Department of Women’s and Gender Studies

Professor: Linda Garber

Associate Professor: Sharmila Lodhia (Department Chair)

Assistant Professor: CiAuna Heard

Lecturer: Mukta Sharangpani

Inclusive Excellence Postdoc: CJ Jones

Courtesy Appointment:  Amy E. Randall, Professor, Associate Director of the Center for the Arts and Humanities

The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies brings together scholars and scholarship on women and gender, areas that have come to occupy an increasingly important place in a number of disciplines in the last quarter century. Areas of inquiry include the participation of women in social and cultural production; the construction of gender and its role as a constitutive element of social, political, economic, and legal structures; feminist theory; and the development of ideas about femininities, masculinities, and sexualities. Gender is examined as it intersects with class, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, age, nationality, and the like. The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies provides an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the social and cultural constructions of gender that shape the experiences of everyone. The curriculum offers a solid foundation in women’s and gender studies, facilitating graduate study and careers involving gender justice concerns, and preparing students for leadership roles in diverse workplaces and communities. The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies offers a major and minor.

Requirements for the Major

In addition to fulfilling University Core Curriculum, students with a major in Women’s and Gender Studies must complete the following requirements:

Thirteen courses:

  • One Principles of WGST course or sequence:
  • WGST 1A and 2A
  • WGST 11A and 12A
  • WGST 25
  • WGST 50
  • WGST 51
  • WGST 52

WGST 59/ETHN 59

  • WGST 112/ETHN 154

  • Four required upper-division courses:
  • WGST 101(advised in the junior year)
  • WGST 102 (advised in the junior year)
  • WGST 105 WGST 190(senior year)

  • A three-course concentration in one of three areas: Cultural Politics of Representation; Power, Rights, and Society; or Sexualities, Body Politics, and Social Structures
  • Five electives

Requirements for the Minor

Students must fulfill the following requirements for a minor in Womens and Gender Studies:

Six courses, at least three of which must be upper division:

  • One Principles of WGST course or sequence:
  • WGST 1A and 2A
  • WGST 11A and 12A
  • WGST 50
  • WGST 51
  • WGST 52
  • WGST 59/ETHN 59
  • WGST 112/ETHN 154

  • One of the following:
  • WGST 101 (advised in the junior year)
  • WGST 102 (advised in the junior year)

  • One of the following: :
  • WGST 190 (senior year)
  • WGST 105

  • Three electives

Lower-Division Courses

1A. and 2A. Critical Thinking & Writing I and II

A two-course sequence, focusing on a major theme, featuring study and practice of academic discourse, with emphasis on critical reading and writing, composing processes, and rhetorical situation. The second course will feature more advanced study and practice of academic discourse, with additional emphasis on information literacy and skills related to developing and organizing longer and more complex documents. Successful completion of CTW I (WGST 1A) is a prerequisite for CTW 11 (WGST 2A). (4 units each quarter)

11A. and 12A. Cultures & Ideas I and II

A two-course sequence focusing on a major theme in human experience and culture over a significant period of time. Courses emphasize either broad global interconnections or the construction of Western culture in its global context. Courses may address how gender intersects with other systems of power and inequality including: sexuality, race, ethnicity, culture, class, and nation. Topics include, but are not limited to, perspectives on representation, citizenship and rights, bodies and sexuality, and science and technology. Successful completion of C&I I (WGST 11A) is a prerequisite for C&I II (WGST 12A). (4 units each quarter)

14. Introduction to African-American Literature and Gender

Introduction to African-American literatures. Also listed as ENGL 35GS and ETHN 35. Note: ENGL 35 only cross-lists with WGST 14 if it is offered as 35GS, which indicates a gender studies focus. For course description see ETHN 35. (4 units)

15. Literature by Women Writers of Color

Also listed as ENGL 69AM. For course description see ENGL 69AM or 69G.

16. Multicultural Literature of the United States

Short stories, film, autobiography, and poetry from many cultural communities in the United States. Also listed as ENGL 39GS & ETHN 70.   Note: ENGL 39 only cross-lists with WGST 16 when it is offered as 39GS, which indicates a gender studies focus. (4 units)

21. Women in the Hebrew Bible

Also listed as SCTR 28. For course description see SCTR 28.

25.  Intersectionality:  Principles and Praxis

This course is an introduction to intersectionality as a theoretical frame, as a description of  lived experience, and as a method of praxis in struggles for social recognition, integration, and equity. It explores how categorical identities, including gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, nationality, and more., work together to create our lived experiences, and shape systems of inequality.  This class examines the history and application of intersectionality from black feminist movements of the 1970s, to its codification in legal theory, to current scholarship, activism, and cultural discourse..  Cross-listed with ETHN 154A and SOCI 126. (4 Units)

32. Women’s Health

Also listed at PHSC 11. For course description see PHSC 11.

33. Human Sexuality

Also listed as PHSC 28. For course description see PHSC 28.

34. U.S. LGBTQ Literature

Love, struggle, self-awareness, history, intersectionality -- this course explores themes in queer literatures of the United States across time and in various genres. Also listed as ENGL 67.

44. Sex and Spirituality in Latinx Theologies

Also listed as TESP 59 & ETHN 25. For course description see TESP 59 & ETHN 25.

46. Gender in Early Christianity

Also listed as SCTR 26. For course description see SCTR 26.

47. Biblical Women and Power

Also listed as SCTR 39. For course description see SCTR 39.

48. Women in Christian Tradition

Also listed as TESP 79. For course description see TESP 79.

50. Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

This course examines gender using an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the effects of societal institutions and processes. Particular attention is paid to the development and dynamics of gender inequality; intersections of gender, race, class, ethnicity, disability and nation; and the social construction of gender. (4 units

51. Introduction to LGBTQ Studies

This course examines a variety of topics focusing on the areas of history, media, politics, literature and the arts, emphasizing the diverse nature of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) communities and issues. Course materials address sexual identity as it intersects with gender, race, class,ethnicity, disability, and nation. (4 units)

52. Introduction to Transgender Studies

This course explores the interdisciplinary field of transgender studies through an examination of trans contributions to shifting notions of sex, gender, identity, and embodiment as they relate to dynamics of race, class, nationality, and ability. Topics to be covered include: gender variance before the term “transgender” came about; early trans activism and agitation; medicalization of trans identities; identification documents and surveillance; gender nonconforming bodies and citizenship/national borders; trans activism and social justice; transaesthetics and performance; and trans inclusion/exclusion and gender segregated spaces. (4 Units)

56. Literature and Women

Also listed as ENGL 68AM or 68GL. For course description see ENGL 68AM or ENGL 68GL.

57. United States Women's History

Also listed as HIST 84. For course description see HIST 84.

58. Ethics and Gender

Also listed as PHIL 23 For course description see PHIL 23.

59. Feminist Approaches to Disability Studies

This course explores the social construction of dis/ability by taking a critical, intersectional, and feminist approach to disability studies. Through course readings, reading responses, film screenings, and in class discussion 'social model' and radical models of dis/ability that approach the study of dis/abled bodies (and minds) through ever-shifting historical, socio-cultural, and political formations will be examined. Cross-listed with ETHN 59. (4 Units)

60. Women in African History

This course explores themes and perspectives on African Women's lives and their roles, contributions, and agency in shaping histories, major historical events, civilizations, and societies. We will examine African women's activities in pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial African societies. Further, we will explore the diversity of African women's experiences in local, regional, trans-oceanic, and international settings. The course will focus on African Women's roles including as Kings, Queens, Warriors, and Priestesses in precolonial Dual Sex Political societies, and as Female Presidents and Nobel Laureates in the Post-colonial period. Also listed as HIST 56.

62. Women in Dance History

Also listed as DANC 66. For course description see DANC 66.

75. Gender and Technology

This course examines the impact of gender on the production and use of science and technology. Topics include gender, race and biotechnology; reproductive technology; biological determinism; information technology and equal access; technology in the workplace; the careers and working conditions of scientists, engineers and technicians; plagiarism and invisible work; eugenics; and the gendered politics of museums. (4 units)

76. Gender Based Violence

Interdisciplinary study of gender based violence in the US and how gender power shapes the dynamics of every interaction. Explores the institutionalization of violence, and its consequences on systems and civic life. (4 units)

Upper-Division Courses: Women’s and Gender Studies

101. Feminist Theory

Examines historical and contemporary feminist theories with the goal of understanding the multiplicity of feminist frameworks for thinking about sex, gender, and oppression. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission by WGST department chair. (5 units)

102. Feminist Methods

This course explores feminist research methods in Communication and other social sciences as they intersect with Women's & Gender Studies. Through lectures and workshops, students will explore how theories and politics shape the kinds of research questions we ask, the types of materials we use, and how we define our relationships with our research participants. Students will explore topics related to femininity, masculinity, and/or sexuality using ethnographic, interviewing, and textual analysis methods informed by feminist theory and the politics of social justice.   (5 units)

103. Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies

Explores a variety of current issues in women’s and gender studies. .(5 units)

104. Beauty, Culture, and Society in a Global Age

Explores dominant standards of beauty across diverse cultures and societies. Beginning with an analysis of the historical origins of the display of raced and gendered bodies, this course will identify linkages between beauty and ideas about racial superiority, eugenics, hygiene, and the logics and instrumentalities of colonialism. After situating the analysis of bodies and beauty within a historical context, subsequent units will examine contemporary issues such as beauty contests, colorism, the hair trade, plastic surgery, and the beauty industrial complex. Readings and assignments will highlight the lived impact of hegemonic beauty ideals on women in diverse regional contexts. (5 units)

105. Advanced Seminar

This advanced seminar in women’s and gender studies may be taken more than once with a different topic. Prerequisites: WGST principles course and declared major/minor; or WGST principles course and declared pathway in Gender, Sexuality, and the Body, or in Gender, Globalization, and Empire; or permission of instructor. (5 units)

105A. Body Politics

Also listed as COMM 119A. For course description see COMM 119A.

106. Advanced Writing in Women’s and Gender Studies

Researching and writing on topics in intersectional gender and sexuality studies, with an emphasis on revising for various contexts and audiences. (5 units)

106A. Gender, Race, and Resistance  

This course will discuss numerous forms of protest and resistance, focusing especially on the ways current forms of activism are responding to issues that concern women, LGBTQ people, and people of color, and their many intersections. (5 units)

107. Gender, Technology, and Society

Examines how social categories such as gender, race, class, and sexuality are shaped by technology and in turn, shape the development of new technologies. Topics may include, among others: feminist technology studies, the digital divide, social media, reproductive technologies, and gaming. (5 units)

107A. Science, Sex, and the Body

This course uses feminist theory to explore relationships between animals and women, the politics of food, interspecies sex, the social life of bacteria, evolutionary biology, prosthetics, and environmental toxicity in the body.  (5 units)

108. Genocide and Gender in the 20th Century

Also listed as HIST 102S. For course description see HIST 102S

109. Building Social Justice

An intersectional feminist examination of community, the built environment, and housing as social justice issues, this class will include hands-on building as well as interaction with related community organizations. No experience necessary. (5 units)

110. Native American Women Writers

Study of selected works in Native American literature. Course may focus on particular authors, particular tribal or regional literatures, genres, or topics. Also listed as ENGL 137GS. Note: ENGL 137 only cross-lists with WGST 110 when it is offered as 137GS, which indicates a gender studies focus. (5 units)

111. Asian-American Women

Also listed as ETHN 141. For course description see ETHN 141.

112. Women of Color in the United States

Also listed as ETHN 154. For course description see ETHN 154.

113. Race, Gender and Environmental Justice

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand, explore, and analyze the relationship between gender, nature, inequality, and justice. We will examine the ways that gender, racial, and class inequality shape patterns of vulnerability to environmental hazards across the globe, and examine how strategies to address climate change and environmental inequality are part of movements for racial, gender, queer, and class liberation. Using monographs, research articles, and documentaries the course will explore foundational concepts and theories of gender as they relate to the environment, and the perceived, existing, and potential links between feminism and environmental justice. Cross listed with ETHN 156. (5 units)

114. Race, Gender, Class, and the College Experience

Also listed as ETHN 157. For course description see ETHN 157.

115. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States

Also listed as ETHN 151 and SOCI 153. For course description see SOCI 153.

116. Visions of Abolition 

Abolition has a deep and rich history that originates in slavery abolition and connects to contemporary demands to abolish the prison industrial complex, policing, and ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). But calls for abolition are as much about envisioning new worlds as they are about ending various oppressive and unjust institutions. “Abolition,” as Ruth Wilson Gilmore puts it, “is about presence, not absence.” In this course, we will survey different visions of abolition, paying particular attention to clarifying and evaluating the moral arguments made by abolitionists. What does it mean, exactly, to call for the abolition of an institution rather than for reforms? What are the justifications for and critiques of these radical re-imaginings of our socio-political structures? We will also investigate the intersection of abolitionist issues with race, nationality, class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, among other dimensions of identity. Finally, we will examine ethical theories of abolition democracy and transformative justice: two notions that abolitionists employ when thinking through how to build life-affirming institutions and community-based accountability processes in place of carceral systems. (5 units)

117.  Special Topics in Film

Topics for this course vary, with the examination of different film genres and different critical methods, including fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, the gothic, cyberpunk, horror, romance, superhero, and so on. Course may be repeated for credit as topics vary. (5 units)

117A. Digital Feminisms

 #MeToo. #SayHerName. #TambourineArmy. These hashtags indicate how today's activists and scholars have responded to the proliferation of information and communication technologies with digital practices that bring feminist principles into cyberspace. This course explores how users of digital technology facilitate feminist activism, theory, and practice that cuts across social and material divisions. By uncovering how society and technology function together to reproduce and deepen existing intersectional inequalities, this course takes up questions of social identity and inequality to understand how the convergence of technology and feminism complicates and unsettles norms around gender, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity. Prerequisite: for majors, COMM 1 and COMM 2 (both prior to Fall 2022), or COMM 10. Cross listed with COMM 174. (5 units)

118. Gender and Law in the U.S.

This course will explore how gender influences legal doctrine and how legal doctrine affects women and shapes societal understandings of gender. Considering how the law regulates gender through an intersectional lens, the course will highlight principles such as equality, privacy and equal protection as well as exploring contemporary law and policy issues such as employment discrimination, sexual harassment, gendered violence, and reproductive justice. Also listed as POLI 171. (5 units)

119. Feminist Political Theory

Also listed as PHIL 129. For course description see PHIL 129.

120. Middle East: Gender and Sexuality

Also listed as ANTH 187. For course description see ANTH 187.

121. Gender Issues in the Developing World

Also listed as ECON 135. For course description see ECON 135.

122. LGBTQ Studies: Global Perspectives

Also listed as ENGL 152GL. For course description see ENGL 152GL.

122A. LGBTQ Studies: Global Perspectives

Also listed as ENGL 153A. For course description see ENGL 153A.

123. Sub-Saharan African/Caribbean Women Writers

Also listed as FREN 113. For course description see FREN 113.

124. Sex & Gender in the Age of High Imperialism

Also listed as HIST 116S . For course description see HIST 116S

125. Intersectionality:  Principles and Praxis

How do categorical identities, including race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, etc., work together to create our lived experiences? What is the use of intersectionality as a buzzword, or public concept, in contemporary struggles for social recognition, integration, and equity? This course is an introduction to thinking about intersectionality, as a theoretical frame, a description of  lived experience, and method of praxis. It will examine the history and application of intersectionality from black women's movements of the 1970s, to its codification in legal theory, to current scholarship and activism that have intersectionality and intersectional experiences at their core.  Cross-listed with SOCI 126 and ETHN 154A.  (5 Units)

126. Gender and Sexuality in East Asia

Also listed as HIST 150. For course description see HIST 150.

127. Gender and Rights in the Modern Era

Also listed as HIST 138S. For course description see HIST 138S

128. Women and Social Change in Latin America

Also listed as SOCI 135. For course description see SOCI 135.

129. Studies in Caribbean Literature

Also listed as ENGL 164. For course description see ENGL 164.

131. Race, Class, Gender, and Public Health

Also listed as PHSC 125. For course description see PHSC 125.

132. Sociology of Gender

Gender is a central organizing principle in social relations giving rise to institutional and social practices that distinguish between men and women on the basis of apparent difference and inequality. This course develops the sociological analysis of gender systems in contemporary American society. In this course, we will critically examine the multiple ways that gender structures the social world in which we live, and the way that race and sexuality interact with gender. We will highlight social practices at multiple levels of analysis, including biological and socialization processes at the individual level. Next, we will explore how gender shapes the interactions between and among women and men, creating and recreating gender. We will then use this multilevel framework to examine the workings of gender in the American workplace and as individuals balance work and family obligations. Finally, we will conclude by considering the possibilities of a degendered or less-gendered society. The central goal throughout the course is to understand how gender roles and attitudes shape social structure, and how gender inequalities are maintained in everyday social situations. Also listed as SOCI 131.(5 Units)

133. Love and Relationships in Classical Antiquity

Also listed as CLAS 141 and PHIL 141D. For course description see CLAS 141.

134. Film, Gender, and Sexuality

Also listed as ENGL 122 and COMM 104. For course description see ENGL 122.

134AW. Film, Gender, and Sexuality

Also listed as ENGL 122AW. For course description see ENGL 122AW.

135. Film, Gender, and Globalization

Students will be led through a curated range of Hindi films from the 1940s to the present. Learning to read Hindi films as cultural texts by paying close attention to camerawork, dialogue, song, lyrics, fashions, sets and varied forms of storytelling, they will understand Hindi cinema as both reflecting and shaping notions of urbanization, modernization, westernization, secularization and emancipation in the Indian subcontinent and the Diaspora (5 units)

136. LGBTQ Studies: U.S. Perspectives

Also listed as ENGL 152AM For course description see ENGL 152AM.

137. History of Sexuality

Also listed as HIST 133. For course description see HIST 133.

138. Gays and Lesbians in United States History

Also listed as HIST 177. For course description see HIST 177.

139. Gender and Performance

Also listed as THTR 167. For course description see THTR 167.

140. Gender, Health, and Sexuality

Also listed as COMM 106G. For course description see COMM 106G.

140A. History of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

This course will survey the impact of sexually transmitted infections in a variety of national contexts, from the early modern period to recent times. The focus is mainly upon the history of classic venereal diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea as well as more recently HIV/AIDS. How have medical debates about sexual contagion both influenced and been influenced by cultural conventions of blame, stigma, and moral judgment? Do representations of STDs provide a window into how a society organizes gendered expectations and constructs an image of deviant sexuality? How have responses to the problem of STDs changed over time? Can we examine these changes to better understand broader cultural adjustments to issues as diverse as prostitution and promiscuity, medical treatment and prophylaxis, and the politics of feminism, gay rights, and patients rights. Cross Listed with HIST 124 (5 units)

141.  Chicana/x and Latina/x Feminisms in the U.S.

This course examines the experiences, thoughts, interests, and ideologies of Chicanas/xs and Latinas/xs in the U.S., paying particular attention to how race, class, gender, sexuality and difference have manifested in their lives and how women engage, resist, organize and respond to these forces. Utilizing a range of cultural, social, literary, and political analysis the class will highlight the experiences of Mexican American, Central American, Cuban, and Puerto Rican in the 20th and 21 century. (5 units) Cross Listed with ETHN 125A

141A. 18th-Century Women’s British Literature

Also listed as ENGL 144GS. For course description see ENGL 144GS

142. Women and Buddhism from a U.S. Standpoint

Also listed as RSOC 109. For course description see RSOC 109.

143. Special Topic- Comm, Gender: Gender & Race on TV

This discussion-based course explores the production and reproduction of messages about gender and race and their intersections with sexuality and class. As we read gender and communication studies texts and critically watch popular television series, we will examine stories, images, and scripts that circulate around us and play a role in determining social hierarchies and access to resources. Through written assignments and class discussion, students will learn to use tools and build skills to think critically about the media we consume and the narratives about gender and race that we encounter through TV Cross Listed with COMM 118A (5 units)

144. Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Also listed as ANTH 170. For course description see ANTH 170.

144A. Gender, Race, Class and TV    

Gender, race, and class are at the core of media production and consumption. In this spirit, rather than isolating these categories this course examines them as the building blocks of society, politics, the economy, culture, and ethics, all of which are mediated through distinct discourses and representations. This discussion-based course will explore the production and reproduction of messages about gender, race, and class through an intersectional framework as we analyze contemporary case studies in the world of television. (5 units)

145. Gender and Judaism

Also listed as RSOC 168. For course description see RSOC 168.

146. Religion, Gender, and Globalization

Also listed as RSOC 170. For course description see RSOC 170.

147. Postcolonial Perspectives on the New Testament

Also listed as SCTR 158. For course description see SCTR 158.

148. Gender and Sex in Biblical Interpretations

Also listed as SCTR 165R. For course description see SCTR 165R.

149. Feminist Theologies

Also listed as TESP 131. For course description see TESP 131.

151. Women’s Theologies from the Margins

Also listed as TESP 175. For course description see TESP 175.

152. Mexican Popular Catholicism and Gender

Also listed as ETHN 129 and RSOC 139. For course description see ETHN 129 or RSOC 139.

153. The Bible and Empire

Also listed as SCTR 157. For course description see SCTR 157.

155. Family, Kin, and Culture

Also listed as ANTH 157. For course description see ANTH 157.

156. Women’s Work: American Women in the Visual Arts

Also listed as ARTH 143. For course description see ARTH 143.

157. Gender in Antiquity

Also listed as CLAS 185. For course description see CLAS 185.

158. Feminist Leisure and Pleasure

This course offers a feminist framework to examine ideologies and practices of leisure across various racial, ethnic, national and cultural borders. Students will learn to critique conventional notions of leisure as oppositional to work or labor, and to understand spaces of play as sites of meaning, power, and new forms of activism. This course considers the relationship between gender, race, class, and sexuality and the ways they come to be implicated in meaning and identity making, community and exclusion. Drawing on lectures, readings, discussions and films students will have an opportunity to explore these issues within the United States as well as in a global context. (5 units)

160. Vocation and Gender: Seeking Meaning in Work and Life

Also listed as COMM 101A. For course description see COMM 101A.

161. Communication and Gender

Also listed as COMM 108A. For course description see COMM 108A.

162. Women in Dance History

Also listed as DANC 166. For course description see DANC 166.

163. Feminist Literary and Cultural Theory

Also listed as ENGL 125. For course description see ENGL 125.

164. 19th-Century American Literature

Studies of selected American works from the 19th century. Also listed as ENGL 132GS. Note: ENGL 132 only cross lists with WGST 164 when it is offered as 132GS, which indicates a gender studies focus. (5 units)

165. Women and Gender in American Literature

May focus on periods, movements, themes, or issues. Also listed as ENGL 139G. Note: ENGL 139 only cross-lists with WGST 165 when it is offered as 139GS, which indicates a gender studies focus. (5 units)

166. Women, Literature, and Theory

Study of literature by and about women in explicitly theoretical contexts. When listed as ENGL 169AM, the course offers a focus on American literature and is also listed as WGST 166. When listed as 169GL, this course offers a focus on global literature. May be repeated for credit when topics differ. (5 units)

167. American Literature and Women

Studies in literature by and about women. When listed as ENGL 168AM, this course offers a gender studies focus.When listed as 168GL, this course offers a global focus. May be repeated for credit when topics differ.(5 units)

167AW. Women Writers and Literature

This version of Women and Literature will examine the ways variously positioned women have used writing to accomplish individual, interpersonal, professional, and civic goals in their lives and communities. Course may be repeated for credit by permission of the department chair. Also listed as ENGL 106. . (5 units)

168.  Gender/Sex/Social Movt 20th US

In this course we will explore how race, gender and sexuality have shaped and been shaped by a century of social and political movements in the United States. We will move chronologically, exploring major movements and themes each week, beginning with a discussion of the uses of gender in historical analysis and ending with an exploration of current social movements. In between, we will read primary and secondary sources that illuminate the various, often contradictory, ways that ideas about race, gender and sexuality have influenced major social and political movements that continue to shape our world today. Cross Listed with HIST 119 & ETHN 169. (5 units)

169. Revolution in Sex, Race, and Rights

Also listed as HIST 115 or HIST 115S. For course description see HIST 115 or HIST 115S.

169A. Reproductive Justice in Global Perspective

“Reproductive Justice” (RJ) was invented in 1994 by Black American feminists as a scholarly and

organizing concept to analyze the intersection of reproductive rights and social justice. The study of RJ

in historical and contemporary contexts now applies across borders and cultures, at the

intersections—many of them transnational—of gender and sexuality, medicine, freedom and

enslavement, ethnicities, eugenics and involuntary sterilization, the politics of birth control

and abortion, the ownership of birthing bodies, and the global commercialization of child-

rearing. This course will examine these global and intersectional issues from theoretical,

empirical, and historical perspectives. Cross Listed with HIST 129. (5 units)

172. Postwar Europe: Gender, Race, & National Identity in 20th-Century Eastern & Western Europe.

An exploration of the ways in which social anxieties and ideas about gender, race, nationality, class, and sexuality shaped political, economic, social, and cultural developments in post- WWII Eastern and Western Europe. Three units structure the course: Communism and the Cold War; immigrants, race, gender, and national identity in post-war and post-colonial Europe; and challenges to the established order -- including the rebellions/revolutions in 1968, the women's and gay and lesbian liberation movements of the 1970s, and resistance to and the collapse of Communism.  Also listed as HIST 136. (5 Units)

173. United States Women Since 1900

Also listed as HIST 181. For course description see HIST 181.

174.  Sex and Family in American History

For course description please see HIST 182 (cross-listed with HIST 182)

174A.  Interracial Intimacy: Race & Sex in Modern America

This course examines the history of interracial intimacies from the late 19th century to the present going beyond the black-and-white binary to examine the forces that have brought people of different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds together and torn them apart. Students will develop a critical understanding of the comparative process of racial formation over time, and the ways in which intimacy across racial lines has been policed. Students will also end the quarter exploring the influence multiracial individuals, families, and communities have had on local and mainstream institutions and cultural practices. Also listed as HIST 105.  (5 units)

175. French and Francophone French Novels and Films: Culture, Gender, and Social Classes

Also listed as FREN 174. For course description see FREN 174.

176. Women in French Literature: Authors and Characters

Also listed as FREN 182. For course description see FREN 182.

177. 20th- and 21st-Century French Women Writers

Also listed as FREN 183. For course description see FREN 183.

179. Women in German Literature: Authors and Characters

Also listed as GERM 182. For course description see GERM 182.

180. Women and Politics

A consideration of the various ways women have changed "politics as usual." Examination of the status of women today, varieties of feminist thought, women as voters and as an interest group, women in public office, and public policy issues. Also listed as POLI 154. (5 units)

181. Inequality in the Economy & Workplace

Also listed as SOCI 152. For course description see SOCI 152.

182. Sociology of Family

Also listed as SOCI 157. For course description see SOCI 157.

183. Fashion, Politics, and Issues of Gender

Also listed as THTR 151. For course description see THTR 151.

184. Feminism and Ethics

Also listed as PHIL 120. For course description see PHIL 120.

185. 20th-Century Italian Women Writers

Also listed as ITAL 182. For course description see ITAL 182.

187. Structural Racism: Race, Power and Resistance in the United States

This seminar addresses systems of structural racism as they condition possibilities and threats to the health and well-being of publics in the United States. Structural racism is understood as ‘the accumulation and incorporation of long-standing racialized practices into social and economic structures.’ These patterns of racial discrimination work alongside gendered systems of heteronormativity to reinforce white supremacy and the inequitable distribution of social and economic resources, influencing multiple pathways to health and well-being. Through in-depth, discussion-based engagement with case studies of structural racism in interconnected systems of education, health, criminal justice, the law, policing, housing and employment, the seminar considers the critical role of anti-Black racism and white supremacy in entrenching racial inequality and harm at the systems level. Students will design projects to apply scholarship to critical anti-racist praxis. Also listed as PHSC 187. Enrollment by permission of instructor ( 5 units)  

188. Gender and Justice

Also listed as SOCI 162. For course description see SOCI 162.189. Sex, Law, and Social Justice

This course examines contemporary issues in gender justice through a transnational lens. The course will begin with a critical investigation of the dominant narratives that frequently underlie mainstream advocacy interventions; problematizing terms such as ‘victim’, ‘oppressor’, ‘savior,’ and ‘rescue,’ and highlighting the moral and ethical assumptions that often underlie these interventions. After establishing a framework in transnational feminisms, postcolonial legal studies, and critical race theory, subsequent units will examine topics including the raced and gendered histories of humanitarianism/human rights, gender and national security, gendered violence, and reproductive justice. Readings will be drawn from materials which explore the legal, visual, and discursive elements of a range of social justice movements.  (5 units)

190. Senior Capstone

Seminar focused on critical questions within the interdisciplinary field of women’s and gender studies. Course will consider connections between the field and feminist politics/activism in the larger community. Prerequisites: Senior standing, declared WGST major or minor, and either WGST 101, WGST 102, or permission of instructor. (5 units)

191. Body Politics

This course uses feminist theory to explore cultural and individual experiences of embodiment and biotechnology. Students will examine biopolitical discourse and its relationship both to individual lived bodies and to biotechnologies that make possible particular bodily configurations. Topics include scientific and cultural studies of birth control devices, assisted reproductive technologies (e.g., in vitro fertilization), weight loss surgery, adaptive technologies for people with disabilities, and hormonal and surgical treatments for transgender people. (5 Units)

192. Digital Feminisms

#MeToo. #SayHerName. #TambourineArmy. These hashtags indicate how today's activists and scholars have responded to the proliferation of information and communication technologies with digital practices that bring feminist principles into cyberspace. This course explores how users of digital technology facilitate feminist activism, theory, and practice that cuts across social and material divisions. By uncovering how society and technology function together to reproduce and deepen existing intersectional inequalities, this course takes up questions of social identity and inequality to understand how the convergence of technology and feminism complicates and unsettles norms around gender, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity. Prerequisite: for majors, COMM 1 and COMM 2 (both prior to Fall 2022), or COMM 10. (5 units)Cross Listed with COMM 174.  

198. Internship

Directed internship in local organizations addressing gender and/or sexuality issues. Open to qualified WGST majors and minors with permission of instructor. (15 units)

199. Directed Reading/Research

Independent projects undertaken by upper-division students with a faculty sponsor. To receive credit, the student must submit a formal written proposal and have it approved by the sponsoring faculty member and the program director. Written proposal must be submitted before the end of the previous quarter and must meet University requirements for independent study credit. (15 units)

 

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