Program Overview

Women's and Gender Studies Courses

The following courses are offered by the Women's and Gender Studies program:

100-Level Courses

• WGST 124: Sex and the City: Gender and Urban History
  • Examines the relationship between gender and urban space from the 19th century to the present
  • Uses Cleveland as a case study to explore how cities shape and reflect gender identities and sexual relations
• WGST 201: Introduction to Gender Studies
  • Introduces students to the methods and concepts of gender studies and feminist theory
  • Covers approaches used in literary criticism, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, film studies, cultural studies, art history, and religion
• WGST 219: Islam in America
  • Examines the history of Islam in the United States from the 18th century to the present
  • Explores the experiences of Muslim immigrants and African-American Muslims in the development of American Muslim institutions, beliefs, and rituals
• WGST 227: Islam, Gender, and Sexuality
  • Examines how Muslim thinkers have interpreted Islamic scriptures with respect to topics such as marriage, child custody, inheritance, and sexuality
  • Explores how gender structures authority and power in Muslim communities
• WGST 228: Sociology of Sexuality
  • Analyzes the issues of sex and sexuality from a sociological point of view
  • Covers topics such as sexual orientation, gender identity, and sexual behavior
• WGST 243: Bollywood, Social Justice, Gender and Sexuality
  • Examines how Bollywood films address issues of social justice, gender, and sexuality
  • Explores the cultural and historical context of Bollywood films and their impact on Indian society
• WGST 252: Soul Murder: Religion and Sexual Abuse
  • Analyzes the topic of clergy sexual abuse and its impact on victims
  • Explores the cultural, racial, and gendered dynamics of religious abuse
• WGST 257: Women's Histories in South Asia
  • Traces the history of women in South Asia from pre-colonial times to the present
  • Explores themes such as labor, reproduction, health, community, family, resistance, and activism
• WGST 268: Women in the Bible
  • Examines the images and realities of women's social, political, and economic lives in Jewish and Christian Biblical texts
  • Discusses how these traditions have shaped images of and attitudes toward women in Western civilization
• WGST 273: Race and Gender in Popular Culture
  • Explores how notions of race and gender have been constructed, reflected, and contested through American popular culture
  • Analyzes the reciprocal relationship between culture, politics, and the economy, and how these factors shape racial and gender identities
• WGST 280: The Politics of Beauty and Literature
  • Examines how literary authors engage with the politics of beauty and appearance in their works
  • Explores the intersectional power relations involved in past and present beauty standards
• WGST 285: Embodied Politics
  • Explores the role of contemplative practices and spiritual activism in efforts for social justice and social change
  • Examines the increasing incorporation of contemplative practices and self-recovery approaches into current social justice movements
• WGST 286: Literature, Gender, and Sexuality
  • Focuses on how writers engage with the complex subjects of gender and sexuality in their works
  • Explores the intersectional power relations involved in past and present beauty standards
• WGST 302: The Lemonade Class
  • Examines the album Lemonade by Beyoncé as a cultural and historical text
  • Explores the themes of race, gender, commerce, sexuality, power, and divinity in the album
• WGST 308: Immigration and the Paris Experience
  • Offers a spring semester course with a spring break study abroad component in Paris
  • Focuses on the culture, literature, and arts of African, Arab, and Asian communities in Paris
• WGST 315A: International Bioethics Policy and Practice
  • Examines social policies and practices related to women's health in the United States and the Netherlands
  • Explores the cultural, racial, and gendered dynamics of women's health policy
• WGST 318: History of Black Women in the U.S.
  • Focuses on the history of black women in the United States from enslavement to the present
  • Explores themes such as labor, reproduction, health, community, family, resistance, and activism
• WGST 325: Philosophy of Feminism
  • Examines the dimensions of gender difference and the definition of feminism
  • Critically examines feminist critiques of culture, including politics, ideology, epistemology, ethics, and psychology
• WGST 326: Gender, Inequality, and Globalization
  • Examines how major societal institutions reproduce gendered inequalities across the globe
  • Explores the intersections of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality in social systems of power and privilege
• WGST 342: Latin American Feminist Voices
  • Examines the awakening of feminine and feminist consciousness in Latin American women's literary production
  • Explores the dominant themes of love, dependency, imagination, alienation, rebellion, sexuality, and power in Latin American women's writing
• WGST 345: Topics in LGBTQ Studies
  • Focuses on selected topics in the study of LGBTQ literature, film, theory, and culture
  • Explores topics such as queer theory, LGBTQ literature, queer cinema, and gay and lesbian poetry
• WGST 346: Women, Power, and Politics
  • Involves a critical examination of the impact of gender on the forms and distributions of power and politics
  • Explores the relationship between women and the state, and how women organize collectively to influence state policies
• WGST 347: Buddhism, Gender, and Sexuality
  • Queries the conceptualization of gender and sexuality in Buddhism and Buddhist communities across space and time
  • Explores the theories and practices of gender and sexuality expressed by Buddhist communities from its beginnings to the present day
• WGST 348: Japanese Women Writers
  • Explores Japanese women writers and their multilayered works in the context of changing socio-political conditions
  • Examines the plot lines begun by early female writers and their contribution to the development of modern Japanese women's literature
• WGST 349: The Arab World Experience
  • Offers a spring semester course with a spring break study abroad component in a Middle Eastern or North African country
  • Focuses on topics such as history, politics, culture, and gender relations within the society of study
• WGST 352: African Feminisms
  • Traces the history of African feminism from its origins within traditions to a more contemporary theoretical analysis of gender, marriage, and motherhood
  • Explores African feminist theory and its distinctness from Western theories
• WGST 353: In Her Shoes Part I
  • Examines the images and realities of women's social, political, and economic lives in early America
  • Uses primary documents, biographies, historical monographs, and period fiction and poetry to observe individuals and groups of women
• WGST 354: In Her Shoes Part II
  • Covers intersectional American women's history from the end of the Civil War to the end of World War II
  • Engages students in original research and exploration of primary materials as historical detectives in search of understanding American women's past
• WGST 355: Hindu and Jain Bioethics
  • Provides an introduction to basic Hinduism and Jainism and an introduction to Hindu and Jain bioethics
  • Focuses on bioethical issues that pertain to women and are gender-related, such as abortion, menstruation, surrogacy, and intersex
• WGST 360: Global Politics of Reproduction
  • Offers an anthropological examination of reproductive politics around the world
  • Explores historical, cultural, socioeconomic, political, and technological factors contributing to reproductive activities
• WGST 363: Gender and Sexuality in America
  • Explores changing notions of gender and sexuality over the past two centuries in the United States
  • Uses a mixture of historical text, gender theory, personal biography, and artistic expression to examine the development of gender and sexuality
• WGST 365F: Afrofuturism and the Black Imaginary
  • Explores the theoretical, literary, and cultural expressions of Afrofuturism
  • Examines the multiple meanings and expressions of Afrofuturism and its expansion of various literary traditions
• WGST 372: Work and Family
  • Covers the impact on human lives of the interface between work and family
  • Explores the different ways gender structures the experience of work and family depending on racial and ethnic background, social class, age, and partner preference
• WGST 373: Women and Medicine in the United States
  • Investigates the experiences of American women as practitioners and as patients
  • Explores the cultural relationship between women and psychological disorders, and the historical development of women's health in the United States
• WGST 374: American Women's Poetry
  • Surveys American women's poetry from the seventeenth century to the present
  • Examines the roles of women poets in the development of the nation's literary, cultural, and social history
• WGST 381: Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Culture in Israel
  • Explores how people talk about sex in Israeli culture and how Israeli authors, artists, and filmmakers approach gender and sexuality
  • Examines the categories of gender, sexuality, and identity in relation to collective memory, religion, and nationalism in Israel
• WGST 384: Sociology of Sex(es), Gender(s), and Sexuality(ies)
  • Surveys research on sex, gender, and sexuality with the goal of providing students with a theoretical grounding for analyzing sex, gender, and sexuality from a sociological perspective
  • Explores outdated theories like essentialism and biological determinism, and newer theories rooted in social constructionism
• WGST 391: Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion
  • Addresses workforce diversity issues from individual, group, and organizational perspectives
  • Focuses on innovative ways of utilizing today's culturally expanding workforce and developing a corporate culture that embraces diversity
• WGST 396: SAGES Capstone
  • Offers a capstone experience in the fields of Women's and Gender Studies for an in-depth, independent project of particular interest to the student
  • Requires a WGST faculty advisor's approval of the proposal prior to registration
• WGST 399: Independent Study
  • Allows students to pursue an independent research project in the fields of Women's and Gender Studies
  • Requires a project proposal approved by a WGST faculty advisor prior to registration