ANTHR 200 Cultural Diversity and Contemporary Issues. 3 credits. M. Fiskesjo

This course introduces students to the meaning and significance of forms of cultural diversity for understanding contemporary issues. Drawing from films, videos, and selected readings, students are confronted with different representational forms that portray cultures in various parts of the world and they are asked to critically examine their own prejudices as they influence the percep-tion and evaluation of cultural differences. We approach cultures holistically, assuming the inseparability of economies, kinship, religion, and politics, as well as interconnections and dependencies between world areas (e.g., Africa, Latin America, the West). Among the issues considered: "political correctness" and truth; nativism and ecological diversity; race, ethnicity, and sexuality; sin, religion, and war; and global process and cultural integrity.

ANTHR 321/621Sex and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (also FGSS 321/631). 4 credits. K. March.  

An introduction to the study of sex roles cross-culturally and to anthropological theories of sex and gender. The course examines various aspects of the place of the sexes in social, political, economic, ideological, and biological systems to emphasize the diversity in gender and sex-role definitions around the world.

ENGL 625 Love, Loss, and Lament in the Renaissance (also FGSS 628). 4 credits. B. Correll.

This course is a graduate-level seminar on the colonial and post-colonial histories of women and gender in South Asia. The readings consider broad themes that have historically affected the status of South Asian women: nationalism, family and property rights, the law, violence, social activism and feminist theory.  The readings begin with questions of feminist historical methodologies and traverse literary, legal, and sociological scholarship, and ends on the conundrums in anthropological methodologies on South Asia.  Students will expect to have ongoing research interests which they will be expected to present.

FGSS 201 Introduction to Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. 4 credits. Staff

Introduction to FGSS is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the experiences, historical conditions, and concerns of women, both in the present and the past. We will consider how large structural systems of privilege and oppression (sexism, racism, homophobia, and classism) affect individuals' identities, experiences, and options and we will examine forms of agency and action taken by women in the face of these larger systems.

HD 384 Gender and Sexual Minorities (also FGSS 385) 3 credits. K. Cohen

This course introduces students to theories, empirical scholarship, public policies, and current controversies with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, sexually questioning, and other sexual minority populations. The major focus is on sexual development, lifestyles, and communities with additional emphasis on ethnic, racial, gender, and class issues. Videos supplement the readings and lectures.

HIST 273 Women in American Society, Past and Present (also AM ST 273, FGSS 273) 4 credits. M.B. Norton

A survey of women’s experiences in America from the seventeenth-century to the present.  Among the topics to be discussed are women’s familial roles, the changing nature of household work, racial and ethnic differences in women’s experiences, the women’s rights movement, employment of women outside the home, and contemporary feminism.

HIST 416 Gender and Sex in Southeast Asia (also FGSS 416, ASIAN 416) 4 credits.T. Loos

Students consider the relationships among colonialism and gender and sexual identity formation in Southeast Asia. Using material from a wide range of fields including anthropology and literature, the course complicates a simplistic East/West and male/female binary.

PAM 350 Contemporary Issues in Women’s Health (also FGSS 350) 3-5 credits. A. Parrot

This course deals with the history of women in medicine and the historical and cultural treatment of women's health problems. Health care research and the exclusion of women from research trials and protocols are also addressed. Reproductive issues, alternative approaches to treatment, medical problems, ethical issues, cancers, factors that contribute to post-traumatic stress disorders, health promotion behaviors, political issues, and routine medical recommendations are also discussed in depth. Students may take the course for a fifth credit, which requires attending a discussion section every other week and observing seven facilities (i.e., birthing center, mammogram and ultrasound center, wellness center, hospital labor and delivery unit, Lamaze class, women's self defense class, etc.) that provide a variety of women's health care.

THETR 605 Camp, Kitsch and Trash (also ENGL 651 and FGSS 605) 4 credits. N. Salvato

This graduate seminar investigates three key terms for twentieth-century aesthetic thought and performance theory: camp, kitsch, and trash. As we analyze the various meanings assigned to these terms (and the performances articulated under their banners), we will also consider histories of taste; the traffic between popular culture and "high art"; and the relationships among material artifacts, identity politics, and community formations. Issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality will be foregrounded. Authors include Adorno, Bourdieu, Broch, Butler, Debord, Greenberg, Ludlam, Newton, Sedgwick, Sontag, Waters, and Warhol.

THETR 606 Passionate Politics:  Affect, Protest, Performance (also ENGL 652 and FGSS 604) 4 credits. S. Warner

This course is a graduate-level seminar on the colonial and post-colonial histories of women and gender in South Asia. The readings consider broad themes that have historically affected the status of South Asian women: nationalism, family and property rights, the law, violence, social activism and feminist theory.  The readings begin with questions of feminist historical methodologies and traverse literary, legal, and sociological scholarship, and ends on the conundrums in anthropological methodologies on South Asia.  Students will expect to have ongoing research interests which they will be expected to present.