Women's Studies Curriculum
At present, the following courses are approved for women's studies credit:
Introduction to Women's Studies (WS 115)
This course offers students a unique, broadly-based intellectual foundation
in understanding the position of women in the world and the variations
of that position by class, race, age, sexual orientation and culture. Further,
the coursewill offer students a critical framework from which to examine
how their realities, i.e., relationships, school, work, leisure, are shaped
by gender, class, race, and sexual orientation. Introduction to Women's
Studies is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Women and Wellness (NURS 210)
This course is designed to enrich the multi-disciplinary approach for students
interested in various aspects of women's studies. Students will increase
their knowledge and understanding of wellness from women's perspectives
and enable them to assume greater responsibility for and control over their
own wellness.
Designated sections of this course will examine the ways that gender operates
in conjunction with and is informed by issues of class, race, ethnicity,
disability, sxuality, etc. in the context of learning to read closely in
order to draw and discuss interpretive conclusions about the "meaning"
of a text. Students will consider answers to the questions:
What is gender? What does it mean to read "gender" in a text?
How is a text gendered? Interpreting Literature is a Liberal Studies
Goal course.
Women and Health Care (AHEA 211)
This course examines the role of women as consumers and as both formal
and informal providers of health services. The student is provided with
an understanding of traditional forces, the scientific method as a means
of knowing the world, and the feminine "culture" in the field of health
care.
Literature of the Women's Movement (ENGL 243)
The student will examine female creativity and women's acculturation as
represented and influenced by women's writings. The course includes authors
from English speaking countries: creative writers such as Bradstreet, Dickinson,
Chopin, Woolf, Lessing, Sexton, Atwood, and Naylor; and polemicists such
as Fuller, Truth, and Wollstonecraft. Focus will be on the dynamics of
literary expression, the historical reception of the writings, and the
relevance of the material to current debates regarding equality and difference.
Literature of the Women's Movement is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Women and Music (MUS 297)
This course will explore the musical contributions of women from the Middle
Ages to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the changing roles
of and attitudes towards women as composers, performers, teachers, writers,
patrons, and instrument-builders. Focus will be on the music itself,
as well as reception history and historical and sociological context.
There will also be discussion of the role of gender in shaping musical
ideology and experiences. Women and Music is a Liberal Studies Enrichment
course.
Psychology of Women (PSYC 300)
This course is a survey of empirical and theoretical psychological studies
of women. Students will be expected to keep a journal and write abstracts
on class texts and articles. Class discussions will be an integral part
of the course. Psychology of Women is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
This course analyzes women from the earliest civilizations to 1750 through
the examination of the lives of ordinary and outstanding women from different
levels of the social order. History of Women to 1750 is a Liberal Studies
Enrichment course.
History of Women from 1750 to the Present (HIST
320)
This course will examine the role of women in the period 1750 to present
from a cross-cultural perspective. Through the use of gender as a
category of historical analysis and with particular reference to socio-economic
differences, we will study the participation of women in the emergence
of new nation-states; the history of women's labor in the household and
the work place, the contribution of women to intellectual life, and the
participation of women in the social/political reform movements of the
modern era. History of Women is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Women in Hispanic Literature (SPAN 335)
This course examines women both as characters and as authorial voices in
Hispanic literature from various times and places in the Spanish-speaking
world. Once a sociohistorical perspective has been established, 20th
centruy texts predominate. The course is offered in English.
English 210 (Interpreting Literature) is the prerequisite. Women
in Hispanic Literature is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Women in French Literature (FREN 335)
The aim of this course is to inquire into the attitudes toward women expressed
by men and women of French letters from the Middle Ages to the present
day. All of the works studied will be discussed with a view to the literary
and historical perspective. All works will be read and discussed in French.
Women in French Literature is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Utopian Experiments: Issues of Gender and Power
(POLS 349)
This seminar course will examine a number of the alternative plans for
the intentional restructuring of society as exhibited in the works of utopian
theorists. Issues related to gender and the distribution of power between
the sexes are regularly addressed in utopian literature; these themes will
serve to organize and focus the course. Utopian Experiments is a Liberal
Studies Goal course.
Women and Politics (POLS 375)
This course is not primarily about women in politics, though that issue
will be discussed; rather, it is about how politics in its many manifestations
affects women. This course will investigate the roles women play in the
political system as citizens, subjects, and leaders. To do this, the following
will be examined: (1) the effect of socialization on women, (2) the impact
of culture on women, (3) gender differences in patterns of political participation,
(4) the legal, political and social rights of women and (5) the effects
of the political system on the lives of women and their families. Women
and Politics is a Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Great Books: American Women Writers (HONR 386)
This is an "honors" class that relies on reading, writing, and class discussion.
Seven or eight books will be assigned to be read by each member of the
class, who then write review essays on the books. Though the instructor
will provide some background information, group discussions represent the
primary aspect of class meetings.
Sex Roles in Society (SASW 399)
One goal of this course is to understand the roles expected of the sexes,
but we concentrate on women as we examine gender roles in tribal societies
as well as in contemporary America. Our topics include early education,
sexual behavior, work opportunities, and power and aggression. We approach
each area of investigation through reading and discussion. The emphasis
is on reading and thinking about the issues and not on memorization for
exams. Students are encouraged to participate fully in each class discussion.
Sex Roles in Society is Liberal Studies Enrichment course.
Feminist Perspectives in the Disciplines (WMST
415)
This course will explore feminist approaches to pedagogy and research in
the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, highlighting how
such approaches reshape and redirect the ways knowledge is constructed
as well as the attendant, transformed results. Feminist Perspectives in
the Disciplines is a Liberal Studies Goal course.
Studies in U.S. Women's History (HIST 420)
This course provides an in-depth investigation into specific topics of
women's studies through individual reading assignments, group discussions,
and lectures. The class examines the history of women with a special focus
on the American experience. Students are expected to produce a number of
review essays, complete essay exams, and contribute to discussions.
Women and Aging (GERO 425)
Our society is aging and women make up the greater portion of this population.
Unfortunately, women face many issues and obstacles to successful aging
and quality of life in later years. This course will examine the
effects of women growing older in a changing society. Social, psychological,
physical, economic, cultural, and political implications will be discussed,
including health concerns, changing roles, and discrimination. Women and
Aging is a Liberal Studies Goal course.
Internship Related to Women's Studies (---450)
An internship provides students with an opportunity to apply information
from women's studies courses to their major fields of study. For example,
students could be placed in a rape crisis center, a shelter for battered
women, or a health clinic.
Independent Study in Women's Studies (---490)
Students may register from one to three credit hours for an independent
study with a faculty member in the Women's Studies Program. Some examples
of independent studies which have been completed involve Women and the
U. S. Armed Services, Women and Professions, and Women and Science.
As time goes on, the Women's Studies Program hopes to include other courses
taught by persons familiar with and sympathetic to the nature, content,
scholarship, and bibliography of women's studies. Currently, the program
is for undergraduates only, but if the need arises, the committee will
begin to explore the possibilities for offering courses to graduate students.
