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Courses
A minor in Women's Studies consists of 15 semester hours; 6 hours of required courses and 9 hours of elective courses.
Required Courses
WMS 200 Introduction to Women's Studies
3 hrs (Gen. Ed. SF)
This course explores the diverse experiences of modern American women, focusing on how ideas about gender affect such issues as sexuality, domestic violence, sexual harrassment, politics, work, language, and images of women in society. We also discuss and debate theories of women's inequality, paying close attention to race, class, and ethnicity. Approved for General Education.
WMS 400 Directed Research in Women's Studies
3 hrs
Directed readings or research for a paper which analyzes, synthesizes, and interprets an area of women's studies chosen by the student. Prerequisites: WMS 200; 9 hrs. of women's studies elective courses; or consent of instructor. [view past projects]
Elective Courses
ENG 129 African American Literature
3 hrs (Gen. Ed. HL)
This course is an introduction to some of the major and minor African American writers from the 1700s to the 1990s. We analyze and interpret the value systems and "selves" represented in African American literature in the following areas: slavery, standing ground, folklore, on being a man, on being a woman, relationships, passing down heritage, and revolutionaries.
ENG 190 Women in Literature
3 hrs (Gen. Ed. HL)
This course explores the cultural and personal contexts which influence how women define themselves as individuals and in relation to others. The readings focus particularly on mother/daughter relationships, female social roles, women's friendships, and relationships between women and men.
ENG 331 Studies in Women Writers
3 hrs
Intensive study of literary and critical texts written by women. We will consider foremost the narrative strategies and theoretical presumptions of women authors portraying women protagonists.
HIS 304 Women in American History
3 hrs
Beginning in the 18th century and continuing through the 1990s, this course examine the cultural, political and social experiences of women in the U.S. We discuss sexuality, definitions of femininity and masculinity, women's movements, and women's everyday experiences. We also pay close attention to class and race differences among women.
HIS 339 Women in Global Perspectives
3 hrs.
Analyzes the changing status of women in light of global economic, social, and political transformations.
HIS 382 History of Women, Work, and Family in Europe 1600-Present
3 hrs
This course focuses on the history of gender and sexuality in Western Europe. Prerequisite: CIV 100; or CIV 111 and 112; or equivalent.
NUR 219 Women and Health
3 hrs
Focusing on the basic scientific and sociological knowledge related to women's health, this course explores the social, emotional, and physiological components of selected health problems of women. We also investigate the historical development of the health care system and its effect on women and their health.
PLS 493 Equality, Diversity, and Citizenship
3 hrs
This course examines these three issues through the lenses of national citizenship, equal protection law, the dilemmas of cultural minorities, contemporary issues in feminist theory, and facets of religious freedom and toleration.
PSY 300 Psychology of Women
3 hrs
This course examines the current literature on women and their behavior. The influence of psychological, social and biological factors are considered throughout. Prerequisite: PSY 103 or 104.
SOC 300 Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Gender
3 hrs
Examines the construction of gender in traditional, developing, and industrialized societies worldwide, concentrating on the way gender shapes and is shaped by power relations in the societies.
SOC 310 Sociology of the Family
3 hrs (Gen. Ed. NW)
An examination of the American family, with two major areas of focus: the structural diversity of families in the U.S., and their unique interactional patterns and processes. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or consent of instructor.
SOC 311 Comparative Family Systems
3 hrs (Gen. Ed. NW)
Comparative study of non-Western family systems, with focus on cross-cultural differences and the potential conflicts of migration. Varying focus on families of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or consent of instructor.
SOC 313 Race, Ethnicity, and Minority Relations
3 hrs (Gen. Ed. SF)
Analysis of dominant-minority group relations and the processes of acculturation, assimilation, pluralism, and discrimination; effects of prejudice on interaction and social structure. Various minority groups are explored specifically.
SOC 315 Gender and Society
3 hrs
An examination of gender as a system of stratification, as a social construction, and as a system of meaning which changes trans-historically and differs cross-culturally. Focus on structural and interactional aspects of gender inequality, as well as the relationship between gender and other social hierarchies, including class, race ethnicity, religion, and sexuality. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or consent of instructor.