms of family violence which occur disproportionately in the lives of girls and women. Topics such as incest, sexual abuse, date rape, wife battering, and elder abuse will be situated within the social and cultural context of contemporary gender relationships. Social and political responses to the phenomena will be examined. Students cannot receive credit for both SOC/CRJ/WGST 447 and SOC/CRJ/WGST 547. (F).

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or SOC 301 or SOC 443 or PSYC 405 or WST 405 or SOC 201

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 451     Family Diversity & Power     4 Credit Hours

This course investigates the changing possibilities for forming families and intimate relationships, with a focus on how social and cultural systems create and respond to these changes. Selected topics include the meanings of sex, love, marriage, and relatedness in different historical moments; struggles for recognition and protection of diverse families, including (but not limited to) interracial, interfaith, same-sex, polygamous and multi-partner relationships; LGBTQ kinship and care structures; and new technologies and their implications for family life. (YR).

Prerequisite(s): (WGST 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or PSYC 303 or HUM 303) or (SOC 200 or SOC 201) or (ANTH 101 or ANTH 202)

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Sophomore or Junior or Senior

WGST 455     Gender and Media Studies     4 Credit Hours

The course will focus on several feminist approaches used in understanding the media and attempting to create social change through the media. The role of media in the definition and reproduction of gender-based hierarchies and in the renegotiation of gender boundaries will both be explored. To this end, both mainstream and women's media will be examined. The course will take a multicultural and international perspective, incorporating concerns of class, race, ethnicity, and nation as these intersect with the study of gender and media. Mainstream and alternative media will be analyzed through readings, films, case studies, in-class collaborative exercises and longer term projects. News, entertainment, and advertising genres will be examined in a variety of media such as the printed press, television, video, film, and the Internet. (W).

Prerequisite(s): WGST 275 or WGST 303 or ANTH 275 or PSYC 275 or SOC 275 or ANTH 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or HUM 275 or HUM 303 or WST 275

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Sophomore or Junior or Senior
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 4555     Immigrant Cultures and Gender     4 Credit Hours

The history and culture of immigration since 1965, including the: (1) formation and cultural maintenance of immigrant communities; (2) relations between the homeland and the immigrant; (3) impact of migration on family life and gender roles; (4) chidren of immigrants; and (5) racial and ethnic identities. Prerequisite and junior or senior standing. Students may not receive credit for both WGST 4555 and WGST 5555. For graduate credit take WGST 5555. (F, AY).

Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or WGST 275 or WST 275 or PSYC 275 or SOC 275 or ANTH 275 or HUM 275 or WGST 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303

WGST 461     Gender, Crime, & Justice     4 Credit Hours

The course explores how gender impacts peoples' experiences with the criminal justice system. Contemporary theories of gender and organizational theory are used to examine the ways the criminal justice system reflects and reproduces gender inequalities. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: gendered experiences of offending and victimization, law enforcement and policing, prosecution and sentencing, and prison and reentry, as well as how gender influences experiences of those who work in the criminal justice system (e.g. police, corrections officers, lawyers). Students cannot receive credit for both CRJ/SOC/WGST 461 and CRJ/SOC/WGST 561. (AY).

Prerequisite(s): PSYC 275 or SOC 275 or ANTH 275 or HUM 275 or WGST 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303 or SOC 200 or SOC 201 or CRJ 200 or CRJ 300

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Junior or Senior

WGST 4650     Does Women’s History Matter?     4 Credit Hours

This seminar explores the development of the field of Women’s History, primarily through the lens of the U.S., with an emphasis on recent trends in the field. Students read some of the best scholarship of recent years as well as learn about the origins and development of the field. We also examine how women’s history functions in the broader political and cultural landscape by considering current debates around gender and the role of women’s history in popular culture. Students hone their skills at dissecting and using scholarly literature and apply the resulting knowledge to current trends and debates in the world around them. For the course research paper, students use their understanding of the field -- its guiding concepts, foundational texts, newest trajectories, and impact -- to answer the question of whether “women’s history” is still relevant. (OC).

Prerequisite(s): HIST 300

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman or Sophomore

WGST 466     Arguing Feminism: Rhetoric, Writing & Advocacy     4 Credit Hours

Full course title: Arguing Feminism: Rhetoric, Writing & Advocacy. An introduction to the work of major twentieth century feminists working in rhetoric and related fields. Students examine recurring themes of language, meaning, ethics and ideology, and practice writing strategies which address rhetorical and ethical concerns central to feminist/academic writing. (OC).

Prerequisite(s): COMP 106 or COMP 220 or COMP 270 or COMP 280 or Composition Placement Score with a score of 40 or Composition Placement Score with a score of 107

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 470     Black Women / Lit, Film, Music     4 Credit Hours

This course will examine works produced by Black women authors, activists, filmmakers and musical performers in order to determine the methods they have incorporated in order to challenge and eradicate the prevailing stereotypes about Black women while advancing their own personal and racial agendas. It will also focus on the extent to which race, gender and class have shaped the creative work of Black women. Students will be required to read, discuss, analyze and write their own responses to the works of such firebrands as author Zora Neale Hurston, activist Ida B. Wells, filmmaker Julie Dash, and singer Billie Holliday.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Program is

WGST 471     LGBTQ Literature     4 Credit Hours

This course surveys primarily contemporary literature by writers who identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, or queer. By studying the self-representation and culturally unique perspective of this emerging canon of writers, students in this course understand the emergence of LGBTQ literary traditions and understand the cultural diversity within these traditions. Students learn to identify the aesthetic qualities (such as camp, performativity, coded subtexts, homoeroticism, and the relationship between creativity and sexuality), and historical, political, and social concerns that characterize LGBTQ literary and cultural production. Topics covered include the struggle for civil rights before and after Stonewall, coming out narratives, the negotiation of homophobic cultures, post-colonial writers, and memoirs of the LGBTQ experience, as well as the historical emergence of sexual categories and the literary critique of heteronormativity. This course counts toward the English discipline diversity requirement. Students cannot receive credit for ENGL/WGST 471 and ENGL/WGST 571.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239

WGST 473     Arab American Women Writers     4 Credit Hours

Examines the literary and cultural contributions of Arab and Arab American women novelists, poets and artists to the development and consolidation of the cultures of understanding and coexistence; explores the tensions between citizenship and belonging, race and the politics of fears, gender and geographical mobility, and ethnic minorities and mainstream consciousness; discerns how Arab women writers and artists retool their various artistic endeavors to channel socio-political disenchantment, critique and civil disobedience; stresses how literary and artistic productions of a heterogeneous number of Arab American women writers and artists can indeed foster alternative visions of socio-cultural coexistence, dialogue and hospitality via artistic commitments to technical and stylistic experimentation and renovation. Students cannot receive credit for both ENGL 473 and ENGL 573. For graduate credit take ENGL 573.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is

WGST 475     Social Construction of Mental Illness     4 Credit Hours

This course explores varied cultural descriptions and models of mental illness. By focusing on the ways that culture shapes how people experience, and respond to, mental illness, this class explores cultural representations of mental illness ranging from discrete illness resulting from a chemical imbalance to a profound threat to order. We seek to understand the cultural, personal, and political underpinnings of mental illness and medical practices in societies throughout the world. The course utilizes an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing from multiple sources of information regarding mental health issues, including feminism, psychiatry, history, sociology, and literature. Issues raised throughout the course include the ways gender, race, culture, religion, and stigma influence the diagnosis of mental illness, patterns of help-seeking behavior, formation of comprehensive mental health policy, and treatment options. (F, W).

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or SOC 201 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303 or SOC 303 or PSYC 303 or WGST 303

WGST 476     Inside Out Prison Exchange     4 Credit Hours

This community-based course, taught in a local correctional facility, brings university students and incarcerated students together to study as peers. Together students explore issues of crime and justice, drawing on one another to create a deeper understanding of how these issues affect our lives as individuals and as a society. The course creates a dynamic partnership between UMD and a correctional facility to allow students to question approaches to issues of crime and justice in order to build a safer and more just society for all. The course encourages outside (UMD) students to contextualize and to think deeply about what they have learned about crime and criminals and to help them pursue the work of creating a restorative criminal justice system; it challenges inside students to place their life experiences into larger social contexts and to rekindle their intellectual self-confidence and interest in further education. (F, W).

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Class is Junior or Senior

WGST 478     Women and Gend Studies Intern     3 Credit Hours

Provides field experience in social welfare or criminal justice agencies e.g., for children/adolescents in residential programs, in abuse remediation, in probation, for chemical dependencies, in victim advocacy, for the elderly, in prisons, for special needs populations, in services, in medical/public health, in police services, and for families and communities. Supervision by approved field instructors. An internship of 80 hours is required for three (3) credits. Instructor and student will work together to determine appropriate intern placement. Approval of instructor and the Women's Studies Director in required.

Prerequisite(s): ANTH 275 or SOC 275 or PSYC 275 or HUM 275 or WGST 275 or WGST 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or ANTH 303 or HUM 303

WGST 481     Gender and Globalization     4 Credit Hours

Mass media, politics and academia are full of references to globalization, and a future "world without borders." This interdisciplinary course considers the implication of globalization for women's lives, gender relations and feminism. Topics covered include the global factory, cross-cultural consumption, human rights, global communications, economic restructuring, nationalism and environmental challenges. Rather than survey international women's movements, this course explores how globalization reformulates identities and locations and the political possibilities they create.

Prerequisite(s): HUM 303 or PSYC 303 or SOC 303 or WGST 303

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 484     Violence Against Women     4 Credit Hours

Course examines local and global social violence against women outside family and other intimate relationships. Students consider violations against women's human rights through the life cycle, which are often sanctioned under the guise of cultural practices and misinterpretations of religious tenets. Topics include sex-selective abortion and female infanticide (the "missing millions"); female genital mutilation and cosmetic surgeries; prostitution and pornography; trafficking in women; sexual harassment; and women's experiences of war as soldiers, non-combatants and refugees. Topics are "paired", that is, students compare understandings of Western and non-Western social practices related to gender. Students examine both institutionalized sexism and racism, as part of political, economic, and social systems, and sexism and racism as realities affecting individual women's lives.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 200 or SOC 201 or WGST 303 or HUM 303 or PSYC 303 or ANTH 303 or SOC 303 or WGST 275 or HUM 275 or PSYC 275 or SOC 275 or ANTH 275 or WST 275

Restriction(s):
Cannot enroll if Class is Freshman
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 486     Queer Theory & Literature     3 Credit Hours

This course reads theories of sexuality to analyze how writers since 1600 have imagined printed text to reflect and shape desire, particularly same-sex desire. The course questions how same-sex desire appears in literature written before the theorization of "the Homosexual" in the late nineteenth century as well as how writers imagine sexuality before a hetero/homosexual binary appears. Writers may include contemporary theorists (Sedgwick, Foucault, Butler) as well as novelists (Gaskell and Stoker), playwrights (Kushner and Wycherley), and poets.

Prerequisite(s): (COMP 106 or COMP 220 or COMP 270 or COMP 280 or Composition Placement Score with a score of 40 or Composition Placement Score with a score of 107) and (ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 231 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 235 or ENGL 236 or ENGL 237 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239 or AAAS 239)

WGST 487     Monsters, Women & the Gothic     4 Credit Hours

This course questions our inheritance of "the gothic" as a district literary style that continues to discipline readers' notions of gender, race, and sexual identity. The course argues that by tracing the gothic's literary history, we may simultaneously witness a history of gender formation. Readings may include English novelists who originated a gothic style in English (Walpole, Radcliffe, Lewis) as well as English and American poets and novelists who have debated as well as resisted the effects of the gothic on readers' (particularly women's) psychology (Christina Rossetti, Austen, King, Stoker).

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 200 or ENGL 205 or ENGL 206 or ENGL 230 or ENGL 232 or ENGL 233 or ENGL 238 or ENGL 239

WGST 488     Colonialism, Race & Sexuality     4 Credit Hours

Calls to decolonize our minds and institutions reverberate in many disciplines and in society as a whole. But what does this really mean? This course examines the intersections of colonialism, race, class, and sexuality and their implications for LGBTQ studies and politics. Topics include how colonial occupation and power shape our knowledge about sex, gender, and sexuality; how Indigenous struggles for land and sovereignty matter for LGBTQ+ people and studies; and how decolonization differs from and intersects with other emancipatory frameworks, such as working class and anti-racist queer movements and the knowledge they produce. Readings and assignments support students in applying class conscious, anti-racist, and decolonial frameworks to their own majors and fields. As a capstone, the course invites students to reflect on their education and integrate knowledge from throughout their college experience in a final portfolio. (YR).

Prerequisite(s): WGST 303 or PSYC 303 or ANTH 303 or SOC 303 or HUM 303 or WGST 366 or SOC 366 or WGST 388 or RELS 388 or SOC 388 or WGST 451 or ANTH 451 or SOC 451

WGST 490     Topics in Women's Studies     4 Credit Hours

Examination of problems and issues related to Women's Studies. Title as listed in Schedule of Classes will change according to specific content. Course may be repeated for credit when specific topics differ. (OC).

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 498     Womens&Gender St Thesis     1 to 6 Credit Hours

A thesis project that is the culmination of the minor in Women's Studies. Students meet with the instructor to reflect on past studies and plan current projects, to conduct research that addresses a gender issue in the larger community, and to write a thesis under the direction of the faculty member. Research involving participant-observer in social agencies is encouraged where appropriate.

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate

WGST 499     Independent Studies     1 to 6 Credit Hours

Provides opportunity for qualified Women's Studies students to pursue independent research under the direction of a qualified faculty member. Project must be defined in advance, in writing and must be in a subject not currently offered in the regular curriculum.

Restriction(s):
Can enroll if Level is Undergraduate