Registration Resources
Women’s Studies Program
Women’s Studies Courses
Topics to explore.
The following are descriptions of the courses that are or have been offered by the Women's Studies Program. Please check the schedule of classes for current courses offered and refer to the Helmke Library Women's Studies Resource Guide for research assistance.
This interdisciplinary course explores and analyzes the position of women and the role of gender in the institutions of the United States, including the family, education, government, law, the economy, and religion. It includes an examination, through the lenses of feminism, of women’s historic and contemporary status legally, politically, and economically, as well as women’s struggles in identity, expression, sexuality, and lifestyle. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Social and Behavioral Sciences distribution requirement and for General Education category B5: Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing.
Study of writing as an instrument to advance social justice and practice in producing researched writing projects that support community and institutional transformation. Emphasis on research methods and documentation, rhetorical and cultural analysis, and writing for a variety of contexts. May involve direct work with communities outside the university.
Prerequisite: ENG 13100
This course integrates feminist theoretical perspectives on global politics with discussions of a wide range of women’s issues. Specifically, it focuses on transnational feminism, world media and representations of women, global politics of the body, sexualities, politics of women’s health, reproductive rights, and women's work within the global economy, while emphasizing issues of global justice and exploring the differences and similarities that simultaneously divide and unite women across the globe. Variable topic course. May be repeated once with a different topic. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts or the Cultural Studies (Non-Western Culture) requirement and General Education Capstone. Also approved for General Education Area VI.
Prerequisite: sophomore, junior, or senior standing or consent of instructor. Some sections may also require WOST 21000 as a prerequisite.
Previous topics include the following:
- Transnational Perspectives on Gender, Sex, and Power
- Beyond the Harem: Women in North Africa & the Middle East
- The Ethics of Development & Labor (In)Equality
- Myths, Encounters, and Narratives: Ways of Knowing Women in Turkey and MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
- Women of the Second World - Gender and Sexuality in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
- Women & Islamic Spirituality
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of those crucial feminist texts that have given shape to Western feminism and feminist theory as we know them today. Toward that end, we will look at a wide variety of texts, covering both the foundational texts of the 19th and 20th centuries and more recent writings that have shaped contemporary feminist discourse, focusing largely on writings from the United States. Along the way, we’ll orient our studies along topical lines, looking in-depth at those debates and theoretical terms that have been central to feminist theory, including essentialism, constructionism, epistemology, power, intersectionality, and so on. We will explore not only the themes that cohere the body of writings we call “feminist theory” but also the tensions and conflicts that have made it such a dynamic field of study. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Humanities distribution requirement.
Prerequisites: WOST 21000 and ENGL 23301
An interdisciplinary approach to selected ideas, trends, and problems in women’s studies. This capstone course focuses on issues and controversies in the new scholarship on women. Specific topics announced in Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing; twelve credits of women’s studies course work; or permission of instructor.
Disciplining Women's Studies
This capstone course will explore the history and state of women’s studies within higher education today through an examination of the major questions that have defined the field. How, for example, do those working in the field of women’s studies regard the issue of disciplinarity, the intersections between women’s studies and gender and sexuality studies, and the role activism should play in academic study? The course’s exploration of these questions is designed not only to provide students with an overview of the issues governing the history, present state, and possible future of women’s studies within higher education, but also to give them the opportunity to reflect on the work they have done as a women’s studies student at PFW. The work of the semester culminates with a major research project of the student's own design.
Examination of popular cultural “makings” of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality through typical representation of gender within fiction, theater, cinema, radio, music, television, journalism, and other secular mass media. Course will include the analysis of developing international telecommunications “superhighway” and the struggles to secure increased representation of women and of feminist perspectives within existing culture industries. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Humanities distribution requirement and for General Education category Humanistic Ways of Knowing.
Exploration of feminist scholarship on a specific topic of current interest, e.g., women and social activism, pornography, reproductive rights, lesbian and gay studies, gender in early education, and contemporary women’s movement. Suitable for students without previous women’s studies courses. Variable topic course. May be repeated with different topic for a maximum of six credits. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Social and Behavioral sciences distribution requirement and General Education category Interdisciplinary of Creative Ways of Knowing. Previous topics include the following:
- Intersectionality and Violence Against Women
- Feminist Critical Human Rights Theory & Praxis
- Feminism and Food
- Prisons and [Anti]Carceral Feminism
- Social Justice Activism: Theory and Practice
- Women, Race, Identity
- Contemporary Women in Power
- WOWomen and Health
This course examines community-based storytelling and oral history from a feminist standpoint. Students will investigate how storytelling and oral history provides an avenue to challenge and raise public consciousness by recording and analyzing the stories of women and other minority groups who have been left out of the historical record. Students will explore the ethics, politics, and practice of oral history as a feminist epistemology and methodology. Variable topic course. This course may be repeated when topic varies for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Humanities distribution requirement.
Prerequisites vary by section and topic.
Previous topics include the following:
- Reproductive Bodies in the Literary Imagination
- Sylvia Plath
- 20th Century American Women Novelists
- Girl Culture in the U.S.
- Sexuality and Literature
- Women in the Harlem Renaissance
- Manhood & Masculinity in the U.S.
- Women & Human Rights
- Gender, Violence, & Pop Culture
- Feminist Perspectives on the Body
- Women’s Self Portraits in Literature and Art
- Acting Up: Feminist Rhetorical Practices and Women’s Rights
This course examines, through the study of literary and/or visual texts, aspects of lesbian and gay culture, with attention to the artistic value of the texts as well as their significance as cultural documents. Variable topic course. May be repeated once when topic varies for a maximum of six credit hours.
Previous topics include the following:
- LGBTQ Literature
- Gay Histories, Queer Cultures
- LGBT Cultural Identity
Directed study of aspects of policy related to women’s issues based upon field experience. Directed readings, practicum in social agency, papers, and analytical journal required.
Prerequisite: junior or senior class standing; twelve credits of women’s studies course work, and project approved by instructor.
Prerequisite: WOST 21000 (or equivalent).
This interdisciplinary course explores and analyzes the position of women and the role of gender in the institutions of the United States, including the family, education, government, law, the economy, and religion. It includes an examination, through the lenses of feminism, of women’s historic and contemporary status legally, politically, and economically, as well as women’s struggles in identity, expression, sexuality, and lifestyle. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Social and Behavioral Sciences distribution requirement and for General Education category B5: Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing.
Examination of popular cultural “makings” of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality through typical representation of gender within fiction, theater, cinema, radio, music, television, journalism, and other secular mass media. Course will include the analysis of developing international telecommunications “superhighway” and the struggles to secure increased representation of women and of feminist perspectives within existing culture industries. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Humanities distribution requirement and for General Education category Humanistic Ways of Knowing.
Study of writing as an instrument to advance social justice and practice in producing researched writing projects that support community and institutional transformation. Emphasis on research methods and documentation, rhetorical and cultural analysis, and writing for a variety of contexts. May involve direct work with communities outside the university.
Prerequisite: ENG 13100
Exploration of feminist scholarship on a specific topic of current interest, e.g., women and social activism, pornography, reproductive rights, lesbian and gay studies, gender in early education, and contemporary women’s movement. Suitable for students without previous women’s studies courses. Variable topic course. May be repeated with different topic for a maximum of six credits. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Social and Behavioral sciences distribution requirement and General Education category Interdisciplinary of Creative Ways of Knowing. Previous topics include the following:
- Intersectionality and Violence Against Women
- Feminist Critical Human Rights Theory & Praxis
- Feminism and Food
- Prisons and [Anti]Carceral Feminism
- Social Justice Activism: Theory and Practice
- Women, Race, Identity
- Contemporary Women in Power
- WOWomen and Health
This course integrates feminist theoretical perspectives on global politics with discussions of a wide range of women’s issues. Specifically, it focuses on transnational feminism, world media and representations of women, global politics of the body, sexualities, politics of women’s health, reproductive rights, and women's work within the global economy, while emphasizing issues of global justice and exploring the differences and similarities that simultaneously divide and unite women across the globe. Variable topic course. May be repeated once with a different topic. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts or the Cultural Studies (Non-Western Culture) requirement and General Education Capstone. Also approved for General Education Area VI.
Prerequisite: sophomore, junior, or senior standing or consent of instructor. Some sections may also require WOST 21000 as a prerequisite.
Previous topics include the following:
- Transnational Perspectives on Gender, Sex, and Power
- Beyond the Harem: Women in North Africa & the Middle East
- The Ethics of Development & Labor (In)Equality
- Myths, Encounters, and Narratives: Ways of Knowing Women in Turkey and MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
- Women of the Second World - Gender and Sexuality in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
- Women & Islamic Spirituality
This course examines community-based storytelling and oral history from a feminist standpoint. Students will investigate how storytelling and oral history provides an avenue to challenge and raise public consciousness by recording and analyzing the stories of women and other minority groups who have been left out of the historical record. Students will explore the ethics, politics, and practice of oral history as a feminist epistemology and methodology. Variable topic course. This course may be repeated when topic varies for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Humanities distribution requirement.
Prerequisites vary by section and topic.
Previous topics include the following:
- Reproductive Bodies in the Literary Imagination
- Sylvia Plath
- 20th Century American Women Novelists
- Girl Culture in the U.S.
- Sexuality and Literature
- Women in the Harlem Renaissance
- Manhood & Masculinity in the U.S.
- Women & Human Rights
- Gender, Violence, & Pop Culture
- Feminist Perspectives on the Body
- Women’s Self Portraits in Literature and Art
- Acting Up: Feminist Rhetorical Practices and Women’s Rights
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of those crucial feminist texts that have given shape to Western feminism and feminist theory as we know them today. Toward that end, we will look at a wide variety of texts, covering both the foundational texts of the 19th and 20th centuries and more recent writings that have shaped contemporary feminist discourse, focusing largely on writings from the United States. Along the way, we’ll orient our studies along topical lines, looking in-depth at those debates and theoretical terms that have been central to feminist theory, including essentialism, constructionism, epistemology, power, intersectionality, and so on. We will explore not only the themes that cohere the body of writings we call “feminist theory” but also the tensions and conflicts that have made it such a dynamic field of study. Approved by the College of Liberal Arts for the Humanities distribution requirement.
Prerequisites: WOST 21000 and ENGL 23301
This course examines, through the study of literary and/or visual texts, aspects of lesbian and gay culture, with attention to the artistic value of the texts as well as their significance as cultural documents. Variable topic course. May be repeated once when topic varies for a maximum of six credit hours.
Previous topics include the following:
- LGBTQ Literature
- Gay Histories, Queer Cultures
- LGBT Cultural Identity
An interdisciplinary approach to selected ideas, trends, and problems in women’s studies. This capstone course focuses on issues and controversies in the new scholarship on women. Specific topics announced in Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing; twelve credits of women’s studies course work; or permission of instructor.
Disciplining Women's Studies
This capstone course will explore the history and state of women’s studies within higher education today through an examination of the major questions that have defined the field. How, for example, do those working in the field of women’s studies regard the issue of disciplinarity, the intersections between women’s studies and gender and sexuality studies, and the role activism should play in academic study? The course’s exploration of these questions is designed not only to provide students with an overview of the issues governing the history, present state, and possible future of women’s studies within higher education, but also to give them the opportunity to reflect on the work they have done as a women’s studies student at PFW. The work of the semester culminates with a major research project of the student's own design.
Directed study of aspects of policy related to women’s issues based upon field experience. Directed readings, practicum in social agency, papers, and analytical journal required.
Prerequisite: junior or senior class standing; twelve credits of women’s studies course work, and project approved by instructor.
Prerequisite: WOST 21000 (or equivalent).
Discipline-Based Courses
An intersection of ideas.
AD 31501: Gender Matters: Women and the Arts, 1400–2000
This class explores the shifting relationships between women and the visual arts over large segments of human history (ca. 1400–present). The history of art emerges as an important context in which historically specific notions of gender are negotiated.
ANTH 40200: Gender in Cross-cultural Perspective
This course considers anthropological approaches to feminism and gender studies. Course reading will include excerpts from major works of these fields. The focus will be on ethnographic and cross-cultural accounts of women, gender relations, and family life in order to introduce the diversity of roles gender plays in social life, as well as some of the complexities associated with talking and writing about gender cross-culturally.
BIOL 25000: Women and Biology
An examination of modern concepts in biology. The scientific method will be examined and feminist criticisms of science will be discussed. The topics of reproduction and development, heredity, and ecology will be used as focal points for an in-depth discussion of the conceptual framework of biology and feminist criticism thereof.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. For non-majors.
Cannot be used for Group A or B elective for biology majors. Credit given for only one of the following: BIOL 100, BIOL 250, or BIOL N200.
COM 41000: Gender Roles and Communication
This course is designed to investigate the relationship between gender roles and communication; i.e., how gender roles are socially constructed, maintained, and enacted. The course also explores gender differences, similarities, and gender issues in personal and organizational contexts.
Prerequisite: COM 11400
COM 42200: Women, Men, and Media
An examination of the processes by which gender is constructed in the mass communication media. Students will be asked to consider how the technical, economic, and political constraints and capabilities of the media construct images of gender for audiences.
Prerequisite: COM 25000 or permission of instructor.
ENG 47800: Studies in Women and Literature
British and American authors, such as George Eliot, Gertrude Stein; groups of authors, such as the Brontë sisters, recent women poets; or genres and modes, such as autobiography, film, criticism. Topics will vary from semester to semester.
ENG 47201: Composing the Self
This course is a study of the way in which our identities are formed, sustained, and reformed, particularly with respect to gender, race, class, and sexuality. The course will focus on both exploratory and polished writing as well as works by various authors.
HIST 32503: 20th Century U.S. Women’s History
Study and analysis of selected historical issues and problems of limited scope from the perspective of the arts and humanities. Topics will vary and will usually cut across fields, regions, and periods.
HIST 32503: Woman Question in Modern Europe
This course will analyze women’s history as an integral component of the history of Europe from the French Revolution until the present. The class will trace the evolution of the “woman question”—question of the social, political, cultural and economic role and place of women in European society, looking at the ideas about gender, social organization of women’s work, women’s role in the family, political mobilization of women, etc. The class will look at the way liberalism, nationalism, socialism, imperialism and feminism contributed to the transformation of women in European societies. The class will highlight how women’s experiences have differed due to class, race, ethnicity, and political and national context, and seek to define the common ground that European women have shared.
HIST 23400: Witchcraft and Witch Hunts
In early modern Europe, roughly 100,000 people (predominantly women) were put on trial for witchcraft. About half this number were executed. This course seeks to understand how and why these horrific events occurred at this particular time and why more trials occurred in particular areas of Europe. Using thematic and geographical approaches, we will investigate the ancient and medieval roots of these witch hunts, and look in detail at the trials and executions of the accused, using trial records, anti-witch tracts from Church officials and other primary sources, as well as secondary sources from a wide range of modern authors. This section of HIST 23400 is a Women’s Studies cross-referenced course, so we will pay special attention to the role that gender played in the witch hunts, looking at the various ways in which women were targeted during this period, and the roles gender may have played in witchcraft accusations. In addition to examining canonical works on witchcraft and witch trials, we will read some feminist interpretations of the witch hunts by historians and scholars from other disciplines. The course will also look into how ideas about witches crossed the Atlantic, using Salem as a way to examine similarities and differences with the European “witch craze.” Students will also have an opportunity to examine how witches and witch hunts have been portrayed in popular culture, from 17th century English plays to modern films and television. Overall, students in this course will seek to understand why the “witch craze” occurred, and what short- and long-term impact this phenomenon had on European and early American culture and society.
PHIL 30500: Philosophical Theories of Feminism
This course focuses on an analysis of ancient, medieval, and contemporary philosophical theories of gender and the role that these theories play in current political structures. In addition to classical readings, current philosophical issues such as pornography, abortion, family values ideology, body and self-image, biological determinism, and racism in the context of historical ideologies are discussed.
POLS 32400: Gender and Politics
Analysis of women in contemporary political systems, domestic or foreign, with emphasis on political roles, participation, and public policy. Normative and/or empirical examination of how political systems affect women and the impact women have on the system. Topics vary semester to semester. May be repeated once for credit with a different topic.
POLS 32800: Women and the Law
Exploration of origins and underlying rationale of women’s status in the American legal tradition and the role that law plays in helping to shape political climate and structure of the nation. Course will provide basic knowledge of various fields of law as they pertain to women.
PSY 34500: Psychology of Women
Theories and current research on the psychological nature of women and their roles in society, including topics such as sex differences and similarities, sex-role socialization, sex-role stereotyping, female sexuality, achievement motivation, role conflict, mental-health issues, feminist therapy, rape, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, motherhood, and topics of related interest.
Prerequisite: PSY 12000 (or equivalent)
PSY 36500: Development of Gender Roles in Children
Considers basic concepts and the varying theoretical interpretations for the development of gender roles with special attention given to recent empirical findings with children. Measures used in this area will be demonstrated in class and critically evaluated.
REL 31500: Religion & Women
This course will study the position of women in the ancient goddess and earth-centered traditions and neo-Paganism, as well as in the major religious traditions of the world. We will also explore the patriarchal and hierarchical patterns of domination in religion as well as the reforming and trans formative alternatives that exist within the religions themselves, even asking the question whether religion can be redeemed. Finally, we will examine the great diversity of women’s spirituality and develop some theoretical models to help understand the nature and functions of women’s religions beliefs and practices, paying special attention to the ways in which religion and women's societal roles mutually impact each other.
Distribution and Curriculum
Make your courses count.
Humanities and Fine Arts
AD 31501 - Gender Matters: Women and the Arts, 1400-2000
HIST 23400 - Witchcraft and Witch Hunts
HIST 26000 - History of Women in the United States
HIST T325 - Topics in History (variable topic course)
PHIL 30500 - Philosophical Theories of Feminism
REL 31500 - Religion and Women
WOST 22500 - Gender, Sexuality, and Popular Culture
WOST 30100 - International Perspectives on Women
WOST 30200 - Topics in Women’s Studies
WOST 34000 - Topics in Lesbian and Gay Culture (depending on course topic)
WOST 40000 - Topics in Women's Studies
Social Sciences and Sciences
ANTH 40200 - Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
BIOL 25000 - Women and Biology
COM 41000 - Gender Roles and Communication
COM 42200 - Women, Men and Media
POL 32400 - Gender and Politics
PSY 34500 - Psychology of Women
PSY 36500 - Development of Gender Roles in Children
SOC 36000 - Topics in Social Policy (depending on topic of course section)
WOST 21000 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
WOST 24000 - Topics in Feminism
WOST 34001 - Topics in LGBTQ Studies
Please contact Dr. Suzanne LaVere, the academic advisor and interim director for Women’s Studies, at [email protected] if you have a question about a course not on this list.
Women’s Studies Courses for General Education Curriculum
|
Course |
Gen Ed Area |
|
WOST 21000 |
B5: Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing |
|
WOST 22500 |
B6: Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing |
|
WOST 24000 |
B7: Interdisciplinary or Creative Ways of Knowing |
|
WOST 30100 |
C: Capstone |
The outcomes are as follows:
WOST 21000
- 5.1 Demonstrate knowledge of major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical patterns, or historical contexts within a given social or behavioral domain.
- 5.2 Identify the strengths and weaknesses of contending explanations or interpretations for social, behavioral, or historical phenomena.
- 5.3 Demonstrate basic literacy in social, behavioral, or historical research methods and analyses.
- 5.4 Evaluate evidence supporting conclusions about the behavior of individuals, groups, institutions, or organizations.
- 5.5 Recognize the extent and impact of diversity among individuals, cultures, or societies in contemporary or historical contexts.
- 5.6 Identify examples of how social, behavioral, or historical knowledge informs and can shape personal, ethical, civic, or global decisions and responsibilities.
- 6.1 Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works or problems and patterns of the human experience.
- 6.3 Analyze and evaluate texts, objects, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual or historical contexts.
- 1.3. Read critically, summarize, apply, analyze, and synthesize information and concepts in written and visual texts as the basis for developing original ideas and claims.
- 1.5. Develop, assert and support a focused thesis with appropriate reasoning and adequate evidence.
WOST 22500
- 6.1 Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works or problems and patterns of the human experience.
- 6.2 Apply disciplinary methodologies, epistemologies, and traditions of the humanities and the arts, including the ability to distinguish primary and secondary sources.
- 6.3 Analyze and evaluate texts, objects, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual or historical contexts.
- 6.4 Analyze the concepts and principles of various types of humanistic or artistic expression.
- 6.5 Create, interpret, or reinterpret artistic and/or humanistic works through performance or criticism.
- 6.6 Develop arguments about forms of human agency or expression grounded in rational analysis and in an understanding of and respect for spatial, temporal, and cultural contexts.
- 6.7 Analyze diverse narratives and evidence in order to explore the complexity of human experience across space and time.
- 5.4 Evaluate evidence supporting conclusions about the behavior of individuals, groups, institutions, or organizations.
- 5.5 Recognize the extent and impact of diversity among individuals, cultures, or societies in contemporary or historical contexts.
- 1.3. Read critically, summarize, apply, analyze, and synthesize information and concepts in written and visual texts as the basis for developing original ideas and claims.
WOST 24000
- 1.1. Produce texts that use appropriate formats, genre conventions, and documentation styles while controlling tone, syntax, grammar, and spelling.
- 1.3. Read critically, summarize, apply, analyze, and synthesize information and concepts in written and visual texts as the basis for developing original ideas and claims.
- 1.5. Develop, assert and support a focused thesis with appropriate reasoning and adequate evidence.
- 5.2 Identify the strengths and weaknesses of contending explanations or interpretations for social, behavioral, or historical phenomena.
- 5.4 Evaluate evidence supporting conclusions about the behavior of individuals, groups, institutions, or organizations.
- 5.5 Recognize the extent and impact of diversity among individuals, cultures, or societies in contemporary or historical contexts.
- 6.1 Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works or problems and patterns of human experience.
- 6.3 Analyze and evaluate texts, objects, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual or historical contexts.
- 6.7 Analyze diverse narratives and evidence in order to explore the complexity of human experience across space and time.
WOST 30100
- 8.1. Produce an original work involving the creation or application of knowledge, performance or service.
- 8.2. Report the results of original work through a discipline-appropriate product.
- 8.3. Demonstrate a high level of personal integrity and professional ethics by understanding the ethical responsibilities related to the profession associated with the subject of the capstone project.
- 8.4. Demonstrate critical-thinking abilities and familiarity with quantitative and/or qualitative reasoning.
Advising
Here to guide you.
As the interim director of the Women's Studies Program, Dr. Suzanne LaVere serves as advisor to all women's studies majors and minors. She consults with students who are undecided about their majors, as well as those who already want to declare women's studies as a major or minor. Each semester, she also advises students enrolled in the women's studies major or minor about course selection and graduation requirements.
Liberal Arts Building, Room 201
[email protected]
260-481-6696