C-ID Descriptor
Introduction to Women’s Studies

None

Course will include:

1. Introduction to concepts such as sex, gender, patriarchy, gender socialization, intersectionality, micro, meso, macro and global
2. Comparison/contrast of gender formation theories
3. Intersections of gender with other social identities: race/culture/ethnicity, class, sexuality, dis/ability, age, religion
4. Historical and theoretical U.S. feminist movements
5. Types of feminism including radical, lesbian, liberal, socialist, women of color, eco-feminism, transfeminism, transnational feminism and global feminism among others
6. Analysis of female sexuality and gender identity
7. Social impact of images of women in various media
8. Women’s health, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice
9. Women’s work in a globalizing world
10. Women and gender in relation to imperialism and colonialism
11. Causes and effects of high poverty rates among women
12. Causes and effects of violence against women and children
13. Process of making social change: theory, vision and action

Other topics may include:

1. Gender, crime, and criminalization
2. Women and the military, war, and peace
3. Women's environmental activism, ecofeminism, and sustainability
4. Women's political activism, including electoral politics on the local and transnational level
5. Women and education

N/A

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Analyze how gender intersects with other social identities.
2. Analyze how gender oppression intersects with other forms of oppression and systems of power.
3. Analyze key concepts and different types of feminisms.
4. Appraise issues surrounding women's sexuality and health.
5. Define women's work and illustrate the impact of globalization on work.
6. Analyze the causes and effects of violence against women.
7. Evaluate issues of security and sustainability as they relate to women.
8. Define and assess women's approaches to social change.

May include:
Objective exams
Written assignments
Application exercises
Research Project
Field Journal
Oral Presentations
Reflection and discussion
Small group activities
Out-of-class activities
Service learning

• Andersen, Margaret L. Thinking About Women: Sex and Gender in Society. Pearson, 2015.
• Hong, Grace Kyungwon, and Roderick Ferguson, Ed. Strange Affinities: The Gender and Sexual Politics of Comparative Racialization. Duke University Press, 2011.
• hooks, bell. Feminism Is for Everybody. South End Press, 2000.
• Hunter College Women’s Collective. Women's Realities, Women's Choices. Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Kelly, Suzanne M, Gowri Parameswaran, and Nancy Schniedewind. Women: Images and Realities: A Multicultural Anthology. Mayfield Publishing, 2012.
• Kimmel, Michael S, and Amy Aronson. The Gendered Society Reader, 5th edition. Oxford University Press, 2013.
• Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. McGraw-Hill, 2013.
• Kolmar, Wendy K, and Frances Bartkowski. Feminist Theory: A Reader. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2013.
• Rothenberg, Paula S. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study, 9th Edition. Worth Publishers, 2013.
• Shaw, Susan and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings, 6th edition. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.
• Smith, Andrea. Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. South End Press, 2005.
• Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework. Oxford University Press, 2010.