WGS.S10 Sex, Race, and the Visual

Prereq: None
U (Spring)
units. HASS-H
Tues 7 - 10PM
Room 14E-310

This course examines categories of race, gender, sex, and sexuality through the lens of the visual.  Using contemporary literature, photography, performance art, film, and theories of the visual, our task will be to investigate the import and utility of embodiment.  How do race, gender, and sexuality function in the artistic imaginary?  What can we glean from cultural productions that engage the viewer/reader in ways that challenge ideas about conformity, fluidity, belonging, and self-reflection?  More than a linear literary or artistic trajectory, this course will provide a template for all the mechanisms of the visual—psychological and ocular, interpretive, rhetorical and performative.

K. J. Brown

WGS.101 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

Prereq: None
U (Fall, Spring)
3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H

Drawing on multiple disciplines - such as literature, history, economics, psychology, philosophy, political science, anthropology, media studies and the arts - to examine cultural assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality. Integrates analysis of current events through student presentations, aiming to increase awareness of contemporary and historical experiences of women, and of the ways sex and gender interact with race, class, nationality, and other social identities. Students are introduced to recent scholarship on gender and its implications for traditional disciplines.

A. Walsh

WGS.109 Women and Global Activism in Media and Politics

Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H

An interdisciplinary subject that examines questions of feminism, international women's issues, and globalization through the study of novels, films, critical essays, painting and music. Considers how women redefine the notions of community and nation, how development affects their lives, and how access to the internet and to the production industry impacts women's lives. Primary topics of interest include transformations of traditional values, social change, gender role distribution, identity formation, migration flows, globalization and development, popular culture, urban life, cyber-culture, activism, and human rights.Limited to 25 when Writing Tutor is assigned to the class. Otherwise, limited to 18.

A. Sur

WGS.140 Woke Lit: The Protest Tradition Today

Race and Identity in American Literature [course catalog title]

Same subject as 21L.504[J]
Prereq: Permission of instructor
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units. HASS-H
Can be repeated for credit.

What role do writers play in a social movement?  How does literature today respond to systemic racism and rampant xenophobia; travel bans and deportation sweeps; police brutality and mass incarceration?  Can a poem, a novel, or an essay make a difference? This course will tackle these questions by pairing contemporary literature, music, film, and television with works by earlier writers who used literature to speak out, fight back, and bear witness.

The pairings we will analyze and discuss include: James Baldwin and Ta-Nehisi Coates; Audre Lorde and Toni Morrison; Frederick Douglass and Colson Whitehead; Gloria Anzaldúa and Valeria Luiselli; José Martí and Lin Manuel-Miranda; Nina Simone and Solange Knowles; Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo; W.E.B. DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk and Jordan Peele’s Get Out ; Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and Sam Esmail’s Mr. Robot

J. Terrones

WGS.142 Narrative and Identity: Writing and Film by Contemporary Women of Color

Prereq: None
U (Spring)
Not offered regularly; consult department
3-0-9 units. HASS-H

Explores the diverse voices and experiences reflected in writing and film by and about women of color. Examines the roles that culture, community, and kinship play in the development of the writer's individual voice, and compares the similarities and differences of the writer experience across texts and genres. Discussion and assignments, including an independent research presentation, consider the social and political contexts that inform each work, with an emphasis on gender, race, and economic status. Includes works by a variety of novelists, poets, and filmmakers.

S. King

WGS.154 [J] Gender and Japanese Popular Culture

Same subject as 21A.143[J], 21G.039[J]
Subject meets with 21G.591
Prereq: None
Acad Year 2017-2018: U (Spring)
Acad Year 2018-2019: Not offered
3-0-9 units. HASS-H

Examines relationships between identity and participation in Japanese popular culture as a way of understanding the changing character of media, capitalism, fan communities, and culture. Emphasizes contemporary popular culture and theories of gender, sexuality, race, and the workings of power and value in global culture industries. Topics include manga (comic books), hip-hop and other popular music, anime and feature films, video games, contemporary literature, and online communication. Students present analyses and develop a final project based on a particular aspect of gender and popular culture. Several films screened outside of regular class meeting times. Taught in English.

I. Condry

WGS.190 [J] Black Matters: Introduction to Black Studies

Same subject as 24.912[J], 21H.106[J], 21L.008[J], 21W.741[J]
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units. HASS-A, HASS-H; CI-H

Interdisciplinary survey of people of African descent that draws on the overlapping approaches of history, literature, anthropology, legal studies, media studies, performance, linguistics, and creative writing. Connects the experiences of African-Americans and of other American minorities, focusing on social, political, and cultural histories, and on linguistic patterns. Includes lectures, discussions, workshops, and required field trips that involve minimal cost to students

M. Degraff, F. Harrell

WGS.220 [J] Women and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa

Same subject as 21H.263[J]
Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units. HASS-H

Provides an overview of key issues and themes in the study of women and gender relations in the Middle East and North Africa. Includes readings from a variety of disciplines, e.g., history, anthropology, sociology, literature, religious studies, and media studies. Addresses themes such as the relationship between the concepts of nation and gender; women's citizenship; Middle Eastern women's activism and the involvement of their Western "sisters" to this movement; gendered interpretations of the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad; and the three H's of Orientalism (hijab, harem, and hamam).

L. Eckmekcioglu

WGS.229 Race, Culture, and Gender in the US and Beyond: A Psychological Perspective

Prereq: None
U (Spring)
3-0-9 units. HASS-S

Examines the biopsychosocial factors which impact racial-ethnic identity, racial and cultural socialization, and experiences of prejudice, bias, discrimination, and racial microaggressions across gender identities. Reviews topics in multicultural psychology from the lens of challenging ethnocentric biases in the field. Critically evaluates the intersection of race with other social identities (e.g., gender, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status) and how it impacts human behavior. Using a case study approach, students integrate empirical evidence from international psychosocial research on oppression in order to provide more breadth in understanding the influence of race and gender upon human behavior. Develops multicultural competency skills essential for practice in clinical and non-clinical organizational settings. Limited to 25.

C. Kapungu