Courses

Core WMST Courses

WMST 100 - Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

This course provides an introduction to contemporary analyses of women's economic, cultural, biological, environmental, and political conditions. The course explores commonalities and differences among women, both in the United States and in other nations. In so doing, students engage the concept of gender as an historical and critical category relating to a woman's ethnicity, class, sexuality, and race. The course also examines varieties of recent feminist thought, paying particular attention to the impact of this scholarship on traditional academic disciplines. Required core course for WGS majors and minors.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 111 - Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

A survey of the history, politics, culture, psychology, biology, and literature of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered people. Readings and lectures focusing on works by and about LGBT people.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 160 - Introduction to Black Women's Studies

This introductory course explores the interlocking forms of oppression circumscribing Black women’s lives in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the ways in which their lived experiences and social realities are influenced by constructions of race, gender, class, sexuality, and other markers of difference. It contextualizes Black women’s struggles for social justice historically within the broader narratives of Black freedom struggles and the Women’s Rights Movement. It underscores the ways in which despite their marginalized status, Black women have used their agency within both the private and public realms to interrogate, challenge, and resist their subordination and subvert the status quo, particularly as it is reinforced in negative constructions of Black female identity.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 220 - The Politics of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights

This interdisciplinary course approaches the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights from a humanistic social science perspective. Topics include U.S. cultural politics and LGBT social movements; visual culture, social action, and social change; the politics of queer identity; law and public policy of concern to diverse LGBT communities; and LGBT rights from international and global perspectives.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 251 - Black Masculinity in the United States

This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of constructions of Black masculinity in the United States from the twentieth century through the present. Autobiographical accounts are used to examine historical and current definitions of Black manhood that challenge and reinforce understandings of what it means to be both Black and male. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
(Credit, full course)

WMST 340 - African American Short Stories

Focusing on the literary contributions of 20th century African American women fiction writers, this course specifically examines the shared and distinctive ways in which Black women writers represent the politics of Black womanhood in their short stories. This genre is an essential part of the Black women’s literary tradition that is often left unexplored. Collectively, these texts contribute to a radical literary tradition that implores readers to consider the way(s) in which race, gender, class, and/or sexuality inform the fictional lives of Black women and the lives of the writers. In addition to analyzing representations of Black female identity within the works of several prominent writers, the course traces specific themes such as power, privilege, and perspective.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 351 - Toni Morrison

This course explores selected fiction by Toni Morrison and some of the literary criticism that surrounds her work. It examines Morrison's treatment of race, class, gender, and sexuality in her fiction, and also considers some of her nonfiction, interviews, and speeches to gain a clearer understanding of her contributions to the American literary canon and the African American literary tradition. (Credit, full course.) Thompson
(Credit, full course)

WMST 400 - Senior Seminar

An interdisciplinary research seminar required of all seniors majoring in women's and gender studies. Students engage in research on a topic of interest, culminating in a substantial thesis. The thesis must advance a lucid research question and interrogate a range of sources that bridge disciplinary boundaries and reflect feminist theory and/or methodology. Students take this course in the fall of the senior year. The course serves as the writing intensive credit within the major as well as providing the basis for an oral presentation and defense in the spring of the senior year. Open only to students pursuing majors in women's and gender studies.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 444 - Independent Study

Advanced work for women's and gender studies. Students must receive the approval of the women's and gender studies committee prior to enrolling. May be repeated once for credit.
(Credit, full course)

WMST 448 - Women's and Gender Studies Seminar

An advanced interdisciplinary seminar required of all seniors majoring or minoring in Women's and Gender Studies. Shared readings on key topics and concepts in historical and contemporary feminist and gender issues are discussed with the aim of encouraging students to integrate and share knowledge from their individual course work. This seminar is normally offered in the spring in order to allow students to apply the knowledge gained from their full complement of WGS classes to the material. The course is restricted to senior majors and minors.
(Credit, full course)

Wmst Electives

ANTH 290 - Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Writing-Intensive) (also Women’s Studies)

A comparison of women’s experiences of family, work, religion, development, and war across diverse world regions to see how these can differ widely from one society to another. Anthropological writings and films are used to learn the concepts and perspectives necessary for the exploration of women’s similarities and differences. Discussion-centered learning and student research papers help involve students actively in the collective construction of knowledge about women’s lives around the world. This course cannot be taken for credit by any student who has earned credit for Anth 321. Prerequisite: Anth 104, InGS 200, or Wmst 100.
(Credit, full course)

ANTH 311 - Gender and Class in Latin America (also Women’s Studies)

An examination of gender relations in diverse Latin American contexts. The history of anthropological scholarship on gender and class in the region, as well as contemporary theories of how gender, social class, race/ethnicity, and sexuality intertwine in human experience are key foci of the course. Detailed ethnographic case studies from Amerindian, Afro-Latino, and Mestizo cultural contexts help students apply broader theories to the analysis of gender relations as they are conceptualized by these different groups in Latin America. Prerequisite: Anth 104 or instructor permission.
(Credit, full course)

ANTH 314 - Gender, Colonialism, and Culture in Greater Mexico

Starting from the premise that the region encompassing northern Mexico and the southwestern United States can be viewed as a single cultural region, this course examines how colonizing processes mobilized gendered and racialized identities to consolidate new social hierarchies in this part of the world. We learn about the historic interactions between Indigenous, European, and African peoples thrown together by the acts of exploration, conquest, and enslavement, and the hybridized cultural social forms which resulted. With these historical legacies in mind, we move to see how contemporary racialized and gendered identities are constructed and contested in the context of “Greater Mexico.”. Prerequisite: ANTH 104 or INGS 200 or WMST 100.
(Credit, full course)

ASIA 218 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Panda: Violence, Honor, and Masculinity in East Asian Literature and Film

This course considers the implications of taking pleasure in reading/watching violence as well as East Asian notions of honor and martial virtue and their place in the modern day. From the "Biographies of the Assassins" and "Tale of the Heike," to "the sick man of Asia," Kurosawa, and Bruce Lee, this course explores literary and cinematic depictions of chivalry, violence, and masculinity to complicate and enrich our understanding of the East Asian body under duress. All readings are in English translation. This course is approved for Easter Semester of 2015 only.
(Credit, full course)

ASIA 235 - Love in Modern Japan (also WMST)

What does it mean to love someone? Despite its apparent universality, “love” is in fact a highly malleable concept whose definition can vary greatly. In Japan, the conceptualization of love transformed radically in the modern era. This course explores how literary representations of love in Japan reflect not only this transformation but also the struggles it entailed. Issues of particular interest in the course include the interconnection between assumptions about gender and the definition of love, the relationship between marriage and love, the role of sexuality in love, and the relationship between the West and Japan.
(Credit, full course)

ASIA 237 - Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture

This course examines Chinese literary and cultural practices related to gender and sexuality from the turn of the twentieth century to the present. Using primary texts in translation, theoretical works, films, and visual materials, students explore the personal and collective politics involved in constructions of gender, sexuality, desire, and identity. Taught in English.
(Credit, full course)

ASIA 317 - Modern Japanese Literature (writing-intensive) (also WMST)

A study of Japan and its rise as a major power in the twentieth century through the reading of novels, short stories, poetry, and essays in the modern period. The class explores several themes: why did writers collaborate with the state in the years leading up to World War II, how is gender and sexuality portrayed in literature in the modern period, and how did writers respond to the dilemmas of modernization and westernization? Taught in English.
(Credit, full course)

ASIA 320 - Gender and Sexuality in Japanese Culture

This course examines aspects of Japanese culture by devoting special attention to issues of gender and sexuality. Students read primary texts from pre-modern and modern literature, drama, and manga (graphic novel) in English translation, together with critical essays on gender theory. In-class screenings of short films, anime (animated film), and documentaries help to illustrate some concepts and practices introduced in the readings. Taught in English.
(Credit, full course)

CLST 350 - Women and Gender in Classical Antiquity (also Women's Studies)

This course examines the lives of women in the ancient world and their representation in the literature of Greece and Rome. It explores how the Greeks and Romans constructed both female and male gender and what behavioral and sexual norms they assigned to each. Reading assignments include wide-ranging selections from Greek and Roman poetry (epic, drama, lyric, and elegy) and prose (philosophy, history, and oratory). Subjects addressed include gender stereotypes and ideals, power-relations of gender, the social conditions of women, familial roles, and male and female sexuality.
(Credit, full course)

ECON 309 - Women in the Economy

This study of the relative economic status of women and men in the U.S., and how it has changed over time, focuses on sex differentials in earnings, occupational distribution, labor force participation and unemployment rates, levels and types of education and experience. Includes an analysis of the reasons for such differentials (e.g., the motivations for discrimination), their history, and cross-cultural variations in female status (with particular emphasis on Africa and Asia). Analyzes the effect of law and policy in the U.S. on the status of women. Prerequisite: Econ 101. (Credit, full course.) Mohiuddin
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 207 - Women in Literature (also Women's Studies)

A consideration of the role of women in literature. Topics include Gothic fiction, nineteenth- and twentieth-century women writers, and women in fiction. Drawing on authors of both genders, the course considers gender relations, the historic role of women, the special challenges that have faced women writers, and the role of women in fiction. Prerequisite: G1 credit earned from AP/IB or from Sewanee coursework.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 330 - The Life and Literature of Tennessee Williams (also AMST) (also WMST)

A study of the major dramatic works of Tennessee Williams, as well as his poetry and fiction. The course also examines Williams’ life and his impact on twentieth-century American literature and theatre. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 352 - Chaucer (also WMST)

A study of the Canterbury Tales and other poems by Chaucer. A term paper is usually expected. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 357 - Shakespeare I

A study of several plays written before 1600. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 358 - Shakespeare II

A study of several plays after 1600. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 359 - Renaissance Literature I

A study of the major 16th-century genres, with emphasis on sources, developments, and defining concerns. Readings include the sonnets of Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, Spenser, and Shakespeare; the mythological verse narratives of Marlowe and Shakespeare; the pastoral poems of Spenser; and Books I and III of Spenser's Faerie Queene. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 360 - Renaissance Literature II

A study of the major 17th-century poets, concentrating on such poets' redefinitions of genre, mode, and source. Readings emphasize works by Donne, Herbert, Jonson, Herrick, Milton, and Marvell. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 380 - Whitman and DIckinson (also AMST) (also WMST)

A study of the first two important American poets, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, whose expansive free verse and tight, elliptical lyrics defined the possibilities for American poets for the next hundred years. This course examines in detail the careers and major works of these poets, with brief consideration of their contemporaries and literary heirs. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 383 - Contemporary British Fiction, 1930-present

A consideration of British fiction from the 1930s to the present. The course explores the new kinds of fiction that emerge from high modernist innovations, as well as from changing cultural conditions, such as Britain's decline as a political and economic power. Authors covered include Greene, Orwell, Bowen, Waugh, Murdoch, Rushdie, Byatt, and others. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 390 - Modern Drama

An exploration of modern drama from Ibsen's naturalism to contemporary drama's innovations. The course investigates the relationship between the theatre and social reform, and considers issues of performance as well as close analysis of the plays themselves. The course covers British, American, and important Continental dramatists, including Ibsen, Wilde, Shaw, Chekhov, Beckett, Pirandello, Williams, Stoppard, Churchill, Vogel, Wilson, and others. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course. (Credit, full course.) Tucker
(Credit, full course)

ENGL 399 - World Literature in English

A study of 20th-century literature written in English from Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean, concentrating on colonial and post-colonial themes, as well as issues of gender, politics, and nationalism. Possible authors include Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, V.S. Naipaul, and Derek Walcott. Prerequisite: any GFWI English department course.
(Credit, full course)

FILM 308 - Body/Film: Representing the Body in Contemporary World Cinema (also INGS) (also WMST)

An exploration of diverse ways of representing and conceptualizing the human body in contemporary world cinema. Starting with the premise that the body is both the material reality experienced each day as well as an enigma impossible to capture through the intellectual discourses of philosophy/science or the creative endeavors of literature/arts, the course invites students to analyze the myriad of body images supplied by twenty-first-century films from around the globe. Main topics of interest are the body and mind/soul dichotomy, gendered bodies, body and the discourse of desire, body as text, body and cognition, body and trauma, politics of the body, metamorphoses of the body, persons and things, and bodies in the cybernetic age. The course’s theoretical component includes reading by Bakhtin, Baudrillard, Butler, Bourdieu, Foucault, Goffman, Grosz, and Haraway.
(Credit, full course)

GRMN 357 - German Queen Cinema

This course traces German queer cinema from the earliest representations of gay and lesbian sexual orientations in 1920s Weimar to topics such as sexual indeterminacy and the queering of nationality and migrant culture in contemporary films. The course examines how films both represent and produce non-normative sexual desires and identities. It also considers sexual and gender identity in relation to particular historical and cultural moments as well as to other constituting experiences (race, class, gender, nationality). These topics are studied in the context of particular movements, directors, and genres in German cinema.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 112 - Women Changing the World: Gender and Social Movements

This course examines women’s participation in social and political movements throughout the world since the late eighteenth century in order to understand how gender (the set of beliefs each culture has regarding male and female difference) has affected women’s involvement. The course explores a variety of gender-based arguments that women have used to bring social change, assessing whether these approaches are effective or ultimately limit women to a narrow range of issues. Some attention is paid to how gender affects men’s involvement in social movements. (Credit, full course.) Berebitsky
(Credit, full course)

HIST 120 - Children and Childhood in History

This course focuses on the lived experiences of children and traces the emergence of a new “ideology of childhood” in the early modern world (c. 1300 to 1800). The course examines the major social, political and economic changes that unfolded throughout this period, including related programs of religious, scientific, and educational reform, and studies how these changes affected children’s roles or status within families and communities–in–transition. It also asks whether a fundamental change in the meaning of childhood by 1800 corresponded to the emergence of an increasingly global, colonial, and industrial world order. (Credit, full course.) Whitmer
(Credit, full course)

HIST 203 - Criminal or Hero? The Outlaw in American Culture

This survey approaches the outlaw both as imagined in fiction, film, and music and as a real historical subject. Special attention is paid to how changing understandings of the “outlaw” correspond to specific moments in American history such as the settling of the West, gangsterism in the Great Depression, the rise of Black Power, and the development of new technology involving internet hacktivists. Legal and other-than-legal responses to the outlaw are also considered. (Credit, full course.) Berebitsky
(Credit, full course)

HIST 237 - Women in U.S. History, 1600-1870

A survey of the history of American women which considers how women experienced colonization, American expansion, the industrial revolution, war, and changes in the culture's understanding of gender roles and the family. The course also explores how differences in race, ethnicity, and class affected women's experience.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 238 - Women in U.S. History, 1870 to the Present

A survey of the major changes in American women's lives since the end of the last century, including increased access to education, movement into the labor market, and changes in reproductive behavior and in their role within the family. Special consideration is given to the movements for women's rights.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 270 - European Women in War, Revolution, and Terrorism (also WMST)

This course surveys European women’s gendered experiences of war, revolution, and terrorism from the French Revolution to the present. Adopting gender analysis as its methodological framework it focuses on the changing constructions of femininity and masculinity in relation to major global upheavals and theories of violence in the modern world The course examines the impact of such developments on the lives of European women of different socioeconomic, regional, and racial backgrounds. Topics covered include the Russian Revolutions, World Wars I and II, global terrorism of the 1970s, and contemporary European feminist politics of immigration and the veil. Prerequisite: One history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 305 - Medieval Women - In Their Own Words (also WMST)

This course closely analyzes the relatively rare sources that allow historians to see the experience of medieval women through the eyes of the women themselves rather than through the prescriptive lens of the men who held most forms of power in their society: a ninth-century woman’s book of advice for her son, surviving letters and spiritual writings, wills, and the legal records that show both the vulnerability of women and their readiness to bend and break the law. Case studies of individual women are employed, along with critical analysis of different categories of source material.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 318 - African-American Women and Religion (also WMST)

This class examines African-American Women's participation and critical role in religious life in America. It explores black women's place in the formation of revival culture, the creation of religious ritual, and the institutional establishment of the black churches. Further, it investigates black women's vital role in the dissemination of religious values within and between generations. Through biography and autobiography, this course addresses the ways in which black women have appropriated religious language and sensibility in constructing the narratives of their lives. In sum, it explores the myriad ways African-American women contested and critiqued their place in the church and the community, while simultaneously supporting and furthering black churches and promoting the health of religious life.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 349 - American Women's Cultural and Intellectual History

This discussion-based seminar examines women's experience from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Topics include changes in understandings of motherhood and female sexuality, popular women's fiction, and representations of women in music, film, and television. Prerequisite: One history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 358 - Women in Latin America

A seminar on the history of Latin American women from the seventeenth century to the present, examining the tension in Latin American countries concerning the role of women, their relationship to the family, and their desire for equality. The course explores controversies over the legal status of women, education, employment, and participation in political life. Students examine several theoretical approaches to gender studies together with specific case studies. Prerequisite: One history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 367 - Writing the Nation: Literature, Nationalism and the Search for Identity in Latin Americ: 1810-present (also SPAN 367)

A study of national projects in Latin America from 1810 to the present. Topics include Bolívar, the wars of independence, nineteenth-century visions of progress, Vasconcelos' concept of The Cosmic Race, and contemporary movements for the inclusion of women, blacks, Native Americans, gays, and other marginalized groups in a common Latin-American culture. Prerequisite: One history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 375 - Criminal or Hero? The Outlaw in American Culture (also AMST & WGS)

HIST 378 - Sexuality and the Self in Modern Europe

HIST 378 Sexuality and the Self in Modern Europe This seminar investigates how and why sexuality became the key to selfhood in modern Europe. Drawing on the tools of gender analysis and cultural history, students explore the ways in which political, socioeconomic and cultural tensions of particular historical moments were manifested in the sexuality of individuals. Students also examine a variety of primary sources from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries to consider how individuals defined themselves through sexuality and how definitions were imposed on them by a variety of institutions and authority figures. Prerequisite: one history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 379 - Honor, Shame, and Violence in Modern Europe (also WMST)

This course treats honor as a tool for understanding change and continuity in European society from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. Honor and shame are viewed as conduits that allow students to explore broader sexual, gender, class and political developments. Particular attention is given to ways in which honor functioned differently in the public ideologies and private lives of dominant and marginal social groups. This course also explores the relationship of violence to the cult of honor. Prerequisite: one history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 380 - Crimes and Scandals in the Historical Imagination, 18th-20th Centuries (also WMST)

An investigation of the ways historians read past crimes and scandals for evidence of broader social, political, and cultural anxieties and desires. Focusing less on details of incidents themselves than on the debates and public interpretation surrounding them, this seminar deals with crimes such as those committed by Jack the Ripper or French murderesses at the end of the nineteenth century. In addition to analyzing secondary sources dealing with crime and scandal, students scrutinize a variety of primary documents such as trial records, medical and judicial debates, scientific analyses of criminality, memoirs of notorious criminals, and detective novels. Prerequisite: one history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 471 - Health, Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe, 1400-1800

An exploration of the intertwined histories of health, medicine, religion, and emotion in Europe, c. 1400 to 1800. Informed by the methods and scholarship of social and cultural historians, the course considers the ways in which status, social roles and obligations, gender, and religious identities and practices affected how early moderns understood the health of their minds, bodies, and souls. Topics include Galenic humoralism and theories of disease, religious and astrological cures, learned medicine and anatomy, dissection and the study of female bodies, hospitals, and asylums. Prerequisite: One course with attribute G4 including AP or IB credit.
(Credit, full course)

HIST 472 - Marriage and Imagined Families in the Modern World

Applying Benedict Anderson’s concept of “imagined communities” to historical understandings of family life and marriage, this seminar investigates the multiple ways in which modern Europeans have imagined family relationships, spaces, and rituals of marriage. The course examines the cultural creation and reworking of the nuclear family by a diverse range of historical actors within an increasingly global context. How did individuals invent shared pasts that legitimized non-traditional concepts of marriage and the family? Topics include Victorian, socialist and fascist families, the modification of marriage, and challenges to family structures posed by person of alternate sexual, immigrant, and gendered identities. Prerequisite: One history course with attribute G4, including AP or IB credit. (Credit, full course.) Mansker
(Credit, full course)

INGS 308 - Body/Film: Representing the Body in Contemporary World Cinema

ITAL 325 - Women Writers in Early Modern Italy

A study of poetry, plays, letters, treatises, and prose written by Italian women in the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries. Students examine the varied ways in which women in early modern Italy engaged questions of gender, aesthetics, ethics, and philosophy in their writings, encountered here in translation. (Credit, full course.) Fritz-Morkin
(Credit, full course)

POLS 210 - The Politics of Poverty and Inequality

An introduction to the study of a significant social problem: poverty. Course topics include the development of an economic underclass in the United States and the programmatic response of government, the feminization of poverty, the causes of persistent rural and urban poverty, race and poverty in the South, and the connections between poverty in the U.S. and the international trade regime.
(Credit, full course)

POLS 307 - Women in American Politics (also WMST)

An analysis of the role of gender in American politics, specifically how gender affects the political activities of American residents, political candidates, and elected officeholders. Students evaluate differences in men’s and women’s political participation, party affiliations, and campaign strategies and styles. They also examine reasons for women’s political underrepresentation and implications of gender inequality in political office holding.
(Credit, full course)

POLS 314 - Civil Wars

This course examines the causes, patterns, and resolutions of civil wars and insurgency movements in comparative perspective, drawing on a diverse set of cases from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The course’s introductory portion is dedicated to conceptualizing and categorizing civil wars by their intensity, types of violence, nature of combat, and types of combatants. A principal question driving the inquiry is why the level of violence — measured by the number of casualties, refugees, and other victims of war — is higher in some places than others within the same country or region. This question is addressed through critical assessment of the most prominent conventional and revisionist theories of civil wars, theories highlighting either local or national influences. (Credit, full course.) Dragojevic
(Credit, full course)

POLS 318 - Comparative Politics: South America and Mexico

A general survey of political life in Latin America, as well as specific study of the most important countries — Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela. Determinants and outcomes of political process are studied, as well as the political process itself. Consideration is given to both domestic and foreign influences and policies. (Credit, full course.) Dragojevic
(Credit, full course)

POLS 319 - Gender and Politics from a Global Perspective (also WMST)

Recent U.N. studies document the continuing systematic inequality that exists between men and women around the world. Approaching the study of sex-based inequality from a cross-cultural perspective reflects the reality that it is a universal phenomenon, but with complex and varied roots. Topics include the study of women's political representation worldwide, women and Islam, public policy issues of importance to women and families, and gender and war.
(Credit, full course)

POLS 338 - Constitutional Law: Civil Rights

This course examines Supreme Court cases related to equality — by situating cases within varying theories of constitutional interpretation, and by assessing the socio-political implications of those decisions. Civil rights are specific governmental provisions to secure individual entitlements, as exemplified by the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of “equal protection of the laws.” Claims centering on race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability are examined, along with other claims of equality arising from the Fifteenth Amendment’s prohibition of voting discrimination. The course emphasizes, above all, the political role of the judiciary. Note: This course has the attribute of American Studies and Women’s Studies.
(Credit, full course)

POLS 344 - Myth America

This course is concerned with myths that have played a prominent role in our nation's self-conception and its political rhetoric — such as the myth of the frontier, the myth of success, and the notion of the American dream. The course examines 1) the changing historical meanings of these myths from the colonial period to the twentieth century and 2) the gender aspects of these myths.
(Credit, full course)

POLS 346 - Contemporary Social Movements (also WMST)

This course studies the ways in which ordinary citizens come together, create more or less formal organizations, and mobilize politically to demand social and political change in society. The study begins close to home with an examination of political organizing and social change on the Cumberland Plateau and Appalachia. Then students proceed to study a wide range of political movements including labor and economic justice movements, the gay rights movement, the Christian conservative social movement, and the global justice/anti-globalization movements.
(Credit, full course)

PSYC 213 - Comparative Sexual Behavior

A survey and critical evaluation of research investigating the psychological and social factors in sexual behavior with some attention to the underlying biology. A comparison and contrast across species, across individuals, and across cultures. Topics include partner preference, sexual dysfunction and treatment, changes across the life span, and commercial sex. Readings include selections from works that have changed the American understanding of sexual behavior. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 or 101 or junior standing.
(Credit, full course)

PSYC 218 - Psychology of Violence

Explores the application of psychological theories and research to the major forms of violence. Such forms include youth violence, family violence, bullying, suicide, homicide, workplace violence, war, and ethnic conflict. The course reviews and critiques major etiological models including social cognitive, behavioral, and physiological. It also presents current major models of prevention and treatment, including psycho-educational, cognitive-behavioral, and family systems. Specific prevention and intervention topics such as conflict resolution are addressed. Readings emphasize the scientific study of violence through empirical research, including randomized controlled trials to evaluate programs. Prerequisite: Psyc 100 or 101.
(Credit, full course)

PSYC 360 - Psychology of Gender (Lab)

This course will be an examination of gender differences and similarities in behavior, major theories of gender, and he role that gender plays in interacting with others. Students will design, implement, analyze, and present original research in the area of gender. Prerequisites: PSYC 251; Not open for credit to students who have received credit for PSYC 412 Attributes: Psychology Advanced Lab (PYAL), Women's and Gender Studies (WMST), Feminist Methods and Theory
(Credit, full course)

PSYC 412 - Psychology of Gender (also WMST)

A comparison of different theoretical perspectives on sex and gender and a critical examination of research on gender differences and similarities in human behavior. Patterns of public attitudes regarding gender are also discussed. Prerequisite: four courses in psychology and/or women's studies, or permission of instructor.
(Credit, full course)

PSYC 421 - Sex, Brain, and Behavior

This seminar explores special topics related to reproductive behavior. Topics may include sexual differentiation, partner preference, mate selection, sexual behavior, and parental care in human and non-human animals. Readings include primary journal articles and text excerpts reflecting psychological, neurobiological, and sociocultural perspectives. Prerequisite: PSYC 251 and two PSYC courses.
(Credit, full course)

PYSC 214 - The Psychology of Eating Disorders and Obesity

An examination of the etiology of eating disorders and obesity, derived from the empirical literature and with consideration of psychological, neurobiological, and sociocultural explanations for such disorders. The course critically evaluates primary research literature concerning risk factors for developing documented eating disorder (anorexia nervosa, bulima nervosa, binge eating disorder), as well as newly proposed diagnostic categories (e.g., orthorexia). A multicultural perspective is emphasized, and the relation of disordered eating to issues such as socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, and gender is addressed. Multiple theoretical explanations for disordered eating — including psychodynamic, family systems, cognitive, relational-cultural, and behavioral theories--are critically examined. Empirically validated treatments and standardized prevention programs are also introduced and critiqued. Students conduct research using archival data to investigate specific risk and protective factors in the development of disordered eating, as well as to assess the effectiveness of targeted prevention programs. Prerequisite: Psyc 100 or 101. (Credit, full course.) Noffsinger-Frazier
(Credit, full course)

RELG 143 - Introduction to the Bible I: Old Testament (also WMST)

An examination of the origins, nature, and content of representative literature from the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Old Testament, and cognate literature. Attention is paid to issues of critical reading and theological interpretation of Jewish scripture. Not open for credit to students who have completed Religion 141.
(Credit, full course)

RELG 144 - Introduction to the Bible II: New Testament (also WMST)

An examination of the origins, nature, and content of representative literature from the New Testament and Hellenistic literature. Attention is paid to issues of critical reading and theological interpretation of Christian scripture.
(Credit, full course)

RELG 222 - Gender and Sex in the New Testament

An examination of how gender and sex are constructed in selected texts from the New Testament. Exploring the intersection of biblical studies and gender studies, this course incorporates the perspectives of feminist theory, masculinity studies, queer theory, and the history of sexuality. Focus is on situating biblical texts in the context of ancient Mediterranean cultures. Attention is also given to the influence of modern understandings of gender and sexuality on the interpretation of biblical texts and to the use of biblical texts in contemporary debates over gender roles and sexual practices. This course has the attribute of Women’s Studies.
(Credit, full course)

RELG 223 - Feminist and Womanist Religious Ethics

Examination of contemporary Jewish and Christian feminist and Black womanist ethics. Focus is upon religious and non-religious ethical thought as it relates to the construction of gender identity, and the implications for an understanding of economic justice, racism, familial relations, and gendered participation with religious traditions and theological communities. Authors include Katie Canon, Sharon Welch, Delores Williams, Judith Plaskow, Rachel Adler, and Audre Lourde.
(Credit, full course)

RHET 331 - Voices of American Women

An examination of the history and criticism of American women's oratory and the history of women's public discourse in the United States from the colonial period through the present. Considers the historical, social and cultural significance of women's rhetorical participation in civic life, as well as issues of authority, reception, and the nature of argument both within and about women's public address.
(Credit, full course)

RUSN 354 - Real Men, Real Women? Gender in 20th-Century Russian Literature and Culture (also WMST 354) (writing-intensive)

An exploration of the contentious topic of gender in a Russian context through the examination of an array of representations of masculinity and femininity in Russian prose, poetry and film of the twentieth century. Students assess what it means and has meant to be a Russian man or woman; in the process, they may challenge some Western assumptions about gender constructs. Through analyzing and identifying the characteristics of ideal/real men and women, the course considers how and whether gender stereotypes are reinforced in the works of contemporary authors. This course does not meet the general distribution requirement in foreign language. This course has the attribute of Women’s Studies.
(Credit, full course)

SPAN 364 - Spanish Women Writers (also WMST) (also INGS)

Selected readings from Spanish women authors who represent various genres and time periods. In relation to each period, the course examines how selected writers portray gender, sexuality, social class, and other issues in their work. The course uses primary and secondary texts related to the authors and/or the period under consideration.
(Credit, full course)

SPAN 387 - Latin American Women Authors (also WMST) (also INGS)

Readings from Latin American women authors who represent various regions, genres, and time periods. Examines the portrayal of gender, sexuality, race / ethnicity, social class, and other issues in their work. Readings in literary theory and criticism help with the interpretations of the primary texts. Prerequisite: a 300-level course in Spanish.
(Credit, full course)

SPAN 388 - Women Authors of the Hispanic Caribbean and its Diaspora (also INGS)

This course highlights the work of women authors from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico on the islands and in the United States. Key issues include gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, migration, and biculturalism. Includes several literary genres and films with an emphasis on the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Prerequisite: a 300-level course in Spanish.
(Credit, full course)

SPAN 389 - U.S. Latino and Latina Literature and Culture (also WMST)

A panoramic survey of the cultural production of Latinos and Latinas, or Hispanics, in the United States. Representative works from various literary genres, films, and the visual arts serve as the basis for the examination of recurring themes, which include: identity and self-definition, biculturalism, exile, migration, social class, political and social engagement, race, gender, and sexuality. Taught in English. Pre-requisite Span 203.
(Credit, full course)

SPAN 403 - Sexual Alterity in Contemporary Spanish-American Fiction

A study of the most recent fiction from 1990 to the present of the Spanish American Post Boom (which began in earnest in the early 1980s). Of special interest are those works which portray "other" kinds of sexuality, "lifestyles", genders and sexual practices. General literary theory and practical criticism concerning each work serve as a base for in-class discussion. Prerequisite: One course in Spanish numbered 300 or higher.
(Credit, full course)

SPAN 407 - Writing the Nation: Literature, Nationalism and Search for Identity in Latin America (1810-Present)

A study of national projects in Latin America from 1810 to the present. Topics include Bolivar, the wars of independence, nineteenth-century visions of progress, Vasconcelos' concept of The Cosmic Race, and contemporary movements for the inclusion of women, blacks, Native Americans, gays, and other marginalized groups in a common Latin American culture. Prerequisite: One course in Spanish numbered 300 or higher.
(Credit, full course)