Fall 2020

he Women’s and Gender Studies Program offers students the opportunity to examine gender issues across disciplines and to study the contributions and experiences of women in different historical periods and cultures.

WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIESThis course is designed as a forum on gender. We will frame our discussions as a series of questions: What is a “woman”? What is a “man”? How does our culture represent femininities, masculinities and other gender expressions, and how is this evident in pop culture? How do issues of race, class, sexuality and intersectional identities shape our ideas about gender? How do we go beyond cultural expectations of women and men and their roles in society? Our aim will be to consider and discuss as many diverse points of view about gender and its intersections as possible, whether we find ourselves in agreement or not. Course fee: $25

Denise Witzig WGS 001-01 MWF 9:15-10:20

PSYCHOLOGY: HUMAN SEXUALITIESA review of the empirical evidence on human sexuality, with a focus on historical and cultural perspectives as well as the physiological and sociological basis for sexual behavior and sexual identity.

Jose Feito WGS 157-01 MWF 10:30-11:35

COMMUNICATION: ADVERTISING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENTThe goal of the course is to help you achieve a deep level of knowledge about the function of advertising and its impact on culture, identity and society. We will examine a variety of critical texts methods in order to understand such impact on aspects including race, class, and gender. Course fee: $50

Samantha Joyce WGS 116-01 T/TH 9:45-11:20

POLITICS: WOMEN, POLITICS AND THE LAWThis course focuses on how law and politics intersect to influence women’s issues. We ask, for example, do the interests of Black, Brown and White women coincide or conflict? Why did women only get the vote in 1920? Is there a women’s position on abortion? Will the ERA make a difference? How do women’s issues relate to other issues of sexuality and gender? The course teaches practical aspects of the law and the court system in a supportive environment and methodology that students can adapt for a variety of fields. Course fee: $15.00

Melinda Thomas WGS 109-02 MWF 11:45-12:50

PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDERA critical review of the theory and research on gender from the biological, psychological and sociological perspectives. The course explores the social construction of gender and how it impacts human development and social behavior. Throughout the course, the interaction between gender and the complexities of race, culture and sexual orientation is considered.

Jose Feito WGS 147-01 MWF 9:15-10:20

POLITICS: THEORIES OF JUSTICEPhilosophers have debated the meaning of justice since the fifth century B.C. This class will enter into that conversation by way of some of the classic texts in the history of political theory as well as more recent writings. We will examine topics such as group justice, gender justice, cultural justice, inter-generational justice and global justice. Not open to freshmen.

Patrizia Longo WGS 115-01 T/TH 9:45-11:20

POLITICS: FOOD POLITICSThis course will look at the global food system focusing on world hunger and the environment; we will also look at how sexism informs the preparation and consumption of food and how racism and power relations affect workers throughout the industry. The course includes CBR (25 hours of field work) with The Urban Farmers in Lafayette. This is a 1.25 unit course. Course fee: $30

Patrizia Longo WGS 126-01/127 T/TH 11:30-1:05

ENGLISH: TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATUREIn this survey course we will read a broad range of American literary works from the twentieth century. We will start at the beginning of the century with Willa Cather’s novel My Antonia, and selections from Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery and WEB DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk. We will examine the impact of the two world wars on the American consciousness and explore American Modernism including readings by authors in the Harlem Renaissance and the Beat Generation. Throughout the course will examine competing notions of American myth, place and memory and explore how voices from the margins, including women and minority authors, have altered our sense of American identity.

Molly Metherd WGS 152-01 MWF 9:15-10:20

ETHNIC STUDIES: CRITICAL RACE THEORYThis course discusses Critical Race Theory (CRT) as an analytical framework that accounts for the role of race and racism across contexts and social positions (gender, sexuality, religion, and others) and that works toward identifying and challenging racism within institutional contexts.

David Quijada WGS 101-01 MF 1:00-2:40

THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES: GENDER AND RELIGION IN AMERICAN CULTUREThis course focuses on the relationship between gender and religion in North American history and culture, and the ways that religions construct and deconstruct gender norms. We will use historical and contemporary case studies to examine the way that notions of femininity and masculinity have played a role in the religious lives of Americans. Course fee: $30

Marie Pagliarini WGS 171-01 T/TH 8:00-9:35 WGS 171-02 T/TH 9:45-11:20

WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES: ENGAGING COMMUNITIES: WOMEN IN 2020 – GENDER AND THE ELECTIONThis course will explore how gender, patriarchy, and misogyny impact the 2020 election. Exploring women’s activism since the 2016 campaign, the Women’s March, #METOO movement, media, pop culture, the campaigns, and policy proposals, this class will analyze the challenges and opportunities for women this election season. As a CE class, students will participate in voter registration, work on voter turnout, and host a series of campus educational events on policies impacting women. Course fee: $25

Monica Fitzgerald WGS 126-01 MW 4:00-5:35

PERFORMING ARTS: DANCE HISTORY IIDance History II is an investigation of two series of questions: What is the history of dance—specifically ballet and modern dance—in the Western world? How did modern dance emerge from ballet at the turn of the century (19th to 20th)? What role did women play in the development of these two forms of dance? How did modern dance and ballet both reflect and shape the cultures in which they were created, simultaneously shaping those cultures? Course fee: $100

Rosana Barragan WGS 183-01 TBD

ENGLISH: AT THE EDGE OF THE EMPIRE – COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL ANGLOPHONE LITERATUREEnglish often assumes the shape of a single global “English,” but how to account for the multiplicity of literatures written in a variety of Englishes? In this course, we will examine texts written in many Englishes to understand how “Anglophone” becomes a category in response to colonial and postcolonial realities through the lens of race and gender. Who are the women and men writing from the edges of the British Empire, and how do they inhabit a different “English”? We will read novels, poems, plays, and short stories by Toru Dutt, Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee, Chinua Achebe, and Arundhati Roy. Course fee: $10

Sunayani Bhattacharya WGS 163-01 T/TH 1:15-2:50

SOCIOLOGY: GENDER & SOCIETYWhile sex differences are biological, gender encompasses the traits that society assigns to and inculcates in males and females. This course studies the latter: the interplay between gender and society. It takes an inclusive perspective, with a focus on men and women in different cultural contexts defined by ethnic group membership, sexuality and socioeconomic status.

Nicole M. Brown WGS 125-01 T/TH 1:15-2:50

HISTORY: THE DRUG TRADE, THE WAR ON DRUGS, AND US-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONSThis course will explore how the drug trade, particularly cocaine,

shaped U.S.-Latin American relations throughout the twentieth century, with a special emphasis on “the war on drugs” and its results, including the impact of such commerce and drug policies on women in Colombia and Mexico.

Myrna Santiago WGS 154-01 MW 4:00-5:35

BIOLOGY: BIOLOGY OF WOMENThis course will address the unique aspects of female development, anatomy, physiology, health, and disease. It will explore the biology of the female body and brain, as well as known differences between the sexes. We will examine various topics through a scientific lens including sexuality, attraction, sex, love, ovarian reserve and reproductive lifespan, menopause, the effects of stress, and various diseases and health risks surrounding the female throughout the life cycle. Hands-on lab topics include basic female and male anatomy, nutritional analysis, stress tests, electrocardiogram tests, blood chemistry, cholesterol lipid profiles, breast self-exam, cancer, reproductive health and contraception, and pregnancy and childbirth. Course fee: $185

Sonya Schuh WGS 088 MWF 11:45-12:50 WGS 089 Lab M 1:15-4:15