WGS 2100 Intro to Gender & Sexuality Studies

Bonnie Hagerman

An introduction to gender and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) studies, including the fields of women’s studies, feminist studies, & masculinity studies. Students will examine historical movements, theoretical issues, & contemporary debates, especially as they pertain to issues of inequality & to the intersection of gender, race, class, sexuality, & nationalism. Emphasis will vary according to the interdisciplinary expertise & research focus of the instructor.

Special Note: Required for all WGS majors and minors, Intro courses do not count toward concentrations.

WGS 2600 Human Sexualities

Lisa Speidel

Examines human sexuality from psychological, biological, behavioral, social, and historical perspectives. Topics include sexual research and theoretical perspectives, sexual anatomy and physiology, sexual health, intimacy, communication, patterns of sexual response and pleasure and sexual problems and therapies. Course will also include examination of the development of sexuality and the intersections of other identities, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexuality and the law, sexual assault, and other social issues in sexuality.

WGS 2650 Streaming Sexualities

Lisa Speidel

This course will examine the portrayal of sex and sexuality in a variety of shows on television streaming platforms through the lens of media studies and intersectional, feminist and queer theory. The analysis will address the ideologies, narratives, values and ethics the shows impart. Topics include: the interdisciplinary meaning and representation of sexual orientation, queerness, sexual health, sexual harm, and notions of joy and pleasure.

WGS 2700 Men and Masculinities

Lisa Speidel

What is understood as "masculine" has varied throughout time as well as across cultural contexts and distinct social groupings, it is equally true that most historical periods, cultures, groups, etc. believe their own understandings of masculinity to be universal. In this course, we will deconstruct this. From this class, you should be able to think critically about where men and masculinity have been, where they are going, and what this might mean more generally for gender relations and gender inequality.

Course Category: Sexuality Concentration

WGS 3100 Intro to WGS Theory

I.F. Gonzales

Explores major debates, key ideas, and historical developments in women, gender, & sexuality theory. Students will gain familiarity with queer, trans, and feminist theory, including Black, Native, socialist, crip, and other approaches. Will consider the different methods that gender & sexuality scholars have used to explain the social world, and why such explanations are vital to WGS. Course emphasizes reading, discussion,and critical writing.

WGS 3125 Transnational Feminism

TBA

This course places women, feminism, and activism in a transnational perspective, and offers students the opportunity to examine how issues considered critical to the field of gender studies are impacting women's lives globally in contemporary national contexts. We will look closely at how violence, economic marginality, intersections of race and gender, and varied strategies for development are affecting women in specific geographical locations.

Course Category: Non-Western Perspectives

WGS 3150 Race & Power in Gender & Sexuality

TBA

Offers a study of race-racialization in relation to gender-sexuality. Consider how the concept of race shapes relationships between gendered selfhood & society, how it informs identity & experiences of the erotic, & how racialized gender & sexuality are created-maintained-monitored. With an interdisciplinary perspective, we will consider how race & power are reproduced & resisted through gender & sexuality, individually-national-international.

WGS 3305 Issues in LGBTQ Studies

Aaron stone

This course is an interdisciplinary analysis of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) Studies. We will study historical events and political, literary and artistic figures and works; contemporary social and political issues; the meaning and development of sexual and gender identities; and different disciplinary definitions of meaning and knowledge.

WGS 3500 RM Course: Queer American History

Doug Meyer

This course develops fundamental skills for critical thinking, researching, writing, and communicating in WGS. Students will learn methods for finding and analyzing sources, approaches to framing arguments, and skills for effective written and oral communication. Seminars are offered on a variety of topics. This class fulfills the Second Writing Requirement and Enhanced Writing Requirement.

Course Category: Second Writing Requirement

WGS 3500 RM Course: Issues and Controversies in Women's Sport

Bonnie Hagerman

This course develops fundamental skills for critical thinking, researching, writing, and communicating in WGS. Students will learn methods for finding and analyzing sources, approaches to framing arguments, and skills for effective written and oral communication. Seminars are offered on a variety of topics. This class fulfills the Second Writing Requirement and Enhance

Course Category: Second Writing Requirement

WGS 3611 Gender and Sexuality in the United States, 1600-1865

Corinne Field

This course explores the significance of gender and sexuality in the territory of the present-day U.S. during the period from the first European settlements to the Civil War.

WGS 3895 Front Lines of Social Change I

Taylor Nichols & Jaronda Miller-Bryant

Provides a comprehensive introduction to the foundational concepts and theories underpinning social change with a focus on gender, equality/equity, and feminist issues. Students will explore the dynamic intersections of gender identity, social norms, power structures, and activism through interdisciplinary lenses including sociology, psychology, history, and critical theory.

WGS 4325 Feminist Disability Politics

Sarah Orsak

This course investigates what and who feminist disability politics encompass. We will explore disability and ableism through their relations to interlocking structures of domination. We will link disability to anti-blackness, capitalism, empire and conquest, carcerality and policing, and cisheteropatriarchy. A major focus includes theories and practices of resistance. Students can develop creative projects alongside scholarly writing.

WGS 4500 Topics Course: Fashion, Freedom and American Feminism

Bonnie Hagerman

WGS 4500 Topics Course: Mass Incarceration

Doug Meyer

WGS 4820 Black Feminist Theory

Lanice Avery

WGS 7500 Topics Course: Black & Indigenous Feminist Survival and Experiment

Tiffany King