Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies

Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies (GSWS) is a collection of courses nested in SJPS. Our courses, with their focus squarely on sex, gender, and sexuality, BIPOC and 2SLGBTQAI+ inclusive, are incredibly interdisciplinary. We explore structures of power that privilege some and oppress others, according to intersections of sex, gender, sexuality, race, (dis)ability, and class. Our social justice lens combines lived experience and practical applications with philosophy and queer theory to engage empathetic understanding and sharpen critical thinking as we explore our social reality.

NOTE: Not all courses are offered every year. Please check the current course offerings.

1020E INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S & GENDER STUDIES  

A survey of selected topics in the study of gender structures and the status of women globally while utilizing an inclusive, historical and cross-cultural approach. Together we will examine how gender differences are created and established through various institutional practices, and will strive to make connections between our own lives, changing global dynamics, and the existences of international feminist and related activism movements. Other topics we will explore include: gender stratification; femininity, sexuality, and the female body (particularly in relation to sexual identity, reproduction, eating disorders, and perceptions of beauty); masculinities; men in feminism; indigenous feminism; intersexuality and transgender; women and work; intersections of race, class, sexual orientation, and (dis)ability with our gendered experience in the world; global feminism; and activism for gender equality/equity/freedom across classes, nations, and ethnicities.
3 hours.

2200E ADVANCED INTERDISCIPLINARY SURVEY OF WOMEN'S & GENDER STUDIES  

The course will build upon the foundation set by 1020E and expand on those discussions. Here we explore and analyze the image of women (broadly construed and LGBTQI+ inclusive!) along several themes and topics. Some of the domains we will look at include: Cultural (e.g., literature, film, art, music); Sociological (e.g., psycho-social development, social structures and injustice, LGBTQI intersections); Historical (e.g., forgotten figures in science and philosophy, leaders, saints, mystics, and martyrs); Sexual (e.g., sex work, sex education, body integrity, human trafficking, reproduction); Technology (e.g., reproductive tech, sex robots & issues of consent); and Medicine (e.g., hysteria, anatomy, discrimination).  With intersectionality and inclusivity underpinning our investigations, the hope is for an enriching and dynamic dialogue about the imagery that surrounds us and informs our understanding of what it means to be a woman and the power of gender politics. 
Antirequisite(s): The former Humanities 105E.
Prerequisite(s): GSWS 1020 or completion of first year University.
3 lecture hours.