Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WMNS)

WMNS 1101. Sex, Gender, and Popular Culture. (4 Hours)

Examines how femininities, masculinities, and different forms of sexual identity are produced and represented within popular culture. Using theories and concepts from both feminist/sexuality studies and popular culture studies, analyzes popular texts and media for their treatment of gender and sexuality and the intersection of those categories with racial and class identities. Explores the visual representation of women (and men) and analyzes how visual and textual media shape our attitudes and identities. Required reading and assignments include close readings of texts, film screenings, class discussions and activities, writing assignments, and creative projects.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 1103. Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. (4 Hours)

Offers an interdisciplinary course introducing key themes in gender and sexuality studies. Offers students an opportunity to learn core concepts that inform our understanding of how gender and sexuality are socially constructed and are experienced in everyday life. Drawing on women’s studies, queer studies, masculinity studies, and allied areas, the course analyzes gender, sexuality, and other dimensions of identity; explores critical issues of gender, sex, and power; and studies gendered/sexed identities in both national and transnational contexts. Topics include the gendered conceptions of love, sexuality, and violence; biological arguments about gender and sexuality; the social construction of sexuality and gender; intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality; masculinities and femininities; theories of sexual difference; gender and the state; and gender and popular culture.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 1104. Goddesses, Witches, Saints, and Sinners: Women and Religion. (4 Hours)

Introduces and examines the theory that Near Eastern and European religions were originally goddess centered through analyses of image, text, and ritual in the ancient world. Explores scholarship about the patriarchalization of these primal religions. Includes a consideration of scripture such as the Hebrew Bible, Greek Testament, and Qu’ran, as well as noncanonical texts.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 1105. Introduction to Trans Studies. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of transgender studies by focusing on the emergence of the field, key concepts, and pivotal debates.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 1225. Gender, Race, and Medicine. (4 Hours)

Examines the basic tenets of “scientific objectivity” and foundational scientific ideas about race, sex, and gender and what these have meant for marginalized groups in society, particularly when they seek medical care. Introduces feminist science theories and contemporary as well as historical examples to trace the evolution of “scientific truth” and its impact on the U.S. cultural landscape. Offers students the opportunity to question assumptions about science and view the scientific process as a site for critical analysis.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity

WMNS 1255. Sociology of the Family. (4 Hours)

Provides a comparative approach to the study of families as social institutions, with particular emphasis on the changing patterns of family life. Introduces questions such as what families need and how the family is affected by other social institutions, political and economic forces, or cultural concerns. Considers how inequality (broadly defined) affects contemporary families. Substantive topics may include dating and marriage, cohabitation, health, and housing. Critically evaluates the methods that sociologists use to study changing practices of cohabitation, marriage, and divorce; interracial relationships; and changes in household composition, including same-sex or gender-nonconforming households.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 1260. Sociology of Gender. (4 Hours)

Considers why and how gender is socially constructed in U.S. society and looks at different theories of gender. Explores gender as an institution as well as different (cultural) expressions of masculinities and femininities. Includes topics of gender in everyday life as well as gender as an organizing principle in the institutions of families, education, workplaces, sexualities, religion, the media, politics, and forms of gender violence. SOCL 1260 and WMNS 1260 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 1271. Sex in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (4 Hours)

Explores approaches to gender, social organization of sexuality and gender, sexual ethics, and marriage in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Explores various sources within each tradition that serve as normative foundations, contemporary cultural and sociological dynamics that challenge those foundations, and psychological/existential considerations for understanding the general nature of human sexuality. Addresses how these traditions understand gender and gender roles, seek to shape and control interactions between men and women, regulate sexual relations outside of and within marriage, view sexuality education, regard homosexuality, and examine historical and contemporary approaches to marriage, divorce, and parenting. PHIL 1271 and WMNS 1271 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Ethical Reasoning

WMNS 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

WMNS 2259. Sex, Gender, and Judaism. (4 Hours)

Introduces the representation of sex and gender in Jewish culture and religion. Explores varied representations of masculinity and femininity over time and place within Jewish communities; the role of biblical texts in the construction of Western conceptions of gender and sexuality; and how contemporary feminist, queer, and other sexual identities have influenced Jewish practices. Readings draw from a range of primary sources (memoirs, fiction, religious texts, etc.) and critical literature.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 2302. Gender and Sexuality: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. (4 Hours)

Explores concepts of “sex” and “gender” in a cross-cultural framework as they pertain to social status, work, the body, intersexuality, third or alternative genders, and intersectionality.Problematizes normative assumptions aboutfemininityand masculinity;therelations between menandwomen; and the meanings and implications of being a woman, man, or an other-gendered person.Examineshowsocial constructions of gender contributeandinteract with other systems of categorizationandstructures of inequality such as race, class,andethnicity.

Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D-

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 2303. Gender and Reproductive Justice. (4 Hours)

Introduces the social, legal, and economic barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare domestically and internationally. Draws on various theoretical and analytic tools including critical race theory, critical legal theory, sociology of science, human rights, feminist theory, and a range of public health methods. Access to reproductive health services, including abortion, is one of the most contested political, social, cultural, and religious issues today. Covers domestic, regional, and international legal and regulatory frameworks on sexual reproductive health. HIST 2303, SOCL 2303, and WMNS 2303 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 2304. Communication and Gender. (4 Hours)

Presents a theoretical and practical examination of the ways in which communication is gendered in a variety of contexts. Integrates into this analysis how different institutions and interpersonal situations affect our understanding of gender roles. COMM 2304 and WMNS 2304 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 2325. Black Feminist Studies. (4 Hours)

Invites students to study the history and contemporary landscape of Black feminist scholarship. Covers a range of disciplines and historical periods to introduce students to important texts and theoretical developments in this vast and interdisciplinary field.

Prerequisite(s): ENGW 1102 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 2373. Gender and Sexuality in World History. (4 Hours)

Introduces key concepts in the fields of gender and identity studies as they apply to world history since about 1800. Offers students an opportunity to understand the critical significance of gender, sex, sexuality, and identity to world events and how these contentious subjects influence the contemporary world. Surveys a series of major movements in geopolitics, labor, economics, culture, and society in order to analyze how individual and group identities, as well as mass assumptions about behavior and performance, have shaped these events. Gender, sex, and sexuality are integral to class discussions of work, welfare, art, culture, violence, war, and activism.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 2451. Postcolonial Women Writers. (4 Hours)

Examines the literature and cultures of postcolonial nations in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere through the lens of gender. Designed to familiarize students with the relationships between cultural paradigms associated with gender and transnational experiences of colonialism. Focuses on the variety of artistic strategies employed by writers to communicate the impacts of gender and sexuality on contemporary postcolonial themes such as neocolonialism, nationalism, and diaspora. Writers may include Chimamanda Adichie, Nawal El Saadawi, Marjane Satrapi, Bessie Head, Arundhati Roy, Banana Yoshimoto, Sonia Singh, and Dionne Brand.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 2455. American Women Writers. (4 Hours)

Surveys the diversity of American women’s writing to ask what it means to describe writers as disparate as Phillis Wheatley, Edith Wharton, Toni Morrison, and Alison Bechdel as part of the same “tradition.” With attention to all genres of American women’s writing, introduces issues of genre and gender; literary identification; canons; the politics of recuperation; silence and masquerade; gender and sexuality; intersectionality; sexual and literary politics, compulsory heterosexuality, and more.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 2480. Women and World Politics. (4 Hours)

Introduces a variety of issues facing women across the globe. Focuses on the gender dynamics of key issues in international affairs. These could include economic policy, conflict and war, human rights/women’s rights, political power, and collective action. Draws on examples from various world regions since the twentieth century to analyze similarities and differences across cases around the globe. INTL 2480 and WMNS 2480 are cross-listed.

Prerequisite(s): INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D-

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 2501. Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in Theatre. (4 Hours)

Surveys a wide range of dramatic forms, gender theories, and distinct theatrical techniques used by women artists to reveal larger social issues and encourage activism. Examines how the plays’ sociocultural contexts represent female playwrights’ diverse views of identity as well as their cultural, ethnic, racial, and geographical experiences. Identifies how women as artistic leaders are perceived and received by society and the industry. Analyzes why the issue of gender equity in theatre remains unresolved. THTR 2500 and WMNS 2501 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 2505. Digital Feminisms. (4 Hours)

Explores the unique ways that feminist activism and theory are impacted by the increasing digital nature of our world. From hashtags to Tumblr, feminists are using digital tools and platforms to aid in the pursuit of social justice. Offers students an opportunity to develop a timeline that traces feminists’ engagement with the Internet, new media, and technological innovations from the late seventies to the present. Examines the strengths and challenges that the digital world creates for feminist engagement. MSCR 2505 and WMNS 2505 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Creative Express/Innov, NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Writing Intensive

WMNS 2800. Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression. (4 Hours)

Introduces students to efforts among social and nonprofit organizations working to reduce heterosexism, homophobia, and transphobia in institutions, communities, and the society as a whole. Discusses practice across the life span for social professionals (social workers, counselors, advocates, and educators) in varied settings such as criminal justice, mental health, adoption, adult day health, and residential programs. Applying theories and current scholarship on LGBTQQ identity development, social movements, media, and advocacy, offers students an opportunity to evaluate contemporary issues of controversy for institutions, social practitioners, and policy. HUSV 2800 and WMNS 2800 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity

WMNS 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

WMNS 2991. Research Practicum. (2-4 Hours)

Involves students in collaborative research under the supervision of a faculty member. Offers students an opportunity to learn basic research methods in the discipline. Requires permission of instructor. May be repeated once for up to 4 total credits.

WMNS 3100. Gender, Social Justice, and Transnational Activism. (4 Hours)

Introduces key issues, themes, and debates in feminist transnational theory, practice, and activism in contemporary contexts and how it has changed under socioeconomic, political, and cultural processes of globalization. Examines differences among women relating to race, class, sexuality, national identity, and political economy in reckoning with possibilities for sustainable social justice. Students interrogate the relationship between the local and global; the production of knowledge in different regional spaces; the pragmatics of political mobilization; the varying contours of “social justice”; and other key issues. Offers students an opportunity to discuss the impact of globalization, neoliberalism, and state and intimate violence on gendered politics and relations and to contend with the politics of difference, to debate its challenges, and to imagine possible futures for transnational gender justice.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 3110. Gender, Crime, and Justice. (4 Hours)

Examines the topics of femininities and masculinities and their influence on participants in the criminal justice system. Also explores topics such as gender and criminological theory; the notion of gender and offending; women and men as victims of violence; and women and men as professionals within the criminal justice system.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 3200. Queer Theatre and Performance. (4 Hours)

Explores significant dramatic texts that have shaped and expressed the changing nature of LGBTQ identity. Readings, viewings, lectures, and discussion focus on noteworthy queer plays as literature, history, cultural documents, and performance as seen through the lens of contemporary queer theories and knowledge. Analyzing these texts for their relevance to society and our lives, students evaluate and explore a range of topics including sexual identity, gender identity, religious and political views on queerness, the evolution of LGBTQ culture and communities, drag performance, homophobia, assimilation, appropriation, and coming out. Students who do not meet course restrictions may seek permission of instructor. THTR 3200 and WMNS 3200 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity

WMNS 3305. Beyond the Binary: Race, Sex, and Science. (4 Hours)

Considers how gender, race, and sexuality have been treated in science, focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries. Examines the history of ideas about gender, race, and sexuality as reflected in fields such as biology, psychology, endocrinology, and neuroscience. Discusses contraceptive and reproductive technologies, pharmaceutical trials, the gendering of scientific professions, and recent studies that use algorithmic predictions of sex or sexual orientation. Uses close reading techniques and discussions to advance student expertise.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 3392. Gender and Film. (4 Hours)

Examines the representation of gender in film. Uses concepts and research from film and media studies to investigate the influences and consequences of gender representations in film. WMNS 3392 and MSCR 3392 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity

WMNS 3500. Sexuality, Gender, and the Law. (4 Hours)

Examines the legal regulation of gender and sexuality. Investigates concrete legal cases to study the history of constitutional interpretation and the current status of rights for women and sexual minorities. Focuses on important theoretical issues emerging in the writings of diverse feminist and queer legal scholars. Addresses debates over the value of conventional equality approaches in legal doctrine; equality vs. difference perspectives; ways in which legal language constructs gender and sexuality; the incorporation of sexuality and gender in ideologies of law; and the intersections of gender, sexuality, and race in legal doctrine and legal theory. PHIL 3500, POLS 3500, and WMNS 3500 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Ethical Reasoning, NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 3678. Bedrooms and Battlefields: Hebrew Bible and the Origins of Sex, Gender, and Ethnicity. (4 Hours)

Considers stories from Hebrew Scripture in English translation, beginning with the Garden of Eden through the Book of Ruth, asking how these foundational narratives establish the categories that have come to define our humanity. Analyzes how the Bible’s patterns of representation construct sexual and ethnic identities and naturalize ideas about such social institutions as “the family.” ENGL 3678, JWSS 3678, and WMNS 3678 are cross-listed.

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C

Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 3900. Gender and Black World Literatures. (4 Hours)

Explores different aspects of the literary and cultural productions of black women throughout history. Examines writing by women in the United States—like Octavia Butler, Zora Neale Hurston, and Toni Morrison—in addition to writing by women across the global African diaspora—like Chimamanda Adichie and Jamaica Kincaid. Students may also engage with theories such as Black feminism, womanism, or intersectionality; consider issues of genre such as the novel, poetry, or science fiction; and explore key themes such as class, sexuality, and disability. AFRS 3900, WMNS 3900, and ENGL 3900 are cross-listed.

Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Interpreting Culture

WMNS 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

WMNS 4520. Race, Class, and Gender. (4 Hours)

Considers the intersection of race, class, and gender in social structure, institutions, and people’s lives. Utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to focus on the socially constructed nature of these concepts and how they shape and create meaning in individual lives. Difference with an emphasis on inequality and varying life chances is central for understanding our society and is central to our work. Requires a significant amount of reading. Class format is like a seminar; students are expected to participate, take responsibility, and write a paper. SOCL 4520 and WMNS 4520 are cross-listed.

Prerequisite(s): (SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- ); (ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C )

Attribute(s): NUpath Writing Intensive

WMNS 4523. Sexualities. (4 Hours)

Offers a primarily sociological overview of the field of sexuality studies. Explores how sexual behaviors and identities are shaped by social norms, values, and expectations; the meanings and statuses ascribed to sexual acts, behaviors, identities, and communities; and the processes by which sexualities are achieved. Applies an intersectional framework to understand how sexuality interacts with categories of gender, race, nation, and class. Substantive topics may include LGBTQ+ identities, power, sex work, socialization, pornography, and politics.

Prerequisite(s): (ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- ); (ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C )

Attribute(s): NUpath Writing Intensive

WMNS 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)

Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.

WMNS 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.

WMNS 4994. Internship. (4 Hours)

Offers students an opportunity for internship work. May be repeated without limit.

Attribute(s): NUpath Integration Experience

WMNS 5240. Feminist Resistance. (4 Hours)

Engages students in the study of a variety of forms of feminist resistance in recent history, emphasizing the United States in the context of cross-cultural examples. Examines key feminist texts and manifestos and studies feminist activism in coalition with other social movements. Students identify and analyze unique features of gender-based activism in itself and in its intersections with other social movements, including movements and activism focused on race, class, sexuality, and physical ability.

Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions

WMNS 6100. Theorizing Gender and Sexuality. (4 Hours)

Seeks to challenge and expand our understanding of the relationship between biological sex; gendered identities; and sexual “preferences,” practices, and life ways. This interdisciplinary course offers debates around sex, gender, sexuality, and the body that push beyond binary models reliant on a simple “nature/culture” distinction. Focuses on dynamic and variable aspects of sexuality, sex, and gender within and across cultures, representational forms, and historical periods, analyzing the circumstances in which they undergo significant challenge or transformation. Uses particular paradigmatic “case studies” to push hard at the boundaries of sex and gender and to dialogue around contesting conceptualizations of “the body,” “sex,” and “gender,” particularly as they circulate in specific discourses of feminism, queer theory, and poststructuralism; ethnic studies; critical race theory; and cultural studies.

WMNS 7100. Queer Theory: Sexualities, Genders, Politics. (4 Hours)

Introduces the core texts and key debates that have shaped queer theory and examines the intersections between queer theory and feminism and critical race theory. Seeks to provide an understanding of expansive and radical contemporary queer politics by analyzing foundational queer and feminist texts, pushing beyond narrow constructions of identity politics, anti-discrimination policy, and rights-based reforms. Engages queer theory by means of a rich philosophical and political interrogation of the meaning and content of “queer.” SOCL 7100 and WMNS 7100 are cross-listed.

WMNS 7900. Special Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. (4 Hours)

Examines selected topics in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. May be repeated up to five times.

WMNS 7976. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)

Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on chosen topics. May be repeated without limit.