GWST Courses, Spring 2009

GWST COURSES

GWST 101 INTRODUCTION TO GENDER AND WOMEN'S STUDIES (HM, HML) (4)

This course introduces students to a broad range of concepts and issues in gender and women's studies. It also serves as a practical and theoretical foundation for further courses in the Gender and Women's Studies program. It uses gender as an analytical method and explores how race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation influence the construction of gender identity. Although containing these common elements, this course's main focus will vary according to the particular instructor's design. Course limited to first-year & sophomores. If you are a GWST major or minor and unable to enroll in this course because it is full, please contact Meg Lewis, Director of GWST.

12066 01A 246 1:00pm-2:10pm QUAD-252 Mercedes, A

GWST 270/370 READINGS IN GENDER STUDIES (0-1)

Section 01A Lewis, M

Class time is arranged with those enrolled. May be repeated. Offered for S/U grading only.

GWST 290A MEN'S STUDIES RESEARCH (2-4)

In addition to men's studies content and research methodology, students participate in three ongoing research projects in the SJU men's center: a small group social norms study of masculinity, a social norms spirituality project, and an international men's stories project. Additional projects may be developed. Class time is arranged with those enrolled. May be repeated.

Section 01A Kellom, G

GWST 360: SPIRITUALITY AND THE COLLEGE MALE (4)

Cross-listed with THEO 334

This course will use the experience of the male athlete as the point of departure for a consideration of the interplay between male sexuality, masculine identity and spirituality, and the ways in which these might be better integrated. This course will examine concepts found in long established and contemporary studies of spirituality, male sexuality, and masculinity. Of special interest will be the ways in which male sexuality, masculine identity and spirituality affect men's relationships with God, self and the other. Underlying this course is the assumption that the development of a personal spirituality will help one to be more attentive to the voice of God, more aware of the meaning of one's own existence, and better able to form communities founded on respect for individual persons.

14154 01A 11:20am-12:30pm QUAD-361 Schipper, W

PHIL 368A APPROACH/GENDER THEORY (HM,HMU, GN) (4)

Cross-listed with GWST 380

Approaches to Gender Theory provides an overview of contemporary theoretical perspectives on gender studies, including feminist theory, gender theory, GLBT/queer theory, and theory of men’s studies. Students will be required to critically examine these diverse theoretical approaches to gender studies and to analyze key disputes within the field. Students of philosophy will learn how contemporary philosophers have contributed to the field of gender studies, often by utilizing resources within the philosophical tradition. GWST students will develop a framework that will allow them to identify, examine, and see the relations among the diverse theoretical approaches to gender studies encountered in GWST courses.

14428 01A 246 2:40pm-3:50pm HAB-120 Keller, J

CROSS-LISTED COURSES

COMM 351: GENDER & COMMUNICATION (SSU, GN) (4)

Examines the impact of socialization on gender roles and the influence of gender roles on communication. Looks at the communication behaviors of women and men in same sex and mixed sex contexts. Introduces students to current theories of gender communication. Examines the function of communication in gender role development. Topics may include language, perception, nonverbal cues, communicative style, gender in intimate contexts, gender in public contexts and gender in the media.

11993 01A 135 8:00 am-9:10 am Cook, J

ECON 316: ASIAN ECONOMIES (GN) (4)

The course addresses the rise to significance of the Asian-Pacific region in the world economy. It examines the rise of the Asia-Pacific as an important economic, cultural, and geopolitical region. This region of the world is typified by a delicate balance between governments and business interests, which accounts for their diverse development trajectories. Moreover, this relationship is not static but dynamic, reacting and evolving with changes in internal and external circumstances. This course in Asian Economies will concentrate primarily on the post World War II growth performance of the countries in East and Southeast Asia; also known as the “Asian Tigers.” It will study how these countries transformed themselves from peasant societies into industrial powerhouses and how they have continued to achieve growth rates several times higher than the advance nations of the West over a period of time. Using basic tools of economic theory, three themes are going to be addressed. First, the different paths of development are analyzed within their regional and international contexts. Second, the relationships between the USA and some of the key countries, such as Japan, South Korea, and China are explored. Finally, the rise to significance of this region in the global economy is examined. PREREQUISITE: ECON 111 or permission of instructor.

13890 01A 135 1:00pm-2:10pm MAIN-323 Mukherjee, S

ENGL 381: LITERATURE BY WOMEN: THE TRADITIONS IN ENGLISH (GN) (4)

In spite of the many ways in which women writers have been silenced throughout history, they have produced a diverse and challenging body of poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and memoirs. In this course we will barely sample that rich array, limiting ourselves to women who wrote or are writing in English. But I hope that our reading of literature by women from all traditions will continue long past the end of the semester.

We will begin with a historical overview of women’s writing in the United States and Great Britain and the social, religious, political, and aesthetic environments out of which it came. We will then move on to an intensive study of several novels, clusters of poems by single authors, and several nonfiction texts. Along the way, we will examine several feminist approaches to literature, reading essays by leading feminist critics. While all of these critical texts are encompassed by the general term feminist criticism, they are as diverse and as challenging as the literature itself.

This course will, I hope, help you develop your ability to read intelligently and sympathetically, to question underlying assumptions shaped by gender, race, and class ( both your own assumptions and those of the writers and critics), and to speak and write clearly about what you’ve read. Class sessions will include discussions, short lectures, student presentations, media presentations, and speakers.

13901 01A 246 9:40am-10:50am BAC A109 Faulkner, M

HIST 333 GENDER AND SOCIETY IN WESTERN EUROPE (HM, HMU, GN) (4)

This course examines the images, roles and experiences of women in Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution, and how these changed over time. While the focus will be on women, we will be studying the historical construction of both male and female gender roles. Students will consider how gender can alter and deepen our understanding of the social, economic, political, religious, and cultural developments in medieval and early Modern Europe. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Renaissance and Reformation period. Topics to be considered include: ideas about gender in medieval and early modern society; family, marriage, and sexuality; women, work and culture; women, religion, and authority; women on the margins of society; women, politics and power.

14439 01A 135 11:20am-12:30pm BAC-A107 Wengler, E

HIST 361 AMERICAN WOMEN TO 1920 (HM,HMU, GN) (4)

“Men their rights and nothing more; women their rights and nothing less,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote in her aptly titled paper, The Revolution. How did Victorian society produce such radical sentiments? Women’s history from the mid-eighteenth century to the vote in 1920 charts not only astonishing oppression but extraordinary activism. This course has two aims: first, to explain how and why women’s rights changed during this period; and, second, to explore the tremendous variety of women’s experience: the range of images (from Eve to saintly mother); their diverse economic, political, and social roles; and the differences stemming from class and race.

A majority of this course’s readings will be primary sources by women of this period, so that they can speak for themselves.  Possible readings are Anzia Yezierska’s The Bread-Givers, a novel of Jewish immigrant life; Sherna Berger Gluck, From Parlor to Prison (interviews with former suffragists); Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland: a Lost Feminist Utopian Novel. Class requirements emphasize active participation in discussion and three essays. There are no in class exams.

14441 01A 135 9:40am-10:50am BAC-A109 Tomhave Blauvelt, M

HIST 364 AMERICAN RELIGIOUS CULTURE (HM,HMU, GN, JC) (4)

Cross-listed with THEO 313

Mormons to Muslims, immigrant Catholics to Fundamentalists, African Methodist Episcopal to Zen, American popular religion is a sea of competing faiths, providing more variety and more intense religious commitment than any other Western nation in the world. This course is not a history of church structure or theology, but an analysis of the changing cultural meaning and experience of popular religion in America. We will consider why American religious experience has been so diverse and passionate; how spirituality has shaped our society and vice versa; how our concept of the family of God reflects and shapes changes in American families, the role of religion in combating oppression; and the current role of religion in politics. The primary focus of the course is the twentieth century.

This is an interactive course which emphasizes discussion; students will not only read about diverse popular religions but will have an opportunity to visit and give a presentation on a religious service outside their own faith, such as an African-American Baptist service, a Buddhist meditation session or a Latin Catholic Mass.

Possible readings are Robert Orsi, The Madonna of 115^th Street; Faith of Community in Italian Harlem, Wade Clark Roof, A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation, James Cone, Martin and Malcolm, a comparison of the liberation theologies of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam.

13916 01A 135 11:20am-12:30pm BAC-A109 Tomhave Blauvelt, M

HONR 350L READING BIBLICAL WOMEN (HM,HMU) (4)

Cross-listed with HONR 340H

An exploration of the Bible as sacred text, cultural document and literary masterpiece, with special attention to the women of scripture. In addition to close readings of texts such as Genesis, Exodus, The Song of Songs, the Gospels and Revelation, class members will become acquainted with a range of techniques of biblical and literary analysis, from historical and textual criticism to mysticism and feminist theory. In the final unit of the course, students will explore, as interpreters and creators, artistic responses to scripture (the study or creation of translation, stained -glass, theatre, poetry, mystical writings, prose fiction, etc., based on the biblical text).

14451 01A T 6:00pm-9:00pm QUAD-261 Erickson, K

MCLT 223: JUMPTING THE TRACK: GENDER, STRUCTURE & FAIRY TALES (4)

This course is taught in English and cross-listed with GWST. Students acknowledge the universality of fairy tale motifs and critically explore how the narrative structure of fairy tales reflects social and cultural roles with which listeners are expected to identify. Students compare Northern European (19th-century German/Scandinavian) folk tales and literary fairy tales to selected tales from other sources or cultures (Greek myth, Asian, Tanzanian, Native American) and analyze the role gender plays in the selection, collection, revision, and adaptation of fairy tales for the current book market and film industry. After exploring in depth the differences between the folk tale and the literary fairy tale, students contribute their own sample of the writing style of literary fairy tales. By charting the traditional paradigms for the social roles and tasks for fairy tale heroes and heroines, students learn to recognize role-switching and subversive strategies, and then analyze the intent and tools used in fairy tales revisions (“Fractured Fairy Tales,” “Politically Correct Bedtime Tales”). Some students may qualify for the creative option to write their own fairy tale —one for the 21st century! Students compare and analyze various critical approaches to the interpretation of fairy tales (anthropological, psychological, sociological, biographical and feminist), and discuss the reception of tales in different eras or countries. Selected films based on fairy tales are assigned for viewing outside of class. The instructor’s permission is required for students applying for the German Option.

14559 01A 135 2:40 pm-3:50 pm HAB-015 Ohm, L

PHED 320 GENDER & SPORT (2)

This course will examine the role gender played and continues to play in shaping sport in our society. Issues and events will be examined from a historical and social perspective. Prerequisite: Sophomore, Junior or Senior standing. Course offered for A-F grading only.

13160 01A CD-135 1:00pm-2:10pm MURRY-001 LaFountaine, J

SOCI 229 INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS (SSL, GN) (4)

This course is designed to explore the influence of formal organizations, demographic change, the economy, the community, gender and religion on people’s choices of friends and partners. We consider the important changes throughout history in people’s reasons for marrying and society’s perceptions of the functions and value of marriage. In particular, students will learn that the decisions people make concerning their intimate relationships are not simply individual decisions, but depend to a great extent on social forces and social institutions. Other topics explored in this course include the effects of gender on intimate relationships, the meaning of sex, developing relationships, the stages of dating, mate selection, cohabitation, types of love, and many others. The approach to these topics is historical as well as contemporary. In addition, we employ sociological theory to provide frameworks through which to view these issues objectively.Open to 1st & 2nd Year Students only

14518 01A 135 1:00pm-2:10pm SIMNS-G40 Hope, J

SOCI 329 FAMILY & SOCIETY (SSU) (4)

In this class students will be introduced to the various terms, concepts and theoretical perspectives used in studying the family. Students will explore the family as a SOCIAL institution, recognizing the diversity of families around the world and in various cultures. The course places particular emphasis on the history, current challenges, and future directions of the family in United States. It also examines how societal perspectives on gender impact interactions and roles within the family. It requires that students examine how families are influenced and shaped by social forces such as the economy, politics, and religion. In the course of the semester it should become increasingly clear that while many of us regard the family as a major source of personal satisfaction, the family is indeed a public institution and as such the quality of our experience of family is determined in large part by social forces.

14519 01A 135 11:20am-12:30pm SIMNS-360 Nelson, S