Upcoming Course Descriptions
Spring 2027 undergraduate classes
WS 2013 – Gender and Social Change
Multiple sections
Introduction to multicultural women’s and gender studies as an interdisciplinary field and how gender and other identity categories shape human experiences. Examination of social institutions, norms, and practices for their impact on the status and roles of women based on current issues and research.
WS 2033 – Womanist Spiritual Activism
Multiple sections
Introductory readings in the history, theory, and practice of spiritual activism with an emphasis on multicultural, Indigenous, and womanist approaches. Explores interrelated roles of spiritual activism, imagination, and creativity in supporting personal wellness, collective well-being, and civic engagement.
WS 2053.50 – Women and Underrepresented groups in STEM
100% asynchronous online
Examines evidence-based strategies and institutional policies designed to address barriers to success for women and underrepresented groups in the areas of engineering, mathematics, and science and includes strategies for increasing their representation. Introduction to problem-solving strategies, useful for any discipline, which emphasize solutions incorporating both current and emerging technologies.
WS 2083.50 – Persp Gendered Images in Dance and Performance
100% asynchronous online
Survey of perspectives on the development of gendered images across various dance genres and performance contexts embedded in U.S. culture. Examines how movement expression reflects and communicates markers of identity, including gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality, in dance performance.
WS 2703.02 – Gender and Education
100% asynchronous online
An interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between gender and education in the U.S. Explores how gender relationships are created, maintained, enacted, and transformed through educational structures, practices, and institutions.
WS 3023.50 – U.S. Women of Colours
100% asynchronous online
Multidisciplinary, relational explorations of the histories, theories, cultures, and lives of U.S. women from a wide variety of ethnic/cultural backgrounds. Themes of agency, survival, resistance, and transformation. Contact the program for more information. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
WS 3223.50 – Women, Crime, and Justice
100% asynchronous online
Introduction to gender, crime, and justice. Focus on women as offenders, as crime victims, and as employees in criminal justice. Feminist and critical perspectives on women, girls, and crime. Issues of gender inequality in criminal justice policy and practice.
WS 3343.01 – Women in the Visual Arts
Lecture Tuesday–Thursday 9:30 a.m.–10:50 a.m.
A survey of women visual artists of the Western world and how their roles relate to those of women visual artists worldwide. A critical analysis, including traditional, feminist, and additional viewpoints, of the recording of the female artist’s place in history. Study of examples of artwork from a variety of identities, perspectives, and cultures.
WS 3393.01 – Gender, Identity and the Law
Lecture Monday–Wednesday 1 p.m.–2:20 p.m.
Impact of gender, identity, race, and class on citizens’ legal status under the U.S. Constitution; analysis of the evolution of the current legal environment and the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, with an emphasis on parallels between gender discrimination and discrimination based on racial, ethnic, and sexual identity; discussion and analysis of substantive law regarding working conditions, compensation, education, the family, reproductive rights, and criminal law; discussion of feminist perspectives on legal reforms that impact the professional lives of individuals of all genders.
WS 3703 – Women in Music
Multiple sections
An examination of music from the historical, cultural, and contemporary perspectives of women. Topics will include women as composers and performers, and the cultural values that have affected women’s participation in musical life.
WS 3733 – Psychology of Women
Multiple sections
Issues in the development and behavior of women, including theoretical perspectives from the sub-discipline of feminist psychology on sex- and gender-related differences and similarities, achievement, motivation, stereotype, androgyny, sexuality, career choices, mental health and disorders, psychotherapy, life-span, and special sub-groups. Emphasis on the psychology of women includes substantive exploration of research related to men, intersex, and transgender/gender-nonconforming people, as well as intersectional experiences shaped by race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
WS 4023.01 – Family Violence and Sexual Assault
100% asynchronous online
Practice implications of various forms of family violence and sexual assault with an emphasis on women as victims and survivors. Theoretical explanations, research literature, policies, treatment issues, and prevention strategies in relation to child abuse, battering, incest, and intimate sexual violence.
WS 4493.50 – Feminist Theories
Hybrid with meetings Thurs. 2:30 p.m.–3:50 p.m.
Survey of feminist criticism and theory focused on schools and movements and based on representative readings from major critics and theorists. Topics and texts may vary by course section. Contact department for more information.
Spring 2027 graduate classes
WS 5293.50 – Gloria Anzuldua Seminar
AnaLouise Keating, PhD
100% Online, synchronous meetings Monday 6–8:30 p.m.
This seminar investigates the work of Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa, focusing especially on her groundbreaking theoretical, philosophical, and aesthetic contributions and her innovative social-justice work. Some of the Anzaldúan theories we explore include: conocimiento, el mundo zurdo, nepantla, nepantleras, new tribalism, spiritual activism, mestiza consciousness, and the Coyolxauhqui process. Students will apply Anzaldúan theory to a project of their own.
WS 5353.01 – Intro to Feminist Pedagogies
Stina Soderling, PhD
Hybrid, Tues–Thurs 2:30–5:20 p.m.
A survey of feminist philosophies and practices of education with an emphasis on application and transferability across professional contexts.
WS 5843.50 – Feminist Womanist Theories
Damien Hagen, PhD
100% Online, synchronous meetings Monday 6–8:30 p.m.
Exploration of feminist/womanist critical inquiry, focusing on theoretical issues, historical writings, and scholarly contexts of knowledge production within the diverse body of scholarship of feminist/womanist theories. Topics and texts vary by semester. Contact the department for more information. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
WS 6103.01 – Contemporary Topics in Feminist/Womanist Theory
Multiple sections
Examines recent controversies, significant research questions, and emerging directions in feminist and womanist theorizing. Investigates contemporary developments in Women’s and Gender Studies, as well as feminist and womanist theories and frameworks. May be repeated for additional credit when content varies.
Page last updated 1:24 PM, October 29, 2026