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2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
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Women’s and Gender Studies |
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WGS 2880 - Gender, Race, and War Credits: 4
This course will look at war and its aftermath through the prism of gender, race, sexuality and nation. It will explore how notions of war and peace are themselves gendered, and provide deeper understanding of the impact of war on the lives it touches within the military and in conflict regions. It will address both the construction of the enemy and the making of the soldier as gendered and racial projects. Using feminist analyses, we will study how officials deploy conceptions of gender, race, and sexuality in militarization - from training and maintaining combat-ready soldiers, to responses to peace and humanitarian efforts, to engagement with societies near military bases, and finally to postwar social justice initiatives and war memorials. While the primary focus will be on U.S. wars, the course will include transnational conflicts and perspectives. Organized thematically, course topics include debates about masculinity and its relationship to aggression, violence, and war; the history, roles, and treatment of women, people of color, and LGBTQ within the military and as veterans; the problem of rape and violence in the military and wartime; the treatment of women around military bases; the use of torture vs. humanitarian responses to conflict regions; the reconstruction of war zones; and the role of history and memory in maintaining gendered and racial understandings of war.
Fulfills: D, X, and SOSC in LS Core
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WGS 2900(W) - Writing the Gendered Life Credits: 4
This course will use writing as a tool to raise students’ consciousness about gender - who we are as gendered beings, how gender functions in society, and what our constructs of gender mean in navigating our lives and our relationship to the broader world. Similarly, gender analysis will become a tool to teach and improve student writing. Where do students’ ideas of gender come from? How might they change when students factor in a wider and more diverse idea of gender and learn about cross cultural and global expectations, manifestations, and challenges of gender? In this writing-intensive course, students will ultimately develop the skill of balancing their analyses of the gendered self with that of the wider world. The course will be divided into thematic units that examine interdisciplinary approaches to gender and will include historical, sociological psychological, religious, feminist and critical race theory writings on gender. Students will look at how gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity and nation affect and interact with lived experiences and ideologies of childhood; love/marriage/family; education; media; the body; and age/aging. Students will begin each unit by writing about themselves in relationship to a given topic. They will then explore that topic through readings and films offering multicultural local and global perspectives on gender.
Fulfills: W and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3000 - Thinking Green: Environmental Justice, Gender, and Animal Rights Credits: 4
This interdisciplinary course will examine theories and social movements focused on environmental justice, eco- feminism and animal rights. Students will study environmental racism and how pollutants and toxic waste impact the health, lives, and land of economically disadvantaged communities of color, including Native Americans, as well as efforts to change this. The class will examine legal challenges and movements to expose and end cruelty to animals and animal exploitation, and the linkage between thinking green and creating an earth democracy that fosters a more just and healthy environment for all. Students will investigate gender diversity and the impact that environmental degradation has on populations. And they will employ cultural environmental theories to analyze how the environment and the earth is represented and misrepresented in popular culture, literature and art.
Fulfills: SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3100 - Feminist Theory Credits: 4
This course will explore multiple feminist theories and practices. It will ask what constitutes a theory and explore how Feminist theories are informed by theories of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sex and nation. Throughout the semester the class will look at how different feminist theories view local and global cultures. Students will also examine strategies for change and how feminist theories influence and inform activism and other disciplines.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3110 - Global Women’s Issues: Gender, Activism, and Social Justice Credits: 4
In this course, students will investigate the effects of Globalization on women, including UN resolutions that define women’s rights as human rights. The course will explore how war, international trade agreements, global sweatshops, the international sex trade and new technologies like genetic engineering affect the lives of women across the globe. Students will also look at how women are mobilizing internationally to create change in the local national and international landscapes. The course will include narratives of Indigenous women from around the world. Some areas of focus include women in the Middle East, Mexico, Asia, South America and North America. A central question will be how women are empowering themselves and others to fight for human rights and social justice.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3120 - Women and Film: The Politics of Representation Credits: 4
This course studies filmic representations of women and gender in US and international cinema, documentaries and independent film and the role of feminist film directors and producers. Students will study feminist film analysis, analyze the different film genres like horror films where a strong woman usually defeats the monster. The course will contrast US and International filmic representations of women. Issues to be addressed include how representations of women change historically and reflect shifting attitudes about gender, race, ethnicity, class, nation and sex. The course will also explore audience responses to films and some techniques of filmmaking. Additionally, students will produce short videos as a means to explore how to create a feminist film and what it is like on the other side of the camera.
Fulfills: AL and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3140 - Studies in Masculinities Credits: 4
The critical study of masculinities is not only a burgeoning subfield within women’s and gender studies, but also an increasingly important subject within progressive humanities and social science scholarship of all kinds. Emerging initially as a result of the women’s and gay liberation movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s, masculinity studies today is an interdisciplinary endeavor based on the notion that masculinities are historically produced, culturally specific, locally practiced, and (continually) subject to change. Students in this course will explore how masculinity – whether considered at the global, national, local, or personal level – is always informed and mediated by intersecting social categories of race, class, and sexuality.
Fulfills: SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3230 - Gender and Popular Culture Credits: 4
Popular Culture is the US’s second largest export after weapons. This course will examine how gender is used in popular culture artifacts from popular entertainment including sports, films, music and more. Employing popular culture methods and theories including cultural studies, students will study how the meaning system is used to reinforce the status quo and also challenge it. By focusing on popular culture representations of women and gender in advertising, music videos, YouTube, television, magazines, and film, this course will explore how cultural values, fears, hopes and dreams are coded into gender scripts and representations and how race, class, ethnicity, sex, and nation are interlocked with gender. The course will also examine what is at stake both in negotiating gender in contemporary culture and in doing “feminist” cultural criticism. In addition, students will look at fan culture and uncover what pop culture gender representations have to do with the lives and experiences of real people.
Fulfills: D in LS Core.
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WGS 3250 - Sex and Gender Studies Credits: 4
This course examines the ways in which sex and gender are constructed in a range of interdisciplinary discourses including: political, legal, historical, psychological, medical, literary, popular culture and in embodied practices. Much of the focus of the course will be on the biological, social, cultural and ethical dimensions of sex and gender with an emphasis on how cultures are organized around sex and gender. Students will examine the construction of sex and gender identities. We will look at how these identities are informed by race, ethnicity, class, nation and age. We will also explore the role of gender and sexuality in social movements, citizenship and human rights.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3290 - Women and Business Credits: 4
This course will explore the nature, scope and development of women’s relationship to the business world from an interdisciplinary perspective. The goal is to demonstrate the ways in which gender norms and ideals have historically influenced business practices and opportunities and continue to do so. Using a feminist analysis, students will study how business itself has been historically gendered and socially constructed, how job categories become defined as male or female, how groups attempt to redefine the nature of work and the professions, and the strategies used by women, immigrants, differently gendered people, and people of color and different sexualities to enter the corporate world despite obstacles that may seek/have sought to bar them. The class will explore the dialectical relationship between female workers/entrepreneurs and the economy. While the course’s focus will be largely on the U.S., it will address the impact of the global economy on the nature of work across gender, sexuality, race and class.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3300 - U.S. Women’s History Credits: 4
This class will provide an examination of the history of women in America. It will include history prior to colonization, up to the present. The course will explore women’s roles in US Society and the intersection of class, culture, ethnicity and sexuality in shaping women’s historical experiences across time. The course will examine the transformations and continuities in women’s lives as well as the political, social, economic and cultural factors that inspired, infused or inhibited women’s changing roles. This class also explores the ways in which race, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity have operated to unite and divide disparate groups of women. Satisfies a Humanities distribution requirement.
Fulfills: H and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3360 - Fieldwork in the American Southwest: Classroom without Walls Credits: 4
Students will learn about one of the most culturally and geographically diverse areas in the world, the desert Southwest. The focus will be on the various landscape and people. In the classroom and in the field, students will learn about the unique archeology, ecology, history, and culture of the Southwest. The course will be followed by an optional 7- 10 day fieldtrip to the Southwest during which students will visit some of the following sites Native American pueblos, Dine’ (Navajo) Nation, a working ranch, nature centers, galleries, cultural centers, and historic archeological sites. Students will learn by doing from a variety of Native American, Chicana/o and Anglo southwestern writers, artists, storytellers, activists, cowgirls and cowboys, and environmentalists. Students will try their hand at creating art, jewelry, writing, and/or doing some archeological or environmental work. Throughout the trip, students will learn about diverse cultures and their relationship to the land and the sacred. This course may be repeated for credit. **Additional fee for trip covers all expenses including airfare, lodging, two meals per day, transportation, and honorarium for artists and story-tellers, guides, fees at pueblos and nature and cultural centers. It does not cover alcohol or souvenirs. Partial scholarships may be available. Contact the WGS program director for more information. Satisfies a Humanities or a Social Science distribution requirement.
Fulfills: SOSC requirement and D and X in LS Core.
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WGS 3420 - Gender, Race, and the Media Credits: 4
In this hands-on course, students will examine theories of gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality in mainstream and independent media. They will study who controls the media, whose story is told, and from what perspective. A focus will be on the historical and current impact racial and gender stereotypes in the media have on individuals and communities. The course will examine how oppressed groups worldwide are portrayed in mainstream media and how they are using the media to tell their own stories. Students will learn how various audiences interpret the media differently. The course will address issues of social inequality in the media and forms of resistance and explore alternative media, global media, media literacy and media democracy. Finally, students will put theory into practice and create group videos.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3630 - “Changing Woman:” The Reality and Myths of Native American Women Credits: 4
Changing Woman is the most important deity of the Navajo (Dine’) people. She personifies the earth and the cyclical path of the seasons. During a young girl’s rite of passage ceremony (Kinaaldá), she is evoked as the “ideal woman” and symbolizes the change into adulthood and subsequent female empowerment. This acceptance of female change and empowerment is a dynamic characteristic in Native American culture and one aspect that will be studied in this in-depth look at the reality and myth of the Native American woman. This course will examine the historical and contemporary reality illuminating the real lives of North American Indigenous women and debunks some stereotypical myths. Students will explore how gender is constructed in tribal societies and examine various matrilineal cultures. They will learn to understand and appreciate the significance of oral traditions and storytelling that is the fabric of Indigenous communities, and students will be introduced to different worldviews examining such concepts as circular time, “walking in beauty”, and the Fifth World. A variety of mediums will be used in this exploration including feminist theory, poetry, artwork, personal narrative and film.
Fulfills: Humanities distribution requirement. D in LS Core.
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WGS 3660 - Southwestern Women in the U.S. Credits: 4
This course on Southwest Studies will examine the great diversity of women in the Southwest from ranching women and cowgirls to Native American artists and Hispanic and Chicana writers and activists. The desert landscape has inspired and enchanted countless artists and writers. Students will explore the writing, art, activism and traditional practices that define the culture and the region. The course will look at the importance of the land in shaping visions, art, and architecture as well as the economic forces and struggles that shape the people. The women to be studied in this class encounter the sacred and speak of environmental and other visions for the future.
Fulfills: D in LS Core.
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WGS 3710 - Gender and the Law Credits: 4
This course will begin with an introduction to constitutional law and develop into an intimate study of the inner workings of the Supreme Court and its major decisions affecting gender. Such topics as marriage and divorce, pornography, the right to privacy, as well as sex discrimination cases involving Title IX and transgender issues, will be discussed and evaluated through an historical and legal framework. Debate and discussion regarding the historical evolution of these legal issues and their current trends will be emphasized.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3720 - Gender, Immigration, and the Law Credits: 4
This course will examine the intersection of immigration, gender, and the legal system in the United States. Through a careful analysis of the influence of sex, race, ethnicity, and gender on the experience of migration and movement, students will develop an understanding of the state of immigration law and politics. Students will be immersed in the work of immigration studies pioneers, exploring the social, cultural, and political issues that surround modern immigration. Federal legislation and administrative policy will be discussed in conjunction with current trends of immigration. In addition to examining the lives of others, students will trace their families’ origins and craft the story of their ancestors to create a full picture of immigration in the United States.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 3830 - Gender and Global Health Credits: 4
This course will explore the issues surrounding the achievement of health equality around the world, focusing on the intersection of gender, race, class, and location in determining health and well-being for global citizens. Using gender- based approach to study, students will examine the status of global health in a variety of areas including: access to care, HIV/AIDS, violence against women, human trafficking, reproductive health, and aging. Throughout the course, students will discover the challenges faced in ensuring global health care equality and analyze the response of non- governmental organizations (NGO’s), local governments, and the health care community in addressing these challenges.
Fulfills: Social Science distribution requirement. SOSC requirement and D in LS Core.
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WGS 4100 - Gender Studies Credits: 4
This interdisciplinary course will explore major issues, theories, and activism around the issue of gender including an analysis of gender stereotypes in the mass media. We will look at how gender identities are constructed, contested and mapped on the body. Topics will include transgender, transsexual, intersex politics, identity and representation, the new masculinity studies, queer theory, hate crimes and what does feminism have to do with gender politics. And as always we will ask what is a woman and what is a man and how these identities have shifted and changed in various cultures throughout history and what it means politically.
Fulfills: D in LS Core
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WGS 4800 - Directed Study Credits: 4
In lieu of a formal course, qualified upper-class students may, with the approval of the director and the instructor, substitute an intensive program of reading and research under the direction of a member of the program. Such research and reading will focus on local, national, and/or transnational issues related to women, gender and sex.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the director and the member of the program under whose supervision the Directed Study will be conducted.
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WGS 4850 - Internship in Women’s and Gender Studies Credits: 4
The Internship in Women’s and Gender Studies is a semester-long opportunity for students to combine practical experience with an in-depth academic theoretical analysis. Students will be expected to spend a number of hours per week in the field working in a setting where they experience firsthand issues related to women’s and gender studies. Such work may be individual or group/based. Students will arrange with the supervisor at their site an agreed upon work schedule, specific responsibilities, and tasks expected to be accomplished by the student over the course of the semester. All parties will sign a Memorandum of Understanding document. In addition to the responsibilities assumed as part of their placement, students must fulfill the academic component of the internship which requires periodic meetings with the internship director to discuss internship experiences and also requires that the student complete a research paper on a topic related to the internship experience. Past internships have included work with adolescent girls who are substance abusers, work with victims of domestic violence, recording oral histories of ranching women and cowgirls in the southwest, political internships at the statehouse, working with LGBT youth, working in a feminist publishing house, and creating and implementing Diversity programs in a local high school.
Prerequisite(s): Approval of the program chair and the internship director.
Fulfills: X in LS Core
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WGS 4990 - Senior Seminar Credits: 4
This is the capstone course for Women’s Studies Majors. Students will embark on a semester-long project which brings together their work and interest in women’s and gender studies. The seminar will provide feedback and aid students in their semester-long journey and projects.
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World Languages and Cultural Studies |
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WLC 1100 - The Gods Must be Crazy: Exploring Culture, Context, and Intercultural Competence Credits: 4
Using the 1980 white South African comedy The Gods Must be Crazy as a point of departure, this course explores the culture (or cultures) of certain non-English-speaking countries. The content aims to stimulate cultural curiosity, cross- cultural communication, and provide practical knowledge of the customs and culture(s) of a variety of countries. The aspects of the cultures that will be covered include Social values, Food and other customs, Economics, Geography, History, Politics, Demographics and other issues such as immigration/emigration, the environment, and mass media. Important ethical and social issues relating to intercultural communication will be discussed and students will be encouraged to reflect on their own cultural values such as what it means to live a good, productive, and happy life and how these might differ in other cultures. Students will be provided with vivid examples that will prepare them to understand and interact better in intercultural relationships.
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Writing |
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WRT 2010W - Writing Across Cultures Credits: 4
This course focuses on the study of identity, diversity, and multiculturalism as represented through the examination of cross/inter cultural intersections, past and present. Through the examination of theory and textual representations, films, and videos, and listening to the stories of individuals, students will engage in reflective inquiry, develop discourse strategies, and scholarly research. Formal and informal writing will include blogging, online discussion, and research.
Fulfills: D and W in LS Core
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WRT 2020W - Writing for Social Change Credits: 4
This course examines the impact of writing on social change through analyzing existing texts and composing original texts. Students will analyze articles, books, pamphlets, web sites, advertising campaigns, court decisions, and other documents, focusing on how writers have contributed to social movements such as abolition, women’s suffrage, temperance, civil rights, and pro-choice/pro-life. Students will also compose a variety of texts advocating change on an issue of their choice.
Fulfills: D and W in LS Core
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WRT 3700(W) - Special Topics in Rhetoric Credits: 4
These courses focus on the study of writing in particular professional, academic, or cultural contexts. Sample topicsinclude: Writing About Families, Death, and Violence; Travel Writing; Issues in Second Language Writing; Feminist Rhetoric; Visual Rhetoric; Social and Political Rhetoric; and Religious Rhetoric.
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