Letters in parenthesis indicate whether the class fills the Humanities (HUM) or Social Science (SS) distribution requirement in the WST General Concentration for majors with a catalog year of 2022 or earlier. They do NOT indicate whether or how a course counts for Gen Ed requirements; Gen Eds are separately designated as H, S, D, I. Additional letters in parenthesis reflect Health Equity and Social Justice (HESJ), Gender and Science (G&S), Race, Power, and Social Justice (RPSJ), Theories and Politics of Sexuality (TPS), and International Perspectives on Gender (IPG).
Majors may count up to two approved 2000-level classes toward their degrees (those with a catalog year of 2022 or earlier will need a degree audit adjustment from the undergrad coordinator to include the second course).
Only WST2322, 2611, 2612, and selected sections of IDS 2935 count towards the WMS minor; only WST2611 or 2612 count towards the TPS minor.
Introduction to Health Disparities
WST 2322 –Class # 17086
Examination of the multifaceted issue of health disparities based upon race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, education, sexuality, disability, physical and mental health, geography and other factors. Related issues include social determinants of health, cultural competency, health literacy, advocacy, social justice and health equity. (WST: SS/G&S, HESJ; GenEd: S, D; HDS Minor: Core.)
The syllabus for this course can be found here.
Humanities Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality
WST 2611 – Class # 19856
Close readings of cultural representations (in literature, the visual arts, movies, television, the Internet, etc.) facilitates the understanding of intersecting categories of identity such as gender, sexuality, class and race. Examines how such categories operate in everything from novels to YouTube to the evening news. (H and D) (WR) (WST: HUM; TPS; Gen Ed: H, D; Gordon Rule 2000)
The syllabus can be found here.
Social Science Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality
WST 2612 – Section 2612/Class #29513
The social construction of gender, sexuality, race, class and other identity categories. Readings focus on individuals, families and cultural groups, mainly in the U.S. but with attention to other nations. Subjects as intimate as the body and violence and as pervasive as politics and the law are included. The course emphasizes differences in daily life experiences of health care, education, sports and religion. Finally, it examines the potential of movements for social change. (WST: SS; TPS; Gen Ed: SS, D, Gordon Rule 2000)
The syllabus can be found here.
Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Women’s Studies
WST 3015 – Class # 19858
WST 3015 – Class # 28295
Drawing on materials and methodologies from a variety of disciplines, this class explores the diverse experiences of women, both in past eras and in the present, in the U.S. and abroad. Required for the Women’s Studies major and minor; fulfills the General Education requirement in diversity. (WST: Core; Gen Ed: H, SS, D and Gordon Rule 4000)
The syllabus can be found here.
Violence Against Women
WST 3325– Class # 24483
Approaches all forms of violence against women as a continuum and challenges assumptions regarding violence against women with empirical evidence. Adopts an intersectional approach to fully understand violence against women. Explores the transnational dimensions of violence against women and local specificities. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher. (WST: SS/HUM, HESJ; IPG)
The syllabus can be found here.
Sexualities Studies
WST3603– Class # 24175
The interdisciplinary study of sexualities covering diverse theories of sexualities and desire, and how these theories are socially constructed and regulated. Central to the class are the connections between sexualities and other social locators such as race, ethnicity, gender, social class, age and ability or disability. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or instructor permission. (WST: SS; TPS: Core; Gen Ed: SS)
The syllabus can be found here.
Special Interdisciplinary Topics
TOPIC: Black Feminist and Womanist Theory
WST3930– Class # 29776
Interdisciplinary survey of African American and Afro-descendant women’s contributions to feminist theory (WST: SS; IPG)
The syllabus can be found here.
Data Feminisms
WST4002 – Class # 28296
Draws from critical data and algorithm studies and feminist science and technology studies to develop critical tools of inquiry needed to approach data within a context of racialized, gendered, colonial, and classed systems of power. Combines practical data workshops with critical readings to analyze data across key uses in domains such as healthcare, security apparatuses, carceral systems, and digital infrastructures. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.
Latinx Sexualities
WST4383 – Class # 28404
Introduces the interdisciplinary field of Latina/o sexuality studies from an understanding of Latinx sexualities as complex processes in flux. Engages Latinx sexualities through transnational histories, memoirs and testimonios, artworks, literature, music, film, and video to understand how Latinx sexual identities and practices are shaped. Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing.
Discrimination and Health
WST4704 – Class # 29512
Examines discrimination and health from a variety of perspectives. Explores links of discrimination experiences with health behaviors and outcomes, discrimination in healthcare settings, and routes to improving health at individual, group, and legislative levels. Addresses multiple forms of discrimination (e.g., race, sex, class, sexual orientation/gender identity) and their intersections. Prerequisite: PSY 2012 or any WST course or junior standing. (WST: SS/G&S, HESJ, TPS)
The syllabus can be found here.
Independent Study
WST 4905 -Section 49IS, Variable Credits 1-3; Can be repeated up to 6 credits
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
For advanced undergraduate students who desire to supplement the regular courses by independent reading or research. Online Application (PDF) .
Undergraduate Research in Women’s Studies
WST4911-Section 49UR-Variable Credits
Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor
Provides firsthand, supervised research. Projects may involve inquiry, design, investigation, scholarship, discovery, or application. Click here for an application form.
Special Topics
WST 4930: Lectures and seminars covering selected topics of current interest in women’s studies and/or gender studies.
TOPIC: Race, Gender, and Labor
WST4930– Section 49CW – Class # 28347
(SS, IPG)
This course investigates how work shapes people’s lives, especially women of color, in both domestic and international settings. Examines scholarly and activist debates about what constitutes work and how certain kinds of work are distributed across race, gender, and class. Focuses primarily on unpaid and unacknowledged work, but also discusses various forms of paid work and the kinds of changes that women of color have demanded in workplaces, such as higher compensation and freedom from sexual harassment. Explores how workers have creatively resisted to transform the meaning of work.
The syllabus can be found here.
TOPIC: Gender and Politics in the Global South
WST4930– Section 49JS – Class # 29475
(SS, IPG)
This course surveys different topics in the study of gender and politics with a focus on the Global South. We will study central theoretical concepts developed by feminist scholarship, and use them to understand different issues in political science, such as social movements, democracy and autocracy, representation, and violence.
The syllabus can be found here.
TOPIC: Feminist International Relations
WST4930– Section 49LG – Class # 29474
(SS, IPG)
This course explores theoretical and empirical approaches to analyzing the role of gender in international relations. While the field of IR has a long history of minimizing the role of gender in global politics, this course centers gender as an analytic framework and as an organizing principle that shapes international relations.
The syllabus can be found here.
TOPIC: Feminist Political Thought
WST4930– Section 4FPT – Class # 26152
(SS, IPG)
In this course we will investigate contemporary feminist political thought and epistemologies. We will explore how feminist thinkers have challenged existing norms, social constructs, and structures of power, as well as key debates and points of contention in feminist political thought. We will also examine ways of knowing, obstacles to producing knowledge, and the systemic silencing of certain voices. In so doing, we will explore the ways that problems of exclusion came to be scripted in terms of identity and a focus on epistemological debates about foundations, as well as the possibilities and limits of these conceptualizations of feminist politics.
The syllabus can be found here.
Capstone Seminar
WST4935– Class # 28349
This capstone course, required for all majors, is the culmination of the women’s studies major. It explores past and present scholarship to reaffirm the interdisciplinary nature of the field and to highlight relationships among feminist theory, intellectual practice and social change. The bulk of the semester is devoted to an independent writing project on the student’s selected topic. (WST: Core for all tracks in major; pre-req: WST 3015)
The syllabus can be found here.
Internship
WST 4940 – Section Departmentally Controlled
Variable Credits 1-3; Can be repeated up to 6 credits
Prerequisite: Permission of undergraduate coordinator. Practical experience in the community with a local agency, group or business involved in women’s issues. (S-U) Prerequisite: instructor and program director and permission. Click here for more information and here to apply.
The syllabus can be found here.
Practicum in Health Disparities
WST 4941C – Course Departmentally Controlled
TBA; 3 Credits
Capstone experience for students enrolled in the Health Disparities in Society minor. Students are matched with preceptors from community agencies that work with underserved, disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations. Students will learn about the agency and its organizational culture while applying concepts of cultural competence, linguistic appropriateness and health disparities. Prerequisite: WST 2322 and Health Disparities in Society minor. Contact Dr. Alyssa Zucker for more information. If you have a practicum site arranged, you can apply for the class here. (HDS Minor: Core; Pre-req: WST 2322).
The syllabus can be found here.
Women’s/Gender Honors Thesis
WST 4970- Section Departmentally Controlled; 3 Credits
For students pursuing an honors thesis in Women’s Studies, in accordance with the protocols established by the Women’s Studies and honors programs. Students design and pursue an independent research project with guidance from an advisor. Prerequisite: WST 4935 and Women’s Studies major. Guidelines for the Honors Thesis are available here and the Application for the Honors Thesis is here (PDF).