Course Descriptions

WNST 100
Introduction to Women’s Studies
3 Semester Hours

An interdisciplinary study of women in society oriented toward exploring women's experiences in a variety of contexts. Topics covered include biology, sociology, psychology, politics, economics, religion, philosophy, history, literature and language, law, and culture. Course content is focused on North America and is multicultural.

Satisfies social science core requirement.

WNST 101
Women of Color in the U.S.
3 Semester Hours

An introduction to critical thinking skills about concepts such as gender, race, class, and sexuality, how these intersect in lives of women of color together with women’s strategies of surviving, resisting, and overcoming barriers.

Satisfies American Cultures core requirement.

WNST 198
Special Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 199
Independent Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 200
Women in Global Communities
3 Semester Hours

This course introduces students to the cultural, social, political, and economic contexts in which non-Western women live. It addresses the impact of globalization, colonialization, and post-coloniality, and women’s responses to these processes.

WNST 220
Women’s Bodies, Health, and Sexuality
3 Semester Hours

This course addresses women’s health and sexuality from a feminist perspective. It also deals with body images not only from the perspective of health but also in terms of their relationship to structures of power.

WNST 221
Mathematics: Contributions by Women
3 Semester Hours

(See MATH 261.)

WNST 222
Human Reproduction and Development
3 Semester Hours

(See BIOL 271.)

WNST 298
Special Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 299
Independent Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 301
Feminist Theories
3 Semester Hours

Focuses on the historical roots of feminist political thought in relation to other social movements. Examines the intellectual traditions within feminist theory today such as postmodernism, psychoanalysis, postcolonial theory, queer theory, and the intersectional analyses produced by women of color.

Normally offered in the Fall semester.

WNST 302
Investigating Women: Feminist Research Methods
3 Semester Hours

Examines feminist methodologies through hands-on research and considers the complex relationships between researchers and their subjects, the impact of social location on our field of vision, ethical issues in the research process, as well as research that facilitates social and gender justice.

Normally offered in the Spring semester.

WNST 303
History of Feminisms
3 Semester Hours

This course traces the development of feminist theories as structures of ideas and relates them to the historical contexts and feminist movements in which they developed.

WNST 311
Gender Communication
3 Semester Hours

(See CMST 335.)

WNST 331
The Image of Woman in Nineteenth-Century England
3 Semester Hours

(See ENGL 342.)

WNST 332
Twentieth-Century Women’s Writing
3 Semester Hours

(See ENGL 343.)

WNST 334
Italian Women Writers
3 Semester Hours

(See ITAL 380.)

WNST 335
Literature by Women of Color
3 Semester Hours

This course explores contemporary literature by women of color in the United States and their immigrant experiences. It attends to the ways that authors imaginatively use genres to represent and challenge gender and race construction.

WNST 336
Angels and Demons
3 Semester Hours

(See MDGK 343.)

WNST 337
Out of Control: Women, Madness, and the Cultural Imagination
3 Semester Hours

(See MDGK 346.)

WNST 341
Black Identities, Families, and Cultures
3 Semester Hours

(See AFAM 301.)

WNST 342
Chicanas and Other Latinas in the U.S.
3 Semester Hours

(See CHST 302.)

WNST 343
Hip Hop Culture
3 Semester Hours

(See AFAM 397.)

WNST 344
Gender and Society
3 Semester Hours

(See SOCL 332.)

WNST 345
Sociology of Marriage and Families
3 Semester Hours

(See SOCL 361.)

WNST 346
Women in the Middle East
3 Semester Hours

This course explores the themes and variations in women’s lives in the Middle East. Particular attention will be paid to family structures, rural-urban, social class and ethnic differences, social and political movements, religion, work, and education.

WNST 347
Women’s Movements in Latin America and the Caribbean
3 Semester Hours

Examines feminisms and women’s participation in indigenous, environmental, and labor movements, Christian-based communities, peasant struggles, and new social movements concerned with race, sexuality, feminism, and human rights.

WNST 348
Men and Masculinities
3 Semester Hours

(See SOCL 333.)

WNST 349
Ethnicity, Race, and Gender
3 Semester Hours

This course is an exploration of the ways in which gender, race, ethnicity, and class intersect to shape individuals' life chances and experiences in the contemporary United States. The following areas will be emphasized: income and occupation, the justice system, social reputation and credibility, religion, education, and health. Treatment of these topics will be analytical and comparative, focusing on the experiences of African Americans, Latinas/os, and European-Americans.

Satisfies American Cultures core requirement.

Prerequisites: SOCL 100; WNST 100 or 101.

WNST 351
Genders and Sexualities
3 Semester Hours

This course explores the relationship between sexuality and gender as well as a diversity of sexual identities. It focuses on issues of the body, sex, nature, and power within the context of history, culture, and public policy.

WNST 361
Women in Christian History
3 Semester Hours

(See THST 324.)

WNST 362
Women in European History
3 Semester Hours

(See HIST 335.)

WNST 364
Women in Early American History
3 Semester Hours

(See HIST 354.)

WNST 365
Women in Modern American History
3 Semester Hours

(See HIST 355.)

WNST 366
The American Family
3 Semester Hours

(See HIST 356.)

WNST 370
Feminist Theory
3 Semester Hours

(See PHIL 333.)

WNST 371
Images of Women in Philosophy
3 Semester Hours

(See PHIL 334.)

WNST 372
Guadalupe, Queen of the Américas
3 Semester Hours

(See CHST 310.)

WNST 373
Women and Religion
3 Semester Hours

(see THST 388)

WNST 398
Special Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 399
Independent Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 411
Women in Film
3 Semester Hours

(See FTVS 473.)

WNST 430
Women in French
3 Semester Hours

(See FREN 432.)

WNST 431
Latin American Women Writers
3 Semester Hours

(See SPAN 443.)

WNST 440
Asian Pacific American Women’s Experience
3 Semester Hours

(See APAM 435.)

WNST 445
Sex, Race, and Violence
3 Semester Hours

(See AFAM 435.)

WNST 451
Women and Politics
3 Semester Hours

(See POLS 438.)

WNST 452
Gender in Comparative Perspective
3 Semester Hours

Within a cross-cultural and cross-societal framework, gender roles are examined in relation to a central question: Why does patriarchy exist? Case studies from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania are examined in light of theories addressing the course’s central question. Work, kinship, values, religion, and politics are among the topics examined.

WNST 453
Latina Feminist Traditions
3 Semester Hours

(See CHST 404.)

WNST 454
Gender and Globalization
3 Semester Hours

Examines how gender is shaped by globalization through the feminization of labor and migration, environmental degradation, diaspora, sexuality, cultural displacement, and militarization. Explores the ways women have confronted these conditions as well as the possibilities and challenges of cross-border feminist coalitions.

WNST 461
Sex and Gender in Classical Antiquity
3 Semester Hours

(See CLCV 452.)

WNST 490
Service Learning in Women’s Studies
3 Semester Hours

Service learning in Women’s Studies combines practical experience and feminist theory through the theme of women’s empowerment. Students work in selected placements while reading through a sequenced bibliography. They discuss their experiences and readings in seminars and papers.

WNST 497
Senior Seminar in Women’s Studies
3 Semester Hours

Designed as a last course for students obtaining the Women’s Studies major or minor. Stress is on the organization and integration of knowledge gained regarding women in society. Offered only during the Spring semester.

WNST 498
Special Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

WNST 499
Independent Studies
1-3 Semester Hours

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Course Descriptions