Women Studies, BA

Mary-Antoinette Smith, PhD, Director

Objectives

The program of courses which comprises the women studies curriculum will enable students to examine women’s roles in society from multiple perspectives and disciplines; to understand and evaluate feminist critical scholarship and to apply it across disciplines and in all areas of life; to analyze the connections between gender inequalities and other forms of discrimination (race, class, ethnicity, etc.); and to develop abilities and skills to deal positively and effectively with gender issues for individuals and society.

Students can take Women Studies as a stand-alone major or they may choose to take an additional, complementary major. The program is designed in such a way that this is feasible within four years.

Requirements

In order to earn a bachelor of arts degree with a major in Women Studies, students must complete a minimum of 180 quarter credits with a cumulative grade point average of 2.00, including the following:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements

ENGL 110 - College Writing: Inquiry and Argument 5
PHIL 110 - Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking 5
HIST 120 - Origins of Western Civilization 5
ENGL 120 - Introduction to Literature 5
MATH 107 or MATH 110 or above 5
Lab Science 5
Fine Arts (one approved 5-credit course) 5
PHIL 220 - Philosophy of the Human Person 5
Social Science I 5
Social Science II (different discipline from Social Science I) 5
Theology and Religious Studies Phase II (200-299 ) 5
Ethics (upper division) 5
Theology and Religious Studies Phase III (300-399 ) 5
Interdisciplinary Core Course (WMST 480 , 481 , 482 , or 483 required in major) 5
Senior Synthesis (WMST 401 required in major) 5

II. College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

Modern Language 115, 125, 135, or equivalent (15)

NOTE:

All students with a major in the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency through the 135 level in a language other than English. This competency is ordinarily achieved by successful completion of the three-course sequence: 115, 125, and 135. Because these courses are a college requirement, no course in the sequence may be taken on a pass/fail, correspondence, or audit basis. Placement into other than the beginning course of the sequence is achieved by acceptable performance on the Modern Language Competency Examination. See the Modern Languages Department for details on the examinations. Courses used to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences modern language requirement may not be used to fulfill Women Studies major requirements.

Choose one of the two following courses:

III. Major requirements

55 credits including:

WMST 101 - Introduction to Women Studies 5
WMST 381 - Feminist Methodologies 5
WMST 382 - Feminist Theories 5
WMST 401 - Women Studies Seminar 5
WMST 480 - Core Interdisciplinary 3 to 5 (5 credits required) approved by the major

IV. Major Electives

Choose 30 credits from: (30)

(See departmental listings for descriptions.)

CMJR 480 - Core Interdisciplinary 3 to 5 Gays, the Media, and Politics (or Sex, Myth, and Media)
CRJS 405 - Gender, Race and Crime 5
ENGL 361 - Literature of India 5
ENGL 362 - African Literature 5
ENGL 439 - Medieval Women and Writing 5
ENGL 441 - International Women’s Writing 5
ENGL 474 - Postcolonial Literature and Theory 5
HIST 327 - History of Motherhood 5
HIST 328 - United States Women’s History 5
HIST 329 - Gender and Sexuality in U. S. History 5
NURS 372 - Issues in Women’s Health: A Wellness Perspective 3 to 5
PHIL 220 - Philosophy of the Human Person 5
(Only sections designated X:WS in the remarks column of the quarterly schedule of classes)
PHIL 345 - Ethics 5
(Only sections designated X:WS in the remarks column of the quarterly schedule of classes)
PHIL 373 - Gender and Social Reality 5
PSYC 340 - Psychology of Gender 5
SOCL 318 - Gender Roles and Sexuality 5
SOCL 402 - Sociological Theory 5
(Only sections designated X:WS in the remarks column of the quarterly schedule of classes)
THRS 204 - Women and Theology 5
THRS 302 - Women and the Hebrew Bible 5
THRS 306 - Women and the New Testament 5
WMST 384 - Contemporary Latin American Literature 5
WMST 388 - Emerging Subjectivities in Chicano Literature 5
WMST 495 - Internship 1 to 5

NOTE:

Among the electives no more than 10 credits can be taken in any one discipline and no less than 20 credits need to be in upper-division courses.

Special topics courses will be added as departments propose new offerings and they will be identified each term in the schedule of classes.

Several Women Studies courses have been identified as satisfying core requirements. Those courses may be used to fill major requirements or major electives while also fulfilling university core requirements. The credit for each course completed is included in totals only once.

Departmental Honors

Women Studies with Departmental Honors