Women's and Gender Studies Course Listings

WGS 101 – Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
1 semester, 3 credits

This course is an interdisciplinary survey of some of the major concepts and theories in the academic field of women’s and gender studies. Using material from the social sciences, literature, and the arts, this course will describe the position of women and gender in contemporary society, examine explanations for the causes and consequences of this position, and discuss approaches to change that have been suggested. Emphasis will be placed on the commonalities and differences among women and gender, with particular attention given to the ways class, culture, race, and ethnicity affect women’s and gender lives and experiences.

WGS 224 – Women and Music
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Fine Arts
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course will focus on the musical education of women and their involvement in music from the Middle Ages through the present time. The variety of music careers, including composing, performing, and teaching, will be emphasized. Same as MSC 224.

WGS 225 — Women and the American Experience
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course will explore the contribution of women to the American historical experience from the beginnings of American History to the Civil War and examine the impact of changes in American politics, economics, and society on the lives of women and their families. Same as HIS 225.

WGS 226 — Women and the Modern American Experience
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Writing II
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course will survey the contribution of women to the American historical experience in the period since the Civil War and will examine the impact of changes in American politics, economics, and society on the lives of women and their families. Specific areas of inquiry will include the emergence of the modern American family, the ways in which industrialization and the emergence of a working class culture were conditioned by factors such as race, gender, ethnicity, and region. Students will also examine the impact of the upheavals of the twentieth century, including two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Cold War. Finally, students will examine the origins of modern feminism and anti-feminism. Same as HIS 226.

WGS 227 – Genes and Gender
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Explores the role of genes in the construction of gender stereotypes. A foundation in both classical and molecular genetics will be laid as the basis for consideration of the extent to which gender is determined by genes and environmental influences. Intended for non-science majors. Open to science majors as a free elective only, with permission of the instructor. Same as BIO 227.

WGS 260 – Women, Gender, Dance and Sport
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Women have made tremendous strides in both dance and sport over the past century. This course will study the achievements of and challenges to women in dance and sport, with a focus on contemporary artists and athletes. A historical background of dance and sport will provide the foundation for analysis of some contemporary issues in these fields. Same as TDF 260

WGS 270 – ST: Queer World-Building: Art & Activism
1 semester, 3 credits

The course will look at how different discourses (legal, media, medical, political) have historically sought to contain and surveil LGBTQ+ life and how LGBTQ+ folks have engaged in their own discursive/aesthetic world-building as a form of meaning-making and community-building. The course will examine how cultural production is a political act and a form of activism. Of special focus will be the work of various queer/trans artists in the current PC-Galleries exhibition “PVD Prints!” Same as TDF 270.

WGS 270 – ST: Gender and Global Health
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course explores how gender intersects with race, class, and nationality, among other factors to shape health outcomes and access to care. We will cover a broad range of health issues in different regions of the world, and from diverse, transnational, and feminist perspectives, to gain nuanced understandings of gender as a theoretical concept and category of analysis in global heath and policy issues. Topics and issues will include but are not limited to: maternal and child health, infectious and non-communicable diseases, gendered violence, environmental health, and mental health. Same as HPM, SOC, AST, GST 270.

WGS 270 – ST: Pop Culture, Mass Media & Society
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC) OR Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Same as SOC 270.

WGS 280 – Violence Against Women
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course is designed to examine violence against women as a major social problem warranting an organized response. Grounded in an understanding of the cultural/institutional context of this problem, the scope, prevalence, forms, and consequences of violence against women will be examined. Issues of race, class, age, gender identity, and sexual orientation will be explored as they impact the vulnerability of women. Primary consideration will be given to domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and elder abuse. Special attention will be given to the dynamics of abuse, and their effects on primary and secondary victims will be examined. Direct interventions, prevention strategies, public policy initiatives, and legal remedies and the roles of social services, the courts, and law enforcement will be examined. Same as SWK 280.

WGS 284 – Women in the Ancient World: Athena and the Amazons
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Oral Communication
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credit

This course introduces students to the women of ancient Greece and Rome. Through primary sources, material evidence, and the study of critical methodologies, we will explore the lived experiences of women—their social, economic, legal standing—in the ancient Mediterranean, the representation of women in ancient art and literature, as well as current debates over how to access the voices of a largely silenced population. Throughout the course, we will consider the place of Ancient Greece and Rome as the origin of Western attitudes towards women. Same as HIS 284.

WGS 303 – Sociology of the Family
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Social Science, Diversity
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Family patterns and processes in selected societies. Uniformities and variations in structures are considered. The family is analyzed as a social institution and as a form of intimate behavior. Various alternatives to the family are explored, and issues related to human sexuality and gender-role behavior are examined. The course will focus on race, class, and gender. Same as SOC 301.

WGS 305 – Psychology of Gender
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

A critical survey of current views in the psychological study of gender. Factors related to gender development as well as issues of particular relevance to the influence of gender on behavior (achievement, materialism, marital roles, etc.) will be discussed. Prerequisite PSY 100 or permission of the instructor. Same as PSY 305.

WGS 311 – Gender, Race, Class: Equity Issues in Education
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course will explore how gender, race, and class shape the educational experiences of students in U.S. schools. Structural and cultural barriers to, and progress towards, gender, racial and linguistic equity in schools will be closely examined in historical and contemporary contexts. Intersectional feminist theories will be considered to further elucidate these topics. This course will be open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Same as BLS 311 and EDU 311. Prerequisite: First-year students will be allowed in the course with the instructor’s permission.

WGS 314 – Black Feminisms
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

The purpose of this course is to critically analyze and understand the theoretical project of Black Feminism. Students will examine historic and contemporary Black Feminists’ conceptualizations of standpoint theory, Black nationalism, Black Marxism, intersectionality, queer theory, anti-Blackness, Afrofuturism, Black girlhood, and how Black Feminists have shaped contemporary movements and activism to bring light to their experiences of violence and oppression. Same as BLK 314, PSP 314, and SOC 314.

WGS 318 – Globalization and Social Justice
1 semester, 3 credits

With the fall of socialist states, capitalist markets, economic relations, and consumerism have become truly global. Examines the political, cultural, and economic origins, consequences, and responses (with specific concern for the prospects for social justice, democracy and equality) in the rich and poor countries of the world; the impacts on workers; the ecological, resource, and environmental implications; and anti-corporate globalization resistance movements. Same as AMS 318, GST 381, SOC 318.

WGS 320 – Women in the Arts, 1960–Present
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Fine Arts, Diversity
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

The 20th Century has seen a significant increase in the contribution of women to the arts. This course will examine this contribution through a detailed analysis of the most prominent and influential of these works in a variety of media, including the visual, performing, and literary arts. Each artist’s work will be considered not only in and of itself, but also as representative of its media, and against a backdrop of historical, sociological, and political circumstances surrounding female achievement. Same as ARH 320 and TDF 320.

WGS 321 – AIDS, Race and Gender in the Black Community
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Explores how the marginalization of African Americans has led to the disproportionate growth of the AIDS epidemic. Analyzes how the intersections of gender, religion, and sexuality have perpetuated the marginalization of African American in the realm of public health and the factors that have left this group vulnerable to HIV infections and AIDS. Prerequisite: HPM 101 or BLS 101. Same as HPM 321, BLS 321.

WGS 323 – Women in Film
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Fine Art
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Considers three areas where women have contributed significantly to film production, technique, and analysis. The history of women film directors is presented. Genres produced for women consumers in the classic Hollywood period are considered. Contemporary film theory and the meaning found in films from a feminist perspective will be examined. Same as TDF 323

WGS 325 – Women, Gender, and Race in Popular Music: 1950 – Present
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Fine Arts, Diversity
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course seeks to give students the opportunity to learn about and experience music by white, black and brown women involved in popular music as performers, song writers, and singers from the 1950s to the present. This course emphasizes issues such as gender identity, gender bending, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and institutions of control in popular music. Same as MSC 325.

WGS 326 – Contemporary Women Philosophers
Core Foundation: Philosophy
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

An in-depth investigation of selected women philosophers and their contributions to contemporary thought. The course may include the study of philosophers such as Elizabeth Anscombe, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Weil, Hannah Arendt, and Edith Stein. Same as PHL 326.

WGS 327 – Race, Class & Gender: Intersections and Inequalities
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC) OR Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Race, class, gender, and sexuality are typically seen as four, independent systems by which social groups in America have been hierarchically organized. Less recognized are the myriad ways in which these categories intersect, mutually constitute and reinforce one another. As a result, a central theme of our work will be to examine how no identity is separate from gender; etc. We will accomplish this not by studying four different systems of oppression in isolation, but by investigating how social lives and experiences are shaped by the simultaneous and interactive combination of these four “master statuses.” We will begin our sociological exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality theoretically-in those readings we will examine the structural exploration of race, class, gender and sexuality theoretically-in those readings we will examine the structural nature of these phenomena, how they are socially constructed in ways that help to rationalize and justify social inequality, and how they intersect to produce unique social experiences and structures of domination. After establishing this analytical foundation, students will use this framework to interpret the significance and interactive operation of race, class, gender, and sexuality in a variety of institutional and interpersonal contexts. Same as SOC, BLS, APG, AMS 327.

WGS 333 – Environmental Sociology
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

How does our social system interact with the surrounding ecological system? What are the impacts that human social organization is having on the environment, and how is society itself changing in response to a changing environment? In this course, as we consider these questions, we will explore the social structures involved in both creating and addressing environmental problems. This course views the environment as partially shaped by human societies, where competing values and interests play out. Controversial issues such as population growth, pollution, rapid climate change, water and land use, and noxious facility siting in minority, working class, and poor communities are examined. Attention is directed to public policies, corporate practices, social movements, and individual habits that promote solutions. Same as SOC 333.

WGS 336 – Topics in Feminist Ethics
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Ethics
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

An exploration of feminist ethics, which might include its history and relation to other moral theories, intersectionality, and its application to concrete issues. Same as PHL 336.

WGS 345 – The Consumer Society
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Consumption and consumerism are driving forces sustaining the expansionist logic of advanced capitalism and globalization. Consumption of commodities has become the basis for the formation of ever-changing individual and group identities. Examines the historical development of consumerism, theoretical approaches to understanding the political, social, economic, individual and very importantly, the environmental consequences of consumerism. Same as AMS 345, GST 345 and SOC 345.

WGS 346 – Economics of Gender
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Uses economic analysis to understand the changing roles of women in the economy to explain why we observe different outcomes for men and women. Topics include marriage, spousal violence, divorce, fertility, variations in the supply of female labor, differential human capital investment by gender, occupational differentiation by gender, and gender gap in earnings.
Same as ECN 346. Prerequisite ECN 101 or ECN 102.

WGS 352 – Global Feminisms in the Age of Empires and Beyond
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity, Writing II
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Addresses the relationship between feminism, colonialism, and postcolonialism. The legacies of the unequal relationship between Western and non-western feminists often weighed heavily on emergent feminisms in postcolonial societies, and feminism took on new forms in response to those legacies. Course incorporates historiography, literary fiction, and film focused on the British and French empires. Not open to freshmen. Same as HIS 352.

WGS 353 – The Victorian Age
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Social reform, shifting perceptions of religion and science, expanding empires, and aesthetic experimentation defined the Victorians and produced new literary genres. Thematic emphasis of this course varies but always connects Victorian literature and its social context. Authors combine the canonical (Dickens, Tennyson, the Brownings, Wilde) with pioneers of sci-fi, detective fiction, and children’s literature Wells, Conan Doyle, Carroll, etc.) Same as ENG 353.

WGS 354 – Nineteenth-Century British Novel
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course concentrates on the major novelists of nineteenth century England, paying special attention to the Victorian period. Authors include Austen, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Thackery, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy. In the past, discussion topics have included variations on the marriage plot, representations of the Victorian family, the formation of and challenges to narrative conventions, and the relationship between author and audience. Same as ENG 354.

WGS 365 – Social Inequality in India and South Asian Diaspora
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC) OR Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This interdisciplinary course in Sociology, Global Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies explores caste, class, and gender in contemporary India and among the South Asian diaspora. We will focus on how caste and gendered violence operate, and contextualize these processes historically. Against the rise of Hindu nationalism and racial/casteist capitalism, we will examine social, political, and economic life in India and how communities are organizing to resist local, national, and global systems of domination. We will also focus on the South Asian diaspora, with attention to communities in the US and the Persian Gulf. Same as GST 370, SOC 470.

WGS 367 – Marketing Campaigns in US History: c. 1850-Present
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Social Science, Writing II
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC) OR Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course examines the historical contexts for the development of marketing campaigns since the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the role of gender in advertising, and on intersecting constructions of gender, race, class, and ethnicity. How did marketers take advantage of historical opportunities, respond to internal and external challenges and threats, and adapt to shifting social and cultural environments? Cross-Listed with HIS, MKT, COM, and AMS.

WGS 368 – Feminisms, Folktales, and Fairytales: Telling Stories of Gender, Race and Class
1 semester, 3 credits

Feminist theorists, race theorists and others argue that we understand our individual and social experience by translating it into familiar stories such as traditional and modern fairytales that can unconsciously mold us. This course will investigate these stories’ narrative gravity that shape an individual’s understanding of gender, race, and class, as well as the pursuits of right, wrong, happiness, and heroism.

WGS 370 – Art, Activism, & Archives: Envisioning Feminist Futures
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Fine Arts, Civic Engagement
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

How do artists build feminist and socially just futures? This course will look at works of art that deal with histories of violence and envision feminist, queer, and decolonial futures with a particular focus on artists in Rhode Island. Students will have the chance to work with artists to produce writing and potentially publish their work in the Providence Gallery’s new publication, Providence Arts and Letters. Same as ARH 370.

WGS 370 – Rethinking Political Violence: Gender, Race, and Class
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Oral Communication
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

What qualifies an act of violence as “political?” Is it the actor? The message? The medium? What are the implications of violence as a method of political participation, contestation, subjugation, and resistance? This course adopts an intersectional lens to investigate questions of individual, collective, and state violence in a global context. Themes include gender violence, policing, capital punishment, torture, incarceration, solitary confinement, terrorism, famine, colonialism and decolonization, as well as organized and corporeal forms of resistance, including self-destructive violence. Same as PCS 370.

WGS 370 – Marriage in Africa
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Same as HIS and BLS 370.

WGS 370 – Race & Gender in American Photography
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Fine Arts, Diversity
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Photography has played a radically powerful role in shaping the politics of race, gender and sexuality in the U.S. as well as internationally. In this course, we will look at the major genres that shape and have shaped dominant ways of looking and seeing in the U.S. as well as the work of visual activists informed by feminism/feminist approaches, gender and sexuality studies, critical race studies to challenge and transform the ways we are conditioned to see. Students will be introduced to critical concepts in the emerging field of photography and visual studies, such as visuality, visibility, the gaze, optics, and scopic regime. Students will also gain skills in visual analysis, archival research, and have the change to do their own photographic projects. Same as ARH 370.

WGS 376 – Toni Morrison
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity, Writing II
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

This course examines a selection of novels by the 1993 Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. It analyzes her dialogue with African American and American history, with an emphasis on individual and communal trauma, memory, and healing. Selected, accessible Morrison scholarship will be studied as well, with a focus on race, class, and gender and on Morrison’s strategies as a creative writer. Same as AMS, BLS, and ENG, 376.

WGS 380 – Gender and Politics
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

A study of the political significance of the treatment, roles, and status of women, with emphasis on the United States. Examination of the meaning of gender, sexism, and feminism. Same as PSC 380

WGS 394 – Women and Christianity
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Theology
WGS Designation: Humanities (HUM)
1 semester, 3 credits

Focuses on the lives of Christian women beginning in the first century CE, and moving through the early Christian period, the byzantine and medieval periods, and the modern period, ending with an account from the mid-twentieth century. The course will end with a discussion of a contemporary issue in the lives of Christian women, exploring the issue from the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox perspectives. Same as THL 394.

WGS 413 – The Power of Whiteness
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
1 semester, 3 credits

Historical development of “whiteness” within the context of colonialism, slavery, imperialism and globalization and their aftermaths as a way of understanding the culture environments and processes of ethno-racial and gender-sexual identity formation today. Hegemonic whiteness is deconstructed and challenged. Whiteness is examined as an unnamed, unmarked category, “whites are just normal,” that carries powers and privileges. Same as AMS 413, BLS, 413, GST 413, and SOC 413.

WGS 424 – Globalization, Race, Gender, Class: A Case Study
1 semester, 3 credits

This course will examine a country as a case study in the origins, evolution and effects of globalization. We will look at the country’s experience within the global political, economic, social and cultural system, alongside theories of globalization. Particular attention will be given to the impacts of globalization on race, gender and class relations and their relationship with the U.S. Same as SOC 424, BLS, GST, APG.

WGS 425 – African-American Women
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
1 semester, 3 credits

Focuses on sociological analyses of the constructions and reconstructions of African American women, examining the interrelationships of gender, race, caste, class, racism, and sexism in the United States, past and present. Topics will include the family, male-female relations, poverty, discrimination, social movements, with particular emphasis on origins, consequences, social and individual changes and resistance to change, sociological, Afro-centric, and feminist theories. Same as BLS 425, SOC 425.

WGS 430 – Gender, Medicine, and Care
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

This class explores how the production of medical knowledge and the provision of health care are gendered through close readings of ethnographic case studies of care delivery, health promotion, reproduction, kinship, and aging. Theoretical readings in medical anthropology, sociology, public health, and feminist science studies explore how sex and gender are constructed in the biomedical sciences and in the provision of health care. Drawing on examples from the United States and internationally, students will critically analyze the sources of gender-based inequality in health and health care. Same as HPM 430.

WGS 440 – Latinx Experience in the United States
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

The Latino/a population is the largest minority group in the United States. It is also one of the fastest growing, presenting new opportunities and challenges for the U.S. This course examines the history of Latino/as by examining the varied relationships with the United States of different Latin American countries, the current status of Latino/as in America, and the ways that Latino/as interact with social institutions. Same as SOC 440.

WGS 441 – The Global Food System and Food Justice
1 semester, 3 credits

We live in a world where a billion people are hungry while probably another billion are seriously overweight. How are our food systems implicated in these problems? This seminar will examine the workings and consequences of the industrial agro-food system and the challenges and resistances to it by activists and social movements dedicated to small-scale, community based sustainable food production and consumption. Same as SOC 441.

WGS 446 – Gender, Health, and Technology
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

The contemporary system of commercialized medicine in the United States offers an influential framework of meaning-making and knowledge-building about the body. This course offers an opportunity to critically examine how and in what ways our current system of commercialized medicine in the United States re-inscribes and challenges traditional cultural norms and understandings of health and illness, race and gender, and sexuality. Topics under investigation include: cosmetic surgeries and technologies, reproductive and childbirth technologies, anti-aging procedures, and pharmaceutical drugs. Same as SOC and HPM 446.

WGS 447 – Women and Crime
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

An in-depth look at seemingly rare phenomenon-the participation of women in crime. First seen only as victims of crime, increased attention has focused on women as criminal offenders and found that their participation in crime both mimics and differs from that of men. In addition, although the roles of crime offender and crime victim overlap generally, the connection between victimization and offending is particularly strong for women. This course examines women as criminal offenders AND victims, and examines the complex pathways between these roles. Same as SOC 447.

WGS 451 – Women and Family Issues Internship
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

Offers students interested in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program an opportunity to use their academic knowledge and skills by working in a local agency/organization. Students must 1) have an appropriate site location set up 2) obtain approval from the intern faculty advisor. Same as SOC 451. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing.

WGS 470 – Special Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies
1 semester, 3 credits

Special topics courses offer an in-depth analysis of topics of contemporary interest in the interdisciplinary field of Women’s and Gender Studies. A sampling of special topics courses are routinely offered throughout each academic year. Some examples of these courses are:

WGS 470 – ST: Beyond the Closet: LGBTQ Experience
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

The goal/purpose of this course is to introduce students to the lived experiences and social forces impacting the LGBTQ+ population. The course requires students to examine and interrogate identity on multiple levels and explore its impact on how individuals interact, work, play, and worship in contemporary US society. This course begins with a thorough exploration of the important terms and definitions that will be used throughout the semester. Same as SOC 470.

WGS 470 – ST: Dating and Mating
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

A seminar setting involving in-depth analysis of special topics of contemporary interest in the interdisciplinary field of women’s studies. Special topics courses are offered at the discretion of the director of women’s studies in consultation with the Advisory Committee on Women’s Studies. Exact content and prerequisites vary. Previous offerings have included Violence Against Women, Holocaust Literature, and Contemporary Economic Issues. Same as SOC 470.

WGS 470 – ST: Globalization and Tourism
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

WGS 470 – ST: Black Diasporas in Portuguese
1 semester, 3 credits

We will explore the history, culture, and struggles of Black diasporic communities/nations that speak Portuguese, more specifically, we will look at Cabo Verde, Brazil, Sao Tome and Principe as well as Portuguese-speaking Black migrant communities in Portugal and the United States. We will focus on race, space, and gender as critical categories in the process of identity and community formation as well as claims to the nation. Same as BLS, GST 470.

WGS 470 – ST: Black Feminist Filmmakers

WGS 470 – ST: Black Girl Magic: Approaches to Black Feminist Community Organizing

WGS 470 – ST: Contemporary Social Theory

WGS 470 – ST: Critical Feminisms

WGS 470 – ST: Feminism, History and Popular Culture

WGS 470 – ST: Feminist Films and Filmmakers: Intersectional Perspectives

WGS 470 – ST: Gender and Adolescence

WGS 470 – ST: Gender, Race and HIV/AIDS in Global Context

WGS 470 – ST: Global Food Systems

WGS 470 – ST: Gender and the Body in Media Popular Culture
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC) OR Humanities (HUM)

WGS 470: ST: Race, Class, Gender in the Global South

WGS 470: ST: Other Selves: Friendship and Love in Early English Literature
1 semester, 3 credits
Fufills the English pre-1800 and Oral Communication Proficiency Core Requirement

These are just some of the questions that we will explore in “Other Selves,” a seminar on the theme of friendship and love in Medieval and Renaissance English literature. Along the way, we will acquaint ourselves with tenets of a highly theorized definition of “perfect” same-sex friendship that dates back to ancient Greek philosophy. We will learn how writers in the Middle Ages and Renaissance imagined friendship and how friendship influenced ideas about love, marriage, gender, and identity, we will discuss the problem of distinguishing between “friendship” and “love”; we will consider how classical ideals of friendship were revived and propagated in the Middle Ages and Renaissance; we will examine the tug-of-war between the rival ideals of same-sex and male-female love; we will discuss attitudes toward gender and sexuality in the cultures we study; will encounter the history and theory of gender and sexuality; and will will discuss how friendship and love continue to play a role in the way we think about human relationships. Our study of literary texts, from the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to Shakespearean comedies, will shed light on how friendship and love position the individual with respect to “other selves” of both genders – or even transcends gender. Same as ENG 480.

WGS 470 – ST: Women and Mass Media

WGS 470 – ST: Women in Service

WGS 470 – ST: Women’s Experimental Fiction

WGS 470 – Gendered Violence
1 semester, 3 credits

This course uses an intersectional framework to examine gendered violence across historical, sociopolitical, cultural and economic contexts. We will discuss multiple forms of gendered violence in a global context including online violence, wartime gendered assault, FGM, honor killings, among other issues, to examine the complex dynamics of gendered norms, masculinities and cultural gendered expectations. Particular focus will be on women and societies in the Global South using theoretical frames that discuss post colonialism, globalization and development to contextualize the current position of women in the world. This course reflects a seminar model. It is reading, writing, and discussion intensive. Same as HPM 470.

WGS 480 – Medieval Women On and Off the Page
Core Foundation/Proficiency: Oral Communication
1 semester, 3 credits

The central purposes of this course are to explore how medieval authors depicted women in their works, how women writers created space for themselves to write, and how we view women within medieval discourse today. Students will read works by Christine de Pizan, Margery Kempe, Marie de France, Heloise, and other women in conjunction with and contrasted to some works by male authors, including Dante, Abelard, and Jean de Meun. With women as the central figures of study in this course, students will learn about medieval conceptions of gender, sexuality, and desire through both secular and theological writings. An understanding of medieval women as both writers wielding the pen and as characters on the page will ultimately be a fruitful and vital addition to the way students think about literature as a whole. Same as ENG 480.

WGS 481 Seminar: Jane Austen
WGS Designation: Social Science/Natural Science (SSC/NSC)
1 semester, 3 credits

The novels of Jane Austen are a source of continual delight to the reader, as well as considerable profit to British and American filmmakers. We will read her works chronologically, beginning with selections from the juvenilia, and ending with the posthumously-published Persuasion. The purpose of this course is to allow students to gain a thorough understanding of the achievement of one of the greatest British novelists. We will examine the novels from a formalist point of view, but also look at how Austen’s works reflect various social, historical, and ethical issues. Students will also gain a sense of the major critical positions regarding Austen’s works, such as the standard studies by Butler, Poovey and Johnson, as well as contemporary studies by Lynch, Heydt-Stevenson, Byrne, Looser, and others. We will also look at film adaptations of several of the novels, compare them with each other, and compare them with the novels themselves. Same as ENG 481.

WGS 489: Capstone in Women’s and Gender Studies
1 semester, 3 credits

A requirement for the major or the minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, the Capstone Seminar focuses all the theory, research, and reading WGS students have experienced on issues and topics that vary by semester. Offers a culmination of WGS study, research, writing, and collaborative work and presentations in a seminar setting. Prerequisite: WGS 101.

WGS 490: Independent Study in Women’s and Gender Studies
1 semester, 3 credits

This course allows highly motivated students to pursue in depth a topic in the interdisciplinary field of Women’s and Gender Studies under the direction of one or more members of the faculty. Proposals for such work, including specific objectives, should be made in writing prior to course registration. Depending on topic and at the discretion of the director of Women’s and Gender Studies, the course may be considered either as an elective Women’s and Gender Studies course in humanities or social science. Prerequisites: WGS 101, 489 and permission of sponsoring faculty member(s).