Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies
Director
Jill S. Dolan
Executive Committee
Elizabeth M. Armstrong, Woodrow Wilson School, Sociology
Wallace D. Best, Religion, African American Studies
Amy B. Borovoy, East Asian Studies
Margot Canaday, History
Angela N. Creager, History
Jill S. Dolan, English, Lewis Center for the Arts, Theater
Tera W. Hunter, History, African American Studies
Sara S. Poor, German
Rebecca A. Rix, History
Daniel I. Rubenstein, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Gayle M. Salamon, English
Judith L. Weisenfeld, Religion
Stacy E. Wolf, Lewis Center for the Arts, Theater
Associated Faculty
April Alliston, Comparative Literature
Leonard Barkan, Comparative Literature
John W. Borneman, Anthropology
Daphne A. Brooks, English, African American Studies
Michael W. Cadden, Lewis Center for the Arts, Theater
Ellen B. Chances, Slavic Languages and Literatures
Anne A. Cheng, English, African American Studies
Maria A. DiBattista, English
Brigid Doherty, German, Art and Archaeology
Su Friedrich, Lewis Center for the Arts, Visual Arts
Diana J. Fuss, English
Ruben Gallo, Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures
Elizabeth Harman, Philosophy, University Center for Human Values
Hendrik A. Hartog, History
Wendy Heller, Music
Brooke A. Holmes, Classics
Alison Isenberg, History
Deborah E. Nord, English
Jeff E. Nunokawa, English
Christina H. Paxson, Woodrow Wilson School, Economics
Imani Perry, African American Studies
Deborah A. Prentice, Psychology
Jennifer L. Rexford, Computer Science
Carolyn M. Rouse, Anthropology, African American Studies
Esther H. Schor, English
Alexandra T. Vazquez, English, African American Studies
Tamsen O. Wolff, English
Virginia Zakian, Molecular Biology
Sits with Committee
Matthew L. Armstead, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students
Debra Bazarsky, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students
Kathleen Crown, Mathey College
Jessica Delgado, Religion
Mary J. Harper, Society of Fellows
Nannerl O. Keohane, Woodrow Wilson School, University Center for Human Values
Russell J. Leo, Council of the Humanities, English
Deirdre Moloney, Office of International Programs
Amada Sandoval, Women's Center
The Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary forum for the study of sex roles, gender, and sexuality across cultures and global geographies both past and present. The program's courses, which are open to all students, examine gender from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The program offers core courses, seminars, and cross-listed courses, and also directs students to courses of interest that are based in other programs and departments. A current list of course offerings is available on the program website.
Admission to the Program
Admission to the program is by application, available via program website, and/or consultation with the program director.
Program of Study
Students who wish to complete the requirements for the undergraduate certificate in gender and sexuality studies must take six courses: WOM 201 or 202, the introductory course; WOM 301 or 302, an advanced interdisciplinary seminar; and four additional courses chosen from among other gender- and sexuality-related departmental offerings in the program and across the University. Among these courses, at least one must be taken in each of three broad disciplinary areas: social science, humanities, and science. Students may take gender-related courses in their major departments for certificate credit. In addition, certificate students are required to incorporate issues related to feminism, women, gender, and/or sexuality into one junior paper and their senior thesis.
Certificate of Proficiency
Certificates of proficiency in the study of gender and sexuality are issued upon graduation to students who have completed the program and have met the requirements of their departments.
A list of gender-related courses across the University may be found on the program website. With the director's approval, these courses may be used to satisfy the program's requirements.
Courses
GSS 201 Introduction to the Study of Gender Fall SA
The study of gender from a multidisciplinary perspective, examined in terms of social behavior and symbolic representation. Topics selected from historical, economic, political, and artistic realms. Open to all undergraduates. G. Salamon
GSS 212 Classical Mythology (see CLA 212)
GSS 221 Inequality: Class, Race, and Gender (see SOC 221)
GSS 225 Sex, Sexuality, and Gender (see SOC 225)
GSS 301 Evolution and the Behavior of the Sexes (see EEB 301)
GSS 302 Topics in the Study of Gender (also LAS 314/REL 300) Spring SA
Advanced seminar; focus changes from year to year. In general the seminar uses contemporary and classic works of feminist theory to examine ideas about gender that have shaped modern culture. Topics have included feminism and liberalism, literature and ideology, and psychoanalysis and feminism. J. Delgado
GSS 303 Gender and Latin American States (see LAS 302)
GSS 306 Women and Film (also VIS 341) Not offered this year LA
An exploration of the relationships between the idea of "woman'' and the art of film. Issues addressed will include the role of woman as performer and director, questions of film genre, the identification of the female image as constitutive of the cinematic image, the historical and social dimensions of the female image projected in films of different times and different cultures. Film screenings, one three-hour seminar. G. Marrone-Puglia
GSS 309 Topics in Judaic Studies (see JDS 301)
GSS 310 The Family in Jewish Tradition (see JDS 315)
GSS 312 Gender and Development in the Americas (see SOC 310)
GSS 313 An Introduction to Black Women's Studies (see AAS 311)
GSS 321 Topics in German Medieval Literature (see GER 321)
GSS 328 Women and Gender in Islamic Societies (see REL 328)
GSS 329 Psychology of Gender (see PSY 329)
GSS 330 The Invention of Literature and Culture in France (see FRE 321)
GSS 331 Sex and Gender in the Ancient World (see CLA 329)
GSS 332 The English Drama to 1700 (see ENG 327)
GSS 337 Women, Gender, and Politics (see POL 335)
GSS 350 Topics in 19th-Century Art (see ART 343)
GSS 351 Law, Social Policy, and African American Women (see AAS 351)
GSS 352 Topics in 17th- and 18th-Century French Literature (see FRE 352)
GSS 359 Sexuality and Religion in America (see AAS 358)
GSS 360 Women and American Religion (see REL 360)
GSS 361 Culture, Power, and Inequality (see SOC 361)
GSS 384 Gender and Sexuality in Modern America (see HIS 384)
GSS 389 Women Writers of the African Diaspora (see ENG 389)
GSS 393 Gender and Science Fall SA
An exploration of two aspects of the gender and science literature: the historical participation of women (and men) in scientific work and the feminist critique of scientific knowledge. The seminar will explore ways in which women have been systematically excluded from science and assess the problems with that thesis. One three-hour seminar. A. Creager
GSS 399 The Female Literary Tradition (see ENG 388)
GSS 400 Contemporary Feminist Theory Spring
Addresses the question: What is feminism? Going back to the beginnings of contemporary feminist thought, the course will proceed through the variety of feminist approaches that have marked the study of art, literature, cinema and popular culture, history, politics, and society since the 1970s. One three-hour seminar. G. Salamon
GSS 401 Seminar. Types of Ideology and Literary Form (see COM 401)
GSS 420 Born in the U.S.A.: Culture and Reproduction in Modern America (also SOC 420) Spring SA
Reproduction is a basic biological process, as well as a fundamental one for all societies. While the biology of human reproduction is universal across time and place, cultural norms and social institutions powerfully inflect and shape the experience of pregnancy and childbirth in every society. This course investigates the history and sociology of reproduction, focusing on the contemporary United States, but with an eye toward other societies for comparison. How, why, and for whom does birth matter? How do reproductive practices reflect gender, race, and class? The course examines the culture, politics, and economics of reproduction. E. Armstrong
GSS 451 Special Topics in Public Affairs (see WWS 452)
GSS 451 Inequalities (see WWS 336)