Cross-Listed Course Descriptions

All Women's Studies majors and minors must take at least one course from both Block A and Block B.

Block A

ENG 373/WS 373. Literary Forms and Reformulations
An examination of how literature interrogates and revises received traditions. By focusing on sequences of works, juxtaposed works, or the works of a single author, it examines imitations, critiques, and transformations within formal literary categories and within canons.
The Liar in Literature - Janzen
Telling Lives - Dykstra
Women on Trial in 18th and 19th Century British Literature - Kipp
Four Credits
Each class offered once every two years

ENG 375/WS 375. Language, Literature, and
Social/Cultural Difference
An examination of literary works as cultural artifacts, examining how they not only record and reflect the dynamics of social and cultural difference but also influence or resist change. Under investigation will be conflicts and modifications in cultural identification, how literature draws upon the lives and times of its authors, and how race, class, gender, and other forms of difference generate social and cultural tensions and express and embody them in literature.
19th and 20th Century British Women Writers - Kipp
Latina Novels - Montano
Four Credits
Each class offered once every two years

ENG 480/WS 480. Introduction to Literary Criticism:
Feminist Theories
A chronological survey of major 20th-century theoretical approaches to literature.
Four Credits
Kipp
Offered once every two years

FREN 342/WS 395-03. French Society from the Revolution
to the 21st Century
A topics oriented introduction to the intellectual, social, historical, and artistic developments in French society from the 18th to the 21st century. Topics for the course will include one of the following: Paris, Myth and Reality; French Novels and Films. Conducted entirely in French.
Four Credits
Larsen
Offered every other Fall Semester (2008, 2010)

FREN 443/WS 495-01. Early Modern French Literature
and Culture
A course on the literary, historical, sociopolitical, economic, and artistic developments in French society from the Renaissance period to the French Revolution.
Four Credits
Larsen
Offered every third semester

HIST 200/WS 295-01A. Women in Early Modern Europe

Four Credits
Gibbs
Offered: varied

HIST 285/WS 285. Women in Antiquity
This course surveys the status and accomplishments of women in the ancient Mediterranean world, from Egypt to the fall of the Roman
Empire. It examines questions of matriarchy, marriage patterns, and attitudes toward women displayed in literature and art. Attention is given to problems of methodology and modern interpretations of ancient sources on this subject.
Four Credits
Bell
Offered Spring Semester, Odd Years

HIST 352/WS 352. U.S. Women and Social Change
What role have women had in making social change happen in the United States? In this course, we will answer this question by examining how women sought to shape their society during periods of transformation in United States history. Topics include women in Revolutionary America; women and anti-slavery campaigns; Progressive women; women during times of war; and the rise of feminism during the 20th century. We will also explore how issues such as race, class, region, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation affected women’s historical experience.
Four Credits
Petit
Offered Fall Semester, Even Years

HIST 357/WS 395-01. U.S. Intellectual History: Ideas of Race, Gender, and Class
In this course, we will explore the meaning of race, gender and class through the lens of intellectual history-a history that examines how ideas change over time. We will read about ordinary people as well as elite intellectuals in order to understand how Americans debated the meanings of these concepts and how these ideas affected the lived experiences of men and women in the past.
Four Credits
Petit
Offered Fall Semester, Odd Years

REL 260/WS 236. Introduction to Theology: Christian Feminism
A study of basic Christian beliefs about God, creation, humanity, evil, Jesus Christ, salvation, the church, and the future, based on a careful reading and an informed discussion of classical texts.
Four Credits
Japinga

REL 349/WS 395. Women in American Religious History
A course designed to enable current staff or visiting faculty to teach a course in the area of their current research, and to facilitate cross-listing courses.
Four Credits
Japinga

REL 366/WS 366. Feminist Theology
An exploration of theological questions (who is God?, what does it mean to be human?, how do we read the Bible?, etc.) from the perspective of feminist theologians.
Four Credits
Japinga

SPAN 494/WS 495. Literature Seminar: Spanish Narrative by Women in 20th Century Spain
A course in advanced literary studies whose topic varies from year to year depending on the interests of students and the on-going research interests of Spanish faculty at any given time. Emphasis on critical thinking and writing of well-developed papers. Recommended for students planning on graduate studies in Spanish. Conducted entirely in Spanish.
Four Credits
Dorado
Offered once every two years

PHIL 295/WS 295. Sexual Ethics

Two Credits
Simon
Offered once every two years

Block B

COMM 470/WS 470. Cultural Communication Theory
This seminar examines theories of how power is expressed symbolically and embedded in cultural texts. Students will develop skills in the interpretation and analysis of cultural meaning.
Four Credits
Housel
Offered Spring Semester

COMM 371/WS 371. Intercultural and Gender Communication
This course addresses the social construction of inequality, specifically focusing on how communication processes are the means by which gender, race, class, nationality, culture and ethnicity are created, and are also the means by which individuals can resist personal participation in perpetuating systems of inequality. Through encountering multicultural experiences, interviewing people in different social positions, and engaging in exercises and simulations, we will learn to broaden our self-identities and our understanding of others by learning about the experiences, feelings, and views of people in social situations different from our own.
Four Credits
Johnston
Offered Fall Semester

POL 295/WS 295. Gender, Islam, and Democracy
This course examines the status of women in predominantly Muslim societies. The course meets for the first half of the semester and will focus on looking at the intersectionality of gender, Islam and politics. We will also discuss the compatibility of Islam and Democracy in the context of religion and politics. The course is a Women’s Studies class that is cross-listed with Political Science.
Two Credits
Dandavati
Offered once a year

POL 340/WS 340. Women and the Law
This course will examine the various legal constraints and legal rights women experience in their daily lives. Law is viewed as a dynamic entity open to debate and change. Legal issues to be discussed include: affirmative action, divorce, rape, comparable worth, abortion, fetal rights, sexual harassment, surrogate motherhood, prostitution, and pornography.
Four Credits
Vandervelde
Offered Spring Semester

PSY 380/WS 380. Psychology of Women
This course helps students recognize that women have historically been excluded from defining theory and research in psychology and remedies this bias by: 1) providing a feminist critique of existing theories, research and methods, 2) exploring current scholarship on women, and 3) connecting psychology with women’s lives in their diversity and particularity, and in issues of race, class and sexual orientation. Women’s lives are viewed as valid for serious study and discussion.
Four Credits
Dickie
Offered once a year

PSY 395/WS 395. Human Sexuality

Four Credits
Bade
Offered once a year

SOC 271/WS 271. Sociology of Gender I
In this course we will examine the different roles prescribed to individuals on the basis of sex. The particular focus will be the role of
socialization and social institutions. We will consider the consequences of women’s and men’s assigned roles for their home and family life, work roles and achievements, media portrayals, and religious practices.
Two Credits
Swanson
Offered Spring Semester (First Half)

SOC 272/WS 272. Sociology of Gender II
In this half of the course we will examine the most popular gender theories and discuss their impact on men’s and women’s roles in the
U.S. culture. We will focus more specifically on men’s roles, the history and impact of the women’s movement, and prospective gender roles in the future.
Two Credits
Swanson
Offered Spring Semester (Second Half)