Women and Gender Studies Course Descriptions

WGS 1002/3102 Cultural Anthropology (Gender Emphasis) (3 units)

The study of society, culture, and personality from a cross-cultural and global perspective with an emphasis on gender and sex. Comparison across cultures of social organization and relations through applied anthropology: kinship, religion, and belief systems, cultural transmission, social control and racism, supremacy, environment, and social change. Fall Semesters.

General introduction to the study of women and gender.  Interdisciplinary study of a range of feminist theories through which to consider the roles of women, gender, and sexuality.  Examines growing international research about women’s studies and gender construction.  Materials from history, feminist theory, film, and literature are included.  Team taught. Corequisite to WGS 3000 and other core courses. Fall Semesters.

WGS 2222/3222  Development of Gender Concepts and Gender Needs (3 units)

Interdisciplinary and global approach to the development of biology and behavior of ancient humans, also incorporating evolutionary theory, socio-cultural anthropology, and psychology. Examines the fundamentals of the changes made from early hominid to Homo sapiens and life patterns specific to those changes and the gender concepts which developed. From these, the cultures of the ancient worlds developed various institutions and perspectives on gender, power, rights, and equality.  Spring Semesters.

WGS 3200  Women and Gender in Economic Development Worldwide (3 units)

This course examines gendered experiences of socio-economic development in selected regions of the world. Case studies provide a theoretical and comparative framework for analyzing specific issues with which people in a global age continue to struggle: issues related to economic opportunities, quality of life (e.g., human rights, education, and social status), disease, and environmental degradation. Students will have the opportunity to discuss the relationship between gender stratification and development, to evaluate the challenges and tasks of women in the process of industrialization and modernization, and to analyze the economic and social processes that perpetuate gender inequalities.

WGS 3910  Junior Seminar (3 units) 

Interdisciplinary course with readings and discussions in feminist thought and gender theory. Students will place this theory in the context of its multinational and multicultural development. The global intersectionality of theories of oppression will be explored.  Spring 2007, Fall Semesters.

WGS 3510/3520  Self, Community, and Service (3 units)

Ethics of Love and Moral Philosophy/Modern Identity and Moral Meaning. Service Learning Honors courses also meet this requirement. Spring, Fall Semesters.

WGS 4920/4921  Senior Project Workshop (1 unit)

Practical guide; with Humanities Department. Spring, Fall Semesters.

WGS 4910/4911  Senior thesis/project (1-3 units) 

This requires specific work on a project in WGS. Spring, Fall Semesters.

Other WGS Courses

WGS 2999/4999 Independent Study (1-3 units)

WGS 4992 Thesis Continuation (1-3 units)

WGS 4994 Teaching Assistant/Tutoring (1-3 units)

WGS 4996 Internship (1-3 units)

WGS 4998 Directed Research (1-3 units)

HIST 3210 Gender and Power Creating American Society (3 units)

Examines the definitions and changes in the identity of gender in the United States as influencing and being influenced by a multi-cultural and global debate.  We will consider how the roles were assigned and what behaviors were expected in the development of American cultures, and study what happened to those who did not or would not “conform” to expectations.  Also addresses the influence of gender on the distribution of public goods and the way gender, interacting with race and class, shapes social, political, and economic institutions. Introduction to traditional notions of rights and citizenship as conceptual underpinnings for contemporary political and legal debates (on such issues as welfare, reproductive rights, childcare, job segregation, and women in the military). Fall Semesters, every other year.

HIST 3202 Women and the American Experience (3 units)

Looks at women's experience (in their own words) from the colonial period through the 20th century in the United States. The examination of female experience in family life, economic life, and public life provides the framework for looking at the changing role of woman and for developing an understanding of how women in our multi-cultural society have contributed to the shaping of pluralism in American life and culture. Spring Semesters, every other year.

PSY 4011 Psychology of Women (3 units)

Analysis of the psychological realities of women’s lives organized around critical issues and events in women’s experience from infancy to adulthood and aging. Fall Semesters.

PSY 4012 Psychology of Men (3 units)

A survey on the experience of being male, including historical, biological, social, psychological and anthropological perspectives on topics such as sexuality, interpersonal relationships, fatherhood, power and aggression, and health. Fall Semesters.

PSY 4013 Human Sexuality (3 units)

A survey of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of sexuality, including topics such as gender identity, sexual orientation, reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases, sex in the media, etc. Spring Semesters.

RLGN 3132 Women, Religion, and Sexuality (3 units)

A cross-cultural study of the impact of traditional religious teachings about sex on society’s perception of women’s role and status and on women’s own self-perception, with particular attention to the historical origins of female subordination. Spring Semesters.

RLGN 3154 Theology of Women (3 units)

How does a woman evolve a personal spirituality beyond male images and language? Study of both the patriarchal roots of (some) religions and of the “womanist” revolution in theology will lead this exploration into the question of how we name and relate to the sacred in our various "world religious" traditions. Fall Semesters.

SCS 3034 Alternative Lifestyles (3 units)

Explores the sociological implications of the variety of lifestyles in the world that dot the social landscape: gays/lesbians/transgenders, drugs/prostitution, communal/gangs, single parents/homeless, straight/ traditional. Spring Semesters.