This seminar will investigate the rich and problematic relationship between the sciences and issues of sex/gender, sexuality, race, class, and ableness, including cultural biasis in science and health. within an historical context, the course will emphasize the impact of antiracist feminism on the sciences and health in the past three decades. Key analytical questions include: How is scientific knowledge made, believed, and used? What forces control its production and use? What constitutes evidence in science--for scientists and for citizens, and how is the decided? What role do "western" science and technology play in globalization and its impact on peolpe's lives within the U.S. and throughout the world? What forces are working to transform science to increase social, political, and economic justice? what theoretical and practical insights accrue from "intersectional feminist analyses (working with the intersections of sex/gender, racial/ethnic heritage, class, ableness, and global status) of science and health? What is the potential for feminist science studies to transform the sciences and health? Examples of specific topics may be addressed are biological determinism, environmental pollution, and breast cancer science and politics.
Wss 510 Graduate Orientation in Women’s Studies
(1-2)
Wss 510, required for all new master’s students in Women’s Studies,
is an introduction to the UAlbany Women’s Studies master’s program,
the Department, and the field. Topics covered include the role of Women’s
Studies within the academy, the challenges of interdisciplinarity and of intersectional
feminist analysis, and the role of research and teaching in feminist activism.
Women’s Studies faculty will meet with the class to discuss their teaching,
research, and activism. Students will also learn about the option of participating
as instructors-of-record in Introduction to Feminisms (the Teaching Collective)
for the spring semester. Prerequisite: Admission to M.A. program in Women’s
Studies or permission of instructor. Course carries variable credit; most students
enroll for 2 credits but enrollment for 1 credit is possible with permission
of Department.
Wss 512 Race, Gender and Cultural Politics in Asian America (4)
With an emphasis on historical perspectives as well as the intersections of gender, class, and race/ethnicity, this course studies the experience of Asians in the U.S. Topics include: immigration laws; labor and work; family and community formation; the processes of reconstruction history and memory; politics of media representation. Research project required.
Wss 520 Advanced Feminist Pedagogy and Theory (2)
Continuation of Wss 510. Advanced students with experience in feminist teaching work in a collaborative collective mode to apply feminist pedagogical and political theory to specific teaching situations. Work may be coordinated with "teaching collective" group in Wss 310, 320, and 322 when possible. Analysis of current scholarship on pedagogy required, along with analysis of the practical applications of theory in specific teaching situations. Prerequisite: Wss 510.
Wss 525 (Pub 525Q, Pos 525Q, Aps 525) Feminist Thought and Public Policy (4)
Examination of the implications of public policy research and implementation from a feminist perspective; the coherence or lack of it amongst different models of public policy formation, different perspectives on specific public policy issues, and different orientations within the women's movement.
Wss 530 (Aas 529, Lcs 530) Environmental Justice: Racism, Classism,
Sexism (4)
In Environmental Justice: Racism, Classism, and Sexism we will explore how,
racism, classism and sexism effect current environmental "events",
including environmental policy-making, public health outcomes, and the rhetoric
and politics of environmentalism. Surveying the development of environmental
awareness among the public, philosophies behind such awareness and resulting
shifts in policy, we will focus on the growth of the environmental justice movement,
and will consider how various groups have addressed environmental degradation
and justice. Also, under consideration will be a set of related issues: how
globalization has effected these events, the feminist critique of science and
its impact, relationships between grass-roots activism (for example, native
American activists and other Environmental Justice group) and between these
groups and more scholarly approaches and contributions by artists, labor-rights
groups, religious leaders, animal rights activists, and deep ecologists. Prerequisite:
Students, at whatever level, are welcome. The requirements will differ for graduate
and undergraduate students. For example, graduate students will be reading more
theoretical articles, and will be responsible for explaining these to the undergraduate
students. In addition, graduate students will be required to submit a final
research paper that is much longer (12-20 pages) than that required for undergraduate
students.
Wss 540 (Aas 541, His 540) Black Women in U.S. History (4)
This reading and research seminar will examine the history of black women in the United States. It will focus upon the range of demands placed on black women during the Gilded and Progressive eras--the founding of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896, their participation in the women's suffrage movement and other liberation struggles. Their creative expressions and labor force participation, and interracial activities also will be discussed.
Wss 550 The Literature of Feminism: An Interdisciplinary Seminar (4)
Draws upon the entire body of writing (fictional and nonfictional) that concerns feminism In different semesters, it may focus on different themes, periods, ideas, or issues related to feminism. Combines readings, lectures, seminar discussions, and research. May be repeated for credit when topics differ.
Wss 551 (Lcs 551, His 551) Gender and Class in Latin American Development (3)
The study of the historical interplay of cultural, ideological, and structural factors affecting women's lives during the course of Latin America's experience with modernization and industrialization during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics covered may include: household work, paid work, migration, growth of female headed households, women's political participation, and women's participation in social movements. Prerequisite(s): Any course in Latin American Studies and/or Women's Studies and/or History.
Introduction to research literature on families, with emphasis on contemporary industrial societies, and on diversity among family types. Topics include theoretical perspectives, formation and dissolution, interactions and power, economic issues, parent-child relations, extended family, and family policy.
Wss 561 (Arh 561) Women in Film (3)
Women in Film gives a multi-dimensional look at women in cinema – as they
are seen in films, as they make films, as they see films. The course will examine
the contributions of women through the first 100 years of cinema and analyze
various genres. Women to be studied include: Dorothy Arzner, Marilyn Monroe,
Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Anita Loos, Frances Marion, Ida Lupino, Verna Fields,
Barbara Streisand, Lillian Gish, Lenore Coffee, and others. Prerequisite: Arh
260
Wss 562 (Ant 562) Folklore and Feminist Theory (4)
Focuses on feminist theoretical approaches to the study of folklore. Course material investigates how expressive cultural behavior is shaped by gender, in conjunction with other factors, such as race, ethnicity, class, and sexual identity. The course examines how women and men create folklore and manipulate it to inscribe gender identity in a wide array of cultural circumstances. Prerequisite: At least one course in women's studies or anthropology.
Examination of key changes in feminist theory from the late 1960s to the present. Assessment of changes in the way feminists have thought about such topics as: motherhood, sexuality, the origin and nature of women's oppression, class, race, and differences amongst women. Attention to the political implications of changes in theory. Written analysis required of feminist theory in relation to the foundation of traditional disciplines studied by students. Prerequisites: Wss 490Z, 590 recommended.
Wss 575 (Arh 575) Women in Art (3)
Surveys of women artists from 1550 to the present, including Artemesia Gentileschi, Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, Mary Cassatt, Alice Neel. Also includes a feminist analysis of images of women since the Renaissance.
Wss 590 Research Seminar in Women's Studies (4)
Seminar in the theory and practice of women's studies research to examine: what distinguishes women's studies from other disciplines; the relationship between research and community/political activism; how research is changing the traditional disciplines and the methods used in research. Permission of instructor required.
Wss 592 Graduate Internship (2)
The graduate internship gives M.A. students either professional experience in the non-profit or local government sector or hands-on participation in an ongoing departmental Institutional Review Board-approved action research project in the community outside the University. There are two components of the internship. (1) Students are expected to spend 6-8 hours per week at their placements or engaged in action research. Each student works closely with a feminist mentor or faculty member who provides guidance on projects as well as an analysis of the structure and function of the non-profit or community organization and its role in social change. (2) Students attend a weekly 80-minute academic seminar where they apply feminist theory and analysis to their work in their placement or their community action research project and complete a final paper summarizing their work. Prerequisites: Wss590 and/or permission of instructor.
Wss 597 Independent Study (1-4)
Study in an area of special interest not treated in courses currently offered. Work performed under direction of a professor chosen by the student on a topic approved by the program. May be repeated with approval. Not open to undergraduates.
Wss 599 Topics in Women's Studies (1-4)
Consideration of topics or issues in women's studies selected on the basis of faculty and student interest. May be taken more than once with different content. Potential topics include seminar in sex role development or cross-cultural study of women. Consult schedule for specific title.
Wss 617 (Pad 617) Equal Employment Opportunity (4)
Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (EEO-AA) from historical, legal, administrative as well as normative perspectives. Primary emphasis placed on EEO-AA in the public sector employment. Prerequisites: Pad 500 and Pad 506.
Wss 639 (His 639) Readings in Gender and Society (4)
Examination from a theoretical and historical perspective of the ways that gender analysis has shaped discussion of a variety of historical issues. Readings may focus on one or more geographic areas, themes, or historical periods. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor.
Wss 640 (Soc 640) Gender Inequality (3)
Recent data, theories, and policies regarding earnings and employment
differentials, occupational segregation, and political power differences between
men and women, including an examination of racial, ethnic and class differences
among women.
Wss 641 (His 640) Seminar in Gender and
Society (4)
Individual research in historical materials resulting in a scholarly paper on some aspects of gender studies. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor.
Wss 645 (Soc 645) Selected Topics in Gender Research (3)
Intensive investigation of theories and research findings pertaining to a specific topic in the area of sociology of gender, such as feminization of poverty, gender and politics, women's role in economic development, reproductive technology, gender and aging, and work and family roles. Topic will be announced. May be repeated for credit.
Wss 689 Master’s Project Proposal Writing (1-4)
Preparation and planning for M.A. Final Project, under direction of M.A. committee.
This independent study course is optional for those planning to take Wss 690
the following semester. Prerequisite: Admission to M.A. program in Women’s
Studies and permission of Women’s Studies Graduate Faculty Advisor.
Wss 690 MA Final Project (3-4)
Research leading to successful completion of a three hour written examination; or a 25-30 page paper; or presentation of creative work or a project involving political action. Prerequisite: admission to MA program in Women's Studies and permission of Women's Studies Graduate Faculty Adviser.
Wss 695 Topics in Women's Studies (1-4)
Advanced treatment of topics or issues in women's studies selected on the basis of faculty and student interest. May be taken more than once with different content. Consult schedule for specific title. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Wss 697 Advanced Independent Study (1-4)
Study by a student in an area of special interest not treated in courses currently offered. Work performed under direction of a professor chosen by the student on a topic approved by the department. May be repeated with approval. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Wss 698 Advanced Topics in Women's Studies (3-4)
Consideration of topics in women's studies. May be taken once with different content. Consult semester schedule for specific title. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Wss 797 Advanced Independent Study (1-4)
Study by a student in an area of special interest not treated in courses currently offered. Work performed under direction of a professor chosen by the student on a topic approved by the department. May be repeated with approval. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Wss 798 Special Topics in Women's Studies (3-4)
Advanced topics in women's studies offered in conjunction with other
departments. May be taken more than once with different content.