Department of Women's Studies
Faculty
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita
Judith Fetterley, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
Indiana University
Professors Emeritae
Judith E. Barlow, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Pennsylvania
Roberta M. Bernstein, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
Columbia University
Francine W. Frank, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Illinois
June Hahner, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Judith E. Johnson, B.A.
Barnard College
Distinguished Professor
Edna Acosta-Belén, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow, O'Leary Professor)
Columbia University
Distinguished Service Professor
Glenna Spitze, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Illinois
Professors
Iris Berger, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Wisconsin
Christine E. Bose, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
John Hopkins University
Sarah R. Cohen, Ph.D.
Yale University
Julie Novkov, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Associate Professors Emeritae
Bonnie Spanier, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Joan E. Schulz, Ph.D. (Collins Fellow)
University of Illinois
Associate Professors
Virginia Eubanks, Ph.D. (Internship Director)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Janell C. Hobson, Ph.D.
Emory University
Vivien W. Ng, Ph.D.
University of Hawaii
Assistant Professor
Barbara Sutton, Ph.D.
University of Oregon
Senior Assistant Librarian
Deborah LaFond, M.L.I.S.
University of California, Berkeley
Affiliated Faculty (estimated): 30
Adjuncts (estimated): 1
Teaching Assistants (estimated): 1
Women’s Studies encourages students to reexamine their own lives and the world around them in relation to gender, race, class, and sexuality. The curriculum reflects new subjects, theories, and methodologies based on a cross-cultural, multidisciplinary approach to the study of women. In the creation of new knowledge, Women’s Studies provides a critique of social, cultural, and institutional structures that include the traditional disciplines. Women’s Studies sees itself as connected to the social and political environment outside the university. Opportunities are available for internships, independent study, and innovative teaching for undergraduates. Students may take a major or minor in Women’s Studies or may enroll in individual courses.
Careers
A concentration in Women’s Studies prepares students for graduate and professional training in a variety of fields. Like other B.A. graduates, Women’s Studies majors may enroll in professional study at the graduate level in law, social welfare, education, public administration, and health care; they also find employment and continue on-the-job training in business, social services, public affairs, publishing, and private nonprofit organizations. Experience in critical thinking and writing and intensive reflection concerning issues of diversity and multiculturalism prepare Women’s Studies graduates with qualities that employers actively seek. Some Women’s Studies graduates find employment with community agencies (women’s centers, counseling centers, battered women’s shelters, rape crisis centers, women’s health centers, women’s vocational agencies), in affirmative action and diversity education (in schools, government agencies, and business), and with campus-based women’s programs.
Degree Requirements for the Major in Women’s Studies
Courses that are required for students who entered the program under the current requirements will continue to be offered on a regular basis.
I. Required core courses (12 credits)
a. Intersections: A WSS 240 Classism, Racism, and Sexism: Issues
b. Theory: A WSS 220 Perspectives on Women or A WSS 360 Feminist Social and Political Thought
c. Research Methods: A WSS 490Z Research Seminar in Women's Studies
d. Internship: A WSS 492 Internship in Women's Studies or A WSS 322Y Feminist Pedagogy in Practice
e. Substitutions must be approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee.
II. Coherent Concentration (12 credits) (choose one)
Society, Politics, and Policy:
Four courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A WSS 202 Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Studies
A WSS 241 Science, Technology, and Social Justice
A WSS 260 History of Women and Social Change
A WSS 262 Sociology of Gender
A WSS 299 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 303 Popular Technology: Advocacy and Activism in an Age of IT
A WSS 326 Sociology of Race, Gender, and Class
A WSS 333 Women and the Law
A WSS 344 Sociology of Women in the Political Economy
A WSS 346 Law, Civil Rights, and Sexual Orientation
A WSS 360 Feminist Social and Political Thought
A WSS 363 Sociology of Sexualities
A WSS 365 The Anthropology of New Reproductive Technologies
A WSS 399 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 401 Sex/uality, Race, and Class in Science and Health
A WSS 412 Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics in the Asian Diaspora
A WSS 430Z Environmental Justice: Racism, Classism, Sexism
A WSS 465 Feminist Theory
A WSS 497 Topics in LGBTQ Studies
A WSS 498 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
Information, Technology, and Science:
Four courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A WSS 109X Women, Biology & Health
A WSS 241 Science, Technology, and Social Justice
A WSS 281 Women and the Media
A WSS 299 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 303 Popular Technology: Advocacy and Activism in an Age of IT
A WSS 309 Activism and Health
A WSS 328 Gender, Space, and Place
A WSS 342X Electronic Publishing in Women’s Studies
A WSS 360 Feminist Social and Political Thought
A WSS 361 Gender and Nation in World Cinema
A WSS 365 The Anthropology of New Reproductive Technologies
A WSS 399 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 401 Sexuality, Race, and Class in Science and Health
A WSS 430Z Environmental Justice: Racism, Classism, Sexism
A WSS 499 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
Globalization & Cultural Studies:
Four courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A WSS 281 Women and the Media
A WSS 299 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 308 Global Perspectives on Women
A WSS 311 Women in Antiquity
A WSS 328 Gender, Space, and Place
A WSS 357 Chinese Women and Modernity
A WSS 360 Feminist Social and Political Thought
A WSS 361 Gender and Nation in World Cinema
A WSS 362 Critical Approaches to Gender and Sexuality in Literature
A WSS 381 Anthropology of Gender
A WSS 395 History of Women in Modern Japan
A WSS 399 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 412 Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics in the Asian Diaspora
A WSS 451 Gender and Class in Latin American Development
A WSS 498 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
Arts, Media, and Justice:
Four courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A WSS 217 Women and Music
A WSS 280 Society's Nightmare: Images of Gender, Race, and Class in Horror Fiction
A WSS 281 Women and the Media
A WSS 282Z Narratives and Counter-Narratives
A WSS 299 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 303 Popular Technology: Advocacy and Activism in an Age of IT
A WSS 311Z Women in Antiquity
A WSS 336 Representations: Music, Gender, Race, and Class
A WSS 342X Electronic Publishing in Women’s Studies
A WSS 361 Gender and Nation in World Cinema
A WSS 362 Critical Approaches to Gender and Sexuality in Literature
A WSS 366 Critical Approaches to Ethnicity in Literature
A WSS 368 Women Writers
A WSS 399 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
A WSS 412 Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics in the Asian Diaspora
A WSS 430Z Environmental Justice: Racism, Classism, Sexism
A WSS 450 The Literature of Feminism: An Interdisciplinary Seminar
A WSS 461 Women in Cinema
A WSS 475 Women in Art
A WSS 498 Topics in Women's Studies (where appropriate)
Independent Student Design:
Four courses, as advised (at least two of them at the 300-level or above). Must be approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee.
III. Electives (12 credits)
At least one course must be at 300-level or above. Electives are to be selected from Women's Studies courses or other courses as approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee.
Honors Program
Students may file an application for admission to the honors program in the department office in the second semester of the sophomore year or in the junior year. Junior transfers may apply at the time of their admission to the University.
The minimum requirements for admission include completion of at least 12 credits of course work applicable to the major, a minimum overall grade point average of 3.25, and a minimum 3.50 grade point average for all courses applicable toward the major.
Students in the program are required to complete all of the requirements for the major in Women’s Studies. As part of their elective credits for the major, students must also complete 3 credits of intensive work culminating in an independent research or creative honors project.
Typically the project begins as a paper the student writes for an upper-division Women’s Studies course no later than spring of the junior year. During the senior year, honors students fulfill the requirements for the honors program by enrolling in A WSS 495 Honors Project during the fall semester concurrently with A WSS 490Z, Research Seminar in Women’s Studies. Alternatively, students who have been admitted into the honors program during their sophomore year may enroll in A WSS 490Z in the fall semester of their junior year in preparation for completion of the honors sequence during the subsequent two semesters.
Students in the honors program are required to maintain overall grade point averages of 3.25 or higher during the junior and senior years and overall grade point averages of 3.50 or higher for all courses applicable toward the major. Students not meeting the above standards may be unable to complete the honors program.
After completion of the above requirements, the records of the candidate will be reviewed by the department, which will recommend candidates for the degree with honors in Women’s Studies.
Combined Bachelor's/Master's in Women's Studies
The combined B.A./M.A. program provides an opportunity for students with outstanding academic abilities to receive both a B.A. and an M.A. degree in five years (ten semesters).
The combined program demands a minimum of 142 credits, of which 32 must be graduate credits. Students must fulfill all university, college, and department requirements for both the undergraduate major and the M.A. in Women’s Studies.
Students accepted into the combined B.A./M.A. program apply up to 10 credits of graduate work toward both their undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. Students take two 4-credit graduate courses in addition to A WSS 510 (2 credits), “Advanced Feminist Pedagogy and Theory,” to fulfill this requirement.
Undergraduate students who have completed a minimum of 60 credits with a GPA of 3.20 or above are eligible to apply. Students submit applications for the B.A./M.A. program in Women’s Studies directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Students will be admitted upon the recommendation of the department’s Graduate Admissions Committee, whose decision will be based on the student’s grade point average, statement of purpose, writing sample, and supportive letters of recommendation from faculty.
