College of Liberal Arts

WOMEN’S STUDIES COURSES  Spring ‘10

Women’s Studies Program    BRNG 6164    www.cla.purdue.edu/womens-studies

ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME!

WOST 28000-1   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  8:30-9:20        H. Lewis                               BRNG B255

WOST 28000-2   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  9:30-10:20     E. Cornelius Smith            BRNG B255

WOST 28000-3   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  11:30-12:20   K. Unruh                              BRNG B255

WOST 28000-4   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  12:30-1:20     A. Lozano                            BRNG B255

WOST 28000-5   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  1:30-2:20        T. Bayindir                           BRNG B255

WOST 28000-6   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF 3:30-4:20         C. McKenzie                       BRNG B255

WOST 28000-7   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh  9:00-10:15         C. Cooky (C Konrad)        BRNG B222

WOST 28000-8   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh  3:00-4:15           A. Decker (M Null)           BRNG B222

WOST 28000-9   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh  4:30-5:45           V. Moghadam (M Buehler)BRNG B242

*WOST 28000 is recommended both as an overview for those generally interested in gender and women's issues, and as a foundational course for those committed to more advanced women's studies.  Though the content will vary in specific sections, 28000 will always focus on the intersection of gender with factors such as race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and nationality in U.S. and global contexts.  Readings will be interdisciplinary as well as poly-disciplinary, drawing upon such CLA disciplines as literature, history, sociology, psychology, political science, communication and the arts.  Possible topics:  feminism; contemporary and older forms of patriarchy; gender, class, race and sexuality in the home, the workplace, the academy, and the media; language and culture; body image; diversity and differences among women; violence against women; women's movements, and women in politics.

WOST 28100  Topics in Gender Studies  Feminist Approaches to Bio-Ethics

(P. Boling  TTh 10:30-11:45  BRNG B255)

This course explores contentious issues related to bodies and ethics from feminist points of view.  Issues include matters related to reproduction (abortion, abortion funding, mandatory use of contraceptives, forced strerilization, in vitro fertilization and other reproductive technologies, surrogacy arrangements, cloning), body modification surgeries (e.g., various forms of plastic surgery, such as tummy tucks and breast reductions or enhancements; stomach stapling, genital mutilation, and sex change operations), stem cell research, and treatment of pregnant women who drink alcohol or use drugs (e.g., servers’ refusal to serve drinks, drug treatment programs, crack mother arrests, etc.).  We will explore social constructions of beauty, notions of reproductive autonomy and different groups’ ability to utilize them (straight, gay, lesbian, poor, wealthy, white, non-white), religious, philosophical, feminist, and multi-cultural framings, and analyses that attend to social and political power.

WOST 38000  Gender and Multiculturalism    (380-1  J. Freeman Marshall  TTh 1:30-2:45  BRNG B255)

This course introduces students to a broad range of issues raised by the multicultural diversity of women's lives and experiences.  It presents the voices of women from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds in the U.S. and other parts of the world to examine how race, class, sexuality, and culture interact in shaping society.  Content will vary in each section.

WOST 38200  History of Love and Marriage  (M. David  TTh 12:00-1:15  BRNG B242)

WOST 48000/H  Feminist Theory  (L. Graham  MWF 10:30-11:20  BRNG B255)

This course provides an overview of feminist theory.  It is divided into three general areas: (1) Feminist Definitions and movements, (2) Intersecting Identities, and (3) Feminist agency and politics.

WOST 49200  Internship  (Staff  Hours arranged)

WOST 68100  Contemporary Isues in Feminist Scholarship: Where the keys were lost: Feminism, Power, and Nonviolence  (B.Carroll  W 6:00-8:50  BRNG B242) cross-listed POL 69300 and AMST 65000

In the search for keys to the eradication of war and pervasive violence, feminist theorists and activists have challenged prevailing ideas, practices, and institutions, proposing alternative conceptions and forms of power, nonviolent resistance, and creative action.  As Hannah Arendt wrote: “It is only after one ceases to reduce public affairs to the business of dominion that the original data in the realm of human affairs will appear, or rather, reappear, in their authentic diversity” (On Violence, 1972).

Related to the issue of power is the relationship between “theory” and “practice,” or intellect and action.  Women’s direct action has had a much more extensive history and  greater impact than has been generally recognized, but even when noted, the theoretical components of women’s movements and women’s activism have most often gone unexamined. In the 21^st century, feminist deconstructions of the so-called “wars on terrorism” and feminist action against the resurgence of patriarchal systems are of central importance in understanding the dynamics of contemporary society and shaping the future.

The class will be conducted with emphasis on discussion, critical analysis of readings, critical viewing of selected films and videos, and sharing of information on bibliography and internet sources. Students are expected to be active participants in class discussion and to take initiative in helping to shape the course structure and content.

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WOMEN’S STUDIES COURSES  Fall ‘09

Women’s Studies Program    BRNG 6164    www.cla.purdue.edu/womens-studies

ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME!

 

WOST 28000-1   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  8:30-9:20       
E. Cornelis                          BRNG B254

WOST 28000-2   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  9:30-10:20    
K. Unruh                              BRNG 1260

WOST 28000-3   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  11:30-12:20  
T. Bayindir                          REC 121

WOST 28000-4   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  12:30-1:20    
A. Lozano                            BRNG B254

WOST 28000-5   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   MWF  1:30-2:20       
J. Freeman Marshall       BRNG 1260

WOST 28000-6   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh 3:00-4:15       
C. Cooky                              UNIV 203

WOST 28000-7   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh  1:30-2:45          
C. Konrad                            BRNG B254

WOST 28000-8   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh  12:00-1:15        
A. Decker                            BRNG 2275

WOST 28000-9   Introduction to Women’s Studies*   TTh  9:00-10:15        
M. Null                                 BRNG B254

 *WOST 28000 is recommended both as an overview for those generally interested in gender and women's issues, and as a foundational course for those committed to more advanced women's studies.  Though the content will vary in specific sections, 28000 will always focus on the intersection of gender with factors such as race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and nationality in U.S. and global contexts.  Readings will be interdisciplinary as well as poly-disciplinary, drawing upon such CLA disciplines as literature, history, sociology, psychology, political science, communication and the arts.  Possible topics:  feminism; contemporary and older forms of patriarchy; gender, class, race and sexuality in the home, the workplace, the academy, and the media; language and culture; body image; diversity and differences among women; violence against women; women's movements, and women in politics.

 

WOST 38000  Gender and Multiculturalism    
(380-1  M. David  MWF 3:30-4:20  BRNG B254
380-02  M. Buehler  TTh 1:30-2:45  BRNG B255)

This course introduces students to a broad range of issues raised by the multicultural diversity of women's lives and experiences.  It presents the voices of women from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds in the U.S. and other parts of the world to examine how race, class, sexuality, and culture interact in shaping society.  Content will vary in each section.

WOST 38100  U.S. Women of Color  (P. Schweickart  MWF 2:30-3:20  KRAN G007)

We will read poetry and fiction by US women of color, and we will view films that focus on their experiences and perspectives.  We will explore the intersections of gender, race and ethnicity, and we will focus on the ways that race and ethnicity shape concerns about body image, sexuality, motherhood, family relations, personal and social aspirations, and politics.

WOST 38300  Women and Work  (L. Graham  TTh 3:00-4:15  UNIV 301)

Women and Work will examine race, class and gender issues as they affect working women in America.  Issues from domestic labor, factory work, women in management to women's participation in labor unions will be discussed.  The purpose of this course is to examine from an historical perspective research and theorizing of gender issues and work organizations in the U.S.  At the same time we will examine the nature of women’s participation as trade unionists in their quest for better working conditions.

WOST 48000  Feminist Theory  (L. Graham  TTh 10:30-11:45  ME 118)

This course provides an overview of feminist theory.  It is divided into three general areas: (1) Feminist Definitions and movements, (2) Intersecting Identities, and (3) Feminist agency and politics.

WOST 49200  Internship  (Staff  Hours arranged)

WOST 68000  Feminist Theories and Methods 
(P. Boling  W 4:30-7:20  BRNG 1260) cross-listed POL 651

The unifying theme of this course is embodied experience, knowledge, and thinking.  We will read broadly from texts dealing with women’s and men’s bodies, modes of disciplining the body (diet, exercise, cosmetic surgery, images of beauty), differences along axes of gender, class, race and sexual orientation, issues related to motherhood, standpoint theory, work, demands for gender equality, social constructions of gender, gender as performance, and third world feminism.  There is also significant attention to research design, feminist methods and methodologies, and pedagogy; if there is a “slant” to all this, it is through the social sciences and political theory, reflecting my background as a political scientist, but I endeavor to be mindful of the variety of backgrounds from which students come to this course and inclusive in theoretical and methodological approaches.

 Courses Related to Women’s Studies  Fall ‘09

Anth 60900/62000  Seminar in Anthropology: Self, Identity and Agency 
(E Blackwood  TTh 9:00-10:15  STON 217)

This course explores the relation of individuals to society from an anthropological perspective, asking how individual actions and identities are constructed within a particular social reality.  Questions of structure and agency, self and subjectivity are important to understanding how individual subjects operate within a cultural milieu. To what extent do cultural actors have agency in the actions that they take?  How are subjects able to resist, elude or transform social conditions?  We will explore these questions and the possibilities of multiple subject positions, disidentifications, and mestiza consciousness.

CLCS 23700  Gender and Sexuality in Greek and Roman Antiquity 
(A. Syson  MWF 1:30-2:20  ME 156)

What does it mean to be called a woman or a man?  How do perceptions  of gender and sexual behavior shape a person’s political identity?   We’ll see how classical Greeks and Romans asked and answered questions such as these in their literature, and we’ll think about why those ancient problems matter for us now.  We shall focus especially on the theme of transformation, looking both at individual transformations and at changes within society.  How are changes resisted or enabled?  This course will develop your analytical skills by demanding attentive reading and thoughtful writing. You will practice reading with precision.  Our emphasis will be on the drama, oratory and philosophy of classical Athenian democracy (5th/4th centuries b.c.e.).  We shall also look, for comparison, at some very different political structures in late republican/Augustan Rome (1st century b.c.e/early 1st century c.e.).  Readings will include works by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Cicero, and Livy, as well as modern scholars David Halperin, Marilyn Skinner and Joan Scott.  All readings are in English; classes will involve both lecture and discussion.  To take this course you don’t need to have any previous familiarity either with theories of gender and sexuality or with Greek and Roman culture.

SOC 60900  Gender, Family, and the Law
(E. Hoffmann  W 6:00-8:50 p.m. STON 217)

This graduate seminar will address a wide range of topics at the intersection of Gender, Family, and the Law.  Topics will include sex discrimination & sexual harassment, gay marriage, uses of the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), women/mothers &  corrections, legal constructions of parenthood, and custody issues.