Women's Studies Program

Women’s Studies, an interdisciplinary program founded in 1971, encourages the production, discussion, and dissemination of knowledge about women’s experiences, oppressions, and achievements, in Montana, the U.S., and the world. In the last decade this focus has broadened to include study of the social and cultural construction of gender, sex, and sexualities. By fostering awareness of cultural and international diversity, as well as of the circulations of power mediated by race, class, age, and sexual orientation, Women’s Studies encourages students to think critically and to envision justice for all peoples.

The program is administered by the director in consultation with the Women's Studies Steering Committee, an interdisciplinary group of faculty with teaching and research interests in women and gender.

Students may choose an option in Women's Studies within the Liberal Studies major or may complete the Women’s and Gender Studies minor. They also may select any of a wide range of courses cross-listed with departments in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law, education, and other disciplines. Women’s Studies offers scholarships and prizes, and sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of events including lectures, discussions, and performances, that make a vibrant contribution to both the campus and the Missoula community life.

To be admitted, students must register with the Women's Studies director, who will explain option or minor requirements and supervise their program.

Special Degree Requirements

For the Women’s Studies option under the Liberal Studies major, the following requirements must be met (not necessarily in sequence):

1) Completion of Liberal Studies core curriculum. (See the Liberal Studies section of this catalog.)
2) Completion of WS 119H.
3) A minimum of 32 credits of course work in relevant, advisor approved courses numbered above 299. At least 18 of those credits must be from Group I, "focus" courses; the other 14 credits may be from Group II, "significant content" courses. Each semester a list of cognate "focus" and "content" courses is published at pre registration by the Women’s Studies program office, LA 138A, 243-2584. Typical choices are listed below, but may vary from year to year.

Group I: Focus Courses

ANTH 327 Anthropology of Gender
ART 480H Women Artists and Art History
COMM 380 Gender and Communication
COMM 480 The Rhetorical Construction of “Woman”
ENLT 321-323* Women's Literature
ENLT 336 American Women Writers
ENLT 421 Feminist Theory
ENLT 422* Theoretical Approaches to Women’s Literature
ENLT 430*/LS 455* Studies in Comparative Women’s Literature
HIST/LS 370H Women in America: to the Civil War
HIST/LS 371H Women in America: Civil War to the Present
HIST 470 Women and Slavery
HIST 471 Southern Women in Black and White
HIST 420L* History through Women’s Literature
LS/FLLG 320 Women in Antiquity
LS 331 Gender and Sexuality in 20th Century Fiction
LS 372 Gay and Lesbian Studies
LS 381* Women and Film
NAS 342H Gender Studies in Native American Studies
PHIL 429E Feminist Ethics
PSYC 355 Psychology of Sex Roles
RELS 370* Mysticism: Women Mystics
SW 323 Women and Social Action in the Americas
SW 324 Gender and the Politics of Welfare
SOC 300 Sociology of the Family
SOC 421 Issues in Sociology of Family

Group II: Content Courses

ANTH 329 Social Change in Non-Western Societies
ANTH 330H Peoples and Cultures of the World
ANTH 340H Contemporary Issues of Southeast Asia
ANTH 430 Social Anthropology
ANTH 480E Ethics and Anthropology
ENLT 301* Applied Literary Criticism
ENLT 321-324* Literature (with content on women)
ENLT/NAS 329 Native American Literature
FLLG 302H/HIST 302H Classical Greece II: Individual, Family and Civic Life in Ancient Greece
FREN 311L French Literature: Medieval, Renaissance, and 17th Century
GERM 441 19th Century German Literature
HIST 300* The Historian’s Craft
HIST 350* Human Rights
HIST 351* Colonial America
HIST 361 The American South: From Slavery to Civil Rights
HIST 384 Work, Workers, and the Working Classes in America
HIST 387 Iran Between Two Revolutions
HIST 485 Piety and Power in Latin America and Imperial Spain
HHP 370 Introduction to Peer Health Education
PSC 343 Politics of Social Movements
PSC 395 Utopia and Critics
PSC 463S Development Administration
PSC 472 Constitutional Law II: Civil Rights and Liberties
PSYC 385 Psychology of Family Violence
RELS 336* Medieval Christian Thought
SW 410E Ethics and the Helping Professions
SW 420S Child Abuse and Child Welfare
SOC 322 Sociology of Poverty
SOC 370S Social Change and Global Development
SOC/FOR 424 Social Forestry
SOC 470 Society and Environment

*These are generic courses. The specific course focus must be on women, as listed here. Check with the Women's Studies director before enrolling.

Other courses not listed here may be applied toward the option or the minor if approved by the Women's Studies director.

Requirements for a Minor

The Women’s and Gender Studies minor is available to all students. It consists of 18 credits including WS 119H, WS 275S or ANTH 265N, three 300-level or 400-level courses outside of the student’s major that are cross-listed with other departments as Women’s Studies option courses, and the capstone seminar WS 494.

Courses

U=for undergraduate credit only, UG=for undergraduate or graduate credit, G=for graduate credit. R after the credit indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum indicated after the R.

Women’s Studies (WS)

U 119H Philosophical Perspectives on Women in the Western Hemisphere 3 cr. Offered spring. Same as LS and PHIL 119H. Introduction to the discipline and scope of Western philosophy focusing on women as the subject rather than men. A chronological study following the ideological development in the West of social attitudes and scientific theses.
U 275S Gender and Society 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as SOC 275S. Exploration of the social construction of gender, especially in western, post-industrial societies such as the U.S. How gender ideologies affect the social definition and position of men and women in work, family, sexual relationship, sexual divisions of labor, and social movements.
U 294 Seminar 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently.
U 320 Women in Antiquity 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Same as FLLG and LS 320. Examination of varied sources from Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic World, and republican and imperial Rome to clarify the place of women in communities. Women’s contribution to community and the mechanisms by which communities attempted to socialize female populations.
U 323 Women and Social Action in the Americas 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Prereq., one of SW 100S, SOC 110S, or ANTH 101H or consent of instr. Same as SW 323. Focus on women’s experiences of and contributions to social change in North, South and Central America in the mid- to late-20th century. Through case studies, testimonials, discussions with activists and Internet connections examine social constructions of gender, compare forms of social action in diverse cultural, political and historical contexts, link practice to theories of social participation, and reflect on lessons learned from women’s experiences.
U 324 Gender and the Politics of Welfare 3 cr. Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., SW 100S or consent of instr. Same as SW 324. Exploration of the relationship between gender ideologies and the development of social welfare policies. Examination of historic and contemporary social welfare policies, practices and debates in the United States through a gender lens.
UG 327 Anthropology of Gender 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Same as ANTH 327. Comparative study of the history and significance of gender in social life.
UG 342H Gender Studies in Native American Studies 3 cr. Offered intermittently. Same as NAS 342H. Focus on American Indian gender relations and their cultural continuity and historical evolution. National in scope with concentration on certain tribes. Group analysis of contemporary gender issues relevant to Native American peoples.
UG 370H Women in America: to the Civil War 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as HIST and LS 370H. Interpretive overview of women’s experiences in America before the Civil War. Exploration of new definitions of womanhood and “women’s sphere” emerging from women’s varied experiences in the American colonies and the American Revolution; how immigrant, poor, slave, and western women transgressed the boundaries of their sphere; and how women–from both inside and outside their assigned sphere–reshaped their roles in American society.
UG 371H Women in America: from the Civil War 3 cr. Offered spring. Same as HIST and LS 371H. Interpretive overview of women’s experiences in America after the Civil War. Exploration of such topics as women’s associations, the battle for suffrage, organized feminism and its opponents, the industrialization of housework, women in the workforce, reproductive rights, and welfare. Particular attention to women’s experiences shaped by class and race as well as by gender.
U 375L Gender and Sexuality in 20th Century Fiction 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Same as ENLT and LS 375. Major 20th century novels and short stories written in English in different parts of the world and how these texts explore changing concepts of gender and sexuality.
U 380 Gender and Communication 3 cr. Offered autumn. Same as COMM 380. The meaning of gender in our culture and how gender is displayed and perpetuated through our private and public verbal and nonverbal interactions.
U 396 Independent Study Variable cr. (R-12) Offered intermittently.
U 397 Research Variable cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently.
U 395 Special Topics 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.
U 398 Cooperative education Experience Variable cr. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of director. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Center for Work-Based Learning.
U 493 Omnibus Variable cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Independent work under University omnibus option. See index.
U 494 Seminar in Women and Gender Studies 3 cr. Offered every term. Prereq., WS 119H, WS 275S or ANTH/BIOL 265N or consent of instr. Capstone course for the Women and Gender Studies minor.
U 495 Special Topics 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.
U 496 Independent Study Variable cr. (R-9) Offered intermittently.
U 497 Research Variable cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently.

Women's Studies Steering Committee/Faculty

Professors
Betsy Bach, Ph.D., University of Washington, 1985 (Communication Studies)
Jill Belsky, Ph.D., Cornell University, 1991 (Sociology)
Bari Burke, J.D., University of California, Davis, 1979 (Law)
Maureen Curnow, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 1975 (French)
Deni Elliott, Ed.D., Harvard University, 1984 (Philosophy)
Linda Rutland Gillison, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1975 (Classics and Liberal Studies)
Kay Unger, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1974 (Economics)
Ruth Vanita, Ph.D., Delhi University, 1992 (Liberal Studies)

Associate Professors
Ione Crummy, Ph.D., Stanford University, 1992 (French)
Janet L. Finn, Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1995 (Social Work and Anthropology)
Christine Fiore, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island, 1990 (Psychology)
Ramona Grey, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside, 1991 (Political Science)
Sara Hayden, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1993 (Communication Studies)
Anya Jabour, Ph.D., Rice University, 1995 (History)
Rita Sommers Flanagan, Ph.D., The University of Montana, 1989 (Educational Leadership)
Pamela Voekel, Ph.D., University of Texas, 1997 (History)
Jennifer Waltz, University of Washington, 1993 (Psychology)
G.G. Weix, Ph.D., Cornell University, 1990 (Anthropology)
Celia Winkler, Ph.D., University of Oregon, 1996 (Sociology)

Assistant Professors
Hiltrudis Arens, Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1997 (German)
Jill Bergman, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana, 1999 (English)
Heather Bruce, Ph.D., University of Utah, 1997 (English)
Carla Grayson, Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1998 (Psychology)
Kimber Haddix, Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1997 (Anthropology)
Sarah Halvorson, Ph.D., University of Colorado-Boulder, 2000 (Geography)
Maxine Jacobson, Ph.D., University of Utah, 1998 (Social Work)
Kathleen Kane, Ph.D., University of Texas, 1997 (English
Lorina Quartarone, Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996 (Classics and Liberal Studies)

Adjunct Assistant Professors
Gyda Swaney, Ph.D., The University of Montana, 1997 (Psychology)
Joanne Charboneau, Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1981 (Liberal Studies, Visiting)

Adjunct Instructor
Mona Bachmann, M.A., The University of Montana, 198 (Liberal Studies, Visiting)