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Gender Studies

Program Codes: GENST
Minor

Bringing together the expertise of several departments, including Anthropology & World Languages, Applied Sociology/Social Work, and Psychology, the Gender Studies minor provides students with the opportunity to learn about the impacts of and variations in sex, gender, and sexuality through a multidisciplinary curriculum. Although the Gender Studies minor builds on the university’s special history of empowering women, this is not a women’s studies minor; this minor offers an engendered program of learning and promotes a socially responsible and aware approach to all gendered social interaction.

Through an appreciation of gender differences, roles and historic interactions involving sex, gender, and sexuality in a variety of contexts, students enhance their ability to function in the workplace and at home. Sex, gender, and sexuality are primary organizing principles in all societies and the study of these social phenomena continues to gain popularity across university campuses, training well-rounded citizens who are more marketable because of their complex social understandings.

Given its cross-cultural and multidisciplinary nature, a Gender Studies minor can enhance employment opportunities. Individuals with this minor find employment in a variety of occupations within governmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector and helping professions.

Working closely with their minor advisor, students will construct their seven-course minor by taking two required courses and then choose from a flexible list of electives. Note that no more than two electives may be taken from any one department.

Required Courses

(6 credits)

INTRODUCTION TO GENDER STUDIES
Course Code:
ANTH 125
Course Group(s):
HUMANS IN CONNECTION
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:

This interdisciplinary course will cover the theoretical foundations and history of the gender discourse, and address topics central to the discipline of gender studies. The economic, political, ideological and social forces that shape the cultural construction of gender will be discussed and the consequences examined. The discussion will also include the intersection of gender, race, and socioeconomic class, biology and gender, and the gendered body. Through a variety of exercises/discussions and works of fiction, attention will be given to the connection between gender issues and life experiences. Students will also engage with course topics via lectures, readings, and films.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
ANTH 125
INTRODUCTION TO GENDER STUDIES
3
PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER
Course Code:
PSYC 265
Course Group(s):
HUMANS IN CONNECTION
Active Term:
Spring Term
/ Even Years
Course Description:

Issues of female and male psychology are examined with a consideration of both the similarities and differences between women and men and how these characteristics influence behavior, cognitive abilities, and physical and psychological health. Theoretical perspectives on sex and gender are explored, as well as the research methods for comparing the sexes.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
PSYC 265
PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER
3
Elective Courses

Select 5 courses (15 credits)

ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE FAMILY
Course Code:
ANTH 243
Course Group(s):
HUMANS IN CONNECTION
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:

This course is designed to survey cultural and historic variation in families. Kinship systems, as understood in anthropology, will be briefly discussed. Ethnographic case studies that bring attention to key concepts that create and maintain family forms, such as socioeconomic position, gender roles, and ethnic variability, will be read in class. Students will have the opportunity to examine topics such as sexuality, parenting, marriage/divorce, and our own values of what it means to be in a "family" in this class. Throughout the course a series of films on "the family" will be viewed, as well as lectures and group discussions of the readings. The course will end with a discussion of "family values" and family-relevant policies.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
ANTH 243
ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE FAMILY
3
ANTHROPOLOGY OF GENDER
Course Code:
ANTH 346
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:
This course has the main objective of introducing students to gender issues in anthropology and archaeology via lectures, practical exercises and a term project. Topics to be covered include gender bias in popular and academic archaeological/ anthropological discourse, gender and scientific practice, gender and archaeological theory, and "engendering" the past. A number of case studies will be considered. Prerequisites: ANTH 112, ANTH 130. 3 credits.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
Prerequisites:

ANTH-112; ANTH-130

x
ANTH 346
ANTHROPOLOGY OF GENDER
3
SEMINAR: WOMEN & CRIME
Course Code:
CRJS 335
Active Term:
Fall Term
/ Odd Years
Course Description:
Students will discuss women as victims, women as offenders, and women as practitioners in the field of criminal justice. Special attention will be given to the topics of intimate partner violence and sexual assault; women who are incarcerated and their family relationships; and women who hold positions in policing, courts and corrections. Content also examines processing throughout the entire system and also considers social and political influence on official policies and practices.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
CRJS 335
SEMINAR: WOMEN & CRIME
3
WOMEN AND LITERATURE
Course Code:
ENG 374
Active Term:
Fall Term
/ Randomly
Course Description:

Examination of women writers in 19th-20th century English literature and feminist literary theory. Explores previously neglected women writers and affirms their contributions to the literary tradition. Includes writers such as Kate Chopin, and Toni Morrison.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
ENG 374
WOMEN AND LITERATURE
3
TOPICS IN FRENCH/FRANCOPHONE LITERATURE
Course Code:
FREN 135
Course Group(s):
HUMANS IN CONNECTION
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:
The Topics in French/Francophone Literature course will address literature from France or elsewhere in the French-speaking world and may include literature from specific cultural groups, explorations of literary genres or themes, explorations of critical approaches to literature, author studies, etc. French 135 will study the works in English translation and English will be the language of instruction for this course.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
FREN 135
TOPICS IN FRENCH/FRANCOPHONE LITERATURE
3
SEMINAR IN CULTURE-LITERATURE
Course Code:
FREN 305
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:
Content determined by instructor. Focus may be on a literary movement, a century or a genre. Group will then examine the relationships between cultural patterns and literary tendencies.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
Prerequisites:

FREN 204

x
FREN 305
SEMINAR IN CULTURE-LITERATURE
3
GENDERING WORLD HISTORY I
Course Code:
HIS 280
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:
This course will broadly examine the historical issues of gender and power in the ancient world up to ca. 1500 CE. Most of ancient (and modern) history has been organized, ruled and written by males. Patriarchy became the norm, and was firmly set into place. But were women really as powerless as we might assume? This question challenges us to investigate and understand how gendered perceptions of social, economic, cultural, ideological, and political practices developed in ancient civilizations. We will explore the ways gendered participation in society was enhanced and limited by factors such as social status, ethnic and cultural ideologies, economic systems, religion, and political structures. Students will see the personal side of history through biographic and autobiographic evidence, and examine the how and why behind gender relations.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
HIS 280
GENDERING WORLD HISTORY I
3
GENDERING WORLD HISTORY II
Course Code:
HIS 281
Course Group(s):
WESTERN AND WORLD HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES COURSES
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:
Gendering World History II is a seminar based course (predominately reading and discussion), which examinees gender and its intersection with class, race, and how each influences the development of social relations, communities, and civilizations from 1500 to the present. It will investigate the role of such factors in the Atlantic Slave trade, the building of empires, Islamic states, the choice and acceptance of leaders, the women's rights movement, in the building of Communist states, and the outbreak of revolutions. We will enter into our journey by examining the lives of various men and women through their stories-their autobiographies and biographies, primary sources and historical novels. Students will investigate the "why" behind gender relations. Instead of focusing on how to change certain gendered practices in the Modern World, Gendering World History seeks to understand how such practices develop so that we as can better understand the Modern World. 3 credits.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
HIS 281
GENDERING WORLD HISTORY II
3
SEX IN MODERN HISTORY
Course Code:
HIS 283
Course Group(s):
WESTERN AND WORLD HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES COURSES
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Randomly
Course Description:

Sex is the vehicle that has literally (and perhaps figuratively) allowed us to go forth, multiply, and inhabit this beautiful blue and green planet. Yet sex is so much more to us than mere propagation. Sexual pleasure, sexual desire, and sexual identities - particularly in the period that we will examine in this course - have been central to repression, oppression, and conflict; dialogues of race, gender, religion, and society; and the ways that different cultures and nations organize themselves, their communities, and their members/citizens. In this course, we will tackle many issues and topics that you may find interesting and relevant to your own experience in this world, including (but not limited to): gay and lesbian identities; sexual reproduction, abortion, and birth control; fetishism and sex toys; and state, religious, and familial interference in policing of/assertion of "appropriate" sexual expression. The course engages with narratives in North America and Europe in the twentieth-century with the expectation that students will develop a sense of change over time and a comparative framework for thinking about sex.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
HIS 283
SEX IN MODERN HISTORY
3
GENDER AND POLITICS
Course Code:
POLI 363
Active Term:
Randomly
/ Even Years
Course Description:
This course examines gender (understood as a hierarchical dichotomy privileging that which is masculinized--ideas, entities, identities, activities-over that which is feminized) and its intersection with politics (understood as differential access to and control over material and symbolic resources).
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
POLI 363
GENDER AND POLITICS
3
RELATIONSHIP PSYCHOLOGY
Course Code:
PSYC 234
Course Group(s):
HUMANS IN CONNECTION
Active Term:
Fall Term
/ All Years
Course Description:

This course addresses the scientific findings on close relationships, including friendship, interpersonal attraction, loneliness, shyness, communication, relationship stress, sex, loss, jealously and forgiveness. The cultural and social factors - particularly gender - that affect these processes are emphasized throughout the course. This course will also emphasize the centrality of the scientific method in obtaining these findings and will train students to become discerning consumers of information about relationships and other psychological phenomena.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
PSYC 234
RELATIONSHIP PSYCHOLOGY
3
SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Course Code:
PUBH 300
Active Term:
Spring Term
/ All Years
Course Description:

This course is offered by faculty members to teach special or emerging topics related to public health. The format and material will vary by topic semester and instructor. Potential topics: women’s health, sexual and reproductive health, emergency preparedness, global health nutrition, occupational epidemiology, bioterrorism, etc.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
PUBH 300
SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
3
RELIG PERSPECTIVE HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Course Code:
RLST 255
Course Group(s):
REASON AND FAITH
Active Term:
Fall Term
/ All Years
Course Description:
This course will examine the many ways religious and cultural traditions have interpreted the dynamics of human relationships, including (but not limited to): concepts of relating to oneself, to others (or, friendship), relationships with divine, sexual relationships, the status of one's gender in relation to others, as well as definitions of marriage and family. The course offers descriptive, comparative and critical analyses of the teachings of individual theorists (religious, cultural, and/or philosophical) in order to better understand how religious and cultural perspectives bear on the questions and controversies about human relationships in the modern world.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
RLST 255
RELIG PERSPECTIVE HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
3
WOMEN & SCRIPTURE
Course Code:
RLST 270
Course Group(s):
REASON AND FAITH
Active Term:
Fall Term
/ Even Years
Course Description:
An exploration of the biblical texts dealing with the themes relating to women: their presence and neglect, images, and roles. The course will study the contributions, challenges and significance of women in Scripture with particular concern for contemporary interpretations by Jewish and Christian women.
Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
RLST 270
WOMEN & SCRIPTURE
3
DIVERSITY IN SOCIETY: OPPRESSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE
Course Code:
SOC 204
Course Group(s):
HUMANS IN CONNECTION
Active Term:
Fall Term
/ All Years
Course Description:

This course is designed to provide students with a knowledge base concerning human diversity from a sociological perspective. Diversity is broadly defined to encompass many aspects of social life, including gender and sexuality, social class, race and ethnicity, and ability. Students will learn how to use each of these concepts in conversation and in writing, and to view them in combination using an intersectional lens. Phenomena such as stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination will be studied. The dynamics of oppression will be examined and ways to create a more just society explored.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
x
SOC 204
DIVERSITY IN SOCIETY: OPPRESSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE
3
SEMINAR IN CULTURE/LITERATURE
Course Code:
SPAN 305
Active Term:
Spring Term
/ All Years
Course Description:

Content determined by preference of students/professor. Focus may be on a literary movement, a century, or a genre. Group will then examine the relationships between cultural patterns and literary tendencies.

Credit:
3
Instruction methods:
Lecture
Total hours: 45
Prerequisites:

SPAN 204

x
SPAN 305
SEMINAR IN CULTURE/LITERATURE
3
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