WGS 101. Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies.3 Credits.
This interdisciplinary course uses lively discussion and compelling readings to consider women's and gender studies and its relevance to people of all genders, sexual identities and expressions. Students discuss the social construction of gender and sexualities; sexuality, economic and political power; issues of embodiment and beauty; the psychology of gender; and the development of feminism and feminist theory through course materials that may include novels, social science research, poetry, historical writings and political manifestos. Please be advised that this course may cover topics that some students may find difficult, such as eating disorders, sexual assault and harassment.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All
UC: Breadth Elective, Intercultural Understand
WGS 102. Lgbtgia+ Studies.3 Credits.
This course provides students with the opportunity to enter the diverse field of Gender and Sexuality Studies through a queer/non-binary perspective. We will learn about the intersectional history and contemporary issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community through discussing texts and films focused on varied identities and experiences
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed, All
WGS 200. Special Topics in Women's and Gender Studies.3 Credits.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed
WGS 202. Gender and Aging.3 Credits.
The purpose of this advanced seminar is to study older women's and men's experiences with aging. The focus is on the complex interplay between age and gender as we examine the social, economic and policy issues surrounding the needs of older women and men.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 or SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 WGS 101 OR WGS 101H;
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 210. Human Sexuality.3 Credits.
This course focuses on human sexuality, including the physiological, psychological and social aspects of sexuality. Students are encouraged to consider diverse perspectives, e.g., in sexual orientation, experiences, beliefs and behaviors. Additional course topics include: domestic violence, abuse, sexual assault and harassment.
Prerequisites: Take PS 101 PS 233 SO 225 SO 244 WGS 101 OR WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, Fall and Spring
UC: Social Sciences, Intercultural Understand
WGS 211. Cross Cultural Perspectives on Gender, Sex and Sexuality.3 Credits.
This course introduces students to the social and cultural constructions of gender, sex and sexuality around the world. Students discover the way anthropologists approach these topics. They explore the constructions as they relate to notions of biology, family, households, work, migration, inequality/inequity, economics and class status, violence, and race and ethnicity. Discussions focus on what gender, sex and sexuality are, what they mean and how they theoretically and practically matter as categories.
Prerequisites: Take 6 credits; From Subjects AN, SO or WGS.
Offered: Every year, Fall
WGS 219. Feminist Political Thought.3 Credits.
Students explore different approaches to explain the status of women. Theoretical perspectives that students consider may include: liberal feminism, radical feminism, Marxist/socialist feminism, feminism of care, conservative feminism and global feminism, among others. Students critically evaluate political concepts such as freedom, equality, rights and oppression, as well as learn about how different thinkers have conceptualized gender, politics, power and the role of the state. The course requires careful reading, intensive class discussion and multiple writing assignments.
Prerequisites: Take PO 101 or PO 131 or PL 101 or PS 101 or SO 101 or SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 or WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every other year, Spring
UC: Social Sciences
WGS 224. The Real Housewives of the Early Modern World.3 Credits.
Scholars tend to explore the major movements of the early modern world through the writings of the men. What if we inverted this world, and we asked what were all the women up to? Women whether they were wives, monarchs, mothers, peasants, daughters, prostitutes, or nuns were present during this era of radical change. They stood along-side reformers, artists, warriors, and rulers (some even ruled themselves). This course explores this period through the varies lives of women and explore how women up and down the social hierarchy found opportunities for agency in a patriarchal world.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every Third Year, Fall
WGS 232. Women in the Criminal Justice System.3 Credits.
This course examines the changing patterns of women's criminality, the experiences of women who are processed as crime victims, and the evolution of women's role in law, law enforcement and corrections.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 CJ 101 WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, Fall
UC: Social Sciences
WGS 235. Literature by Women.3 Credits.
Virginia Woolf wrote that, for most of history, "Anonymous" was a woman. The last two centuries have energetically recovered the writings of women and shifted them into equal stature with literature written by men. With the question of what it means to extract a canon of literature defined by gender as its center, this course allows students to consider the ways in which women have contributed a language and form to the literary tradition. In particular, the course explores the process by which this literature, often written from the margins of experience, has shaped how we read today. Varied female authors are discussed, including Woolf, the Brontës, Emily Dickinson, Zora Neal Hurston, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, Jamaica Kincaid, Leila Abouzeid and Maxine Hong Kingston among others.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, Fall
UC: Humanities, Intercultural Understand
WGS 250. Gender and the Law.3 Credits.
This course focuses on legal issues regarding gender, including the differential treatment of women and men in the legal system, and contemporary responses to gender issues in society.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 252. The Science of Human Diversity.3 Credits.
This course surveys human phenotypic variation through an evolutionary and biocultural perspective. The role of genetics and environment (including culture) is discussed in relation to the heritability of human differences. Participants also consider how culture and society shape an understanding of human biology. Topics as diverse as environmental adaptations, "race," sex differences, aging, growth, nutrition, demography and genetic disorders are addressed from this biocultural perspective.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed
UC: Breadth Elective, Intercultural Understand
WGS 253. Sexual Violence.3 Credits.
This course takes a historical perspective on the societal and psychological aspects of sexual violence as it applies to the criminal justice system. It includes an examination of the etiology of sexual abuse as a law enforcement issue and explores the societal impact of sexual violence upon both those who commit violence and those who are the victims of it. The course encourages students to deepen their understanding of the social, structural and individual treatment modalities that are employed within the system to decrease sexual violence.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H CJ 101 SO 225 SO 244 WGS 101 or WGS 101H .
Offered: Every year, Spring
WGS 255. Sociology of Families.3 Credits.
In this course, students critically examine families in the U.S., both historically and in the current day. Topics include the ways in which families have evolved over time and the effect of economic and social factors (such as race, class and gender) on family life. Students learn about the diversity of families and current issues facing families.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 or SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 or WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, All
UC: Social Sciences, Intercultural Understand
WGS 262. Psychology of Women and Gender.3 Credits.
In this course, students examine the complexity of gendered experiences from a psychological science perspective and explore the research regarding gender differences and gender relations. Many approaches are taken to understand gender, including biological, social, evolutionary, cognitive and cultural points of view. The goal is for students to appreciate the complexities of gender and to challenge one's assumptions and judgments about gender.
Prerequisites: Take PS 101 WGS 101 WGS 101H;
Offered: Every year, Fall
UC: Social Sciences, Intercultural Understand
WGS 265. Work, Careers, and You.3 Credits.
Students explore the meaning and experiences of work and occupations, both for society as a whole and for their own personal career paths. Students examine how work gives meaning to and shapes our lives in profound ways. Topics explored are trends in the current labor market-the types of occupations and jobs that are available, what those occupations and jobs are like, and what these characteristics mean for the lives of the people who hold them. Students will also examine their own strengths, interests, and future professional goals.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H SO 225 or SO 244;
Offered: As needed
UC: Social Sciences
WGS 275. Sexual Violence Victim Advocacy.3 Credits.
This class prepares students to be peer educators on sexual assault, and the hours spent in class may be counted towards state certification for rape crisis victim advocacy. The class is centered on the victim's perspective on sexual assault and sexual abuse, as well as educating others about helping rape survivors. The course will cover basic information about sexual violence and rape myths, the protocol for reporting rape in different venues (e.g., on campus, police, hospital, rape crisis center), policies on sexual assault, and methods for assisting survivors. The class is recommended for those students interested in becoming rape crisis victim advocates and/or providing peer education about sexual assault on campus. As such, the course does require attendance in class, as well as out-of-class assignments, including an on-call component that could require students to respond to hospital calls to support victims who are receiving the rape kit examination. Students who complete the certification program will be eligible to volunteer on campus under the supervision of the Rape Crisis Center in Meriden. Certified victim advocates are expected to be available for on campus volunteer work during the two semesters following the class. Will need instructor permission to register.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall
WGS 284. LGBTQ Identities and Communities.3 Credits.
This course explores the social, socioeconomic, historical, psychological and political factors that have contributed to our understanding of what it means to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ). Psychological research on identity development, the social construction of identity, and the psychological, social, and political benefits associated with "identifying" as LGBTQ, are discussed. The course explores historical events that led to the development of LGBTQ communities and the benefits of being involved in these communities, including the positive impact of allies. Finally, the course explores the positive and negative effects of the LGBTQ community becoming more mainstream.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 WGS 101H or PS 101.
Offered: As needed
WGS 285. Protest and Change.3 Credits.
This course explores past and present social movements and other forms of resistance in the U.S. and around the world, focusing on the factors that influence their emergence, the shapes they take, and their outcomes. The course also includes discussion of how to organize one's own community to create social change. Students examine movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement, the #MeToo movement, the LGBTQ+ rights movement, the anti-war movement, and the climate justice movement.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 or WGS 101.
Offered: Every other year
UC: Social Sciences, Intercultural Understand
WGS 288. From Script to Stage.3 Credits.
In this course, students study four scripts of plays being produced in nearby professional theatres, such as Long Wharf Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, TheaterWorks, and Hartford Stage. Through writing and discussion, students develop their own ideas about how these scripts might be presented onstage most effectively. Then the students and their instructor travel by bus to see each production. Upon returning, students discuss how each production compared with their own visions. Finally, students write reviews of each production they have seen, thereby learning not only how to analyze a theater production, but also how to write a strongly persuasive essay.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring
UC: Fine Arts
WGS 300. Special Topics in Women's.3 Credits.
Academic topics will vary by student and faculty interest.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed, All
WGS 301. Women's and Gender Studies Capstone.3 Credits.
This course is required for all Women's and Gender Studies minors to take in their junior or senior year.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H. For WGS minors only.
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 301H. Women's and Gender Studies Capstone.3 Credits.
This course is required for all Women's and Gender Studies minors to take in their junior or senior year.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 302. Sociology of Sexualities.3 Credits.
This course explores the social construction and social control of sexualities with a particular focus on the intersection of sexualities, gender, race, and class. We will examine the socially constructed meanings of sexual practices and sexual identities. Specifically, we will begin by looking at the ways in which sexuality is historically and socially positioned, and we will discuss how sexuality is regulated (formally and informally). We will also examine cultural expectations, understandings, and expressions of sexualities.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 WGS 101 or WGS 101H;
Offered: Every year
WGS 303. Popular Culture and the Media.3 Credits.
The course explores popular culture with the purpose of learning about current American life in the context of change. It focuses on the relationship between popular culture, the media, and the broader social, economic, and political environment. Students are encouraged to make deeper connections between popular culture and issues of race, social class, gender, and sexuality in order to understand how inequalities are (re)produced over space and time. Through a semiotic lens, we will study popular media, leisure pursuits, news, entertainment, and material consumption.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, January Term
WGS 304. Sociology of Gender.3 Credits.
This course focuses on how society constructs notions/images of femininity and masculinity and how this influences our lives. Students look at cultural views of language, body and the media, as well as theoretical approaches to understanding the complexities of gender distinctions in our society.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, Spring
WGS 306. Masculinities.3 Credits.
In this course, students examine the organization, maintenance and understandings of popular and historical conceptions of masculinities within the United States. The class explores the norms, values and beliefs that circulate within the realm of masculinities. Additional topics include media, boyhood, work, health, relationships, sexualities, bodies, families and violence. Students develop an understanding of the ways in which gender is a relational concept that takes on meaning through personal relationships and societal constructs.
Prerequisites: Take SO 101 SO 101H SO 225 SO 244 WGS101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every other year
UC: Breadth Elective, University Curriculum Ele
WGS 307. Introduction to Nonprofit Management.3 Credits.
This course connects theory and practice by examining a variety of management techniques utilized in running nonprofit organizations. Course readings, discussions and videos cover strategic planning, writing and fulfilling mission statements, facilitating governance, designing effective fundraising tactics, evaluating programs, managing finances, and legal responsibilities. The course also covers the formation of the nonprofit sector and its differences from the public and for-profit sectors. The class format consists of interactive discussions and applied projects/group work designed to help students understand the nonprofit sector and nonprofit management. Students are strongly encouraged to undertake a volunteer experience with a nonprofit during the semester.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, January and Spring
WGS 308. U.S. Women's History.3 Credits.
This course covers the experience of women in America before 1900. Women's work in the family and community is stressed. Individual research is required.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, All
WGS 309. Women in America: 1920-PRESENT.3 Credits.
This course covers the experience of women from the beginnings of the "jazz age" to the end of the century.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, All
WGS 310. Women in Leadership.3 Credits.
This course examines challenges and opportunities related to women's leadership development. Topics addressed include research on gender and leadership styles, traits, and effectiveness; effects of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination on women's under-representation in leadership; identity and intersectionality of women's leadership; and strategies for systemic change. The course includes discussion, reflection, and guest speakers. This course provides students with an analytic framework to understand the mechanisms that generate gaps in gender equality in positions of power and leadership and explore interventions to close these gaps.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, January and Spring
WGS 311. Diversity in the Media.3 Credits.
This course examines the role of media in the construction of social categories such as gender, race, class and sexual orientation, focusing primarily on the first two. Students learn about the media as one of a number of social institutions including religion, education and family, which influence our understanding of cultural difference. The course presents a variety of perspectives that address diversity in relation to both print and electronic media, emphasizing popular culture. Media diversity issues are analyzed in relation to ownership, representation, audience reception and the media workforce. Junior standing required.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H; or COM 120 and COM 140.
Offered: Every year, Spring
WGS 315. Women Artists.3 Credits.
This art history course focuses on the lives and artwork of women such as Hildegard von Bingen, Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keefe.
Prerequisites: Take AR 102, AR 103, AR 104, AR 105 WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: As needed
WGS 326. Witches and Werewolves in the Early Modern World.3 Credits.
This course explores the general belief in witchcraft and other supernatural creatures in the larger context of religion and culture in the early modern world. Participants examine how belief in the supernatural led to a widespread fear and persecution of individuals deemed witches or other consorts of the devil. Using the groundbreaking work of historians, and the primary documents of the period, this course examines the origins and processes of the witch trials. Since approximately 75 percent of those in Europe accused of witchcraft were women, the course examines how gender, misogyny and scapegoating shaped the persecution and prosecution of the more vulnerable members of premodern society. More broadly, the class examines how Christianity both affirmed and condemned these beliefs and practices and how people used "superstition" to make sense of the world around them.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 328. Gender in the Non-Western World.3 Credits.
This course provides an in-depth examination of critical issues in gender across several parts of the non-western world. We will examine case studies, trends, and developments in the gender histories of Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. In so doing, the course asks students to consider how gender intersects with politics, science, religion, and economy in these diverse locations. The course begins in the late medieval with the royal women of the Mongol Empire in Eastern and Central Asia. We retain our focus on the Turko-Mongol empires as we move into the early modern, and consider Ottoman women in the Middle East, Mughal women in India. As we move into the modern period, we will reflect on the way gender was changed and impacted during the imperial period in India, Egypt and Palestine. Finally, the course will unpack the complicated relationship between gender and nationalism in formerly colonized societies.
Prerequisites: Take one 200-level history course; or WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every Third Year, All
WGS 330. Philosophy and Gender.3 Credits.
Students investigate the notions of sex and gender, along with the debate over social versus biological underpinnings of expressions of masculinity and femininity. The relevance of historical views on sex, gender and relations between the sexes to current patterns and developments are considered. Issues facing men and women, as well as policies and reforms designed to address them are examined. Participants also consider the intersection between sex/gender and race, ethnicity, class and sexual orientation. Finally, students consider the impact of gendered perspectives on contemporary philosophy, especially epistemology, ethics and social and political philosophy. Junior standing (or department approval) required.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101.
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 338. American Literature by Women of Color.3 Credits.
This course presents a study of the diverse literary traditions, themes and narrative strategies employed by non-traditional American women. The ways race, ethnicity and gender affect form, content, language and style of the literature are examined. Writers include: Silko, Erdrich, Morrison, Walker, Angelou, Giovanni, Tan, Kingston, Yamamoto, Cisneros and Viramontes.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 345. Media Users & Audiences.3 Credits.
This course examines popular, institutional and academic perspectives on media audiences in the U.S. and abroad. Central topics include how people choose and interpret media content, how marketers and media producers perceive audiences and how media researchers attempt to understand audiences. The course also considers popular assumptions about media effects on audiences and includes an in-depth analysis of fan cultures. Junior standing required.
Prerequisites: Take EN 102 or EN 103H; and COM 120 WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every other year, Fall
WGS 359. Women's and Gender Studies Elective.3 Credits.
Prerequisites: None
WGS 387. Women and Public Policy.3 Credits.
Students examine the major public policy issues affecting gender relations in the United States today, including: reproductive rights and abortion, labor policy, welfare policy, sexual and domestic violence. Students discover the process by which issues of importance to gender equality have historically emerged on the public agenda, the ways in which policy debate is shaped once an issue becomes a public problem and the competing policy paradigms surrounding these controversial policy issues. Given the possible trauma associated with the topics of the class, students need to use their discretion in signing up to take this class.
Prerequisites: Take PO 131 WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every other year, Spring
WGS 391. Colonizing the Body.4 Credits.
This course takes an in-depth look at the ways in which empire and imperial policies reshaped and reformulated the body of the colonized subject, setting up social categories of difference that corresponded neatly to European imperial notions of biological difference. Using India as a case study, it examines how Indian bodies were "scientifically" classified, categorized and redefined to underscore and perpetuate European political dominance. The course highlights imperial policies that buttressed certain privileged notions of racial, gendered, economic/occupational and anatomical difference.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall
WGS 392. Internship in the Community.3 Credits.
For Women's and Gender Studies minors in their junior or senior year only. Students each complete 120 hours of supervised fieldwork in a community agency along with one hour per week in a seminar. Coursework and seminar content include written and oral reflection focusing on the student's experience and their relationship to the minor. Professional issues, along with academic concepts and theory, are explored in relation to the agency and the community it serves. Students are required to meet with the internship coordinator one semester prior to begin the placement process.
Prerequisites: Take WGS 101 or WGS 101H.
Offered: Every year, Fall and Spring
WGS 395. Feminist Theory and the Body.4 Credits.
This course introduces students to various feminist critiques of the body. Students examine how feminism has re-conceptualized the body, and become familiar with the body's linkages to race, class, sexuality and dis/ability. By studying feminist theory, students investigate how the body has been used as a site of cultural, political, social and biomedical meaning as well as a site of performance, commodification and systemic violence. Students gain an understanding of how bodies are influenced and expressed socially; and therefore, are able to conduct and apply scholarly feminist research that is inclusive of theories of the body. This course is for degree completion students only.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed
WGS 399. Independent Study.3-6 Credits.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed
WGS 450. Black Cinema and Tv.3 Credits.
This course will examine a multitude of histories, theories, and debates surrounding Black film and television production from the early 1970s to the present day and explore "Blackness as a site for collective identity, political empowerment, and radical consciousness" (Sohail Daulatzai, Black Cinema, UCI, 2012) through an intersectional, critical feminist lens. We will begin our course with some key theoretical writings on the material history of race, gender, sexuality, power, and visual media and analyze how Black media artists reproduce, negotiate, and resist structural forms of domination and discrimination. The course will then shift to focus on different genres and film movements led by Black cultural producers to explore their creative visions and reflections on the multiplicity of Black identity and experience in the US. In addition to a deep examination of the course content, students will also pursue a significant research project over the course of the semester that connects their own interests to the course topic.
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year