All courses, arranged by program, are listed in the catalog. If you cannot locate a specific course, try the Advanced Search. Current class schedules, with posted days and times, can be found on the NOW/Student Dashboard or by logging in to SiS.
This course will study visual modes of social & political dissent. As an art and design history course, we will examine cases of social, legal, cultural repression and the methods used to successfully change those realities. This course focuses on examples of ethical, non-violent, social intervention, education, and calls for action. We will look at history, identify current areas of social concern, study the issues, and create artwork, design, and engagement strategies.
Pre-Req: ENGL.1020 College Writing II.
This film theory seminar has several main objectives: to study the production of meaning in films; to analyze how moving images are used in social representation; and to introduce students to the visual and critical language of cinema. In this course, we will view a series of films by international authors. These address some of the most pressing issues of today's global world such as identity, subjectivity, difference and otherness, race relations, representations of gender and sexuality, immigration, war, colonialism and post-colonialism, poverty, and social inequalities. The films that we watch will be studied not as isolated cinematic texts but as illustrations and examples of theories of representation. Students will develop their critical analysis skills by being introduced to theoretical concepts such as "the gaze" in art and cinema as well as formal elements such as mise-in-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound.
Pre-req: 42.102 College Writing II, This is a 300 level course intended for Junior and Seniors.
This course studies the aesthetic, artistic and intellectual similarities between art history and music history. Discussion of the arts focuses on the development in examining the human creativity and expression through the arts: from ancient times as art and morality followed in the Renaissance as art and sciences continued in the Enlightenment as art and society contrasted in the nineteenth century as art and entertainment. Furthermore, this course surveys some of the fundamental aspects of music and art, such as the nature of aesthetic judgment, the task of art and music criticism, including formalist, representational, and contemporary theories on viewing, analyzing, and interpreting the arts. In addition, with a comparative analysis between the modes of visual and aural representation, visual and aural perception, this course analyzes the principal forms and genres of the visual and aural elements of art history and music history, providing an understanding for human creativity and expression. Spring, alternate years.
An introduction to key issues and theoretical approaches to the study of women and art. This course examines women as makers of art, as subjects of art, and as interpreters of art. The class will explore the ways artists have represented the intersections of gender identities, sexual orientation, power, race, class and nationality in their works and the socio-cultural conditions in which specific artists have been excluded or marginalized in art practice, exhibition, collecting and critical discourse.
Pre-req: ENGL.1010 College Writing I.
Examination of issues of content, theory, and criticism in contemporary art. Current exhibitions and criticism are integral to the course. Topics vary from year to year. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
This course provides students with an overview of the multidisciplinary field of Asian American Studies from two distinct disciplines. The course begins with the history of Asian American Studies and the methods used to advance the field. Next, various aspects of the Asian American experience, such as gender and sexuality, are examined. Students also participate in service learning in partnership with Asian-serving community organizations in and around Lowell, MA. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA) and Social Responsibility & Ethics (SRE).
Pre-Req: ENGL 1010 or 1020 College Writing I or II or (42.103 Col Writing I-Internatl or ENGL 1110 College Writing I ESL) or HONR.1100.
This course is designed to inform students about the legacy of bias, discrimination, and inequality in the United States, and how this is particularly reflected in our criminal justice system. Drawing on a number of disciplines the course will explore theories of bias and discrimination both individually and collectively, what common stereotypes and misconceptions exist, and how they impact contemporary criminal justice practices. Evidence-based solutions to the reduction of these systemic issues will be discussed.
This interdisciplinary course will examine the gendered processes of war, sub-state violence, counter-terrorism/insurgency and conflict resolution. More specifically, we will review relevant conceptual and theoretical frameworks which focus on the relationships between gender, armed conflict and conflict resolution. In addition, we will examine the strategies used by women's and feminist movements to promote specific security related policy. The class will explore cases from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa.
Junior Level or Higher or Permission of Instructor.
This course examines gender and racial implications of criminal laws, criminal justice practices and programs will be examined. The position of women and racial/ethnic minorities will be assessed from the different perspectives of victims, offenders, and criminal justice practitioners.
This course examines the patterns of victimization, the characteristics and lifestyles of crime victims, and the impact of their victimizations. The treatment of victims by the criminal justice system will be examined along with possible reforms in these approaches.
Pre-req: CRIM 1010 Criminal Justice System or CRIM 2210 Criminology I, Junior/Senior standing only.
This course examines the causes and consequences of domestic violence and the latest research regarding the responses of the criminal justice system.
Level is Junior or Senior Standing Only.
Social Issues in Economics will take economic theory and apply it to public policy decisions. Topics that will be covered in the course are; Economics of crime, Should we legalize drugs, is it more economical to imprison someone for life or seek the death penalty and did the Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade (the legalization of abortion) contribute to the declining crime rate that began in the 90,s: The economics of unintended consequences will explore how well meaning public policy sometimes backfires and has the reverse effect; health economics will look at the rising cost of healthcare and the effect of Obamacare; Taxes and poverty, is there a natural rate of poverty (does minimum wage increases actually contribute to a higher rate) and does taxing the rich less actually help the economy; Energy & Environmental economics, what is the effect of global warming, or is it global cooling, and what is the best energy mix for the 21st century and lastly, who has it right, New Keynesians or Neo-Classicals.
Economic growth has led to rising living standards around the world, but the gains have not always been shared equitably or led to improvements in individual well-being. This course introduces students to the types of economic inequality that exist, to data sources and methods used to measure growth and inequality, and to basic economic models used to understand forces driving growth and inequality today Both the consequences (positive and negative) of this inequality and debates over policies to address it will be covered. The course is designed for students with no background in economics who are interested in learning about how economists approach issues of social and economic justice. This makes it well suited as an elective for students in the Bachelor of Liberal Arts program and Peace and Conflict Studies.
A survey of literary attitudes toward women from the Judaic and Hellenic periods through the present.
Provides a study of selected short stories and novels which deal sympathetically with the changing roles of women.
Contemporary Women Writers introduces students to American women writers of the last fifty years. We examine the historical,socio-cultural, political, and personal influences on these writers' work by studying trends and events in recent American history and themes reflected in the works. By studying contemporary women's writing in this contextualized fashion, students can appreciate larger trends in our society, the role writing plays in examining such trends, and the value of literature as an exploration of human growth and struggle. Through discussion, group collaboration, critical analysis, and by designing their own graphic organizers, students gain a breadth of knowledge in the following areas: the themes and stylistic concerns of contemporary American women writers; the key historical events that influence contemporary American women's writing; the critical reading of literary texts. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
Explores the treatment of homoeroticism and homosexual love in literature from Antiquity to the present. Emphasis is given to texts reflecting the construction of a homosexual identity and recurring motifs among gay, lesbian, and bisexual writers. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
A study of literary selections dealing with traditions of family life, the individual, and social change. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
Writing About Women
Pre-req: ENGL.1020 College Writing II and ENGL.2270 Essay Writing/Eng Majors, or ENGL.2290 Essay Writing or ENGL.2380 Intro to Creative Writing or ENGL 2390 Intro to Professional Writing.
A study of selected novels by American women. Focus on the female voice within the American tradition. Treatment of such issues as domesticity, education, and authorship. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA) and Social Responsibility & Ethics (SRE).
Woman have always written and read and participated in culture. This class will explore writings on literary and non-literary genres by woman in the European Middle Ages (600-1500). Students will learn how different pre-modern cultural conditions affected the possibilities for women's authorship, readership, and patronage. We will also examine how women writers interacted with literary traditions and constructions of gender.
Women Writers and the Past. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA) and Social Responsibility & Ethics (SRE).
A study of the significant contributions of women to the literature and art of the theatre in various periods and cultures. Topics may include: plays written by women, the progress of women in theater, the evolution of female roles, and the portrayal of feminism on the stage.
Selected novels by writers such as Austen, the Brontes, Eliot, Woolf, Bowen, and Drabble. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA) and Social Responsibility & Ethics (SRE).
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of visual communication. Students will explore what scholars mean by terms such as visual rhetoric and visual literacy in order to think concretely about how these concepts apply to the communication practices they will engage in their academic, professional, and everyday life. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which visual representations communicate culturally-specific meanings about race, gender, class, sexuality, age, nationality, and difference. Assignments include contributions to a course blog, rhetorical analyses of visual texts, design modules, and a multimodal project.
Pre-req:(ENGL 1020 College Writing II or HONR.1100), and (ENGL 2270 Essay Writing, or ENGL 2000 Critical Methods or ENGL 2390 Intro to Professional Writing).
An advanced course that explores a variety of issues and topics in literature, literary history, and related fields. The topic or issue for a specific seminar will be announced in advanced.
Pre-Req: ENGL 1020 College Writing II.
"Special Topics in Gender Studies" (200-level) 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.
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the field of Gender Studies, that examines the nature of gender and identity through and intersectional lens. A variety of topics are presented, such as the definition and nature of both feminism and gender, power and oppression, race and ethnicity, and sexuality. Throughout and course, careful consideration will be given to the ways in which various aspects of identity overlap and intersect, and the resulting impacts of these intersections of privilege, knowledge, and experience.
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. They will be using their hard-won knowledge from their years in the classroom and applying it to help meet urgent needs in the he 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. "Variable credit course, student chooses appropriate amount of credits when registering."
This course, taken for 1 or 3 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. "Variable credit course, student chooses appropriate amount of credits when registering."
From Confucian texts to current conditions, the course examines the evolution of Chinese women's status throughout the centuries. The course will ask questions such as whether Confucianism dictated oppression against women, what factors influenced the changes of status for women, how Western feminism is connected with Chinese women, what roles women played in transforming China, and how ordinary women lived and are still living in China.
This course examines the history of women in late medieval, early modern, and modern Western Europe (ca. 1300-1900). From medieval saints and Renaissance queens to Enlightenment Salonieres and ordinary wives and mothers, women have played an astonishing variety of roles. We will utilize primary and secondary sources, historical films, and works of art to understand the contributions and challenges of women in the past.
This course surveys the history of women in the British North American colonies and United States with a special focus on social and economic change. It examines women as a distinct group but also attends to divisions among them, particularly those based on class, ethnicity/race, and regional diversity. Course themes include concepts of womanhood, the development and transgression of gender roles, unpaid work and wage labor, social reform and women's rights activism, as well as changing ideas and practices with respect to the female body.
This course will examine the emergence and historical impact of consumer cultures in the modern West, from the eighteenth century through the present. Topics to be covered will include the emergence of spaces of consumption (the home, the commercial/spectacular metropolis, the department store, the shopping mall, the tourist site), changing attitudes toward shopping and spending, the construction of modern social identities of class, gender, generation and race through consumption, and political struggles over consumption.
Over the course of the 1800's, women developed numerous strategies for influencing American society and politics, even though they were unable to vote in most elections. This course will explore how diverse groups of American women formed organizations that acted decisively in the public arena. By analyzing women's social and political activism, we will see how vital civil society is for a functional democracy, and explore how change happens. Possible topics include women's activism in social reform, local and state governments, civil rights, labor organizations, charitable work, religion, and women's rights. Consideration will be paid to the differences among women in terms of race, class, and sexuality.
This course will address the individual and collective trauma of modern warfare, as that was experienced in France both during and after the country's three main wars in the twentieth century. It focuses on how the experience of modern war was negotiated in culture---in personal and official memory, in gender relations, and in a great variety of written and visual texts. Individual units will be dedicated to World War I, the Occupation and Vichy Regime during World War II, and the Algerian War, and to the long and conflicted afterlife of those conflicts.
Some of the very best and most readable examples of American Women's History come in the form of biographies. While historians may sometimes lack sources for writing women's history, we often know spectacular amounts about individual women. Scholars have used this wealth of information to produce rich, complex readings of women's lives. In the process of doing so, historians of American Women also write the history of all of American society, culture, politics, ad economics. This course seeks to broaden our understandings of American History, the genre of biography, and most importantly, the history of American Women. The women chosen for the study will depend on the preferences of the professor, with attempts made to cover a variety of topics, time periods, and types of biographies.
Spanish, French, British, Dutch, Native American, and African American women had varying experiences on the North American continent between 1500 and 1800. This class uses ten case studies on topics ranging from the colonial borderlands to gender identity in the early modern period to the impact of slavery on family structures to examine their daily lives. In addition, students are introduced to the many scholars who have worked in this field during the past four decades, before considering new directions for the study of women in Early America.
This course is an in-depth examination of the history of race, ethnicity and gender in the development of collegiate and professional sports in the United States. It will track the maturity over time of athletic activities, specific sports, their rules and the impact each particular sport has had on society, politics, legislation, economic stratification, educational opportunity, and the American cultural experience. Students in this course will explore issues such as racial and sexual stereotyping in sports and related advertising, college athletes and academics, Native American mascots, sports during periods of social unrest including the Civil Rights Movement, and the importance of the passage of Title IX (9).
This course explores medieval Europe through the female lens. We will illuminate the influence of women on war, politics, business, religion and culture. We will study queens, writers, artists, nuns businesswomen, and peasants in order to understand how women shaped the medieval world, how they were shaped by it, and how they contributed to the brilliance of the Renaissance.
Provides a survey of labor history from the colonial period to the present focusing on the interrelationship between culture and work in American society and on the dynamics of technical and economic changes on the organization of work processes.
A biographical approach to the influence of radicalism on American history with emphasis on significant and representative personalities and heir contributions.
This course addresses the role of female labor in the Roman world, from the Roman Republic to the Late Empire (~509 BCE-400 CE). The course uses the cases of women of different statuses to explore the economic contributions of women. Students will be invited to question the secondary role women have traditionally held in scholarship on the economy of the ancient world and reassess the whole economic picture through the lens of "untypical" workers. We will study both free and enslaved women, and closely examine how economic necessity empowered some women and constrained others. Students will investigate what kinds of labor were deemed legally and socially appropriate for women and be exposed to instances when women pushed up against, or beyond, those boundaries.
This course studies the critical family law issues facing society today. Subject matter examined may include the law of marriage, custody, adoption, divorce, child support, juveniles, right to die, fetal tissue transfer to prolong the life of another, reproduction control, and surrogate parenting. This course is taught from a legal and human values perspective.
This course presents legal issues that often or particularly affect women. Topics may include sex discrimination, sexual harassment, rape, marriage, divorce, reproductive control, surrogate motherhood, and custody.
"Gender, Work and Peace" will explore the relationship between human rights, gender and nonviolence in the 21st century. We will examine how current and future reality can be shaped by related policies, specifically those on the micro and macro level concerned with gender. Today we live in a period of global transition comparable to the period that followed the Industrial Revolution. It presents us with enormous challenges and opportunities regarding factors we will address in class: economic globalization, government restructuring, work-family balancing, environmental safety at work, gender inequalities and the connection between human rights and dignity at work.
This course analyzes those forms of art/entertainment commonly referred to under the umbrella term "popular culture" through a variety of philosophical lenses. After seeking to establish a categorization of "popular culture," students will examine the mediums of music, film, television, advertisements and sports. Throughout the course, students will read/listen/watch various examples of the mediums listed above and attempt to answer various questions about them such as: what societal values make these examples popular at a current moment? What cultural assumptions do these examples reflect? What is the artistic/aesthetic merit of these examples?
What is sexist oppression? Is our culture still sexist, or is the need for feminism over? How should we respond to sexism in other cultures? Do men and women have different natures? Are our culture's sexual representations of women necessarily degrading, and if so, why? We'll consider these questions, and others, by examining the arguments and methodology of analytic feminism. We'll start by tracing the historical development of feminism in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, and then turn to several contemporary feminist analyses of sexist oppression. We'll then use these feminist frameworks to examine more specific issues. Possible topics include: feminist analyses of sexual objectification in pornography, feminist arguments in ethics and social theory, feminist analyses of science,and feminist criticisms of gendered labour. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
This course will focus on issues of identity and difference. We will discuss the ways in which group identities are formed and break down. We will discuss how differences are constituted and reconstituted. These issues are central to theories of race and gender, racism and sexism. Some of the questions which we will raise are these: What motivates forming group identities? How are they formed? How is identity used within oppressive social structures? How can it be used to transform society? Why do some differences make a difference and others don't? Can we choose our group identities? Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
The aim of this course is to introduce students to both historical and contemporary discussions surrounding the topics of sex and love. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Diversity and Cultural Awareness (DCA).
Explores legal constructions of gender by examining Supreme Court cases, federal legislation, historical documents, news stories, and scholarly essays on sexual inequality in the United States. Topics include the evolution of the family as a legal (and illegal) reality; political regulation of reproduction and sexual activity; feminist critiques of economic inequality; the rise and fall of affirmative action; the changing role of gender in class consolidation; and ongoing debates about the relationships between public and private life.
Focusing upon one of the most important topics in Islam, this course will go beyond conventional stereotypes and explore woman's many and varied roles within Islamic cultures and societies.
The course will examine the ethnic, political, religious and social changes in the modern Middle East. The course will start with an introduction to the diverse identities all over the Middle East and then it will comparatively examine a number of those identities.
If much of western liberal political thought has been preoccupied with limiting and structuring the power of the state, then the flip side of that preoccupation has been a corresponding commitment to the idea of individual autonomy. In other words, we limit the power of the state in order to protect the autonomy of the individual, and the state's power is justified only as far as it enhances rather than erodes our autonomy. This framework - that state power and autonomy operate in direct tension with one another - is a central paradigm of the western liberal political tradition in which we live. We begin the course within this framework, and then move to trouble, complicate, and critique both the concept of individual autonomy and the concept of political power.
Considers such topics as: the psychology of sex differences; biological bases of psychological sex differences; the nature of female sexuality; clinical theory and practice concerning women; women as mental patients and mental health consumers; implications for psychology and for women's status.
Pre-Req: PSYC.1010 Intro to Psychological Science .
Addresses the biological, psychosocial, and attitudinal aspects of human sexuality through lectures, discussions, films from a variety of perspectives.
An advanced seminar to consider current trends in psychology, with special focus on critique of the theoretical and empirical literature, identification of future research pathways, and the potential for application with consideration of ethics and social responsibility. Specific topics will vary and may include such topics as contemporary models of addictive behavior; the interaction of psychology and law; existential psychology; psychology of technological change. This is a writing intensive course.
Pre-Reqs: PSYC.1010 Intro to Psychological Science and PSYC.2690 Research I:Methods.
An examination of women's roles in the home, community, and work place; examines psychological consequences, social structural influences, and options for change. Topics include: housework and childcare; violence against women; work place stratification issues; and women's contributions to their communities.
This course is organized around several key questions that are used to study the concepts of disability and ability from a variety of sociological and interdisciplinary perspectives. Specifically, the course explores representations of disability in popular culture and medical discourses to discuss disability and ability as social constructs. By looking at various literary and cultural representations, this course investigates constructions of the disabled and abled body, how this becomes politicized, and the implications of these constructions.
This course uses a sociological approach to understand family forms, practices, and controversies in contemporary society, with particular emphasis on families in the United States. We will look closely at how family experiences and opportunities have changed over time, and also how they vary by gender, age, class, race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. What functions do families perform in modern society? How are they changing? How do these changes affect our lives?
Digital sociology is broadly interested in how (1) social actors use technology in everyday life and (2) technology shapes social processes, especially social problems. This course is a sociological exploration of the development and evolution of racial and gender inequalities online, as well as the implications of racism and sexism online on groups and society.
This course provides an introduction to the sociological analysis of gender in its intersections with sexuality, race, class, (dis)ability, and other identities and inequalities. The focus is on examining the role of gender across a range of social institutions, such as the family, workplaces, schools, and the media, in order to give students the tools to understand the material impacts of gender as well as associated cultural norms. Students will use feminist theory and sociological concepts to critically examine the concepts of sex and gender and to understand the ways in which individuals across gender identity and other identities are impacted. The course counts towards minors in Gender Studies, Labor Studies, American Studies, and Disability Studies.
Examines some social issues in family law, the changes therein, and the social climate and consequences accompanying these. By using the sociological method of inquiry to examine family law cases, the relationship between law and society as instruments of order and change are exemplified.
Pre-Req: SOCI.1010 Intro to Sociology.
This course will use an intersectional lens to examine the role of race, gender, class, ability, and other dimensions of inequality in structuring work in the United States and around the world. How do different groups of people end up in different jobs? What is the wage gap and what does it mean for you? Why is who in the family changes diapers and cooks dinner connected to work? What are the implications of the rise of automation, remote work, and the gig economy for the future of work? These are some of the questions we will address, using sociological literature and contemporary news sources and making connections to our own experiences as past, present and future workers.
In this course, students will investigate the relationship between society and sexualities, including: social categorizations of sex, gender, and sexuality; social and cultural representations of intimacy and sexuality; and social and institutional control of sexualities and sexual behavior and practice. Students will read theoretical and methodological works from the field of sexualities studies, including sociological, feminist, post-colonial, and queer theorists. By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate a sociological perspective on intimacy and sexualities.
In this course, we will critically and sociologically analyze racial and gender patterns in American films. We will analyze how each film is shot with regard to racial messages using film studies terminology (for example, cinematography). We will also highlight which films are recognized with prestigious awards, and what this suggests about American society. In addition, we will discuss the role of power in the film industry and how directors, producers and screenwriters shape the public imagination of the American society and the world through widely disseminated media portrayals. We will also critically evaluate seemingly race-neutral, animation films, such as children's films, where characters appear in animal form.
The course examines the development of social welfare policy in the United States as well as alternative strategies for social welfare provision. Particular attention is paid to the role of race/ethnicity, class, and gender in the formation of social welfare policy.
This course is organized around several questions that will be used to help engage students in the study of the concepts of disability and gender from a variety of sociological and interdisciplinary perspectives. The course will explore feminist representations of disability and gender in popular culture discourses to discuss disability as well as gender as social constructs. By analyzing books, movies, television, cartoons, and the internet, we will look at how conceptualizations of disability and gender intersect and are represented in these "texts" and the possible influences on perceptions and definitions of disability.
Pre-req: SOCI.2250 Sociology of Disability, or SOCI.2400 Sociology of Gender, or GNDR.2400 Introduction to Gender Studies.
This course will explore the "traditional" definition of family throughout American history as well as how now more than ever, many families challenge the conventional definition. We will discuss how different political, economic and social factors (i.e. enslavement, immigration policies, etc.) have shaped the experiences, structure and dynamics of how families function in the United States. We will analyze families of diverse racial backgrounds as well as other families that have been constructed as outside of the "norm," such as LGBT families, military families and adoptive and foster families. We will also outline specific societal changes (e.g. assisted reproductive technology) that have contributed to how families form, bond and experience family life.
This course is a sociological exploration of how beauty practices and values are socially created, reproduced, and change over time. These processes are inextricably bound to race, class, and gender; as such, we will focus on how beauty reflects, and contributes to, social inequalities. Importantly, we will challenge individualistic explanations of beauty as "personal preference" and instead explore the broader origins, incentives, and tolls of beauty on a societal level.
Pre-req: SOCI.1010 Intro to Sociology, or SOCI.2340 Race and Ethnicity, or SOCI.2400 Sociology of Gender.
Despite the recent growth of feminist methodologies, there is no one way of doing feminist methodologies. The growing body of literature in this area addresses the distinctive challenges and strengths of doing this research. Gender Studies scholars especially seek to question the framing of a study, managing of emotions, and ethical dilemmas. We will explore feminist strategies for creating, implementing, and analyzing a project that is grounded in the everyday lives of people while situating them in a social, political, and economic context. We will explore the interdisciplinary intersections where these challenges push at the boundaries of the disciplines of your major field of study. We will also investigate how to use as variety of qualitative approaches while doing a feminist project and the ways in which feminism can enlighten understandings of "traditional" qualitative methods.
Pre-req: SOCI.4030 Sociological Research 2: Qualitative Approaches, and Sociology Majors only or permission of instructor.
Based on a wide range of theoretical texts from feminism, gender, and queer studies, this course will explore how literature and film offer new configurations of sexual and gender identity. We will examine representations of gender roles and power to explore the broader questions of belonging and marginality in the French-speaking world and globally. Students will become familiar with contemporary theories around the discursive construction of gender identity; reflect on the modalities of the representation of sexuality; analyze the problematization of sexual identity through the study of literary texts and films that question the representation and construction of gender.
Pre-Req: WLFR 2110 French 3 and Culture, or WLFR 2120 French 4 and Culture or WLAN 3990 Elective.
Studies women writers of Italy by giving attention to the genres of narrative, poetry, theater and autobiography. Authors are selected according to their impact on issues affecting women, gender studies, feminism, avant-garde, modernism, social relations and psychological discourse. Conducted in English.
This course explores crucial works of Italian cinema directed by women from the early 20th century to present day. Students will engage in critical discussions, analyzing and debating a vast array of social and ethical topics as well as private and political issues such as family ties, motherhood, work, gender discrimination, displacement, and violence. This course will be taught in English. Knowledge of Italian is preferred but not required. Italian majors and minors enrolled in this course will complete all written assignments, reviews, and exams in Italian, consolidating their intermediate high/advanced low ACTFL language proficiency level. This course satisfies credits for those students who are in the World Ready Italian Track and in the Film Studies minor. If students complete the course work in Italian, then the course also satisfies credit for those students in the Italian Studies minor, and Italian/Spanish major degree programs.
Pre-req or Co-req: ENGL.1020 College Writing II.
This course studies a diverse selection of texts by women writers from Brazil and Portugal. This course further examines the differing strategies deployed by female-authored fiction, poetry, autobiography and essay as these negotiate genre and gender, and issues affecting feminism, social relations and psychological discourses. Conducted in English.
This course will examine relevant works of 20th and 21st century LGBTQ+ Spanish speaking literature and visual representations, including selections from well-known authors and a new generation of writers. We will explore these works within broad social and political contexts that extend from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. In this course, we will study how literature serves as a tool both for the expression of same-sex desire and for questioning political and social practices that have traditionally silenced non-heteronormative identities. Finally, we will discuss how LGBTQ+ literature defies aesthetic conventions to expand existing cultural frameworks and to create new ones that align with social and political progress. Taught in Spanish.
Pre-req: WLSP.2120 Spanish 4 and Culture, or WLSP.2040 Intensive Spanish 3 & 4.