Mar 29, 2024  
2022-2023 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2022-2023 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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WST 150 A-Z - (IS) Topics in Women’s Studies

Semester Hours: 3


This course will offer an in-depth study of major issues in Women’s and Gender Studies. Topics will reflect current developments in the field and will address issues such as women’s roles in work, family, sexuality, and reproduction; language, representation, and performance; feminist politics and policies; transnational and cross-cultural perspectives of gender; and the impact of science and technology on women’s lives.


Current Special Topics

WST 150A (WI, IS): Women in “STE(A)M”: History, Advocacy, and the Future!

Women have historically been discriminated against in every “STEAM” discipline: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Students will survey the history of this discrimination, explore the advocacy that has ended some of it, and write their own messages for future women in these fields. Weekly class sessions will feature: discussions of readings including “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly, “A Lab of One’s Own: One Woman’s Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science” by Rita Colwell and Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, selections from the press about the “Guerrilla Girls”, and policy documents; discussions of viewings such as “Picture a Scientist”; presentations from other women in STEAM; writing workshops for and student presentations on three different types of writing projects; and individual writing conferences. Goals for students of the course include producing three revised pieces of writing: a report on some aspect of the history of women in STEAM, a persuasive essay advocating for equality in one of the STEAM disciplines, and an advice column about being “other” in STEAM.

WST 150H (IS) Paganism and Magic

This course will familiarize you with the myths, histories, and rituals of contemporary spiritualities oriented around nature, paganism, and magic. We will pay particular attention to the crucial historical role that occult religions have played in enabling forms of non-binary gender and sexual nonconformity or queerness.

Cross-listed with RELI 30 and LGBTQ 180Z.

WST 150N (WI, IS) Queer Roots of Steampunk

Much of the style that we associate with ‘steampunk’ comes from the Victorian era. In this course, we will explore the queer side of such Victorian cultural practices as theatrical melodramas, pleasure gardens, fashion, and museums, as well as historical figures from Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack) and Charlotte Cushman to Oscar Wilde. We will also explore contemporary representations of Victorian expressions of the same sex-desire in films such as “Tipping the Velvet,” and artist Lubaina Himid’s reinterpretation of Hogarth’s prints.

Cross-listed with RHET 189O and with LGBTQ 180Y. 

Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
Subjects will change from semester to semester and the course may be repeated for credit when topics vary. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.





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