Women’s and Gender Studies
Feminism is for everybody
Women’s and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary academic program explicitly dedicated to the study of women, gender and sexuality in all areas of human life. As an academic field, Women’s Studies starts from the assumption that gender shapes both individual lives and social institutions. Our curriculum provides students with a theoretical framework for analyzing and acting upon the intersections of gender, race, class and sexuality, both historically and in contemporary societies worldwide.
You can read more about women’s studies in the article “Women’s Studies: Transform the World.”
Major requirements
Women’s and Gender Studies major worksheet (pdf)
The major in women’s and gender studies consists of at least nine courses, including Introduction to Women’s Studies, Feminist Theory, and the Senior Seminar. Three or more additional courses must be taken at the 300 level or above. Women’s and Gender Studies majors who have taken a first-year seminar with a member of the Women’s Studies faculty may petition the Women’s and Gender Studies Coordinator to count that FYS towards credit for the major. Women’s and Gender studies majors are urged to pursue internships, service learning opportunities and independent research that will complement their course work in women’s and gender studies.
Introduction and theory
WGS 101 Introduction to Women’s Studies
WGS 312 Feminist Theory
WGS 401 Senior Seminar
Women and gender in U.S. society
Two of the following:
ARTH 370 Women at Work: Art History and Feminism
ARTH 371 Masculinity and American Art
ECON 241 Women in United States Economy
EDUC 270 Gender and Education
ENG 247 Feminist Fiction
ENG 348 Sexual Politics of Film Noir
HIST 232 Women in North America to 1790
HIST 233 United States Women, 1790-1890
HIST 234 United States Women since 1890
HIST 341 Sex and Culture in the 19th Century U.S.
PHIL 255 Feminism, Philosophy and the Law
REL 142 Religion and Sexuality
SOC 235 Families in Transition
SOC 260 Gender Inequality
SOC 320 Race, Gender and Poverty
WGS 102 Introduction to LGBT+ Studies
WGS 270 Gender and Education
WGS 317 Queer Theory
Other courses may qualify with permission of the women’s and gender studies advisor.
Women and gender in international perspective
Two of the following:
ANTH 255 Gender in Africa
ANTH 260 Gender and Development
ANTH 350 Gender and Social Organization
CLAS 266 Gender, Power and the Gods
ECON 233 Sweatshops in the World Economy
FR 331 Other Voices, Other Stories: Great Works by Women from France and the Francophone World
GER 267 Weimar and Nazi Cinema and Culture
HISP 370 Contemporary Women Writers in Spain
ITAS 235 Italian Women Writers in Translation
RUSS 284 Women in Russian Culture
SOC 310 Gender and Nation
WGS 228 Transnational Feminisms
WGS 311 Violence against Women
or ANTH 311 Violence against Women
or SOC 311 Violence against Women
Electives
Two of the following not used above:
ANTH 255 Gender in Africa
ANTH 260 Gender and Development
ANTH 311 Violence against Women
ANTH 350 Gender and Social Organization
ARTH 370 Women at Work: Art History and Feminism
ARTH 371 Masculinity and American Art
CLAS 266 Gender, Power and the Gods
ECON 233 Sweatshops in the World Economy
ECON 241 Women in United States Economy
EDUC 270 Gender and Education
ENG 236 Sex, Work and the Victorians
ENG 240 Gender, Genre and Poetry
ENG 247 Feminist Fiction
ENG 272 Romancing the Novel
ENG 343 Fictions of the Modern
ENG 348 Sexual Politics of Film Noir
ENG 377 Feminist Criticism
GER 267 Weimar and Nazi Cinema and Culture
FR 331 Other Voices, Other Stories: Great Works by Women from France and the Francophone World
HISP 320 Early Modern Feminism: Spain and the New World
HISP 370 Contemporary Women Writers in Spain
HIST 232 Women in North America to 1790
HIST 233 United States Women, 1790-1890
HIST 234 United States Women since 1890
HIST 340 Sex and Work
HIST 341 Sex and Culture in the 19th Century U.S.
ITAS 235 Italian Women Writers in Translation
PHIL 255 Feminism, Philosophy and the Law
PHIL 398 Plato Seminar
PSY 235 Human Sexuality
PSY 290 Psychology of Women
REL 142 Religion and Sexuality
RUSS 284 Women in Russian Culture
SOC 235 Families in Transition
SOC 260 Gender Inequality
SOC 290 Sociology of Sexualities
SOC 310 Gender and Nation
SOC 311 Violence against Women
SOC 320 Race, Gender and Poverty
SOC 392 Feminist Research
WGS 102 Introduction to LGBT+ Studies
WGS 270 Gender and Education
WGS 311 Violence against Women
WGS 315 Black Feminist Theory
WGS 317 Queer Theory
WGS 398 Experimental Courses
WGS 399 Independent Study
WGS 500 Individual Research
Minor requirements
Women’s and Gender Studies minor worksheet (pdf)
The minor in women’s and gender studies consists of five or more courses: WGS 101 Introduction to Women’s Studies or WGS 228 Transnational Feminisms, and three electives, only one of which may be taken at the 100 level. At least one class must be at the 300-level. Students who have completed at least one 300-level theory class (WGS 312 or WGS 315) are strongly encouraged to take WGS 401, the Senior Seminar (with permission of the instructor). Students are encouraged to do an interdisciplinary independent study and related internships.
Women’s and Gender Studies courses
Anthropology
ANTH 255 Gender in Africa
ANTH 260 Gender and Development
ANTH 311 Violence against Women
ANTH 350 Gender and Social Organization
Art History
ARTH 370 Women at Work: Art History and Feminism
ARTH 371 Masculinity and American Art
Classics
CLAS 266 Gender, Power and the Gods
Economics
ECON 233 Sweatshops in the World Economy
ECON 241 Women in United States Economy
Education
EDUC 270 Gender and Education
English
ENG 236 Sex, Work and the Victorians
ENG 240 Gender, Genre and Poetry
ENG 247 Feminist Fiction
ENG 272 Romancing the Novel
ENG 343 Fictions of the Modern
ENG 348 Sexual Politics of Film Noir
ENG 377 Feminist Criticism
French
FR 331 Other Voices, Other Stories: Great Works by Women from France and the Francophone World
German
GER 267 Weimar and Nazi Cinema and Culture
Hispanic Studies
HISP 320 Early Modern Feminism: Spain and the New World
HISP 325 Queer Politics and Hispanisms
HISP 370 Contemporary Women Writers in Spain
History
HIST 232 Women in North America to 1790
HIST 233 United States Women, 1790-1890
HIST 234 United States Women since 1890
HIST 340 Sex and Work
HIST 341 Sex and Culture in the 19th Century U.S.
HIST 398 Sex and Gender
Italian
ITAS 235 Italian Women Writers in Translation
ITAS 298 Constructing Women Writers and Saints: 1200-1500
Philosophy
PHIL 255 Feminism, Philosophy and the Law
Political Science
Psychology
PSY 235 Human Sexuality
PSY 290 Psychology of Women
Religion
REL 142 Religion and Sexuality
Russian
RUSS 284 Women in Russian Culture
Sociology
SOC 235 Families in Transition
SOC 260 Gender Inequality
SOC 290 Sociology of Sexualities
SOC 310 Gender and Nation
SOC 311 Violence against Women
SOC 320 Race, Gender and Poverty
SOC 392 Feminist Research
Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 101 Introduction to Women’s Studies
WGS 102 Introduction to LGBT+ Studies
WGS 228 Transnational Feminisms
WGS 311 Violence against Women
WGS 312 Feminist Theory
WGS 315 Black Feminist Theory
WGS 317 Queer Theory
WGS 326 Queer Politics and Hispanisms
WGS 399 Independent Study
WGS 401 Senior Seminar
In addition, many departments offer special courses and seminars with topics applicable to the major or minor. Please see the Women’s and Gender Studies advisor for permission to count the course towards either the major or minor.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 098 – Experimental Course
From time to time, departments design a new course to be offered either on a one-time basis or an experimental basis before deciding whether to make it a regular part of the curriculum. Refer to the course schedule for current listings.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 099 – Independent Study
An opportunity to do independent work in a particular area not included in the regular courses.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 101 – Introduction to Women’s Studies
This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) and the skills of feminist analysis. The primary goal of this course is to familiarize students with key issues, questions, and debates in Women’s and Gender Studies scholarship, both historical and contemporary. Over the course of the semester, you will become familiarized with many of the critical questions and concepts feminist scholars have developed as tools for thinking about gendered experiences. Significant attention will be paid to the issue of representation: how women and men have been represented, and how individuals represent themselves. We will also explore the complex ways in which gender intersects with class, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Required readings include classic and contemporary WGS texts from a range of disciplines, as well as political documents, personal narratives, literary and visual texts. Through successfully completing this course, students will be better prepared to participate in and contribute effectively to the larger public conversation about the role of gender in culture and society, to apply the critical tools of WGS to their academic, personal, and professional lives, and to take more advanced classes in this field.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 102 – Introduction to LGBT+ Studies
Sexuality is an important part of human life and society, but despite claims that we were all “born this way,” its meanings and social significance have changed over the course of history. This class offers an introduction to that history, looking at the rise of sexuality-based classifications in law and medicine, the development of sexual identity politics, and the intersections of sexuality with gender, race/ethnicity, and class. We will examine the history of social movements for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other minority gender/sexuality groups’ rights, and we will ask how that history shapes LGBT+ politics in the U.S. today.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 142 – Religion and Sexuality
See Religion 142 – Religion and Sexuality (REL 142) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 199 – Independent Study
An opportunity to do independent work in a particular area not included in the regular courses.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 228 – Transnational Feminisms
This course examines the challenges for feminist organizing across borders posed by the global capitalism, cultural difference and the legacy of imperialism. Course readings include a combination of empirical texts on social movements and philosophical texts on moral relativism and the epistemology of understanding across difference.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 232 – Women in North America to 1970
See History 232 – Women in North America to 1790 (HIST 232) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 233 – Sweatshops in the World Economy
See Economics 233 – Sweatshops in the World Economy (ECON 233) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 234 – United States Women, 1790-1890
See History 233 – United States Women, 1790-1890 (HIST 233) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 235 – Women in Modern Italy
See Italian Studies 235 – Modern Italy (ITAS 235) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 236 – Human Sexuality
See Psychology 235 – Human Sexuality (PSY 235) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 237 – Sex, God and the Victorians
See English 236 – Sex, God and the Victorians (ENG 236) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 238 – United States Women since 1890
See History 234 – United States Women since 1890 (HIST 234) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 239 – Families in Transition
See Sociology 235 – Families in Transition (SOC 235) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 240 – Identity, Genre and Poetry
See English 240 – Identity, Genre and Poetry (ENG 240) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 241 – Women in United States Economy
See Economics 241 – Women in United States Economy (ECON 241) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 247 – Feminist Fiction
See English 247 – Feminist Fiction (ENG 247) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 250 – Feminism, Philosophy and the Law
See Philosophy 255 – Feminism, Philosophy and the Law (PHIL 255) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 251 – Love and Marriage
See Italian Studies 250 – Love and Marriage (ITAS 250) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 255 – Women in Africa
What contributions have women made to the societies of Africa prior to colonialism? How and why did colonialism affect men and women differently? What are the implications of gender inequality for economic development in Africa today? These questions are considered from ethnographic, autobiographical and fictional accounts. Gender, class and cultural identity will be focal points.

(Previously Gender in Africa)
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 260 – Gender Inequality
See Sociology 260 – Gender Inequality (SOC 260) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 262 – Women and Development
This course focuses some of the central development problems in the Global South (poverty, hunger, infectious disease, illiteracy) and how our thinking about these issues changed once women were entered into the development equation. The backdrop to the issues we will tackle is the re-organization of the global political economy and the way that different actors in the business of development (international bodies such as the UN and its subsidiaries, national governments, multinational corporations and trade bodies, NGOs and Aid agencies, and the local recipients of aid) understand the fundamental problems causing underdevelopment and the solutions that they affirm. While we will consider the big picture of development from the top down, our key focus will remain on how women and men in the Global South understand and cope with the key development challenges they face in a rapidly changing world.
(Previously Gender and Development)
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 266 – Gender, Power and the Gods
See Classics 266/366 – Gender, Power and the Gods (CLAS 266) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 267 – Weimar and Nazi Cinema and Culture
This course examines the films of the Weimar and Nazi periods and their socio-historical, politico-cultural and aesthetic contexts of production. It covers a wide variety of works from the early beginnings of German cinema to the end of WWII. Each week is thematically structured around one film and several readings, on topics such as “the male gaze,” “mass culture and modernity”, or “fascist aesthetics.” (Previously Lulu, Lola and Leni: Women of German Cinema)
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 270 – Gender and Education
Gender plays a significant but not always obvious role in the lives of individual students, teachers, and policymakers in American education. Examining both P-12 schools and colleges, this course explores schools as sites for learning and teaching about gender, and as gendered workplaces for teachers and administrators. We explore ways that gender and gender identities affect students’ school experience, both in school culture and in the curriculum (direct instruction and “hidden curriculum”); gender differences in achievement and educational choices; curricular efforts to challenge gender assumptions; ways that teachers enact, construct, and challenge the gendered nature of education; and teaching as a gendered profession. We also investigate Wheaton College as a gendered setting.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 272 – Romancing the Novel
See English 272 – Romancing the Novel (ENG 272) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 275 – Disability and Difference
Disability Studies examines the societal treatment and lived experiences of people with disabilities. While disability is often seen as a deviation from “normal” functioning, it is a near-universal human experience. This class takes a critical approach to disability, asking questions like: To what extent is disability “natural,” and to what extent is it mediated by cultural norms, medicine, and politics? What does disability, in combination with gender, class, race, and age, reveal about power and inequality in society? And how might we work toward a future in which more people can be meaningfully included in the life of our society?
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 284 – Women in Russian Culture
See Russian and Russian Studies 284 – Women in Russian Culture (RUSS 284) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 290 – The Psychology of Women
See Psychology 290 – Psychology of Women (PSY 290) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 291 – Sociology of Sexualities
See Sociology 290 – Sociology of Sexualities (SOC 290) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 298 – Experimental Course
From time to time, departments design a new course to be offered either on a one-time basis or an experimental basis before deciding whether to make it a regular part of the curriculum. Refer to the course schedule for current listings.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 299 – Independent Study
An opportunity to do independent work in a particular area not included in the regular courses.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 301 – Fashion, Sex and the City
See Italian Studies 310 – Fashion, Sex and the City (ITAS 310) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 310 – Gender and Nation
See Sociology 310 – Gender and Nation (SOC 310) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 311 – Violence Against Women
See Anthropology 311 – Violence against Women (ANTH 311) or Sociology 311 – Violence against Women (SOC 311) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 312 – Feminist Theory
This advanced-level course is designed to explore in depth many of the theoretical frameworks and methodological issues that are touched upon in women’s studies and gender-balanced courses. The course focuses on historical and contemporary writings from a range of perspectives, including liberal feminism, radical feminism, socialist feminism and postmodernism. Special topics such as racism, lesbianism and international women’s issues are also examined.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 315 – Black Feminist Theory
The class will examine critical and theoretical issues in Black feminism from the 1960s to the present, focusing on the influential contemporary Black feminist intellectual tradition that emerged in the 1970s. From this perspective, students will explore certain themes and topics, such as work, family, politics and community, through reading the writings of Black feminists. We will also study the ways in which women and men have worked together, toward the eradication of race and gender inequality, among other systems of oppression, which have historically subjugated Black women. Although emphasis will be placed on Black feminist traditions in the United States, at the end of the semester we will consider Black feminism in global perspective.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 317 – Queer Theory
Developed partly in response to the AIDS epidemic and to make sense of the continued marginalization of people who were not heterosexual, queer theory is a field of inquiry aimed at understanding difference and inequality. The central subjects of queer theory are people marginalized due to their gender or sexuality. Queer theory also asks how “queer” can help us understand a broad range of stigmatized differences: as resistance to the “normal.” This course examines both the intellectual roots of queer theory and its branches into areas like transgender studies, disability studies, and more.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 320 – Race, Gender and Poverty
See Sociology 320 – Race, Gender and Poverty (SOC 320) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 324 – The Eighteenth-Century Novel
Before the 18th century, novels in English did not exist. By the end of the 18th century, however, many cultural figures worried about the seemingly obsessive novel reading that was going on among young (particularly female) readers. This course will examine what changed between 1700 and 1800 to make the novel the most important genre of English literature. We will explore the novel as a historical and literary phenomenon. We will see the many ways that the novel answered the grand social and cultural questions which dominated the 18th century. What is the difference between men and women? What makes a human life worthwhile? How should I relate to my family and loved ones? What makes a story seem truthful or false? By reading the prose of Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Burney and Austen, we shall find out.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 325 – Early Modern Feminism: Spain and the New World
See Hispanic Studies 320 – Early Modern Feminism: Spain and the New World (HISP 320) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 326 – Queer Politics and Hispanisms
This course will provide a framework to study the historical and theoretical foundations of queer theory and queer activism. We will explore how queer theory problematizes stable identities in Latin American, Latin@ and Iberian cultures. We will discuss what happens when people challenge or refuse normativized sexuality and gender categories and look at how queer citizens are caught within the processes of nationalism, neocolonialism, globalization and neoliberalism. We will start the semester reading canonical texts by Michel Foucault, Teresa de Lauretis, Eve Sedgwick, Judith Butler, Gayle Rubin, Judith Halberstam or Gloria Anzaldúa that will help us understand the interdisciplinary scholarship that we will explore during the second half of the semester. The second part of the course will address the question of queerness by analyzing literature, film and cultural products focusing primarily on explicit representation of LGBTQ characters and communities in Latin American, Latin@ and Iberian cultures.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 331 – Other Voices, Other Stories: Great Works by Women from France and the Francophone World
See French 331 – Other Voices, Other Stories: Great Works by Women from France and the Francophone World (FR 331) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 341 – Sex and Culture in the 19th Century U.S.
See History 341 – Sex and Culture in the 19th Century U -S – (HIST 341) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 343 – Fictions of the Modern
See English 343 – Fictions of the Modern (ENG 343) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 344 – Sex, Gender and the Body in the Medieval World
This class explores how historians study sex, gender, and the body in medieval Europe and Byzantium, especially in religious contexts. We will focus on historiography and methodology through topics such as the role of women, manipulation of bodies by torture and asceticism, and blurring of traditional gender lines through same-sex relations, cross-dressing and castration.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 348 – Sexual Politics of Film Noir
See English 348 – Sexual Politics of Film Noir (ENG 348) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 350 – Gender and Social Organization
See Anthropology 350 – Gender and Social Organization (ANTH 350) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 366 – Gender, Power and the Gods
See Classics 366 – Gender, Power and the Gods (CLAS 366) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 370 – Contemporary Women Writers in Spain
See Hispanic Studies 370 – Contemporary Women Writers in Spain (HISP 370) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 371 – Women at Work: Art History and Feminism
See Art and Art History 370 – Women at Work: Art History and Feminism (ARTH 370) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 372 – Masculinity and American Art
See Art and Art History 371 – Masculinity and American Art (ARTH 371) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 376 – Literary and Cultural Theory
See English 376 – Literary and Cultural Theory (ENG 376) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 377 – Feminist Criticism
See English 377 – Feminist Criticism (ENG 377) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 384 – Women in Russian Culture – Advanced
See Russian and Russian Studies 284 – Women in Russian Culture (RUSS 284) for course description.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 398 – Experimental Course
From time to time, departments design a new course to be offered either on a one-time basis or an experimental basis before deciding whether to make it a regular part of the curriculum. Refer to the course schedule for current listings.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 399 – Independent Study
Advanced students, in consultation with an instructor, may arrange to pursue independent study on topics not covered by the regular course offerings.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 401 – Senior Seminar
A semester of directed reading and research where students will examine significant issues at the forefront of feminist theory and research, as well as the principal theoretical debates within the field of women’s studies. Topics chosen for discussion will depend on class interest, recent research and timeliness. Potential topics include postcolonial feminisms, women and war, and black feminist theory. Students will pursue an original research project and will produce a thesis as their capstone to the major. Students and instructor will meet regularly in a seminar setting to discuss readings and the stages of the research project.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 498 – Experimental Courses
(See Sociology 403 – Senior Pro-seminar (SOC 403) for course description.)
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 499 – Independent Research
Advanced students, in consultation with an instructor, may arrange to pursue independent study on topics not covered by the regular course offerings.
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Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 500 – Individual Research
Open to senior majors by invitation of the Program. All other interested students should speak with the program coordinator or Women’s Studies academic advisor.