Fall 2005 Course Offerings
Master of Arts Degree Program | Women's and Gender Studies

WGS 402 Intro to Women’s and Gender Studies
Ann Brigham DT T 6-8:30
An interdisciplinary investigation of the field, this seminar examines a number of related questions: what constitutes feminist inquiry and WGS research? What issues are central to second and third wave feminist theories? What are the different research methods, methodologies and narrative forms used? How might the answers to these questions vary in relation to an individual’s social/cultural location, disciplinary affiliation, and historical moment? Throughout the semester, students have the opportunity to work on topics, academic and community-oriented, of their own interest and are encouraged to experiment with the ideas, methods, and narrative forms developed in WGS.

WGS 404 Topics in Feminist Theories: Ecofeminism
Carrie Brecke DT TH 6-8:30
Ecofeminism explores the interconnections between sexism, the domination of nature (including animals), racism and social inequalities. Some questions the class will consider are: What do environmental issues have to do with women? How does the connection between patriarchy and ecological degradation work? What is environmental racism? Are we what we eat? What are the links between global militarism and the destruction of nature? Is the environment queer? Studying both theoretical approaches and grassroots movements, we will examine how a feminist response to environmental issues positively impacts women’s lives and communities. A key component of this class will be the creation of an ecofeminist website focused on the Chicago area. Some of the authors we will read are: Karen Warren, Arundhati Roy, Vandana Shiva, Winona La Duke, Wangari Masai, Chris Cuomo, Carol J. Adams and Susan Griffin.

WGS 406 The African American Man
Al Bennett DT T 2-4:30
This course is a psychological, historical, and sociological examination of issues and conflicts concerning the status, identity, and image of the African-American man in contemporary American society.

WGS 407 World Textiles
Elyse Koren-Camarra DT W 6-8:30
This term, World Textiles will take us on a cross-cultural venture from prehistoric fragments to Christo’s wrapped Reichstag and The Gates with a nod towards women’s work, the body, fetishism and eroticism. We will explore the theoretical and visual concepts of drapery; whole cloth; dyed, embellished, altered, constructed and deconstructed fabric and their implications in contemporary life. Texts: Reinventing Textiles. Volume II: Gender and Identity, Drapery: Classicism and Barbarism in Visual Culture. Gen Doy. Field trip and optional art project.

ENG 415: Contemporary Irish Women’s Writing and the Politics of Gender
Ellen O’Brien DT T 2-4:30
This course will examine poetry, drama, fiction, and prose written by Irish women between the 1960s and the present. Looking at writing from and about both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, we will pay particular attention to the ways in which these writers represent, thematize, and challenge Irish paradigms of gender in various contexts—including the family, the church, and the nation. Authors will include: Edna O’Brien, Jennifer Johnston, Molly Keane, Medbh McGuckian, Nuala ní Dhomhnaill, Eavan Boland, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, and Marina Carr.

HIST 441 Gender, Sex and Power in Early Modern Europe
Celeste Chamberland DT M 6-8:30
This course will explore the ways in which gender, sexual difference and notions of masculinity and femininity were socially and culturally constructed in Europe between 1500 and 1800. Class readings and discussions will investigate topics such as witchcraft, sexuality, medical theory, education, literacy, public life and the intersection between gender and power. In particular, the course will explore the ways in which women such as Elizabeth I, Artemesia Gentileschi and Veronica Franco challenged prevailing norms of power and authority in an age of patriarchy.

POS 412 The Politics of Gay and Lesbian Communities
Jeffrey Edwards DT MW 11-12:15
Historical development and impact of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer movement in the US from WWII to the present; issues, debates, and organizing that constitute the LGBTQ movement today; the place of sexuality and how it intersects with class, gender, and racial dynamics in contemporary US culture and politics.

PSYC 445 Psychology of Women
K. Conner DT T 6-8:30
B. Ackles SCH TH 6:30-9
Psychological development of women viewed from social, cultural, and biological perspectives. Providing the fundamentals for study in the field of psychology of women, this course will address issues including, but not limited to, gender, abilities, work, ethnicity, women’s health, sexuality, victimization, and mental health.

SOC 489 Gender, Power, & the Body
Pamela Robert DT TH 2-4:30
This seminar will use sociological and feminist theories and methodologies to explore the intersection of gender and the various ways the body becomes a site for the expression of power and resistance. Issues covered will include: becoming gendered; the politics of sexuality, physicality, and appearance; intimate partner violence and sexual proprietariness; playground bullying; reproductive choice and technologies, and the medicalization of the life cycle particularly childbirth, menarche, and menopause.