SPRING 2011 WOMEN’S STUDIES COURSES
If you have any questions about the particular courses, please contact the professor.
However, if you have any questions about the Women’s Studies Program or the
minor in Women’s Studies, please contact Karin Breuer, Coordinator of Women’s
Studies, kbreuer@ithaca.edu, 418 Muller Faculty Center, 274-1489.
ARTH 24300-01 GENDER & VISUAL CULTURE
This course examines images of women and men in relation to the concepts of gender,
race, class, and sexuality in a wide variety of media. We will discuss both the history of
art and feminist theory while investigating historical and contemporary representations. A
central goal of the course will be to contextualize representations of femininity and
masculinity within particular historical and cultural formations, to analyze the beliefs and
attitudes held by their creators and shared or resisted by those who viewed them.
ENGL 22000-01, 02 BLACK WOMEN WRITERS
This course will explore the writings of African American women. We will examine the
development of a tradition of black women’s writing through literary texts as well as
supplemental materials, addressing topics of black feminism, black women’s organizing,
and gender theory. Our readings will encompass everything from early 20th century
magazine novels to contemporary street fiction. Writers to be studied will likely include:
Toni Morrison, Toni Cade Bambara, Audre Lorde, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ntozake Shange,
Pauline Hopkins, Anna Julia Cooper, Alice Walker, and Zane.
ENGL 35100-01 GIRLHOODS IN LITERATURE
This course will look at the emerging and changing image of girlhoods from the 18th to
the 21st century as it is reflected primarily in the texts written for an audience of young
girls—in children’s books, young adult literature, and some canonical literature with
strong female characters. We will be looking at the texts to gain an understanding of the
evolution of children’s literature and to consider the extent to which these iconic images
of girlhood reflect the ways in which the roles of women changed over the three
centuries. Possible texts might include: Goody Two Shoes, Little Women, Eloise, Pippi
Longstocking, Ramona, Harriet the Spy, Speak, and The Hunger Games. Prerequisites
are three courses in the humanities and sophomore standing.
ENGL 39000-01 ST: FASHION & FICTION IN THE 20TH C
This course explores the connections between fashion and fiction in the first half of the
twentieth century. Central questions for the class include: how do art and dress reinforce
or challenge ideas of gender, sexuality, race, and everyday life? What is the role and
significance of “style” in fashion and fiction? How do we understand the relationships
amongst modern literature, visual, and material culture? The syllabus includes readings
on the history and theory of fashion; novels and poetry by Henry James, D.H. Lawrence,
Virginia Woolf, Mina Loy, Jessie Fauset, and others; and the art of avant-garde
movements, including surrealism and futurism. Prerequisites include 9 credits in
literature or permission of the instructor.
ENGL 48300-01 FEMINIST SCIENCE FICTION
This class applies feminist theory to a wide variety of science fiction texts. Students
should be prepared to read challenging works of theory and to do a substantial amount of
reading for each class. There is a mandatory public-speaking component involving giving
a professional-level presentation at a regional academic conference. Prerequisites are
either English 214 or 215 and junior or senior standing.
HIST 26940-01 HONORS INTERMEDIATE SEMINAR: THE POWER AND
FATE OF REPUBLICS IN EARLY AMERICA
In this course (which is based on the Reacting to the Past pedagogy) you will examine the
experience of Americans from the time of first permanent settlement by English colonists
in 1607 to the American Revolution (1770s). You will learn not only the basic data of
early American history but also to express that knowledge in written and oral argument
that employs evidence to prove historical theses. Most importantly, you will immerse
yourself in primary source documents and play historically accurate roles in order to
comprehend the complexities of Puritan life and thought in Massachusetts through the
trial of Anne Hutchinson and of revolutionary America in New York City, 1775-76. You
will be assigned different roles derived from each historical setting. Your roles are
defined largely by the "game objectives." However, you will write (literally) your own
scripts, derived from important texts in the history of ideas. The heart of each game is
persuasion. For nearly every role to which you're assigned, you must persuade others that
"your" views make more sense than those of your opponents. Priority preference to
honors students, but others welcome with instructor’s permission.
JWST 32300-01 GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN JUDAISM
Is God male or female? Can women become rabbis? Are there gay and lesbian Jews?
What do Jews think about birth control and abortion? Why are husband and wife
supposed to avoid sexual relations during the woman’s menstrual period? Why do boys
have to be circumcised on the eighth day? This course explores what it means to be a
Jewish man or woman, and looks at how Jewish gender roles have changed throughout
history, as well as how contemporary Jews deal with changes in women’s roles and
demands for gender equality. We will begin with a short introduction to Judaism and then
discuss specific issues in greater depth: what is “gender” and how to study it; traditional
roles of men and women in Judaism; the gendered Jewish body; family and sexuality;
homosexuality; Jewish feminism; the gender of God; and changing women’s religious
roles. This course is cross-listed with RLST-32300. Students may not receive credit for
both RLST-32300 and JWST-32300. Prerequisites are three courses in the humanities or
social sciences.
MUNM 25600: WOMEN IN POPULAR MUSIC: FROM BESSIE SMITH TO
MTV
An examination of the lives and contributions of women in popular American music of
the 20th century, focusing on their role in society as well as the challenges they have
faced in developing their professional and personal lives, raising issues relevant to both
men and women. The development of American popular culture is viewed in the context
of its political climate and in terms of its roots in African American music, country and
western music, and the music of American musical theater. The course focuses on the
women practitioners in the genres of blues, gospel, country, and folk music, musical
theater, rock, and contemporary pop music. The music is examined in detail, and
listening and analytical skills are developed. This course is designed for non-music
majors, with no musical background necessary, and gender and racial issues raised are
relevant both to men and women. This course may be used as a music elective for the
bachelor of music degree or as a liberal arts elective for the bachelor of arts in music
degree. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. 3 credits
POLT 14100-01 POWER: RACE, SEX AND CLASS
We will deal with the distribution of power in the U.S. according to economic class, sex,
and race hierarchies. We discuss what power is, where it comes from, where it is located.
This involves the analysis of power in terms of issues of capitalism, globalism,
patriarchy, and racism, as well as the specific issues they raise for policy making,
persons, the family, and corporate power. The analysis will hopefully help us understand
the relations of power defining black working class women, white male workers, white
middle class women, etc. The premise of the course is that in order to understand
capitalist society one must understand the racialized aspects of sexuality as a form of
power, as well as the sexualized aspects of race. Some specific topics discussed are: the
present global and national economic crisis; changing aspects of the nation-state;
Bush/Cheney’s wars of/on terror; the Gulf Wars 1991-2010; the Chilean 1973 Coup;
Obama’s politics of hope; the changing realities of the middle/working class; the global
racialized sexual division of labor; the rise of China in the global market; the continued
aftermath of the O.J. Simpson trial, and so on.
POLT 40400-01 TUTORIAL: URGENT ARTICULATIONS: NEWEST SEXES,
GENDERS, AND RACES
THE COURSE ASKS YOU TO THINK DEEPLY ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE AND
THE WAY YOU SEE IT. I ASK YOU TO THEORIZE about A NOTION OF
PRESENCE AND ABSENCE IN TERMS OF QUERIES ABOUT COLOR AND
RACE, SEX AND GENDER, COLONIALISM AND THE WEST, AND SO ON. The
end goal is to think more fluidly and inclusively about our power-filled lives when we
start with the interrogation of the body/bodies. I will ask you to denaturalize and
denormalize the usual renderings of the body and to find the newest-new way of seeing
sex, class, race, and gender in this present historical moment. The course is exploratory
and evolving. Prerequisites include junior or senior status.
PSYC 26100-01 PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN
This course is designed to introduce students to contemporary psychological research and
feminist theories on a variety of topics related to girls and women’s lives, including the
social construction of sex and gender; gender similarities and differences; the racialized
gender socialization of girls; puberty and adolescence, friendships, sexuality, intimate
relationships, work, parenting, mental health, and violence against women. Throughout,
attention will be paid to differences among women and the impact of class, culture,
race/ethnicity, and sexual preference in their lives. Critical to a consideration of each of
these topics is an understanding of the social and cultural contexts in which psychological
development takes place, specifically the gender and racial inequality still pervasive
across the globe. We will consider the causes, consequences, and changing face of such
inequalities in the lives of girls and women today. The course will also include daily
integration of contemporary news related to issues of gender and feminism around the
world, as well as a focus on feminist movements and strategies for social change.
Prerequisites include sophomore standing and PSYC 10300 or PSYC 10400.
SOCI 24600-01, 02 SELECTED TOPICS: GENDER, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND
GLOBAL CHANGE
This course explores the interconnections between gender relations and human relations
with the environment. We study the histories and contemporary realities of patriarchy,
colonialism, capitalist development, globalization, and environmental crises. Authors
include historians, ecologists, feminists, and social and environmental activists. Special
focus is on US and international case studies of social movements that propose
alternatives to current gender hierarchies and environmental degradation, including
feminist, indigenous, and environmental justice movements. The prerequisite is one
social science course.
SOCI 31600-01 WOMEN AND HEALTH: FROM HYSTERIA TO CYBERMOMS
This course will foster awareness of the political, social, cultural and environmental
factors that influence the social construction of women’s health and illness. Particular
women’s health concerns will be highlighted by the analysis of women as patients, health
care providers, and lay and alternative healers. The course will critically examine and
evaluate particular health policies, as well as legal and ethical issues pertaining to
women’s health. There will be an emphasis on the disparities of health care provision as
it affects disadvantaged and vulnerable women in the U.S. Included is an examination of
the women's health care movement and women’s health advocacy within a historical,
political, social and feminist framework. Prerequisites are three courses in the social
sciences.
SPMM-29800-01: GENDER ISSUES IN SPORT
This course is designed to focus on the central role gender plays in the formulation of
understandings and expectations individuals entertain about sport in American culture.
An overview of selected psycho-social, historical, and philosophical issues that shape the
nature and scope of men's and women's participation in sport and physical activity will be
presented. Particular emphasis will be placed on the social construction of gender in a
predominant male value system and how female and male sport experience is defined and
constrained by that system.
WMST 10000-01, 02 INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S STUDIES
In this introductory course, designed for students with an interest in Women's Studies,
students will focus primarily on women's issues and experiences in contemporary U.S.
culture, with attention to the experiences of women in cultures outside of the U.S.
Beginning with the idea that "women" is not a monolithic category, the course includes
an exploration of issues of race, class, and gender as they have impacted and continue to
impact women. Topics may include: an introduction to feminism/s; an overview of
contemporary feminist theories and the social construction of sex and gender; women's
narratives; women's history, including the history of women's resistance and activism;
and contemporary issues of importance to women, including: sexuality, physiology, body
image, reproduction, motherhood, politics, and legal issues including sexual and domestic
violence, reproductive rights, and medical issues.