WMNST 100
(GS;US;IL)
Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (3) Interdisciplinary consideration of the scholarly theories and research pertaining to women's experiences and women's status in contemporary American society.
WMNST 100 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (3)
(GS;US;IL)
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
This is an introductory survey course that fulfills general education requirements in social sciences and international and intercultural competence. The course is also a prerequisite for upper-level women's studies courses. Women's Studies 001 focuses on women's shared and unshared experiences, issues of gender roles and stereotyping, questions related to sex/gender systems, and the different disciplinary approaches to the study of women and gender. The course asks how women's behavior, activities, accomplishments, roles, sexuality and status have been shaped by biological, psychological, sociological, cultural, historical and political determinants, as well as by women's experiences based on their racial, class and sexual identities.
Topics studied may include the history of women's liberation movements, women's experiences in home, work and educational settings, gender roles and stereotyping as influenced by media, culture, education, and other social institutions, health and body image issues, and multiple forms of oppression. The course will focus primarily on the US, but will include information from non-Western cultures as well. Women's Studies 001 is therefore both interdisciplinary (drawing information and readings from history, psychology, sociology, as well as from literature and the natural sciences) and broadly inclusive (addressing at all times the relationship between gender, race, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation).
Depending on location, class meetings may be a mixture of lectures, group discussions, individual and group exercises, films and guest speakers. Assigned readings and class meetings may be designed to help students reassess predominant modes of thought and to give students tools to analyze the interactions of power in our society. Depending upon the location, evaluation methods will include a balanced selection from among short papers, longer research papers, journals, book reviews, quizzes, exams, group assignments or other creative activities.
Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.