WGSS - Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGSS115 Gender, Race and Computing (3 Credits)
Race and gender have shaped computing from its earliest histories to contemporary debates over bias in search algorithms, surveillance, and AI. As computational processes shape ever more dimensions of everyday life from the personal to the global scale, understanding how they operate and how power operates within them grows ever more important. Combating racism and sexism is not as simple as ensuring the pool of programmers and engineers is more diverse; structures of power are embedded in digital technologies as they are in all aspects of our society, and we must learn to perceive their operation if we hope to transform them. We will examine how racism and sexism operate in the field of computer science and in everyday uses of digital technologies, while studying how feminist and racial justice movements have created alternative approaches. This class is for anyone who wishes to better understand the relationships between digital technology, structural power, and social justice.
Cross-listed with: CMSC115.
Restriction: Must not have taken CMSC216 or higher.
WGSS200 Introduction to WGSS: Gender, Power, and Society (3 Credits)
Examines constructions of race, class, sexuality, ability, and gender relations from a social science multi-disciplinary perspective. The course interrogates the ways that systems of hierarchy and privilege are created, enforced, and intersect through the language of race, class, sexuality, and national belonging. The course will provide students with the skills to examine how systems of power manifest in areas such as poverty, division of labor, health disparities, policing, violence. In addition to examining the impact of systems of power, students will reflect on their own location within the exercise of racialized, and gendered power relations. This course encourages students to understand and critique these systems both personally and politically.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST200 or WGSS200.
Formerly: WMST200.
WGSS210 Love, Labor, and Citizenship: Women in America to 1880 (3 Credits)
An examination of the economic, family, and political roles of colonial slave, immigrant and frontier women in America from the pre-industrial colonial period through the early stages of 19th-century industrialization and urbanization.
Cross-listed with: HIST210.
Credit Only Granted for: HIST210, WMST210 or WGSS210.
Formerly: WMST210.
WGSS211 Women in America Since 1880 (3 Credits)
An examination of women's changing roles in working class and middle class families, the effects of industrialization on women's economic activities and status, and women's involvement in political and social struggles, including those for women's rights, birth control, and civil rights.
Cross-listed with: HIST211.
Credit Only Granted for: HIST211, WMST211 or WGSS211.
Formerly: WMST211.
WGSS212 Women in Western Europe 1750-Present (3 Credits)
An analysis of the economic, family, and political roles of European women from 1750 to the present. The effects of industrialization on women's work and status, the demographic parameters of women's lives, and women's participation in political events from market riots to suffrage struggles.
Cross-listed with: HIST212.
Credit Only Granted for: HIST212, WMST212 or WGSS212.
Formerly: WMST212.
WGSS230 Introduction to Humanities, Health, and Medicine (3 Credits)
An overview of the historical, cultural, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of medicine, human health, disease, and death from the points of view of various humanistic disciplines.
Cross-listed with: ARHU230, ENGL254, HIST219N.
Restriction: Permission of ARHU-English Department.
Credit Only Granted for: ARHU230 , ENGL289C, ENGL254, ARHU298A, HIST219N, or WGSS230.
WGSS250 Introduction to WGSS: Art and Culture (3 Credits)
Provides students with a critical introduction to the ways that art and art activism have served as a conduit to understanding and challenging systems of inequity and practices of normativity. Interrogating the categories of gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, the course will provide students with an examination of how artists have responded to pressing social justice issues of their eras. While the course centers visual art, students will also engage genres such as music, plays, literature, digital and performance art as arenas of social change.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST250 or WGSS250.
Formerly: WMST250.
WGSS255 Reading Women Writing (3 Credits)
Explores literary and cultural expressions by women and their receptions within a range of historical periods and genres. Topics such as what does a woman need in order to write, what role does gender play in the production, consumption, and interpretation of texts, and to what extent do women comprise a distinct literary subculture. Interpretation of texts will be guided by feminist and gender theory, ways of reading that have emerged as important to literary studies over the last four decades.
Cross-listed with: ENGL250.
Credit Only Granted for: ENGL250, WMST255 or WGSS255.
Formerly: WMST255.
WGSS263 Introduction to Black Women's Studies (3 Credits)
Interdisciplinary exploration of Black women, culture and society in the United States. Drawn primarily from the social sciences and history with complementary material from literature and the arts.
Cross-listed with: AASP263.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST263, AASP298I, WGSS263 or AASP263.
Formerly: WMST263.
WGSS264 Quare/Queer Contentions: Exploration of Sexualities in the Black Community (3 Credits)
Centering the subjectivities of queer people of color generally and more specifically, Black people (as the word "quare" invites us to do), Quare/Queer Contentions takes up key moments within the history of the Black community and asks us to consider the work and presence of LGBTQ people in these moments. The course also contends with the everyday experiences of LGBTQ subjects in the Black community. Quare/Queer Contentions, therefore, interrogates the material realities of Black queer people in the context of family, religion, cultural/creative work, among others. Interdisciplinary in orientation, the course will employ primary and secondary texts, film, art, autobiographical narratives and policy data.
Cross-listed with: LGBT264, AASP264.
Credit Only Granted for: LGBT264, AASP264, WMST264 or WGSS264.
WGSS265 Constructions of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community (3 Credits)
Investigates the ways that African Americans are represented and constructed in public and private spheres and explores the social constructions and representations of Black manhood and womanhood from various disciplinary perspectives.
Cross-listed with: AASP265.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST265, AASP298B, WGSS265 or AASP265.
Formerly: WMST265.
WGSS267 Introduction to Black Women's Cultural Studies (3 Credits)
An introduction to black women's cultural production and to an understanding of how the social norms and ideals about women within black communities and in the larger society have shaped black women's own self-perceptions and behaviors and thus their cultural production.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST267 or WGSS267.
Formerly: WMST267.
WGSS269 Special Topics in Study Abroad II (1-6 Credits)
Special topics course taken as part of an approved study abroad program.
Repeatable to: 15 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST269.
WGSS271 Monsters and Racism: Black Horror and Speculative Fiction (3 Credits)
The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism.
Cross-listed with: AAAS271, ENGL289J.
Credit Only Granted for: AAAS271, ENGL289J, HONR299Y, HNUH238W, WGSS271 or WGSS298W.
Formerly: HNUH238W.
WGSS275 World Literature by Women (3 Credits)
Comparative study of selected works by women writers of several countries, exploring points of intersection and divergence in women's literary representations.
Cross-listed with: CMLT275.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST275, CMLT275 or WGSS275.
Formerly: WMST275.
WGSS280 Gender and Science in Film and Media (3 Credits)
Isaac Azimov once said of science fiction that it is the genre that "deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology." With this definition in mind, we will embark on a critical exploration of sci-fi film and other media, using it as a lens for analyzing society's deepest fears and most furtive hopes. Our investigation will center on the liminal space between hegemonic culture and its prescribed excesses. These liminal spaces--between self and other, disability and enhancement, cultural hybridization, and gender crossing--shift in response to real-world sociopolitical tensions. We will consider feminist and anti-racist media scholars' concerns over representation, authorship and ideology alongside questions of technological change. Students will use analytical and creative assignments to explore not only how the scientific imaginary serves as fertile ground for feminist, disability, and anti-racist critique, but also provides a locus for alternative futures.
WGSS290 Bodies in Contention (3 Credits)
Explores the contributions of feminist scholarship in framing and resolving contemporary controversies concerning gendered bodies. It includes the ways in which knowledge about the human body has been shaped by cultural ideas of gender, race, sexuality and ability.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST298D or WGSS290.
Formerly: WMST298D.
WGSS291 Racialized Gender and Rebel Media (3 Credits)
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of women's studies and an exploration of the ways in which media has been used as a platform for racial justice, feminist activism, and cultural transformation, with a principal focus on the expressions of women of color. The goals of the course are to explore how different forms of media shape the stories which circulate about race, femininities, masculinities, ethnicities, sexualities, religiosity, power and difference, and to examine how various media formats been used to disrupt dominant stories, to tell new stories, and to create differing understandings of citizenship.
Credit Only Granted for: WGSS291 or WMST298N.
Formerly: WMST298N.
WGSS298 Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)
Thematic exploration of a topic in women, gender, and sexuality studies.
Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST298.
WGSS298L History of Sexuality in America (3 Credits)
Explores the social construction of sexualities from the first colonial settlement to the modern era in the United States. Analyzes the implications of these understandings for power relations in U.S history.
Cross-listed with: HIST213.
WGSS298N The Politics of Sexuality in America: A Historical Approach (3 Credits)
Why do particular issues about sexuality hold such an important place in American political debates? What animates these controversies and what can a historical perspective on these issues add to our understanding of modern sexual politics? This class explores the historical sexual politics that undergird contemporary debates concerning sexuality in America. It focuses on topics that garner significant public attention - Reproductive rights - LGBTQ rights - Sexting - and explores the histories that undergird Americans disagreements.
Cross-listed with: HIST289N.
WGSS298W Monsters and Racism: Black Horror and Speculative Fiction (3 Credits)
The previous decade has been considered a renaissance for Black Horror. From Get Out to Lovecraft Country, the genre has enjoyed unprecedented mainstream media buzz and accolades. This course looks at contemporary Black horror and speculative fiction as cultural texts which put into question our notions of human(e) and inhuman(e) through critiques of white supremacy and accompanying oppressions. Students will learn a host of critical skills through close reading and analysis of literature and film by Black creators such as Jordan Peele, Misha Green, Toni Morrison, Jewelle Gomez, and Octavia Butler. With the ability to interpret cultural texts using literary criticism, film analysis, history, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist theory, and the social sciences, students will connect these texts to continuing historical and contemporary issues of racial and cultural oppression such as medical discrimination, policing and criminalization, misogynoir, and racialized capitalism.
Cross-listed with: HNUH238W.
Credit Only Granted for: HONR299Y, HNUH238W, or WGSS298W.
Formerly: HONR299Y.
WGSS301 Introduction to Research in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies (3 Credits)
Primarily a research skills-building course, focusing especially on interdisciplinary approaches to research. Encompasses basic library skills, conceptualizing a research question. The course is not designed to teach a specific research method but rather to as an introduction to a range of research methods commonly employed in feminist, critical race, and queer studies with some opportunity to begin to apply them. Considers the ethical dilemmas and political implications embedded in research projects.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Must be enrolled in a Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST301 or WGSS301.
Formerly: WMST301.
WGSS302 Feminist, Critical Race, and Queer Theories (3 Credits)
Introduces students to some of the major concepts in feminist, critical race, and queer theories. It examines the questions: What is theory? What forms does theory take? What is the relationship between theory and practice? What is the role of theory in political and social action? In art? In personal life? What does it mean to do theory?
Prerequisite: 6 credits in LGBT, WMST, WGSS or courses that are cross-listed with these.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST302, WGSS302 or WMST400.
Formerly: WMST302.
WGSS310 Transgender Studies (3 Credits)
Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of transgender studies, providing a history of the field and engaging current debates within it. Students will explore the emergence and consolidation of trans identities, practices, cultures, and knowledges across medical, historical, sociological, cultural, and artistic contexts, paying particular attention to dynamics of race, class, and ability, to global and transnational difference, and to the implications of transgender studies for understanding gender and sexuality overall.
Cross-listed with: LGBT310.
WGSS314 Black Women in United States History (3 Credits)
Black American women's history from slavery to the present. Focused on gaining a fuller understanding of the effect of race, class and gender on the life cycles and multiple roles of Black women as mothers, daughters, wives, workers and social-change agents.
Cross-listed with: AASP313.
Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher.
Credit Only Granted for: AASP313, WMST314 or WGSS314.
Formerly: WMST314.
WGSS315 Intro to Fat Studies: Fatness, Blackness and Their Intersections (3 Credits)
Examines fatness as an area of human difference subject to privilege and discrimination that intersects with other systems of oppression based on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and ability. Though we will look at fatness as intersectional, this course will particularly highlight the relationship between fatness and Blackness. We approach this area of study through an interdisciplinary humanities and social-science lens which emphasizes fatness as a social justice issue. The course closes with an examination of fat liberation as liberation for all bodies with a particular emphasis on performing arts and activism as a vehicle for liberation and challenging fatmisia.
WGSS319 Workshops in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies (3 Credits)
Topics will change each semester but all workshops will be designed to have students think transdisciplinarily and interdisciplinarily about a specific topic or issue and to understand how differing approaches shape knowledge. Assignments within the workshops are aimed at students developing their skills in forms of presentation beyond the written essay, e.g. oral argument, digital or creative projects. Collaborative work must be central to all workshop courses; these collaborative activities do not preclude the possibility of individual research/writing assignments but the Workshops should emphasize conversation, debate, collaboration, and critique more so than the individually authored essay.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST319.
WGSS320 Women in Classical Antiquity (3 Credits)
A study of women's image and reality in ancient Greek and Roman societies through an examination of literary, linguistic, historical, legal, and artistic evidence; special emphasis in women's role in the family, views of female sexuality, and the place of women in creative art. Readings in primary sources in translation and modern critical writings.
Cross-listed with: CLAS320, HIST328W.
Credit Only Granted for: CLAS320, WMST320, WGSS320 or HIST328W.
WGSS325 The Sociology of Gender (3 Credits)
Institutional bases of gender roles and gender inequality, cultural perspectives on gender, gender socialization, feminism, and gender-role change. Emphasis on contemporary American society.
Prerequisite: 3 credits in SOCY courses.
Cross-listed with: SOCY325.
Credit Only Granted for: SOCY325, WMST325 or WGSS325.
Formerly: WMST325.
WGSS326 Biology of Reproduction (3 Credits)
The biology of the reproductive system with emphasis on mammals and, in particular, on human reproduction. Hormone actions, sperm production, ovulation, sexual differentiation, sexual behavior, contraception, pregnancy, lactation, maternal behavior and menopause.
Prerequisite: BSCI170 and BSCI171; or BSCI105; or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; or permission of CMNS-Biological Sciences UG Program.
Cross-listed with: BSCI342.
Credit Only Granted for: BSCI342, WMST326 or WGSS326.
Formerly: WMST326.
WGSS336 Psychology of Women (3 Credits)
A study of the biology, life span development, socialization, personality, mental health, and special issues of women.
Prerequisite: PSYC100.
Cross-listed with: PSYC336.
Credit Only Granted for: PSYC336, WMST336 or WGSS 336.
Formerly: WMST336.
WGSS348 Literary Works by Women (3 Credits)
The context, form, style and meaning of literary works by women.
Prerequisite: Must have completed at least one lower-level English literature course and one other lower-level English course; or Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Cross-listed with: ENGL348.
Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST348.
WGSS358 Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship (3 Credits)
Students work under the supervision of a faculty mentor to assist with an undergraduate LGBT or WGSS course while also becoming conversant in feminist, critical race, and queer pedagogical debates and approaches.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits.
Formerly: WMST358.
WGSS360 Caribbean Women (3 Credits)
An interdisciplinary analysis of the lives and experiences of women across the Caribbean region, through an examination of their roles in individual, national, social and cultural formations. Special emphasis on contemporary women's issues and organizations.
Cross-listed with: AASP361.
Credit Only Granted for: WGSS360, WMST360 or AASP361.
Formerly: WMST360.
WGSS368 Undergraduate WGSS Internship (3-6 Credits)
Undergraduate Internship in a position related to women, gender, and sexuality studies and overseen by a member of the WGSS faculty.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and must have Learning Proposal approved by WGSS Academic Advisor; and junior standing or higher.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST386 and WMST368.
WGSS369 Special Topics in Study Abroad III (1-6 Credits)
Special topics course taken as part of an approved study abroad program.
Repeatable to: 15 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST369.
WGSS370 Black Feminist Thought (3 Credits)
Examines the ideas, words and actions of Black women writers, speakers, artists, and activists in the United States.
Prerequisite: 1 course in AASP; or 1 course in WGSS.
Cross-listed with: AASP371.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST370, WGSS370 or AASP371.
Formerly: WMST370.
WGSS378 Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Assistantship (1-3 Credits)
The Undergraduate Research Assistant provides an opportunity to develop a deep understanding of specific research methods and topics while involving the student in a professional role that requires ethical responsibility. The precise syllabus for the URA will be personalized to the student's interests and abilities, as well as to the specific research project and the Faculty Mentor's expectations. The student will meet with the Faculty Mentor prior to enrolling for a URA in order to determine the responsibilities and learning goals for the semester.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST378.
WGSS379 Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)
Thematic exploration of a topic in women, gender, and sexuality studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST379.
WGSS408 Literature by Women Before 1800 (3 Credits)
Selected writings by women in the medieval and early modern era.
Prerequisite: Must have completed two English courses in literature; or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Cross-listed with: ENGL408.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST408.
WGSS410 Women of the African Diaspora (3 Credits)
Explores the lives, experiences, and cultures of women of Africa and the African diaspora--African-America, the Caribbean, and Afro-Latin America. A variety of resources and materials will be used providing a distinctive interdisciplinary perspective.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST410 or WGSS410.
Formerly: WMST410.
WGSS420 Asian American Women: The Social Construction of Gender (3 Credits)
Examines the intersection of gender, race and class as it relates to Asian American women in the United States; how institutionalized cultural and social statuses of gender, race, ethnicity and social class produce and reproduce inequality with implications for Asian Americans and the broader society.
Cross-listed with: AAST420.
Restriction: Must not have completed WMST420.
WGSS425 Gender Roles and Social Institutions (3 Credits)
Relationship between gender roles and the structure of one or more social institutions (e.g., the economy, the family, the political system, religion, education). The incorporation of gender roles into social institutions; perpetuation or transformation of sex roles by social institutions; how changing gender roles affect social institutions.
Credit Only Granted for: SOCY425, WMST425 or WGSS425.
Formerly: WMST425.
WGSS428 Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)
Thematic exploration of a topic in women, gender, and sexuality studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST428.
WGSS444 Feminist Critical Theory (3 Credits)
Issues in contemporary feminist thought that have particular relevance to textual studies, such as theories of language, literature, culture, interpretation, and identity.
Prerequisite: WMST200, WGSS200, WMST250, WGSS250, or ENGL250.
Cross-listed with: ENGL444.
Credit Only Granted for: ENGL444, WMST444 or WGSS444.
Formerly: WMST444.
WGSS448 Literature by Women of Color (3 Credits)
Literature by women of color in the United States, Britain, and in colonial and post-colonial countries.
Prerequisite: Must complete two English courses in literature; or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Cross-listed with: ENGL448.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST448.
WGSS452 Women in the Media (3 Credits)
Participation and portrayal of women in the mass media from colonial to contemporary times.
Cross-listed with: JOUR452.
Credit Only Granted for: JOUR452, WMST452 or WGSS452.
Formerly: WMST 452.
WGSS454 Women in Africa (3 Credits)
The place of women in African societies: the role and function of families; institutions such as marriage, birthing, and child rearing; ritual markers in women's lives; women in the workplace; women's associates; women's health issues; measures designed to control women's behavior; women and development.
Credit Only Granted for: HIST494, WMST454 or WGSS454.
Formerly: WMST454.
WGSS455 Women in Medieval Culture and Society (3 Credits)
Medieval women's identity and cultural roles: the condition, rank and rights of medieval women; their access to power; a study of women's writings and the constraints of social constructs upon the female authorial voice; and contemporary assumptions about women.
Cross-listed with: HIST495.
Credit Only Granted for: HIST495, WMST455 or WGSS455.
Formerly: WMST455.
WGSS456 Women and Society in the Middle East (3 Credits)
Examines the customs, values and institutions that have shaped women's experience in the Middle East in the past and in the contemporary Middle East.
Recommended: Prior coursework in Middle East studies or gender studies.
Cross-listed with: HIST492.
Credit Only Granted for: HIST492, WMST456 or WGSS456.
Formerly: WMST456.
WGSS457 Redefining Gender in the U.S., 1880-1935 (3 Credits)
Exploring changing perceptions of gender in the U.S., 1880-1935, and the impact of those changes on the day to day lives of men and women.
Credit Only Granted for: WGSS457 or WMST457.
Formerly: WMST457.
WGSS458 Literature by Women After 1800 (3 Credits)
Selected writings by women after 1800.
Prerequisite: Must have completed two English courses in literature; or permission of Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Cross-listed with: ENGL458.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST458.
WGSS468 Feminist Cultural Studies (3 Credits)
Each version of this course focuses on one or several forms of popular culture -- such as TV, music, film, cyber-culture, or genre fiction (for example, science fiction) -- and demonstrates how feminists value, critique and explain such forms. Tools of feminist cultural studies include economic and social analyses of power, race, sexuality, gender, class, nationality, religion, technology, and globalization processes.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST468.
WGSS469 Study Abroad Special Topics IV (1-6 Credits)
Special topics course taken as part of an approved study abroad program.
Repeatable to: 15 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST469.
WGSS471 Women's Health (3 Credits)
The women's health movement from the perspective of consumerism and feminism. The physician-patient relationship in the gynecological and other medical settings. The gynecological exam, gynecological problems, contraception, abortion, pregnancy, breast and cervical cancer and surgical procedures. Psychological aspects of gynecological concerns.
Cross-listed with: HLTH471.
Restriction: Must be in a program in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; or must be in a major within SPHL-Behavioral & Community Health department.
Credit Only Granted for: HLTH471, WMST471, or WGSS471..
Formerly: WMST471.
WGSS486 Advanced Feminist, Critical Race, and Queer Theories (3 Credits)
Provides undergraduates with a survey of foundational texts in the intersecting fields of feminist, critical race, and queer studies, as well as an overview of current scholarship in order to give students an opportunity to understand the origins and the development of these fields. This course is especially recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate education. Our discussions will be focused on the trajectories of these intellectual conversations as they have developed in the academy.
Prerequisite: WMST301 or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
WGSS487 Advanced Research Seminar in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies (3 Credits)
A research seminar that allows students to focus their developed skills on a single topic of their own choosing while meeting regularly in seminar to discuss, critique, support, and learn from their peers' projects and assessments. Students choose a topic based on their own interests and prior coursework, perform advanced research appropriate to the question, and formulate an appropriate method of presentation of their research findings. The culminating presentation may take the form of a written paper or a creative, digital, or activist project.
Prerequisite: WMST300 or WGSS301; and WMST400 or WGSS302.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST487 or WGSS487.
Formerly: WMST487.
WGSS488 Senior Seminar (3 Credits)
Seminar for advanced majors in women's studies or other students with appropriate preparation. Interdisciplinary topics will vary each semester.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST488.
WGSS489 Individual Research in Gender, Race and Queer Studies (3 Credits)
Allows students who wish to continue the research they began in WMST487 or WGSS487 to do so under the guidance of an individual faculty mentor. Each student taking this class will develop an individual syllabus based on the project on which they are working, with the goal of developing a work of scholarship specific to their interests that can serve as an entry point for graduate study or professional work.
Prerequisite: WMST487 or WGSS487.
Repeatable to: 9 credits.
WGSS491 Judaism and the Construction of Gender (3 Credits)
The study of Jewish culture, religious practice, communal authority, and literature through the frame of such critical categories of analysis as gender, sexuality, masculinity, power, ethics, and the feminine.
Prerequisite: 1 course in JWST; or 1 course in LGBT; or 1 course in WMST or WGSS.
Cross-listed with: JWST491.
Credit Only Granted for: JWST491, WMST491 or WGSS491.
Formerly: WMST491.
WGSS492 Sex, Gender, and Jewish Identity (3 Credits)
An exploration of Jewish embodiment, including dynamics related to biological sex, culturally-framed gender, and sexuality. Topics of discussion may include transgender and intersex Jews, stereotypes and gender performance, modesty, genetics, and body alteration. Focus is on contemporary Jewish culture, framed within the larger historical and textual tradition.
Prerequisite: 1 course in WGSS; or 1 course in JWST; or 1 course in LGBT; or permission of instructor.
Cross-listed with: JWST492, LGBT448W.
Credit Only Granted for: JWST492, JWST409G, LGBT448W, WMST498W or WGSS492.
Formerly: WMST498W and JWST409G.
WGSS496 African-American Women Filmmakers (3 Credits)
Examines the cinematic artistry of African-American women filmmakers and the ways in which these films address the dual and inseparable roles of race and gender.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST496 or WGSS496.
Formerly: WMST496.
WGSS497 Professional Development (1 Credit)
To assist students in thinking about the next step post-undergraduate degree and to think long term about the importance of their WMST degree in lifelong career, personal, and political development. This course will provide students an opportunity to reflect upon where they are going beyond the B.A. and develop ways to communicate how their coursework and experiences at UMD have prepared them for the next step. The course will focus on the practicalities of resume writing, internship or job searches, etc. but also on the specific challenges/opportunities of translating interdisciplinary training to professional internship or beyond-the B.A. sites. Students may take this course in preparation for their internship (working to select an appropriate internship that can translate well to post-undergraduate aspirations) or they may take it post-internship as they determine their post-graduation steps.
Prerequisite: 12 credits in LGBT, WMST or WGSS courses.
Restriction: Must have completed a minimum of 75 credits.
Credit Only Granted for: WMST497 or WGSS497.
Formerly: WMST497.
WGSS498 Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)
Advanced study of a thematic topic in women, gender, and sexuality studies.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST498.
WGSS498D Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in the Islamic World (3 Credits)
WGSS499 Independent Study (1-3 Credits)
Research and writing or specific readings on a topic selected by the student and supervised by a faculty member of the Women's Studies Department.
Prerequisite: 1 course in WMST or WGSS.
Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.
Formerly: WMST499.