Rita Sommers-Flanagan, Director
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 Women's Studies program is administered by the director, with assistance from the program coordinator, in consultation with the Women's Studies Steering Committee, an interdisciplinary group of faculty and professional associates with teaching, research, and scholarly interests in women and gender.
Students may include Women's Studies in their studies in two ways. They can major in Liberal Studies with an option in Women's Studies, or they can complete the Women's and Gender Studies minor. Students may select coursework from a wide variety of courses offered in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law, education and other disciplines. Women's Studies offers scholarships, 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 or approved alternative.
3) At least 21 credits of course work in relevant, advisor-approved courses numbered above 299. At least 12 of these credits must be designated as "focus" courses, and 9 more may be either focus or content courses. Each semester a list of these courses is published at pre-registration by the Women's Studies office, LA 138A, (406) 243-2584. Typical choices are listed below, but may vary from year to year.
Group I: Focus Courses
ANTH 265N Human Sexuality
ANTH 327 Anthropology of Gender
ART 480H Women Artists and Art History
COMM 380 Gender and Communication
COMM 480 The Rhetorical Construction of "Woman"
COMM 481 The Rhetoric of US Women's Activism, 1960-Present
ENLT 321-324* Women's Literature
ENLT 336 American Women Writers
ENLT 337 African-American Literature: Women Writers
ENLT 336 American Women Writers
ENLT 421 Feminist Theory
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/MCLG 320 Women in Antiquity
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 372 Gay and Lesbian Studies
ENLT/NAS 329 Native American Literature
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 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 371 Introduction to Peer Health Education
MCLG 302H/HIST 302H Classical Greece II: Individual, Family and Civic Life in Ancient Greece
PSC 343 Politics of Social Movements
PSC 431 Politics of Global Migration
PSC 450 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 355 Population and Human Ecology
SOC 370S Social Change and Global Development
SOC/FOR 424 Social Forestry
*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. Minors are required to successfully complete WS 119H or approved alternative and either WS 275S or ANTH 265N. Students may then choose additional women's studies coursework at the 300 or 400-level bearing the WS designation or included in a list of qualifying courses provided each year by the Women's Studies office. Student must include a 400-level seminar designated as 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 295 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 320 Women in Antiquity 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Same as MCLG 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.
U 336 American Women Writers 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., ENLT 301 or consent of instr. Same as ENLT 336. Consideration of political and aesthetic purposes in women's fiction through a progression of 19 th century literary forms: a cautionary seduction novel, sentimental and domestic novels, realism, naturalism, and utopianism.
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 372 Gay and Lesbian Studies 3 cr. Offered autumn or spring. Prereq., ENLT 301 or consent of instr. Same as ENLT 372. Review of the history of the gay and lesbian movement in the twentieth century as a basis for understanding the political, social, and sexual issues that influenced homoerotic cultural representation in plays, films, and novels.
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 Internship Services office.
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
Linda W. Gillison, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1975 (Modern Classical Languages and Literatures) (MCLL Chairperson)
Rita Sommers-Flanagan, Ph.D., 1990, University of Montana (Clinical Psychology)
Sara Hayden, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1994 (Communications)
Associate Professors
Anya Jabour, Ph.D., Rice University, 1995 (History)
Celia Winkler , Ph.D., University of Oregon, 1996, J.D., Hastings College of the Law 1979 (Sociology)
Christine Fiore, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island 1990 (Psychology)
G.G. Weix, Ph.D., Cornell University, 1990 (Anthropology)
Hiltrud Arens, Ph.D., University of Maryland at College Park, 1997 (German Studies)
Jill Bergman, Ph.D., University of Illinois 1999 (English)
Joanne A. Charbonneau, Ph.D., 1981, Michigan State University (English)
Maxine Jacobson, Ph.D., University of Utah, 1997 (Social Work)
M. Ione Crummy, Ph.D., Stanford University, 1992 (French)
Ramona Grey, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside, 1991 (Political Science)
Assistant Professors
Bryan N. Cochran, Ph.D., University of Washington, 2003 (Clinical Psychology)
Joann Pavilack (Jody), Ph.D., 2003, Duke University (History)
Karen Ruth Adams, Ph.D., 2000, University of California, Berkeley (Political Science)
Kathy J. Kuipers, Ph.D., 1999, Stanford University (Sociology)
Kelli D. Cummings, Ph.D., University of Oregon, 2004 (School Psychology)
Teresa Sobieszczyk , Ph.D., 2000, Cornell University (Development Sociology)
Research Assistant Professor of Psychology
Kari Jo Harris, Ph.D., MPH, The University of Kansas-Lawrence, 1998 (Psychology); The University of Kansas School of Medicine, 1997 (Public Health)
