Women's and Gender Studies Courses

WGS 101. Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies. 4 Credits.

Interdisciplinary examination of the diverse experiences, status, and contributions of women in the United States. Topics include social construction of gender, race, sexualities, work, class, violence, and health.

WGS 198. Workshop: [Topic]. 1,2 Credit.

Repeatable.

WGS 199. Special Studies: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 201. Introduction to Queer Studies. 4 Credits.

Introduction to the study of sexuality and society from a queer studies interdisciplinary perspective.

WGS 221. Bodies and Power. 4 Credits.

Focuses on gender, the body, and dis/ability as a particular nexus of experience and social meaning, influenced as well by race, sexuality, age and class. This course considers bodies and how we understand them within contexts shaped by social relations and systems of power.

WGS 250. Gender, Literature, and Culture. 4 Credits.

Examines literary and other cultural representations of gendered experiences using novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and visual cultural production.

WGS 251. Transnational and Indigenous Feminisms. 4 Credits.

Introductory survey of transnational and Indigenous feminist scholarship, two intersecting strains of feminism that address the workings of culture, nationalism, and gender in multiple contexts. Explores cross-section of key issues and perspectives using interdisciplinary lenses and methodologies employed by scholars in transnational and Indigenous studies.

WGS 261. Gender and Popular Culture. 4 Credits.

Drawing on contemporary popular culture texts, including films, music, and TV shows, introduces students to feminist perspectives on pop culture representations, production, and reception. Engages with pop culture as a meaningful site for the construction of gender in intersection with sexuality, race, nation, and bodies.

WGS 303. Women and Gender in American History. 4 Credits.

Focuses on women and gender in America, highlighting how diverse women have experienced gender roles and sexism since the 17th century.

WGS 311. Black Feminist Theories. 4 Credits.

This course introduces students to key texts, issues, and debates in contemporary, post-civil rights era black feminist theories and thought. A particular focus of this course is black feminists’ historic interventions into conventional understandings of “theory” and dominant notions of “theory-making.”

WGS 315. History and Development of Feminist Theory. 4 Credits.

Feminist theory from the Enlightenment through the Second Wave, with special emphasis on the diverse theories of the 1960s to the present.
Prereq: WGS 101.

WGS 321. Feminist Perspectives: Identity, Race, Culture. 4 Credits.

Examines intersections of race and ethnicity, class, sexuality, and gender in the history and lives of United States women of color. Explores definitions of community, culture, and identity.
Prereq: one course WGS or ES 101.

WGS 322. Queer Theory. 4 Credits.

Surveys key terms and texts of the interdisciplinary fields that constitute queer theory; recent debates in scholarship and popular culture on gender, sexuality, race, disability, and other identities.

WGS 331. Science, Technology, and Gender. 4 Credits.

Topics include the role of gender in the practice of science and the impact of sexism and racism on the development of science and technology.
Prereq: WGS 101 or equivalent.

WGS 341. Women, Work, and Class. 4 Credits.

Explores contexts and cultural attitudes shaping the women's market and domestic labor including race, sexuality, age, and class as well as occupational segregation and control.

WGS 350. Literature as Feminist Theory. 4 Credits.

Analyzes literary and media texts while considering questions and intersections of race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, nation, culture, and power central to the field of women and gender studies, and demonstrates how these intersections within literary texts are sites of knowledge production in feminist theory.
Prereq: one 200 level WGS course.

WGS 351. Decolonial Feminisms. 4 Credits.

Exploration of feminist activism and women’s movements globally, organizing to challenge the state, civil society, international agencies, and corporations for a more just world.
Prereq: one 200-level WGS course.

WGS 361. Gender, Film, and the Media. 4 Credits.

Students read, view, examine, discuss, and write about film and media in terms of gender and feminist and queer theory. Offered alternate years.

WGS 399. Special Studies: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

Repeatable up to five times.

WGS 401. Research: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 403. Thesis. 1-12 Credits.

Repeatable with program director's and thesis adviser's consent for maximum of 12 credits.

WGS 405. Reading and Conference: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 406. Practicum: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 407. Seminar: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

A current topic is Feminist Research Issues. Repeatable when topic changes.

WGS 408. Workshop: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 409. Terminal Project. 1-12 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 410. Experimental Course: [Topic]. 1-4 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 411. Feminist Praxis. 4 Credits.

Combined internship and seminar explores the history and politics of community agencies and the relationship of feminist theory to practice.
Prereq: one course WGS or equivalent.

WGS 421. Bodies and Embodiment. 4 Credits.

Focuses on the complex relationships between gender, bodies, and society from theoretical and empirical perspectives. Theories examine the body through an intersectional lens to understand social construction, cultural symbolism, and political struggles, especially within institutional contexts like the media, medicine, and the market.
Prereq: one 300-level WGS course.

WGS 422. Sexuality Studies: [Topic]. 4 Credits.

Various topics in sexuality studies, including the relationship between gender and sexuality and between queer studies and women's and gender studies. Repeatable twice when topic changes for maximum of 12 credits.
Prereq: WGS 101 or WGS 201.

WGS 432. Gender, Environment, and Development. 4 Credits.

Surveys gender and political, economic, and cultural strategies for development and environmental change around the world.
Pre- or coreq: WGS 101.

WGS 450. Literature and Feminist World-Making. 4 Credits.

Examines feminist world-making in literary texts as a form of political theory, a strategy for thinking critically about the present, imagining the world under different circumstances, and building an alternative world from a feminist perspective.
Prereq: one 300-level WGS course.

WGS 451. Global Perspectives on Gender [Topic]. 4 Credits.

Designed to deepen understanding of diverse global issues and perspectives related to women’s and gender studies. Repeatable twice when topic changes for a maximum of 12 credits.

WGS 507. Seminar: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

A current topic is Feminist Research Issues. Repeatable when topic changes.

WGS 508. Workshop: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 510. Experimental Course: [Topic]. 1-4 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 511. Feminist Praxis. 4 Credits.

Combined internship and seminar explores the history and politics of community agencies and the relationship of feminist theory to practice.
Prereq: one course WGS or equivalent.

WGS 521. Bodies and Embodiment. 4 Credits.

Focuses on the complex relationships between gender, bodies, and society from theoretical and empirical perspectives. Theories examine the body through an intersectional lens to understand social construction, cultural symbolism, and political struggles, especially within institutional contexts like the media, medicine, and the market.

WGS 522. Sexuality Studies: [Topic]. 4 Credits.

Various topics in sexuality studies, including the relationship between gender and sexuality and between queer studies and women's and gender studies. Repeatable twice when topic changes for maximum of 12 credits.

WGS 532. Gender, Environment, and Development. 4 Credits.

Surveys gender and political, economic, and cultural strategies for development and environmental change around the world.

WGS 550. Literature and Feminist World-Making. 4 Credits.

Examines feminist world-making in literary texts as a form of political theory, a strategy for thinking critically about the present, imagining the world under different circumstances, and building an alternative world from a feminist perspective.

WGS 551. Global Perspectives on Gender [Topic]. 4 Credits.

Designed to deepen understanding of diverse global issues and perspectives related to women’s and gender studies. Repeatable twice when topic changes for a maximum of 12 credits.

WGS 601. Research: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 605. Reading and Conference: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 606. Practicum: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 607. Seminar: [Topic]. 1-5 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 608. Workshop: [Topic]. 1-16 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 609. Terminal Project. 1-12 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 610. Experimental Course: [Topic]. 1-4 Credits.

Repeatable.

WGS 615. Contemporary Feminist Theory. 5 Credits.

This interdisciplinary graduate seminar covers foundational texts as well as critical cutting-edge developments in feminist theory. The course centers intersectional, transnational, and de-colonial theoretical frameworks.