Course Descriptions
Women Studies
211 Introduction to Women Studies (4): Introduction to the issues, questions, conceptual frameworks and methods basic to a study of human societies, their institutions and cultural artifacts from a perspective that comprehends women's experience.
311 American Women Studies: 1620-1850 (5): Prerequisite: Hist 103 or 104 or Eng 216 or another women studies course. Women's role in American society from colonial times to the mid-19th century, with attention to differences of race and class. Emphasis on changing sex roles for both women and men as a result of changes in the structure of the family, immigration, urbanization, expansion of the frontier, education, religion, development of the nation and industrialization.
313 American Women Studies: 1850-Present (5): Prerequisite: Hist 103 or 104 or Eng 216 or another women studies course. Factors influencing the female gender role as it changed in the last century and a half from the Cult of True Womanhood to the New Woman to the Feminine Mystique to the Liberated Woman. Emphasis on the impact of changing modes of American capitalism; women's efforts for equal rights and social reform; changing patterns of fertility; women's increased participation in the work force; changes in women's role in the domestic sphere.
314 Global Women (4): Prerequisite: WS 211 or 4 credits of any 300 level Women Studies course. Introduces the concepts of transnational feminism. Examines the experiences of women in a global economy, explores the strategies women develop to resist global patriarchal structures, participates in the possibility of women organizing and mobilizing globally.
353 Sex and Gender in Culture (5): Prerequisite: 5 credits of anthropology. Cross-cultural study of gender stereotypes, gender and language, gender and work roles, gender and religion. Also listed as Anth 353.
411 Senior Project (1-6): Prerequisite: must have completed women studies core. 411 serves as a capstone experience for minors and majors in which students demonstrate their ability to apply knowledge of subject matter and methodology. Students are encouraged to develop interdisciplinary research or field projects that gives them opportunities to put into practice the theories and skills they have been learning during the course of their study. Student are encouraged to develop project internships with women's community organizations. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 credits.
453 Women of the Global South (5) Prerequisite: 15 credits at the 300 level in anthropology or related discipline (WS 211, Anth 353 highly recommended) or permission of the instructor. The course examines a variety of contemporary issues facing women of the South such as economic realities, family responsibilities, health issues, and women's rights. Emphasis on individual and group work to examine selected topics and to gain in-depth knowledge about women in specific countries. Also listed as Anth 453.
Anthropology
The discipline of anthropology studies humankind in all the cultures of the world, both past and present. This study includes humankind's physical development and the wide diversity of lifestyles people have created.
Anthropology 353: Sex and Gender in Culture (5)
Prerequisite. Anth 201 and one other 200- or 300-level anthropology course.
Cross-Cultural study of gender stereotypes, gender and language, gender and work roles, gender and religion.
Anthropology 365: Peoples of Latin America (5)
Prerequisite: Anth 201. Ethnographic survey of the peoples and cultures.
Anthropology 453: Women of the Global South (5)
Prerequisite. 15 credits at the 300 level in anthropology or related discipline (WS 211, Anth 353 highly recommended or permission of instructor.
Women's familial, economic, religious and political roles in selected "third world" or "developing" societies. Different theoretical perspectives for explaining women's roles.
Anthropology 484: Cross Cultural Education (4)
Prerequisite: Anth 201 and upper-division status or permission from instructor. Comparative and anthropological study of educational issues. Examines learning in other cultures, home school linkages, minority student achievement and multi-cultural curricula.
Anthropology 553: Women of the Global South (5)
Prerequisite. Graduate status in the anthropology program or permission of instructor. Women's familial, economic, religious and political roles in selected "third world" or "developing" societies. Different theoretical perspectives for explaining women's roles. Graduate research paper.
Art History
Art History 438: Art and Feminism (4)
Discusses Linda Nochlin’s formative essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Then examines the ensuing feminist debates and their effect on the art history canon. Although historical women artists are addressed, the course is organized around issues and topics. These include discussion on gender, race, class and how they can broaden our understanding of artistic practice to ideas of interdisciplinary and multiculturalism.
Communication
Comm 416*: Women and Communication in 20th Century Social Movements (4)
The course takes a feminist approach to women's rhetoric in suffrage, peace, and social justice movements.
* Courses whose titles change quarterly may not be applicable to the Women Studies minor. Only select courses taught by Women Studies faculty with a Women Studies focus are applicable to the minor.
English
The Department of English is committed to enhancing the diversity of its faculty, students and curriculum, and to preparing students for an active involvement in a diverse and increasingly complex, technological society. The literature of women and minorities is taught in the vast majority of our courses, and the department employs current technological innovations in its continuing pursuit to provide students with a superior education.
English 309*: Literature and Culture III: 18th & 19th Centuries (5)
Prerequisite: Eng. 202 or 203.
Analysis, interpretation and discussion of various texts in English or translation from the 18th and 19th centuries.
English 310*: Literature and Culture IV: 19th Century American Women Writers (5)
Prerequisite: Eng 202 or 203.
Analysis, interpretation and discussion of various texts produced by women in the United States during the nineteenth century.
English 311*: Literature and Culture V: 20th & 21st Centuries (5)
Prerequisite: Eng. 202 or 203.
Analysis, interpretation and discussion of various texts in English or translation from the 20th and 21st centuries.
English 227: GLBT Literature (5)
Analysis, interpretation and discussion of a range of texts by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered authors.
English 338: Women and Literature (5)
Prerequisite: Eng 101.
Study of women's texts in various cultures, including thematic and stylistic development within cultural context.
English 408: Cultural Studies (5)
Prerequisite: Eng 313. An advanced course that applies semiotic and/or textual approaches to a wide range of cultural issues.
English 417*: Senior Seminar (5)
Prerequisite: senior status, Eng 313 and two other courses from 304-347, 364, 390, and 371.
An advanced seminar offering an in-depth exploration of specialized topics. Requires students to develop scholarly projects integrating course material with their own literary, historical, and theoretical interests.
English 451*: Intro to Fiction Writing (5)
Prerequisite: Eng 101. Examines the fundamental tools available to writers of fiction: point of view, dialog, characterization and voice. The course introduces the terms and protocol of workshop critique.
English 514: Studies in Language and Linguistics (5)
Prerequisite: graduate level
Examines various topics in language and linguistics of interest to students of literature, critical theory, creative writing and rhetoric and composition. Repeatable with different topics.
English 575: Studies in Women's Literature (5)
Prerequisite: graduate level
Examines writers, movements and topics in women's writing that may cut across genres and nationalities. Repeatable with different topics.
* Courses whose titles change quarterly may not be applicable to the Women Studies minor. Only select courses taught by Women Studies faculty with a Women Studies focus are applicable to the minor.
Fairhaven
Fairhaven, begun in 1967 as an experimental college within Western Washington University, exists today as an undergraduate learning community defined by five attributes: (1) interdisciplinary study, (2) student designed studies and evaluation of learning, (3) examination of issues arising from a diverse society, (4) development of leadership and a sense of social responsibility, and (5) curricular, instructional and evaluative innovation.
Fairhaven 310k: Culture, Gender, and Emotion (TBA)
Fairhaven 310r: Radical Women: Emma Goldman (2)
Fairhaven 313: GLBT Issues in Education (4)
Prerequisite: FAIR 219 or AMST 242. Explores challenges for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered students, teachers and families in the education system including social and development considerations, the impact of mediated heterosexism, politics of schooling. Also explores the roles of allies and curriculum transformation.
Fairhaven 314: The Science and Stories of GLBT Health (4)
Prerequisite: FAIR 204 or AMST 242. Investigation of contemporary health issues of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people in order to understand the interdependence between "health" and its social, political, and cultural contexts.
Fairhaven 341: Awareness Through the Body II (4)
Prerequisite: FAIR 243. A continuation of FAIR 243 with deeper attention, intellectual and experiential, to the philosophical concepts introduced in the first course, to psycho-physical integration, and to the underlying principles and theories in somatics.
Fairhaven 345: The Body Speaks: Culture and Eating Disorders (4)
Prerequisite: previous psychology course or permission of instructor.
Examines eating disorders in the United States and developing countries from cultural and gender perspectives, as well as controversies regarding origins and treatments.
Fairhaven 347: Psychology of Women (5)
Prerequisite: previous psychology course or women studies. Major theories of psychology or women.
Fairhaven 362: We’re Not for Sale: History of Asian Women in America (4)
Explores the history and experiences of Asian women in America from the mid-19th century to the present.
Fairhaven 363: Suzie Wong to Miss Saigon: Asian Presence in Hollywood (4)
Explores the different perspectives of, and attitudes towards, Asian Americans and Asians in America from 1915 to the present, using film as a main source of historical documentation.
Fairhaven 389: Communication and Gender (3-5)
Prerequisite: communication course. Survey and analysis of gender differences in communication behavior with a discussion of implications for personal and social change.
Fairhaven 392: Women of the West (4)
A historical study of the West as contested terrain for changing roles of women and men and for relations among women of different cultural origins.
Fairhaven 410e: History of Modern Feminism (4)
A historical study of the West as contested terrain for changing roles of women and men and for relations among women of different cultural origins.
Fairhaven 411: Political Ideas (4)
Prerequisite: course in political theory or philosophy and permission of instructor. Explore ideas, concept and philosophies or selected political theorists or schools of though, historical and current. Repeatable with various topics.
Fairhaven 412: Ecofeminism (4)
Explores intersections of gender, race, class, species, and environment, the history of activism, and the development of thought and literature in this new branch of feminism.
Fairhaven 418: Women, Ideas and Change: A History of Feminist Thoughts and Actions (4)
Prerequisite: WS 211 and Fairhaven 204 or permission of instructor.
A study of selected feminist thinkers and movements, the context from which they arose, the arguments and counter arguments they inspired, and the legacies they left for subsequent generations.
Fairhaven 421: Black Women and Law (4)
Explores intersections of gender, race, class, species, and environment, the history of activism, and the development of thought and literature in this new branch of feminism.
Fairhaven 445: Human Aggression (4)
Prerequisite: Previous courses in psychology and women studies. Examines the issue of aggression in humans through the consideration of psychological theory (classical and current), biology and cross-cultural studies. If women are the less aggressive gender, what does this teach us about socialization practices, power, economics and human nature? Readings from the relational feminists will offer new perspectives.
* Courses whose titles change quarterly may not be applicable to the Women Studies minor. Only select courses taught by Women Studies faculty with a Women Studies focus are applicable to the minor.
History
History 265: Gay & Lesbian Experience in American History (4)
Examines the lesbian and gay experience in American history from 1870-1990. Specifically, it examines how lesbian and gay people formed identities, communities, and civil rights movements.
History 367: U.S. Women to 1865 (5)
Prerequisite: Hist 103 or 104. A survey of the changing social, economic and political roles of women in the United States from settlement through the Civil War.
History 368: U.S. Women from 1865 (5)
Prerequisite: Hist 103 or 104. A survey of the changing social, economic and political roles of women in the United States from the Civil War to the present.
History 369: Topics in U.S. Women's History (4)
Prerequisite: Hist 104 or 104. Explores various topics in U.S. women's history. Topics will vary. See department for specific topic.
History 390*: Topics in History: Queering Pop Culture (5)
History 417*: Gender on the North American Frontiers, 1600-1900 (4)Examines recent historical scholarship on gender and the North American frontiers. The course offers and interdisciplinary approach, using primary documents, literature, graphic images, material culture, and other media to assess gender and social relations in a historical perspective.
History 463: Latinas and Latinos in the U.S. West (4)
Prerequisite: Sophomore status and HIST 104 or AMST 203. Analyzes the experiences of Latinas and Latinos in the western United States; special attention to gender and to the development of ethnic and cultural identities.
History 465: History of Sexuality in the U.S. (4)
Prerequisite: HIST 103, 104 or 8 credits in U.S. History. Examines the changing definitions of sexuality from European settlements to 1988.
History 471a: Women and Gender in Colonial Latin America (4)
Prerequisite: Hist 273 or 274 and junior status or permission of instructor. A thematic and chronological approach to gender relations in Latin America from 1500 to 1824.
History 471b: Women and Gender in Latin America:1825 to Present (4)
Prerequisite: Hist 273 or 274 and junior status or permission of instructor. A thematic and chronological approach to gender relations in Latin America from 1824 to the present.
History 556*: Gender, Class and Race in Colonial Latin America (4)
Selected readings in Latin American history.
* Courses whose titles change quarterly may not be applicable to the Women Studies minor. Only select courses taught by Women Studies faculty with a Women Studies focus are applicable to the minor.
Political Science
Political Science 345: Women and Politics (5)
Prerequisite: Pol Sci 101 or 250. The history and ideas of the women's movement; investigation of the changing role of women in American politics including legal status, economic position and political behavior.
Political Science 421: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Politics (5)
Examines how lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens have organized to achieve social change. Focuses on how LGBT movements have engaged in electoral, judicial, legislative, protest and other forms of politics.
Political Science 469: Feminist Political Theory (4)
Prerequisite: Pol Sci 360 or any 400-level political theory course. Early feminists to contemporary theoretical critiques and contributions. Topics such as feminist conceptions or philosophy of science, eco-feminism and post-modernism. Not offered every year.
Psychology
Psychology 119: Psychology of Gender 119 (4)
Basic concepts, foundation for sex roles; similarities and differences between the sexes; historical customs, personality theories, cultural, subcultural and cross-cultural perspectives.
Sociology
Sociology is a vibrant and exciting discipline that allows students to develop both personally and professionally. The Sociology department is dedicated to quality instruction in several specialized areas of study in Sociology, including Family and the Life Course, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Population Studies, and Social Organization/ Social Inequality.
Sociology 268: Gender and Society (5)
Introduction to major concepts, issues and research findings regarding the relationship between gender and social structures. Aspects of society examined include education, work, family, law, government and the media. Discussion includes interrelationship between gender, race, class and age. Focus on the U.S., with some cross-national material.
Sociology 354: Domestic Violence and the Criminal Justice System (5)
Prerequisite: any Soc 221, 251, 255, 260, 268, 269. A survey of sociological research on domestic violence and the criminal justice system. Examines the historical and cultural changes that contributed to the classification of domestic violence as crime, the characteristics of domestic assault, and the variety of criminal justice interventions into domestic violence.
Sociology 359: Women and Deviance (5)
Prerequisite: any Soc 221, 251, 255, 260, 268, 269. Examines the socio-cultural-political conditions that contribute to women being victims or perpetrators of crime. The course has three parts: 1) theoretical framework; 2) victimization and harm; and 3) crime and punishment. Students explore various normative values and institutional sites as the source of women's deviant careers, including gender and sexuality norms, family, economic, corporation, law, and criminal justice.
Sociology 368: Gender and Education (5)
Prerequisite: any Soc 221, 251, 255, 260, 268, 269, or equivalent, preferably 268 or a course with equivalent content concerning gender. Examines the relationship between gender and education within the U.S. context and internationally. We will consider girls and boys, women and men, in various levels of schooling .The ways in which race and class interact with gender in educational attainment and achievement also will be examines.
Theatre Arts
Founded in 1967, we cherish a commitment to prepare broad-based artist generalists with additional specific skills in one or more areas. Our students are encouraged to explore their creative spirit through involvement in practical theatrical experience which emphasizes a spirit of trust and cooperation. It is the intent of the Department of Theatre Arts to offer a program of superior quality in the classroom and on stage; stay current with the demands of the discipline; and prepare majors and non-majors to successfully engage in their public, private, and professional lives.
Theatre Arts 428*: Contemporary Women Dramatists (3)
Prerequisite: Thtr 222. The in-depth exploration of an individual playwright or group of playwrights who were influential in the development of a particular style of drama. Topics include Greek and Roman, British, Continental, North American, contemporary or individual playwrights. Repeatable under separate topic.
* Courses whose titles change quarterly may not be applicable to the Women Studies minor. Only select courses taught by Women Studies faculty with a Women Studies focus are applicable to the minor.