Women's Studies, as an interdisciplinary academic discipline, focuses on women's experience in the analysis of human culture, examines the contributions and status of women, and explores the dynamics of sex roles and gender ideals past and present. The curriculum provides options for studying women's cultural, historical, and contemporary lives through a range of courses crosslisted with other departments, such as anthropology, communications, English, foreign languages and literatures, history, Native American studies, philosophy, psychology, sociology and others. Women's Studies explore topics such as the experience of women and gender relations in various periods of history and cultures; women and artistic expressions; the impact of race, ethnicity, class, age, and sexual orientation on women's lives; sex roles and differences in political, economic, legal, and social status; and biological, sociological and psychological influences on women and gender.
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. Students may choose an emphasis in Women's Studies within the Liberal Studies major (see Liberal Studies). To be admitted to the program, students register with the Women's Studies advisor, who will explain emphasis requirements and supervise their program. The following requirements must be met (not necessarily in sequence):
1) Completion of Liberal Studies core curriculum.
2) Completion of Phil 109H.
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 ten to fifteen cognate "focus" and "content" courses is published at pre-registration, from which students may choose. Typical choices are listed below, but may vary from year to year.
Group I: Focus Courses
Anth 327S Anthropology of Gender
Comm 380* Gender and Communication
Comm 495* Seminar in Feminist Rhetoric
Enlt 321* Seminar in Virginia Woolf
Enlt 323* Women's Literature
Enlt 430* American Women Writers
FLLG 522* The Women's Movement and Literature in Germany
Hist 320H Women in America: The Historical Perspective
Hist 495* Special Topics: Women in History
LS 395* Women and Antiquity
LS 461*/Enlt 421* Feminist Criticism
NAS 342H Native American Women
Phil 329E Feminist Ethics
Phil 504* Ecofeminism
Psyc 355 Psychology of Sex Roles
RS 370* Mysticism: Women Mystics
SW 395* Women and Social Action; Women and the Politics of Welfare
Group II: Significant Component Courses
AAS 395* African American Family
Anth 430 Social Anthropology
Enlt 323* Contemporary Poetry: The American Novel
Enlt 395* Gay and Lesbian Literature
Fren 311L French Literature: Medieval, Renaissance, and 17th Century
Hist 395* Families in Early America
Hist 387 Iran Between Two Revolutions
LS 395* Evolution of the African-American Family
Phil 502 Philosophy of Law
PSc 343 Politics of Social Movements
Psych 395* Psychology of Family Violence
SW 410E Ethics and the Helping Professions
Soc 370 Sociology of International Development
*These are generic courses. The specific course focus must be on women, as listed here. Check with the Women's Studies advisor before enrolling.
Other courses not listed here may be applied toward the emphasis if approved by the Women's Studies advisor.
Women's Studies Steering Committee
Professors
Betsy Bach, Ph.D., University of Washington, 1985 (Communication Studies)
Mary Birch, M.S.W., Columbia University, 1966 (Social Work)
Bari Burke, J.D., University of California, Davis, 1979 (Law)
Juliette Crump, M.A., George Washington University, 1975 (Dance)
Maureen Cheney Curnow, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 1975 (French)
Lynne S. Koester, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1976 (Psychology)
Debora Slicer, Ph.D., University of Virginia, 1989 (Philosophy)
Kay Unger, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1974
Julia Watson, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1979 (Liberal Studies/Women's Studies)
Lois Welch, Ph.D., Occidental College, 1966 (English)
Associate Professors
Jill Belsky, Ph.D., Cornell University, 1991 Sociology)
Linda Rutland Gillison, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1975 (Classics and Liberal Studies, Visiting)
Amy Ragsdale, M.A., Wesleyan University, 1992 (Dance)
Assistant Professors
Elizabeth Ametsbichler, Ph.D., University of Maryland at College Park, 1992 (German)
Barbara Andrew, Ph.D. State University of New York at Stonybrook, 1995 (Philosophy)
Virginia Carmichael, Ph.D., Rice University, 1991 (English)
Janet Finn, Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1995 (Anthropology/Social Work)
Christine Fiore, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island, 1990 (Psychology)
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 (Counselor Education)
Veronica Stewart, Ph.D., State University of New York (Stony Brook), 1990 (English)
Jennifer Waltz, University of Washington, 1993 (Psychology)
G.G. Weix, Ph.D., Cornell University, 1990 (Anthropology)
Instructor
Judith Johnson, M.F.A., The University of Montana, 1990 (Liberal Studies)