Women's Studies Course Descriptions

WMST 201S Women in a Changing World
Lecture and discussion 3 hours; 3 credits. An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of women's studies drawing on materials from the social sciences. Topics include the social construction of gender in a multicultural setting; the reliability of studies on the nature of women; cross-cultural variations in women's lives; female health, work, and sexuality; and women's roles in politics.

WMST 302 All American Women: A Multicultural Approach
Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: six semester hours in literature, history, social science and/or performing arts courses. An introduction to women's studies as a discipline and to the study of women's lives, and viewpoints, highlights how gender, race and class interact to create both diversity and commonality of experience among American women of the past 100 years.

WMST 368 Internship
3-6 credits. Prerequisites: at least one WMST course, junior standing and instructor approval required. Course provides an opportunity to gain experience working in organizations and government agencies. Students' work should engage with women's issues at the local, regional, national, and/or global levels. Students must work for at least 50 hours per course credit. (qualifies as a guaranteed practicum experience.)

WMST 377 Extracurricular Studies
Lecture 2 hours; discussion 1 hour; practicum 1 hour; 3 credits. Prerequisites: three semester hours in WMST or WMST cross listed course and permission of the instructor. An undergraduate seminar on pedagogical issues and feminist theory offered in conjunction with a practicum providing experience in the facilitation of small sections of the introductory women's studies course.

WMST 390T Women and Technology Worldwide: From Cookstoves to computers
Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: three semester hours in the social sciences or history. An exploration of women as designers and users of technology and the impact of technology on women's lives across the world. Variation in women's experiences by race, class and culture will be stressed.

WMST 395, 396 Topics in Women's Studies
1-3 credits each semester. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. A study of selected women's studies topics. These courses will usually be interdisciplinary. All topics will be described in the women's studies brochure and will be more fully described in material distributed to all academic advisors.

WMST 401/501 Women: A Global Perspective
(writing intensive course) Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: three semester hours in a WMST or WMST cross-listed course. A study of the experiences of women worldwide focusing largely on women in developing countries. Topics include economic issues, health, violence, political activism, sexuality, maternal and other family roles, and cultural expression.

WMST 460W/560 Feminist Thought
Lecture and discussion 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three hours in a WMST or WMST cross-listed course. A study of the renaissance in feminist thought since the 1960s through close readings of key documents and texts. The course covers a variety of feminist perspectives as expressed in both theory and practice.

WMST 470/570 Women's Ways of Knowing/Ways of Knowing Women: Feminist Research Methods
Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: three semester hours in a WMST or WMST cross-listed course and any introductory social science methods course. The course explores diverse ways of conducting feminist research. Students will explore from an inter- and multi-disciplinary perspective how feminists make inquiries and develop knowledge in the sciences and humanities.

WMST 490 Capstone Course
Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisites: WMST 201S or 302, 460W, plus six semester hours of other WMST or cross-listed core courses. Seminar intended for women's studies majors in the final semester(s) of study, consisting of an individualized or group senior project, such as a research paper, an oral history, an internship, or an action project.

WMST 495/595, 496/596 Topics in Women's Studies
3 credits each semester. Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of the instructor. Advanced seminars on selected topics. The subject matter will usually be interdisciplinary. These seminars will be more fully described in flyers and in material distributed each semester to all academic advisors.  Recent topics include: Women and Social Change in Africa, Service-Learning in South Africa, Black Women in the Americas, Black Women and Popular Culture.

WMST 497/597, 498/598 Independent Study
1-6 credits. Prerequisite: at least one women's studies course. Independent study of an interdisciplinary women's studies topic, or a reading plus internship project to be selected under the direction of women's studies faculty member. Conferences and papers as appropriate. Tutorial work, either library-based or field work, must be approved by the teacher and the women's studies chair before a student may enroll in the course. No more than 3 credits of tutorial work may be counted within the basic requirements for the women's studies minor or major.

WMST 668 Internship
3-6 credits. Prerequisites: graduate standing and instructor approval required. Course provides an opportunity to gain experience working in organizations and government agencies. Students' work should engage with women's issues at the local, regional, national, and/or global levels. Students must work for at least 50 hours per course credit.

WMST 695, 696 Topics in Women's Studies
3 credits each semester. Prerequisite: graduate standing. Advanced seminars on selected topics. The subject matter will be interdisciplinary. These seminars will be described on the women's studies website.

WMST 697 Independent Study
3 credits each semester. Prerequisite: graduate standing. Independent study of an interdisciplinary women's studies topic to be selected under the direction of a women's studies faculty member. Conferences and papers as appropriate.

WMST 797/897 Independent Study
1-3 credits. Prerequisite: graduate standing; doctoral level only for 897. Independent study of an interdisciplinary women's studies topic to be selected under the direction of a women's studies faculty member. Conferences and papers as appropriate.