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The Women and Gender Studies Program offers an undergraduate major and minor. With more than 20 faculty members from 12 departments, this interdisciplinary program provides the university with a spectrum of feminist courses and educational programs on all aspects of women's lives, gender, and sexualities. Students in the program learn to contextualize and critically examine all aspects of our knowledge, culture, and society, while learning about feminist analyses of gender. Subject matter includes women in American, European, Soviet, and Latin American history; cultural studies of feminist movements; multicultural perspectives on women's history; feminist economics; and analyses of popular culture and everyday life from a range of feminist perspectives. Women and Gender Studies, 94 Bedford Street.
Programs
and Requirements
Bachelor
of Arts in Women's Studies
The
minimum number of credits (exclusive of the university
Core curriculum) required for the Women's Studies major
is 42.
The
Women's Studies major consists of 24 hours of required
courses and 18 hours of Women's Studies related courses
as follows:
Required
Courses (all of the following 18 hours)
WST 130I Introduction to Women's Studies
WST 280 Women, Knowledge & Power
WST 380 Politics of Difference
WST 390 Contemporary Feminist Theories
WST 490 Capstone Experience in Women's Studies
Either
of the following: (3 hours)
WST 485 Internship
WST 486 Thesis
One
Topics Course from TWO of the Following Technology Areas:
(6 hours)
WST 235/335/435 Topics in Gender & Science, Tech
& Health I/II/III
WST 245/345/445 Topics in Women, Culture & the Arts
I/II/III
WST 255/355/455 Topics in Women, History & Resistance
I/III/III
WST 265/365/465 Topics in Women, Gender & Institutions
I/II/III
Women's
Studies Electives and Related Courses:
Students must take one course focusing on periods before
1800, and one course dealing with other cultures not
in the Western mainstream. Students may take no more
than three electives from one department or program.
Any WST course may be used for elective credit; courses
eligible for elective credit are listed at the end.
Minor
in Women's Studies
The
minimum number of credits (exclusive of the university
Core curriculum) required for the self designed minor
is 18.
The
Women's Studies minor consists of a minimum of 9 hours
of required courses and 9 hours of Women's Studies related
courses as follows:
Both
of the following: (6 hours)
WST 130I Introduction to Women's Studies
WST 280 Women, Knowledge & Power
Either
of the following: (3 hours)
WST 380 Politics of Difference
WST 390 Contemporary Feminist Theories
Women's
Studies Related Courses: (at least 9 hours)
Two of the courses must be at the 300-level or above
Pre-Requisites
and Grade Policy
There
are prerequisites for many of the Women's Studies courses.
See departmental course listing for more information.
A
minimum grade requirement in all major courses (except
WST BOI) is B- (2.67 GPA); a grade of B or better must
be attained in six hours of major courses. Courses taken
pass/fail are not acceptable.
Curriculum
Summary and Guide
The
Women's Studies curriculum is built upon a shared commitment
to the principles of educational excellence and educational
opportunity. It is structured to ensure that students
are exposed to the sophisticated body of knowledge that
now defines Women's Studies as a discipline, even while
allowing students the opportunity to develop skills
in research, writing, and analysis. Consequently, there
are prerequisites for upper-division courses.
The
first-year student is encouraged to complete Core curriculum
requirements, including Introduction to Women's Studies
(WST 130I) and College Writing (ENG 100C). In the second
year, students should take Women, Knowledge, and Power
(WST 280), followed by Contemporary Feminist Theories
(WST 390) and Politics of Difference (WST 380). Students
who minor in another discipline should also begin the
selected sequence in that year. Third-year schedules
should include at least two Women's Studies-sponsored
topics courses, drawn from two of our four subject areas.
Thus a student might take WST 335 Topics in Gender &
Science, Technology, & Health I, in the fall, and
WST 465 Topics in Women, Gender, & Institutions
III, in the spring. Fourth-year students should take
the Capstone Experience in Women's Studies (WST 490)
and select either the internship or thesis course option.
These courses offer advanced experience in feminist
theories, research, and practice, while allowing students
to pursue their own interests under careful guidance.
Students should be aware that while any course offered
under these "topics" categories will address
the general goal outlined in the catalog, the specific
content of the topic courses will change from semester
to semester. Course descriptions will therefore be published
and distributed during the pre-registration period.
To
declare a major in Women's Studies, the student must
have:
- completed
a minimum of 30 approved university credit hours of
which at least 15 credit hours must be completed at
USM;
- completed
WST 130 or equivalent and ENG 100C or equivalent,
with a grade of C or better;
- achieved
a GPA of 2.5 or better in USM courses; and
- completed
USM's minimum proficiency requirements.
To
graduate from this program, the student:
- must
have completed 42 hours of required coursework, as
described above;
- must
have attained a grade of B- (2.67 GPA) or higher in
all major courses (except WST 130I) and a grade of
B or better in six hours of major courses.
Students
who wish to graduate with honors in this major must:
- maintain
a GPA of 3.33 or better in major courses;
- have
demonstrated superior work in the thesis or internship;
- be
recommended by a faculty member who teaches courses
within the program; and
- be
approved by the Women's Studies Council.
Women's
Studies Courses
WST
130I Introduction to Women's Studies
WST 220 Topics in Women's Studies
WST 230 Psycho-Social Development of Women
WST 235/335/435 Topics in Gender & Science, Tech
& Health I/II/III
WST 245/345/445 Topics in Women, Culture & the Arts
I/II/III
WST 255/355/455 Topics in Women, History & Resistance
I/III/III
WST 265/365/465 Topics in Women, Gender & Institutions
I/II/III
WST 280 Women, Knowledge & Power
WST 320 Advanced Topics in Women's Studies
WST 380 Politics of Difference
WST 390 Contemporary Feminist Theories
WST 470 Independent Study
WST 485 Internship
WST 486 Thesis
WST 490 Capstone Experience in Women's Studies
Women's
Studies related courses*
ANT
232I Anthropology of Sex & Gender
ARH 211G Gender Identity and Modern Art
ARH 218 Women in Art
BUS 349 Women in Management
COM 486 Women in Film
CRM 317 Gender and Crime
ECO 322 Economics of Gender and Discrimination
ENG 379 Earlier Women Writers
ENG 387 Contemporary Women Writers
ENG 399 Special Topics (approved depending content)
ENG 451 Medieval Women Writers
GEO 302 Gender, Space and Work
HTY 339 European Women Writers
HTY 364 History of Women in the United States
HTY 394 Black Women in America
PHI 110E Introduction to Philosophy: Feminist Perspectives
PHI 265 Feminist Philosophy
PHI 290 Women Philosophers of Africa and the Diaspora
POS 201 Women and Politics
PSY 235 Psychology of Women
RUS 281H Russian Literature in Translation: Women Writers
SOC 316 Sociology of Gender
SOC 330 Sociology of the Family
SOC 358 Sociology of Women's Work
SOC 380 Sociology of Sexuality
SOC 380 Sociology of the Body
SWO 456 Women, Welfare, & the State
THE 451 Special Topics in Dramatic Literature &
History
ANES 650 Women in Public
ANES 665 Sex, Gender, & Regional Difference
*Students
should review status of these on a regular basis as
they change each semester
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