The study of women of diverse racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds. Topics include contemporary concerns within women's studies: labor markets, health, reproduction, socialization, language, media representations, law, and public policy.
Athena Title
Intro Women and Gender Studies
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in WMST 2010H
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
To gain an appreciation for the basic issues within women's studies, and to reflect critically on your own perspectives on these issues.
To develop an understanding of the history of women within the U.S. and how various social issues have affected them due to the presence of sexism, racism, and class.
issues.
To learn the facts about racial and sexual inequality in the United States and the world, and to evaluate this information and draw conclusions from it.
To learn to communicate about politically charged issues with people of different backgrounds in a respectful manner.
Topical Outline
I. What is Women's Studies?
A. Introduction: Femininity/Feminism
B. Why Study "Women"?
C. Who Are We Studying: Are Women a Unified Social Category?
II. History of the Women's Movement
A. 19th Century Women's Movement: The Rhetoric of Reform
B. 20th Century Women's Movement: Questioning Patriarchy
C. 20th Century Women's Movement: Questioning Women's Unity
III. Notions of "Otherness"
A. Simone de Beauvoir and Woman as "Other"
B. Gender and Race: Interlocking Systems
IV. Epistemology: Gender and the Construction of Knowledge
A. Is There a "Woman's Way of Knowing"?
B. Science and Technology
V. Gender Socialization
A. Gender as a Social Institution
B. Images of Women in Advertising
C. Gender and Genius in the Visual Arts
D. Language
E. Women and Psycho-Social Development
VI. Violence, Sexuality, and Reproduction
A. Violence Against Women
B. Lesbian Identity and Cultural Values
C. Reproductive Rights
VII. Family and Motherhood
A. Family Values: The Rise of the Nuclear Family
B. Working Mothers and Motherhood as Institution
C. Mother's Milk: Advice to Women on Breastfeeding
VIII. Women as Wage Earners
A. Women and Women's Economic Status
B. The Global Assembly Line
