Gender Studies Minor

Gender affects everything in our lives: personal relationships, job opportunities, worldview, economic conditions, self-esteem, safety, etc. In our program, students learn how ideas about gender shape our knowledge of the world and our experience of everyday life. Gender Studies courses explore how research on gender [and its intersection with race, class, sexual orientation, age, and culture] has transformed our understanding of social institutions, human behavior, cultural expression, and intellectual inquiry.

The Gender Studies Program at UML is offered by the College of Arts and Sciences: Division of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, but any UML student can participate. Our curriculum is comprised of a wide range of designated courses in these departments: Criminal Justice, Cultural Studies, Economics, English, History, Legal Studies, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, ESDR, and Sociology. Students create an individualized program to match their interests and career goals.

For assistance or information: Cheryl Najarian Souza, Sociology Department and Director of Gender Studies, O'Leary 500F.

Minor Requirements

The Gender Studies minor requires 18-24 credits in designated interdisciplinary courses. 6 credits must be taken at the 300 level or above. Gender Studies minors may also take courses within their major and designate them for the Gender Studies minor provided that the total number of credits in their major does not exceed 45 of the 120-credit minimum required for graduation.

A Bachelor of Liberal Arts concentration in Gender Studies requires 24-30 credit hours in designated interdisciplinary courses. At least half of these courses must be taken at the 300 level or above.

For more information on the Gender Studies program visit Gender Studies or email: genderstudies@uml.edu.

Courses

Required Course

GNDR.240 - Introduction to Gender Studies
is a required course for all students in the minor.

Gender Studies Courses

The following courses are approved for the Gender Studies Minor. Please note that new courses are approved each semester, and not all of the courses below are offered every semester.

Course descriptions may be found in the undergraduate catalog by linking to the appropriate department.

NOTE: The prefix for Introduction to Gender Studies (#240) varies according to the department in which it is taught.

American Studies
40.270 - Women in American History

Legal Studies
41.376 - Family Law
41.381 - Women & the Law

English
42.240 - Literature and Women
42.241 - Women and Film
42.243 - Contemporary Women Writers
42.244 - Women in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
42.246 - Gay/Lesbian Literature
42.257 - The Family in Literature
42.328 - Writing About Women
42.335 - American Women Novelists
42.342 - Women Writers and the Past
42.345 - British Women Novelists

History
43.207 - Women in China
43.228 - Women in European History
43.270 - Women in American History
43.301 - The World of Things: Consumer Culture in the Modern West
43.319 - Women, Gender and Science
43.380 - Work and Society
43.385 - Kennedy Presidential Politics

Criminal Justice
44.360 - Gender, Race, and Crime
44.422 - Victimology
44.477 - Intimate Partner Violence

Philosophy
45.306 - Feminist Theory Politics
45.360 - The Goddess in World Religion
45.367 - Feminism and Liberalism

Political Science
46.220 - Gender and Politics
46.225 - Gender, Culture & Politics
46.230 - Law and the Legal System
46.320 - Gender Law and Politics
46.325 - Terrorism Seminar
46.326 - Gender, Law, and Politics
46.327 - Dynamics of Sexual Politics
46.330 - Political Society and Technology Alternatives Seminar
46.336 - Privacy and Politics
46.402 - Women in Islam
46.406 - The Politics of Identity in the Middle East

Psychology
47.335 - Psychology and Women
47.351 - Human Sexuality
47.523 - Women in the Community

Sociology
48.225 - Sociology of Disability
48.231 - Sociology of the Family
48.240 - Sociology of Gender
48.242 - Introduction to Gender Studies
48.305 - Sociology of Family Law
48.362 - Social Welfare Policy
48.370 - Women in Society
48.405 - Feminist Methodologies
48.410 - Seminar on Sex and Gender

Modern Languages
50.378 - Women in French Cinema

Cultural Studies
52.330 - Italian Women Writers
54.335 - Spanish Women Writers in Translation
58.340 - Women & Art
58.345 - Pre-Raphaelite Art

Economic and Social Development of Regions
57.353 - Managing Workforce Diversity
57.420 - Gender, Work and Public Policy
57.504 - Gender Differences at Work
57.525 - Gender, Work and Public Policy

Music
74.103 - Gender Issues in Music
74.455 - Women in Music

Art
79.380 - Understanding Movies: Cinema as Social Commentary

Gender Studies
GNDR.200 - Special Topics in Gender Studies (200-level)
GNDR.240 - Introduction to Gender Studies
GNDR.300 - Special Topics in Gender Studies (300-level)
GNDR.301 - Gay and Lesbian Studies
GNDR.401 - Practicum
GNDR.410 - Directed Studies (400-level)
GNDR.490 - Seminar in Gender Studies

Other Interdisciplinary Courses
59.239 - Introduction to Gender Studies
59.240 - Introduction to Gender Studies
59.307 - Gender Issues in 19th Century American Literature and Popular Culture
59.308 - Gender Issues in 20th Century American Literature and Popular Culture
59.310 - Gender Violence in the United States
59.311 - Men, Women, & the Military
59.312 - Issues in Human Reproduction
59.322 - Gender, Work & Family
59.340 - Women in Art
59.345 - Pre-Raphaelite Art

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GNDR Course Descriptions

GNDR.200 Special Topics in Gender Studies
Offers students the opportunity to study a topic of special interest in the field of Gender Studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. The content and approach will vary depending upon the research and teaching interests of the faculty member teaching the course. 

GNDR.300  Special Topics in Gender Studies
Offers students the opportunity to engage in depth with a special topic in the field of Gender Studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. The content and approach will vary depending upon the research and teaching interests of the faculty member teaching the course.

GNDR.301 Gay and Lesbian Studies
This seminar provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) studies, incorporating perspectives from the sciences, social sciences and humanities.  The general goal of the course is for students to explore the dynamic, interactive forces—biological, psychological, social, cultural, and political—that shape the experience of sexuality.  Topics will include: methodological, epistemological and pedagogical issues in the study of sexuality; the biological foundations of gender and sexuality; the social construction of sex and gender; literary, artistic, and mass media representations of LGBT people; development of gender and sexual identities; relationships and families; LGBT communities and political movements; HIV/AIDS; intersecting identities (gender, race, class, disability, etc.), and; queer theory.

GNDR.400 Directed Studies
This course, taken for variable credits, may serve as a capstone experience for advanced gender studies students, helping them to explore a gender-related topic of interest while working closely with a faculty member. Projects that students complete for the Directed Studies will vary in length, scope, and topic, depending on how many credits are taken and which faculty member the student agrees to work with the student.  What all projects will have in common is (1) a topic clearly relevant to gender studies, (2) an emphasis on achieving deep learning through advanced study, and (3) the integration of two or more distinct disciplines, integrating these disciplinary insights in order to solve a complex problem or analyze a complicated issue. This course allows for a student and professor to work closely together on a project of mutual interest. It is expected that the faculty member will be supporting and guiding the student’s work, and thus regular meetings will be necessary. In some cases the faculty member may not feel competent to oversee all aspects of a project in which an unfamiliar discipline is employed. In such cases, a second (and even third) faculty member may be asked to participate in the Directed Study as a consultant and final reader.

GNDR.401 Practicum
This course provides a link between the UMass Lowell campus and the community, offering students a unique learning experience. This Community Service-Learning course provides opportunities for students to learn through thoughtful engagement in community service, applying knowledge of gender issues gained in the classroom to the world outside the classroom.  Students and their faculty supervisors together will determine the kind of service work students will engage in during the semester, choosing from a wide range of available placements. Students will benefit from the hands-on experience they will gain in working with the community.  They will be using their hard-won knowledge from their years in the classroom and applying it to help meet urgent needs in the community. Students will have the opportunity to make lasting connections and effect positive change in our community. Ideally, this course will promote good citizenship through reflection on gender issues and testing of personal values, leading students toward a heightened sense of social responsibility and a lifelong commitment to their local, national, and global communities.

GNDR.490 Seminar in Gender Studies
This course serves as a capstone experience for advanced students, helping them to make connections between the gender studies classes they have taken and their main course of study or some other area of interest. This seminar provides a framework for students to integrate what they have learned, thus moving their experience in the program from a multi-perspectival examination of gender to a more cohesive and integrated approach encapsulated in a final project. This project will draw upon the methods, knowledge, theory, end products, etc. of at least two distinct disciplines, integrating these disciplinary insights in order to solve a complex problem or analyze a complicated issue related to gender.

Students will benefit from working with peers in small groups and as a whole class, learning how other students synthesize what they have learned about gender issues and how their lived experience influences their perspectives on such things as the intersection of gender with socio-economic position, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and other factors.  The professor who leads this seminar will be both a resource and a catalyst; students will learn about gender and advanced research, and they will be prompted to reach their academic potential.

59.240 Introduction to Gender Studies
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the field of Gender Studies that examines both commonalties and differences among diverse groups of women. A variety of topics are presented such as past and present stratification in work and family, sexual identities, medial representations of women, and violence against women. Social movements for women's equality and feminist theories and methods are also introduced.

59.307 Gender Issues in 19th Century American Literature and Popular Culture
In the 19th century, Americans consciously sought to define themselves, calling for a recognizable literature that would illuminate and celebrate national character Defining the roles, behaviors, and even the very nature of men and women in the republic became an important corollary to this endeavor. These definitions and values were promulgated not only through traditional arts and literature, but also through magazines, etiquette manuals, and advertisements. We will examine selected texts from high and popular culture to see how gender operates to define individual character and to illuminate social issues, public images, and national myths. 3 cr.

59.308 Gender Issues in 20th Century American Literature and Popular Culture
In the 20th century, attitudes toward the gender roles defined by 19th century Americans underwent enormous changes which are reflected in all aspects of culture, both "high" and popular. As first movies then television came to dominate leisure time, the images mass media conveyed of stereotypical male and female behavior played a major role in defining perceptions of gender roles. This course will examine these changing perceptions and their implications in novels, film and television. 3 cr.

59.310 Gender Violence in the United States
This course examines the gender implications and underlining assumptions about women and men that are implicit in our laws dealing with gender violence, theories of violence and crimes, and responses to this violence by our justice system. In the first part of this course, we will examine some of the theories of gender domination and inequality. In the second part of the course we will apply our theoretical insights to the specific applications of gender violence and oppression. We will consider both individual acts of violence such as rape, incest, sexual abuse, wife and child battering and gay bashing as well as harmful acts in institutional violence including sexual harassment, pornography and corporate violence. 3 cr.

59.311 Men, Women, and the Military
War and military affairs have traditionally been considered "men's business." This course will examine both the expectations and the reality of this gender assignment. We will look at the roles both men and women have played in past wars and in the nation's military policies. We will consider why this has been, and ask how the situation is changing as women become a greater proportion of the USA's armed forces. 3 cr.

59.312 Issues in Human Reproduction
Birth control and abortion enable couples to have sex without having babies; new reproductive technologies like in-vitro fertilization enables couples to have babies without having sex. Public policies as well as individual activities effect changes in sex, marriage, childbearing, and other issues in human reproduction. We will see how the roles of men and women are affected by these changes in motherhood and fatherhood. 3 cr.

59.322 Gender, Work and Family
This course examines ways that gender is related to contemporary work roles, family roles, and social institutions. Why is it that men rise to the top in "women's professions," while women do not in male fields? Why are mothers treated differently from fathers in the workplace and why is housework not seen as work? Why do we idealize the "nuclear" family when most people live in other kinds of families? Exploring relationships among gender, paid work and diverse types of families will allow us to critique current social arrangements and to discuss options for healthier, more equitable alternatives for the future. 3 cr.

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