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• Undergraduate Spring 2026
• Women's and Gender Studies

Undergraduate Women's and Gender Studies

2026 Spring Term

Class Schedule

INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES

WOMENST 100

An investigation of women's experience from the perspective of various disciplines. The course examines the ways gender interacts with ethnicity, race, class and sexuality and explores contemporary and historical issues related to women's lives. Included are such subjects as health and body image, violence against women, and women's achievements.

Class Schedule

SEX, GENDER, AND HEALTH

WOMENST 180

This course explores the reproductive and sexual functions of human bodies, as well as the scientific and social influences on those bodies. By examining sex, reproduction, and aging, this course uses intersectional lenses to explore uneven access to sexual health resources and reproductive justice across cultures, ultimately demonstrating the achievements and limitations of women's health movements in the recent past.

Class Schedule

YOUTH CULTURE FORMATION: RACE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY

WOMENST 241

This course explores how various U.S. institutions construct "youth" as a social category, how those constructions are primarily interlocked with race and ethnicity, and how those constructions subsequently shape youth cultures in multi-faceted, intersectional cultural contexts such as music, gaming, sports, and media.

Class Schedule

GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND RACE IN FILM

WOMENST 366

This course introduces students to the long-standing yet ever-evolving ways in which films represent the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class in America. Practice critically viewing films, constructing arguments about cultural transmission through visual media, and posing ethical questions regarding the past, present, and future of cinematic representation.

Class Schedule

QUEER CINEMA

WOMENST 374

In Queer Cinema, students will deploy analyses of gender and sexuality that respond to the possibilities and limitations of the medium. Queer Cinema is appropriate for any student who wishes to learn how to apply complex theories of gender representation and sexual identity to the analysis of visual narratives.

Class Schedule

FEMINIST AND QUEER THEORIES

WOMENST 390

This course covers the historical and contemporary development of feminist and queer theoretical thought. We will explore the rifts, debates, and coalitions that emerge from the variety of perspectives in feminist and queer theories. The range of course material and ideas allow students to develop their own feminist and queer lexicon and their own approach to feminist and queer thought, research, and activism.

Class Schedule

DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE SEMINAR

WOMENST 410

Organized around individual student needs, this course provides students the specialized instruction necessary to complete the co-curricular requirements of the Diversity Leadership Certificate. The course emphasizes the creation of an ePortfolio that will be used to document a student's learning through the submission of a wide range of diversity-related learning artifacts and reflection essays.

Class Schedule

GLOBAL GENDER POLITICS

WOMENST 464

This course takes seriously the explanatory power and importance of gender in the study of global politics. It explores the roles of women and men, femininities and masculinities in the shaping, defining, and legitimating of world affairs. Using a critical, interdisciplinary perspective, this course considers how gender helps us better understand security, the global political economy, and global governance.

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INTERNSHIP IN WOMEN'S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES

WOMENST 493

Work and study with an agency, nonprofit, or institution related to women's, gender, and/or LGBTQ* advocacy. Students working under faculty supervision will combine academic learning with practical experience.

Class Schedule

SPECIAL STUDIES

WOMENST 496

Variable topics. Group activity. Not offered regularly in the curriculum but offered on topics selected on the basis of timeliness, need, and interest, and generally in the format of regularly scheduled Catalog offerings. Repeatable with different topic.

Class Schedule

INDEPENDENT STUDY

WOMENST 498

Study of a selected topic or topics under the direction of a faculty member.