Course Catalog

Women's Studies Courses

202. Introduction to Women’s Studies.
This course will provide students with an interdisciplinary examination of the conditions and circumstances affecting the lives of women in the United States. We will discuss sex-based inequities and their impact on women of all classes, races, sexual and ethnic identifications. We will explore the extent to which gender affects access to opportunity, power and resources. Students will learn strategies for critiquing and changing the existing status of women. Furthermore, they will learn to formulate and support their own independent viewpoints of the issues covered. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

211. Feminist Ethics.
This course is an investigation into feminist ethical theory and its application. In the first half of the class we will explore the major tenets and trends within the two major movements of feminist ethics: the care approach and the power approach. In the second half of the course we will examine applications of these approaches to various issues of concern for feminists, for example, issues about the ethical approach toward creating and conceptualizing ethical relationships with others, domestic violence, and reproductive freedom. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

220. Psychology of Women.
This course introduces current topics in psychology that are particularly relevant to women, with an emphasis not only on gender differences, but also on similarities. Discussion will center on psychological issues related to the treatment, study, and roles of women. Topics such as language, sexrole socialization, achievement and motivation, and women’s health issues will be discussed within a developmental and experimental framework. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

222. American Women’s History.
This course treats women’s history as both an integral element of American history and as a unique subject of historical investigation. Students will learn to think critically about how the category of gender interacts with class, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

225. Women and Religion in American Culture.
An introduction to the life and thought of selected American religious women who have participated in the struggle for justice and equality in religious institutions and society at large. Readings will include history, biography, autobiography and contemporary feminist perspectives. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

234. Women’s Literature, Women’s Lives.
This course introduces students to literature written by women from the fourteenth century to the present and to feminist analysis as a tool for understanding that literature. Students will examine and analyze the cultural conditions which shaped both the authors’ lives and the literature they produced, then apply this analysis to understanding the experience of women in American culture. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

235. Women and Theatre.
This course will investigate contemporary theatrical material created and performed by women in America. Students will examine the work of women theatre artists, generally focusing on the work of playwrights and directors, as a way to investigate contemporary social conditions. This course will also examine the ways that meaning is constructed in theatrical writing and performance. Same as English 235. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

260. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible.
This course explores feminist interpretation of the Bible, both as a theoretical orientation and as a feminist interpretive lens pertains to selected texts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Students will be exposed to the work of Jewish and Christian feminist scholars. The course introduces feminism as a hermeneutic for sacred texts, and also explores the history of textual interpretation from a feminist perspective. Most students enrolling in this course will want to have taken either Introduction to Women’s Studies or any introductory biblical studies course. Cornerstone 7. Three hours.

275. Gender, Race, Class & Media.
An exploration from the perspectives of marginalized groups in the United States of the ways that popular media represent our diverse and dynamic culture. The course focuses on images of race, class and gender in television, film and popular culture. Cornerstone 6. Offered every other year. Three hours.

Phil 311. Feminist Philosophy.
This class will be a detailed examination of topics in feminist philosophy. While specific topics will vary, possible topics include: feminist ethics and social/political philosophy, feminist metaphysics and feminist epistemology. In addition, we will expressly focus on applying feminist theories through service learning and campus activist projects. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

Soc 311. Women: The Struggle for Equality.
This course explores women’s struggle for equality in the United States. The minority/ subordinate status of women will be addressed through such perspectives as conservatism, liberalism, traditional Marxism, radical feminism, and socialist feminism. Cornerstone 6. Three hours.

360. Senior Project in Women’s Studies.
In collaboration with a member of the Women’s Studies faculty, the student develops an individualized program of reading and writing, culminating in the presentation of a substantial paper, followed by an oral examination over the project involving at least three Women’s Studies faculty members. Students might also fulfill this requirement by completing a field experience (120 hours) at an agency that primarily serves the needs of girls and women. This experience must be supervised by a member of the Women’s Studies faculty. Contact the Director of the Women’s Studies minor for the current list of Women’s Studies faculty members. Prerequisite: open only to senior Women’s Studies minors. Three hours.

399. Senior Colloquium.
In the Senior Colloquium, students address a significant topic from more than one Cornerstone perspective. As a senior seminar, the Colloquium provides a structured opportunity for participants to continue the task of integrating their liberal arts education and addressing its contemporary relevance. A major part of the Colloquium experience is a substantial writing project in which students demonstrate an awareness of the value issues at stake in analysis of the topic. Three hours.

399WS. Senior Portfolio in Women’s Studies.

Last Updated: 6/10/09