WGS.242 - The Latina Experience in Literature, Film and Popular Culture

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Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: TR11-12.30 (1-277) 
 
Explores the rich diversity of Latina and Latino voices and experiences as reflected in various media. Studies cross-cultural expressions of solidarity and examines the Latina experience as it relates to both other women of color and Latino men. Considers how Latinas are represented by mainstream Hollywood and independent filmmakers, and explores the intersections of popular culture and feminism in productions such as music videos and Latina-centered television series. Limited to 30. 
S. E. King
Textbooks (Fall 2016)

WGS.271 - Dilemmas in Biomedical Ethics: Playing God or Doing Good?

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(Same subject as 21A.302[J]) 
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: F2-5 (E53-354) 
 
An introduction to the cross-cultural study of biomedical ethics. Examines moral foundations of the science and practice of western biomedicine through case studies of abortion, contraception, cloning, organ transplantation and other issues. Evaluates challenges that new medical technologies pose to the practice and availability of medical services around the globe, and to cross-cultural ideas of kinship and personhood. Discusses critiques of the biomedical tradition from anthropological, feminist, legal, religious, and cross-cultural theorists. 
E. C. James
Textbooks (Fall 2016)

WGS.301 - Feminist Thought

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(Same subject as 17.007[J], 24.237[J])
(Subject meets with 17.006[J], 24.637[J]) 
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: MW11-12.30 (4-257) 
 
Analyzes theories of gender and politics, especially ideologies of gender and their construction; definitions of public and private spheres; gender issues in citizenship, the development of the welfare state, experiences of war and revolution, class formation, and the politics of sexuality. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research.
S. Haslanger
Textbooks (Fall 2016)

Hard at Work: Film Portrayals of Gender, Social Mobility, and Economic Insecurity in the 1970s

How do we define 1970s America? Is it through watching dancing disco lovers at Studio 54? Is it through hearing Richard Nixon’s resignation speech? Is it through seeing the long lines of cars lining up at gas stations during the oil crisis? This four-film series brings to light issues of gender, economic instability, and social mobility in the United States during that period. Each film provides an insight into the social and cultural America of the 1970s, pulling us through the decade’s insecurities, instabilities, and changes, only to emerge on the other side in a different decade with different views on gender, race, class and society.

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WGS.101 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

HASS-H, CI-H
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: MW3-4.30 (4-145)

Drawing on multiple disciplines - such as literature, history, economics, psychology, philosophy, political science, anthropology, media studies and the arts - to examine cultural assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality. Integrates analysis of current events through student presentations, aiming to increase awareness of contemporary and historical experiences of women, and of the ways sex and gender interact with race, class, nationality, and other social identities. Students are introduced to recent scholarship on gender and its implications for traditional disciplines.

A. Walsh

No textbook information available

WGS.110 Sexual and Gender Identities

HASS-H
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: T EVE (7-10 PM) (66-168)

This course offers an introduction to the history of gender, sex, and sexuality in the modern United States -- from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first. It begins with an overview of historical approaches to the field, emphasizing the changing nature of sexual and gender identities over time. The remainder of the course flows chronologically, tracing the expanding and contracting nature of attempts to control, construct, and contain sexual and gender identities, as well as the efforts of those who worked to resist, reject, and reform institutionalized heterosexuality and mainstream configurations of gendered power.

C. Horan

No textbook information available

WGS.111[J] Gender and Media Studies

(Same subject as CMS.619[J])
HASS-H
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: W EVE (7-10 PM) (56-180)

Examines representations of race, gender, and sexual identity in the media. Considers issues of authorship, spectatorship, and the ways in which various media (film, television, print journalism, advertising) enable, facilitate, and challenge these social constructions in society. Studies the impact of new media and digital media through analysis of gendered and racialized language and embodiment online in blogs and vlogs, avatars, and in the construction of cyberidentities. Provides introduction to feminist approaches to media studies by drawing from work in feminist film theory, cultural studies, gender and politics, and cyberfeminism.

K. Surkan

No textbook information available

WGS.140[J] Race and Identity in American Literature

(Same subject as 21L.504[J])
HASS-H
Prereq: Permission of instructor
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: TR12-1.30 (4-253)

Questions posed by the literature of the Americas about the relationship of race and gender to authorship, audience, culture, ethnicity, and aesthetics. Social conditions and literary histories that shape the politics of identity in American literature. Specific focus varies each term. Previously taught topics include Immigrant Stories, African American Literature, and Asian American Literature. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor if the content differs.

S. Alexandre

No textbook information available

WGS.141[J] International Women's Voices

(Same subject as 21G.022[J], 21L.048[J])
HASS-H, CI-H
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
 Lecture: TR2-3.30 (14E-310)

Introduces students to a variety of fictional works by contemporary women writers. International perspective emphasizes the extent to which each author's work reflects her distinct cultural heritage and to what extent, if any, there is an identifiable female voice that transcends national boundaries. Uses a variety of interpretive perspectives, including sociohistorical, psychoanalytic, and feminist criticism, to examine texts. Authors include Mariama Ba, Isabel Allende, Anita Desai, Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Alifa Riyaat, Yang Jiang, Nawal Al-Saadawi, and Sawako Ariyoshi. Taught in English.

M. Resnick

No textbook information available

WGS.151 Gender, Health, and Society

HASS-S
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: M EVE (7-10 PM) (14E-310)

Draws on different disciplines, conceptual frameworks, and methodological approaches to examine gender in relation to health, including public health practice, epidemiologic research, health policy, and clinical application. Discusses a variety of health-related issues that illustrate global, international, domestic, and historical perspectives. Considers other social determinants of health as well, including social class and race. Limited to 35.

B. Charlton

Textbooks (Spring 2016)

WGS.172[J] For Love and Money: Rethinking the Family

(Same subject as 21A.111[J])
HASS-S
Prereq: None
Units: 3-0-9
Lecture: TR1-2.30 (56-180)

Cross-cultural case studies introduce students to the anthropological study of the social institutions and symbolic meanings of family, gender, and sexuality. Investigates the different forms families and households take and considers their social, emotional, and economic dynamics. Analyzes how various expectations for, and experiences of, family life are rooted in or challenged by particular conceptions of gender and sexuality. Addresses questions surrounding what it means to be a "man" or a "woman," as well as a family member, in different social contexts.

H. Paxson

No textbook information available