To view GWS courses offered during a specific semester, visit the online University Course Catalogue. Select the semester desired from the drop-down menu, then type "GWS" in the Course Prefix box or select GWS from the drop-down menu. There may also be GWS courses listed under the general "A&S" prefix or as Discovery Seminar Program "DSP" courses. Note that actual course offerings are subject to change, but this guide will provide the most current information available.
SUMMER 2025 COURSES
GWS 201-210: Gender and Popular Culture: Gender, Sex, and Rock Music
Instructor: Rebecca Lentjes
Meeting times: Online asynchronous
Dates: June 17-July 16
This course explores how gender and sexuality intersect with popular culture, and specifically with histories and subcultures of rock and popular music. We will trace the trajectories of feminist thought, intersectionality, queer theory, and the waves of feminism through the lens of popular culture, from Bikini Kill to Billie Eilish to Prince to Megan Thee Stallion. We will examine constructions of “masculinity” and “femininity” and how these constructions shape (and are shaped by) not only music but other forms of popular culture such as film, television, video games, and social media. This course offers an introduction to the field of gender studies through assignments that include writing discussion posts and other short assignments; reading essays, opinion pieces, zines, and academic articles; watching video clips, interviews, and TikToks; and of course listening to a class playlist. The central goals of the class are to develop interdisciplinary research skills; to become adept at performing cultural analysis; and to think critically about how ideas of gender and sexuality are represented and interpreted within the realms of popular culture, academia, and everyday life. This course meets UK Core requirements (Intellectual Inquiry, Humanities) and counts toward requirements for the undergraduate GWS major and minor.
GWS 250-210: Social Movements
Instructor: Gregory Serrano
Meeting times: Online asynchronous
Dates: July 2-August 13
This course examines how gender, race, sexuality, and ability shape social movements worldwide, with a central focus on animal rights and environmental activism. We will explore feminist, queer, and anti-racist frameworks in advocacy for nonhuman animals and the environment, analyzing the politics of care, justice, and interdependence across species. Topics include ecofeminism, indigenous land and water defense, disability justice in environmental activism, and global struggles for food, land, and environmental justice. Readings and documentaries will cover anti-deforestation efforts in the Amazon, water justice movements in South Asia, and factory farming resistance in the Global South. We will also explore racial justice, reproductive justice, and disability rights movements in a transnational context. Black liberation movements, indigenous sovereignty struggles, and feminist organizing will be examined alongside their global counterparts, from Māori land rights movements to Sami self-determination. Additionally, we will analyze right-wing movements, including men’s rights campaigns, ecoracism, and nationalist responses to feminist and environmental activism. Through interdisciplinary scholarship, activist writings, and
case studies, students will critically engage with how movements construct resistance, negotiate power, and challenge (or reinforce) dominant hierarchies. This course encourages a global perspective on justice, examining how struggles for gender, racial, disability, and environmental liberation intersect across borders. This course meets UK Core requirement (Global Dynamics) and counts toward requirements for the undergraduate GWS major and minor.
GWS 301-210: Crossroads in GWS: Masculinities
Instructor: Shruthi Parthasarathy
Meeting times: Online asynchronous
Dates: May 19-June 16
This course is an introduction to Masculinities in the United States with a focus on representation and political discourses. We will study what the term ‘masculinity’ means, the historical changes to its markers, and the ways in which it is interpreted and used across cultures. We will engage with different iterations of masculinity and examine how it functions as social, political and cultural objects. What is masculine? Who can ‘do’ masculinity? Is there one correct form of masculinity? Are there factors that create and define masculinity? What are these factors? These are some of the questions that we will explore in this course through critical engagement with assigned texts, pertinent documentaries/films and engaging with popular culture discourses. The course will provide you with tools to observe, examine, analyze and reflect on narratives of gender identity. This course meets UK Core requirement (Community, Culture, and U.S. Citizenship) and counts toward requirements for the undergraduate GWS major and minor.
GWS 302-210: Gender Across the World: Queer Asia
Instructor: Kira Ma
Meeting times: Online asynchronous
Dates: May 19-July 1
Interdisciplinary, comparative and transnational examination of issues of gender focused around particular themes and locations. Thematic focus explicating gender which also illuminates questions of history and political economy in specific locations. Introduces students to research and a variety of analytical questions in the field, as well as the interaction between locales/people and structural processes. The theme for this section of 302 is Queer Asia. This course will introduce and examine the LGBTQ+ experience in various areas across Asia. Through an intersectional lens, this course will discuss social movements around the LGBTQ+ community, as well as queer representation in popular culture in various forms. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand how culture shapes people’s experiences, critically discuss LGBTQ+ experiences, and further think about building solidarity across cultures. This course meets UK Core requirement (Global Dynamics) and counts toward requirements for the undergraduate GWS major and minor.