Spring 2016
Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Courses
WGSS 1104: Feminisms and the Arts
Instructor: Terri Smith
Mondays
3:35 to 6:05 PM
This class is an interdisciplinary exploration of the work of women artists in drama, the visual arts, music, literature, and/or film.
Key issues of feminist criticism in the arts are discussed.
This class meets General Education Content Areas 1 and 4
WGSS 1105 Gender and Sexuality in Everyday Life
Instructor: Ingrid Semaan
Tues/Thurs
2:00 to 3:15 PM
How gender, sex, and sexuality are woven into systems of difference and stratification that shape everyday life. Examines these
processes in the family, education, work, and politics with sensitivity to the diversity of individual experiences across class, racial
ethnic groups, cultures, and regions. We will explore these topics through films, readings, and class discussions.
This class meets General Education Content Areas 2 and 4
WGSS 1121/HIST 1203 Women in History
Instructor: Carol Avery
Mondays
6:20 to 8:50 PM
This course examines the experiences of American women during the 20th century. It focuses on major social and political
changes that have impacted the lives of American women in all economic classes and various ethnic backgrounds. Specific topics
include the suffrage movement, immigration, urbanization, and the second wave women's movement.
This class meets General Education Content Areas 1 and 4
HIST 3562 History of Women and Gender in the United States, 1850-Present
Instructor: Mary Cygan
Mondays
6:20 to 8:50 PM
This course examines the lives of women in the United States from 1790 to the end of the twentieth century. We will consider the
lives of well-known women such as Catharine Beecher, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger and Rosa Parks as
well as changes in the daily lives of unknown women. We will discuss the experiences of pioneer farmers, wartime construction
workers, prostitutes, nurses, nuns, lawyers, physicians, social workers and domestic servants. We will ask what women from
different races, classes, sexual identities, religions, and ethnicities have in common and what has divided them. Political activism
to expand women's rights will be an important topic as well as changing ideas of women's work, femininity, sexuality,
motherhood, and marriage.
WGSS 3998 Subject to Debate: Issues in Contemporary Feminism
Instructor: Rhea Hirshman
Wednesdays
3:35 to 6:05 PM
“I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is,” wrote British author and suffragist Rebecca West.
“I know only that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.”
While a core belief in women’s equality and advancement generally underlies feminist thinking, many issues are the subject of
lively debate within feminist circles. In this course, we will be considering “what feminism is” with an in-depth look at some of
those issues. Is pornography inherently bad for women? Does fostering equality always require treating women and men exactly
the same? Does sex work always degrade women or can it be empowering? Can a pro-life person call herself a feminist? Are
women in positions of power obligated to help other women? And so on. There will be lots of reading, lots of discussions, and a
moderate amount of writing.
Recommended Preparation: Completion of another WGSS course.
SOCI 3453: Women and Health
Instructor: Ingrid Semaan
Tues/Thurs
3:30 to 4:45 PM
This course begins with the premise that health outcomes are shaped by the intersection of gender, race, and class inequalities.
We will look at research that focuses on three additional themes: a critique of the biomedical model, a critique of the emphasis on
technology in medical fields, and a critique of the profit motive in health care. We will focus on women's health in several
specific areas including reproductive health, mental health, eating “disorders,” and body size.
WGSS 3268/ COMM 3450 Gender and Communication
Instructor: Vida Samuel
Tues/Thurs
9:30 to 10:45 AM
Differences in male/female communication, and an examination of cultural assumptions regarding gender in the communication
process. Critically analyze the theory, politics and practice of communication and gender.
SOCI 3601W: Sociology of Gender
Instructor: Laura Bunyan
Tues/Thurs
9:30 to 10:45 AM
This course explores processes contributing to social construction of gender; examines the theories used to explain the system of
inequality in the United States with particular attention to the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class; and
evaluates how men and women are differentially constituted in the family, in education, work, politics, and language.
Note: This course is a W course
SOCI 3601: Sociology of Gender
Instructor: Laura Bunyan
Tues/Thurs
12:30 to 1:45 PM
This course explores processes contributing to social construction of gender; examines the theories used to explain the system of
inequality in the United States with particular attention to the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class; and
evaluates how men and women are differentially constituted in the family, in education, work, politics, and language.
ENGL 3509 Virginia Woolf
Instructor: Morgne Cramer
Thursdays
5:30 to 8:00 PM
This course focuses on the life and work of Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) in historical and biographical context. Virginia Woolf is
an icon for modernism and often acclaimed the most brilliant stylist of her generation. Our focus on Woolf's historical context
will account for the influence of early twentieth century suffragette and other feminist movements on her life and work; our focus
on biographical context will include reading selections by her closest friends, the Bloomsbury group. The Bloomsbury Group
was composed of artists, intellectuals, and political theorists who transformed early twentieth century aesthetics, life styles, and
social norms. Woolf described the Bloomsbury Group as a "society of equals, enjoying each other's foibles, criticizing each
other's characters, and questioning everything with complete freedom." We will aim for close readings of few works so that
students will learn to read with understanding and precision one of the most renowned experimentalists in the English language.
Works include Room of One's Own, Mrs. Dalloway, Jacob's Room, The Waves, and Between the Acts.
HDFS 3042 Baseball in Society: Politics, Economics, Race, and Gender
Instructor: Michael M. Ego
Fridays
10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Baseball serves as a mirror of American culture over time, reflecting the nation’s strengths and weaknesses, it accomplishments
and failures. In general terms, American history, political power, economic justice, racial justice, gender discrimination,
individual development, globalization and more will be covered through the lens of baseball. More specifically, the class will
focus on the ongoing conflicts between individualism and collectivism labor and management, masculinity and feminism, urban
and pastoral, white and non-white, rich and poor, young and old, gay and straight, and internationalism and xenophobia.
*** You need just 5 WGSS classes for the minor in WGSS (one can be at the 1000 level).
Contact Ingrid.Semaan@uconn.edu for more information***