This course invites students to learn the skills necessary to identify, analyze, and ultimately transform the cultural, social, and political forces that shape and are shaped by sex and sexuality. Approaching sexuality as a system of norms, values, beliefs, and patterns of interaction, students will learn how sexuality intersects with with gender, race, age, ethnicity, religion, ability, and other axes of power and privilege. Students will be introduced to the current body of empirical data and theory to identify how these intersecting systems of power take shape in patterns of human interaction such as forming relationships, dating rituals and sexual scripts, and interpersonal conflict and violence. In sum, students will develop the skills to 1) analyze how their own interpersonal and intimate relationships are embedded within and constitutive of broader systems of power and 2) how to work individually and collectively to change them.

Discussion section for GESS 1900.

Covers topics pertaining to the study of gender and/or sexuality

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to gender and sexuality studies. Its primary focus is critical perspectives on the social construction of gender and sexuality, inequalities on the basis of gender and sexuality, activism around issues of gender and sexuality, and how gender and sexuality shape and are shaped by other systems of inequality such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, nation, region, and age.

This course is an intersectional exploration of how feminist thinkers, activists, and culture workers have reconceptualized knowledge production and praxis, the place where theory and practice meet. Informed by the study of feminist inquiry and praxis, it is also designed to equip students with the skills needed to think critically and collaboratively, conduct original research, participate in public discourse, and apply material beyond the classroom.

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

This course focuses on developing knowledge of major theories of archives, on fostering research skills by engaging with materials, and on involving students in archival work that will allow questions about gender. Exploring theories and practices of archives, the course takes students through the history of archives, with special attention to women as keeping, and represented in, scholarly collections. Prerequisite(s): GESS 2900.

"This course focuses on developing knowledge of major theories of archives, on fostering research skills by engaging with materials, and on involving students in archival work that will allow questions about gender. Exploring theories and practices of archives, the course takes students through the history of archives, with special attention to women as keeping, and represented in, scholarly collections. Notes: The course offers a service learning project. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours. Prerequisite(s): GESS 2900, 3500.

In this course we will examine the ways in which sex, gender and sexuality have been fundamentally reorganized since the 18th century. Focusing primarily on the formation and development of the United States, this seminar aims to deepen your understanding of the distinctive constructions of sexuality in various historical, political, and cultural contexts, how those constructions have transformed over time, and what factors account for those changes. All of our critical inquiries will attend to the ways in which race, class, gender, religion, market cultures, and governments intersect with the history of sexuality.

In this course we will attend to media--including films, advertising, TV, digital, and literature - that help to constitute, perpetuate, and challenge normative scripts of what constitutes good mothering. This seminar asks students to critically analyze the varied factors that shape and define contemporary motherhood as an embodied ideology, both in the U.S. and across the globe. And we will investigate how good mothers are centrally linked to the imagination of a healthy and civilized nation. Our seminar’s key themes include the institutionalization of motherhood, motherhood as subjectivity, agency and performance, technologies of reproduction, narratives of adoption, and the politicization of motherhood, and the perpetual return to good motherhood as an ideal.

Students complete a service activity in the community in conjunction with the content of a three-credit co-requisite course. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

Qualified students may arrange for independent study with an instructor to pursue a project of interest to the student. Ordinarily, independent study earns three credits. Requirements will vary depending on the project but will involve some combination of readings, oral reports, and written work. A maximum of four credits of independent studies may be applied toward the major in Gender and Sexuality Studiesand three credits toward the minor.

Qualified students may arrange for independent study with an instructor to pursue a project of interest to the student. Ordinarily, independent study earns three credits. Requirements will vary depending on the project but will involve some combination of readings, oral reports, and written work. A maximum of four credits of independent studies may be applied toward the major in Gender and Sexuality Studies and three credits toward the minor. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

An in-depth examination of a particular topic relevant to gender and sexuality studies. Topics for discussion focus on a theme or question that is best understood within an interdisciplinary framework. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

This course is the first in a sequence of two courses (see GESS 4/6950) on feminist and queer theory. The primary goals of this course are 1) to provide an introduction to early feminist theories of patriarchy, women's oppression, and gender inequality, 2) map the emergence of subsequent theories of the social construction of gender and gender difference including the sources, causes, and effects of gender inequality and strategies for reducing or eradicating inequality, and 3) identify how intersectional, postmodern, and queer thinkers enter into dialogue with and critique early feminist theorizing. Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours. Prerequisite(s): GESS 3500.

This course is the second in a sequence of two courses on feminist and queer theory. The primary goals of this course are 1) to map the expansion of feminist and queer theory in recent decades, 2) critically engage with theories of gender, sexuality, race, and class to gain understanding of inequality and social change. Prerequisite(s): GESS 4940*. * May be taken concurrently.

Honors Thesis.

Honors Thesis.

Course may be repeated up to unlimited credit hours.

This course is an advanced seminar in feminist and gender theory. The primary focus is critical engagement with social, political, and cultural theories of the social construction of gender and gender difference, and of the sources, causes, and effects of gender inequality and strategies for reducing or eradicating inequality. While emphasis will be placed on gender difference and inequality, substantial time will be spent on theories of how gender is implicated in and supported by other forms of inequality such as sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class.

This course is the second in a sequence of two courses on feminist and queer theory. The primary goals of this course are 1) to map the expansion of feminist and queer theory in recent decades, 2) critically engage with theories of gender, sexuality, race, and class to gain understanding of inequality and social change. Prerequisite(s): GESS 6940.