Women's Studies

Women's College and College of Adult Undergraduate Studies

E. Susan Barber, Ph.D., Coordinator

The women's studies minor is offered to students in the College of Adult Undergraduate Studies and Women's College. It is an interdisciplinary program that examines women's lives, perspectives and experiences. Through scholarship by and/or about women and the study of feminist theories and research methodologies, the student develops an intellectual framework through which to examine gender as a social, cultural and historical construct. Students will explore the way gender interacts with other socially constructed categories such as race, class, nationality, sexual orientation as well as with other dimensions of identity (including religion, ethnicity, and age) that have often been used as the basis for discrimination. Students also will be encouraged to examine and understand the impact of these categories on their own experiences, and will be prepared to participate in the processes of social change that would promote the full development of all women and men.

A minor in women's studies can benefit students in a variety of careers including art, business, communication, counseling, education, health, journalism, law, music, politics, psychology, public policy, religion, social services and sports.

Requirements

The minor in women's studies consists of seven courses and 21 credits, including IDS-150 Introduction to Women's Studies and IDS-440 Seminar in Women's Studies. Of the five remaining courses, no more than two may be from the same discipline, all must be at the 200-level or above, and three of the five must be at the 300/400 level. (See program of study, following.)

Courses taken to fulfill general education requirements, and two courses from the student's major, may be counted toward the women's studies minor.

A student wishing to minor in women's studies is encouraged to meet with the program coordinator to design an appropriate program of study to complement her major and to receive information about course cycling.

Program of Study

Required Courses
IDS-150 Introduction to Women's Studies
IDS-440 Seminar in Women's Studies

Five of the following courses, at least three at the 300/400 level:
ART-315 Explorations of Women in Art
BUS-451 Women in Leadership
COM-330 Women in Film
COM-382 Gender and Communication
ENG-243 Literature by Women
ENG-275 American Women Writers
ENG-318 Great Modern Dramatists
HIS-261 Winning the Vote: The History of Women's Suffrage in America
HIS-290/POL-290 Women in Islamic Societies
HIS-309 Women in American History
HIS-323 Black Women in American History
HIS-350 Harlots and Helpmates: The History of Women in Europe, 1790-1945
HIS-352 Honors: Educating Women in the U.S.
HIS-355 Women and Work: The American Experience
HIS-402 Honors: Women, War and Peace
HIS-303/LCL-303 Women in the Ancient World
MUS-320 Women in Music
PED-301 American Women in Sports History
PHL-323 Feminist Philosophy
POL-324 Women, Politics and the Law
POL-411 Women and Public Policy
PSY-209 Social Psychology
PSY-375 Sex and Gender
RST-305 Marriage and the Family
RST-345 Justice and Peace
RST-355 Women in the Present and in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
RST-471 Honors: Theological Investigations
SOC-202 Sociology of the Family
SOC-271 Honors: Sociology of Gender Roles

See course descriptions in departmental listings.