Women’s and Gender Studies
Spring 2013 Courses
Women’s and Gender Studies
Required Courses
WMGS 102 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
WMGS 102-01: M 5:30-8:00pm Prof. J. Hersh
WMGS 102-02: TR 11:30-12:45pm Prof. S. Harry
WMGS 102-03: TF 1:00-2:15pm Prof. S. Harry
WMGS 102-04: MW 1:00-2:15pm Prof. J. Landweber
WMGS 102-05 MR 2:30-3:45pm Prof. E. Abreu
This course is an interdisciplinary exploration in which students will, through examination and analysis, explore major social issues affecting women today and the systems and discourses that construct gender. In particular, we will focus on race, class and gender and explore how they overlap to gain understanding of the “-isms” and phobias we encounter in ourselves, in others and in the media. The aim of this course is to equip you with the tools to define, understand and propose solutions to the social problem of sexism that our society faces and create positive change. Meets GenEd 2002 Social Science. Meets the 1983 Gend ED--Contemporary Issues. Meets the MAR. Required course for WMGS Major/Minor
WMGS 301-01: Feminist Theory
TR 11:30-12:45pm Prof. F. Afzal-Khan
This course examines a wide variety of feminist theories which illustrate the many ways in which issues of gender can be interpreted. Recognizing that gendered identities are molded by such factors as class, race, sexual orientation, and national identity, this course explores the issues of difference among women and the role of theory in conceptualizing such differences.
Required course for WMGS Major/Minor
WMGS 402-01: Research Seminar Women’s and Gender Studies
M 5:30-8:00pm Prof. J. Landweber
Note: Also under History as HIST 400: Research Seminar in Women’s and Gender History.
This co-sitting course is a capstone research seminar for both WMGS and History Majors. The course has two principal aims. First, students will be introduced to a variety of feminist methods of research as employed by scholars across the humanities and social-science disciplines, including both traditional and oral history. To gain familiarity with the dominant methods and strategies employed in contemporary feminist historical and women’s studies research, we will examine critical examples in the literature. Secondly, students will apply these methods to specific individually-determined feminist research projects. WMGS majors will select a topic germane to the women’s and gender studies discipline; History majors will select a historical topic open to feminist analysis (most likely focusing on women’s and/or gender history). Each student will be responsible for carrying out a term-length independent research project on a subject of their choosing from start to finish. Students will learn about every needed component of the research process, including identifying a research topic, conducting a scholarly literature review, gathering and analyzing data, building an argument, presenting findings, and preparing an essay explicating the research. This course will provide structure and guidance throughout that process, including constructive discussion with, and feedback from, your peers.
Required course for WMGS Major
WMGS Electives
WMGS 302-01: Selected Topics: Radical Reproduction
MW 11:30-12:45pm Prof. T. Bogle
Reproductive “Outsourcing.” Sperm & Egg Donation. IVF Raffle Contests. Gamete Banks. Womb Rental. Designer Babies. Sex-Selection. Adopt-an-Embryo. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (aka Cloning). Learn about the latest reproductive biotechnologies in use today and explore the ways these technologies can be employed to aid or to undermine feminist and LGBTQ communities. The burgeoning field of reproductive biotech offers great promise for reproductive freedom, empowerment & alternative family creation; yet biotech can also be used in ways that exploit and disempower. How do we decide when and how to use the technology at our disposal?
WMGS 316-01 Victimology
R 5:30-8:00 pm Prof. K. Carbonello
Victimology. Prerequisites: JUST 200 or JUST 201 or WMGS 301 or departmental approval. Victimology is the scientific study of victims including the relationship between the victim and offender, the victim and the criminal justice system, and the victim with other societal institutions. The goal of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the subject of victimology in the context of Criminology and Women's and Gender Studies. The course will be presented in three parts: Research and theory on victimization ,Exploration of special topics in victimology, and Historical and Contemporary practical responses to victimization.3 hours lecture.
WMGS 350-01: Women Writing Safe:
Writing, Rape Prevention and Community Activism
MR 1:00-2:15pm Prof. J. Restaino
Writing Women Safe: Writing, Rape Prevention, and Community Activism. Prerequisites: ENGL 300, ENWR 250, ENWR 204, ENWR 205, ENWR 206, ENWR 207, ENWR 210, ENWR211 OR WMGS 201. This course exposes students to writing-as-social-action through intensive study of the topic of sexual violence against women. Students will gain a broad-based understanding of community literacy and the role of writing outside school walls in order to fully explore how writing can function as an activist tool for the prevention of sexual violence. We will read broadly on the issue of sexual violence against women-analyzing depictions of rape in popular language, exploring how rape has been discussed in feminist theory and scholarship, and researching community-based and activist responses to rape and its prevention-in order to strengthen our own literacy practices towards prevention and awareness-raising. Students will be familiar with local, national, and international agencies that work to protect women from sexual violence and advocate for rape survivors. Students will develop activist writing projects that work to serve and further these existing efforts. 3 hours lecture.
WMGS 410-01: Cooperative Education: Women’s & Gender Studies
TBD Prof. B. Harrison
Cooperative Education: Women's and Gender Studies. Prerequisites: WMGS 102, WMGS 301 and at least one other WMGS course; minimum GPA of 3.0; approval of WMGS director. Special fee. Academic study integrated with supervised internship in an organization, agency, or business that addresses women's issues or issues of gender. Part-time (20 hours per week). Required individual meetings with faculty advisor supplement experiential component, and include discussion of field work experience, connection between feminist/gender studies theories and practice, issues of access and diversity, civic responsibility, and career options
GLQS 302-01 Selected Topics: TRANS GLOBAL, GLOBAL TRANS:
Queer Identity on the Silver Screen
R 5:30-8:00pm Prof. A. Vaidya
The LGBT presence in American and European cinema and television has been well-documented and studied for a long-time now; the cinema of the East, similarly, has its own closet of on-screen queers, bursting at its seams. This course will conduct an archaeology of the South Asian screen with the intent of unearthing its queerness. Topics to be covered include: Cross-dressing in Indian silent-era films; genealogy of the Bollywood vamp; homosociality vs. homosexuality in Bollywood cinema; concept of ‘third sex’ in South Asian culture; Asian horror and Asian camp as sites of queer identity; effeminate men and butch women of the East; queer identity in Diasporic cinema, queer production in post-377 India (Penal Code 377, which criminalized homosexuality, was repealed in 2008 in India)
WMGS Electives in Other Departments
AFAM 207-01: The Black Woman: An Introduction
MW 10-11:15am Prof. S. Lewis
This course will analyze key events in Black women’s history and focus on various aspects of Black women’s lived experience including activism/social reform, leadership, family life, physical and mental health, images and stereotypes, identity, work/career, and spirituality. The myths and realities of Black women’s experiences will be explored to stimulate critical thinking regarding relevant social and cultural issues, and broaden perspectives on gender concerns, social justice, and equality.
ANTH 423-01: Community and Health
T 5:30-8:00 pm Prof. E. Gerber
The study of how social and cultural influences and inequalities related to age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation impact health and disease in communities. Case studies will examine health in relationship to community issues including homelessness, the health care delivery system, role of community in disease prevention/treatment, social inclusion, and program evaluation.
EDFD 264-01: Gender Issues in America Ed.
T 8:30-11:00am Prof. M. Gregory
Examines the nature of gender, gender identity, gender roles and gender discrimination, and the influence of these on classrooms, schools and educational policy.
ENGL 294-01: Women Poets
MW 10:00-11:15 AM Prof. N. Samaras
Women Poets. Prerequisites: ENWR 106 or HONP 101.Selected poets from Sappho through Emily Dickinson to Sylvia Plath examined in relation to contemporary women poets. Meets the World Languages and Cultures Requirement - World Cultures.3 hours lecture.
ENLT 230-01 Images of Muslim Women in the 20th Century
TR 1:00-2:15 pm Prof. F. Afzal Khan
Images of Muslim Women in Twentieth Century Literature and Culture. Prerequisites: ENWR 106 or HONP 101.Through an exploration of writings by and about Muslim women in various parts of the world, students will be encouraged to develop an appreciation of the variety of aesthetic forms and narrative structures embodied therein. Representation in other cultural forms such as film will also be looked at to challenge monolithic assumptions.3 hours lecture.
ENLT 372 Women Prose Writers
ENLT 372-01 TR 1:00-2:15pm Prof.E.Cheng
ENLT 372-02 T 5:30-8:00 pm Prof.E. Cheng. Prerequisites: ENWR 106 or HONP 101.Readings in the international fiction and non-fiction of women writers. The focus will be on such themes as the nature of the family, changing relationships between women and men, evolving concepts of the "feminine," the impact of colonialism on gender related issues (i.e. work and women's identity) and interrelationships between religion and women's lives.3 hours lecture.
FCST 205-01 Women in Contemporary Society
TBA Prof. T. Brown
Prerequisites: PSYC 101 or ENWR 105 or HONP 100.Those historical developments and social forces which have shaped the status of women in America. Discussion of current concerns and role options available to today's women. Meets the World Languages and Cultures Requirement - World Cultures. Starting Summer 2012: Through this course students gain an understanding of how historical developments and social forces have shaped the status of women in America. Students engage in discussion about current concerns and role options available to today's women. Special attention is given to the construction of womanhood and the intersections of gender with race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality. Meets theWorld Languages and Cultures Requirement - World Cultures.3 hours lecture.
HLTH 295: Sexuality Education in the Schools
HLTH 295-01 W 8:30-11:00 AM Prof. J. Velasco
HLTH 295-02 W 11:30-2:00PM Prof. J. Velasco
Focus on sexuality content and teaching methodology for sex education K-12 in schools. Based on NJ Content Standards for Sexuality Education.
HIST 215-01: Women in American History
T 5:30-8:00 PM Prof. N. Carnevale
Learn about the changing role and status of women in American society from colonial times to the present.
HIST 334-01 Women in the Muslim World
M 5:30-8:15 pm Prof.N.Nabavi
A History of Representations. Prerequisite course required HIST-100- and HIST-117 or HIST-118 Also in Women's Studies . A survey of writings by and about Muslim women examined historiographically.We examine conventional wisdom about Muslim women through the ages, and howthis "wisdom" was constructed: Who wrote about Muslim women? When? How?What purposes have these writings served at different times and places sincethe inception of Islam and during the course of its 1,500 year history.3 hours lecture.
LALS 205: Image & Identity: Representations of Latin American Women
in Film & Fiction
LALS 205-01 TR 10:00-11:15pm Prof.Mongor-Lizarrabengoa D.
LALS 205-02 TF 11:30-12:45pm Prof. Wolf S.
LALS 205-03 MW 1:00-2:30pm Prof. R. Membreno
LALS 205-04 T 5:30-8:00pm Prof. D. Echeverria
LALS 205-05 R 5:30-8:00pm Prof. D. Echeverria
LALS 205-06 TBA ONLINE Prof.Mongor-Lizarrabengoa D.
An analysis of representations of women in film and fiction with a special focus on the process of identity construction. Representations of women from pre-Columbian times to the present will be studied in relation to their use in the perpetuation of ideologies. This course is intended as an overview of the social history of women in Latin America. Meets Gen Ed 2002-Non-Western Cultural Perspectives Requirement, the 1983 General Education Requirement (GER)-Social Science, Non-Western Cultural Perspectives, and the Multicultural Awareness Requirement.
RELG 267-01 Women and Religion
R 5:30-8:00 pm Prof. B. Marovich
Focuses on women's own experience in religions and the various perspectives of women held by both Eastern and Western religious traditions. The course deals with questions such as the nature of women, patriarchy and religion, and roles of women in religions. Meets the University Writing Requirement for RELS majors. Meets the World Languages and Cultures Requirement - World Cultures.
RUIN 297-01 Women In Russian Literature
TR 4:00-5:15 pm Prof.J.Gatrall
Women in Russian Literature. This course will examine the roles, status, identity and problems of female characters in representative works of Russian literature from the medieval period to the present. It will trace the development of mythic images about" Mother Russia," study the cultural messages of classic nineteenth century Russian heroines and explore adaptations in the traditional appreciation of Russian women in the early Soviet period as well as contemporary works. Meets the World Languages and Cultures Requirement - World Cultures
SOCI 426-01 Sociology of Sexuality
HYBRID Prof. G. Zicklin
Meets W 11:30-12:45PM & ONLINE
The course examines the theoretical and empirical work in the dynamic field of sociology of sexuality. We’ll work to understand the social foundations of sexual behavior and sexual identity. We’ll explore the relationship between sexuality and politics by focusing on contemporary as well as historical conflicts over sexual behavior and ideologies.
SOCI 430-01 Sociology of Gender
M 5:30-8:00pm Prof. K. Keller
In this course, we will examine how our society builds social meaning around the physical categories of female and male. Gender is the social construction of one’s sex; that is, how we think, how we speak, how we are socialized, what resources are available to us, what respect we are given, are all influenced by the societal meanings given to being physically identified as male or female. We must realize that gender intersects with other social factors such as class and race. So in understanding gender, we have to answer the questions, “Which woman?” Which man?”
Please check the WESS listings in affiliated departments for the most accurate and
up-to-date listings of WMGS elective courses and their times/days.