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 2022 COURSES
GWS 201-201: GENDER & POPULAR CULTURE
INSTRUCTOR: LEE MANDELO
ONLINE ASYNCHRONOUS, MAY 16-JUNE 13
This course examines the role of popular culture in the construction of gendered identities in contemporary society. We examine a wide range of popular cultural forms – including music, computer games, movies, and television – to illustrate how femininity and masculinity are produced, represented, and consumed. This course serves as an introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) from a humanities perspective. We will explore the ways identities are constructed through various types of media and popular culture. Representations of gender are central to our study but are always already influenced by other social categories, such as race, sexuality, and class. As a class, in addition to scholarly work, we will investigate how different kinds of texts, such as music videos, movies, television, advertisements, social media, and fictional work, shape our understanding and experience regarding what it means to be a “man” or a “woman.” Throughout this exploration, we will also consider how representation affects us as individuals and as communities in ways to reproduce and perpetuate the social hierarchy of gender, race, sexuality, and class. In GWS 201, we will explore a variety of texts through different lenses that recognize the social systems that privilege some and disadvantage others based on claimed and perceived identities. This course will give you an opportunity to develop your communication and research skills, but most of all, it will challenge you as a critical thinker. This course meets USP and/or UK Core requirements (Intellectual Inquiry, Humanities) and counts toward requirements for undergraduate GWS majors and minors.
GWS 201-202: GENDER & POPULAR CULTURE
INSTRUCTOR: MEL LESCH
ONLINE ASYNCHRONOUS, JULY 14-AUG 10
This course examines the role of popular culture in the construction of gendered identities in contemporary society. We examine a wide range of popular cultural forms – including music, computer games, movies, and reality television – to illustrate how femininity and masculinity are produced, represented, and consumed. This course serves as an introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) from a humanities perspective. We will explore the ways identities are constructed through various types of media and popular culture. Representations of gender are central to our study but are always already influenced by other social categories, such as race, sexuality, and class. As a class, in addition to scholarly work, we will investigate how different kinds of texts, such as music videos, movies, television, advertisements, social media, and fictional work, shape our understanding and experience regarding what it means to be a “man” or a “woman.” Throughout this exploration, we will also consider how representation affects us as individuals and as communities in ways to reproduce and perpetuate the social hierarchy of gender, race, sexuality, and class. In GWS 201, we will explore a variety of texts through different lenses that recognize the social systems that privilege some and disadvantage others based on claimed and perceived identities. This course will give you an opportunity to develop your communication and research skills, but most of all, it will challenge you as a critical thinker. This course meets USP and/or UK Core requirements (Intellectual Inquiry, Humanities) and counts toward requirements for undergraduate GWS majors and minors.
GWS 250-201: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
INSTRUCTOR: ALINA HECHLER
ONLINE, ASYNCHRONOUS, MAY 16-JULY 13
This course takes you through some ways in which people have organized themselves around issues pertaining to gender. It also considers how capitalism appropriates these movements and how popular culture has adopted or rejected the tenets of various social justice movements as these movements were recognized/incorporated by the mainstream. We engage key theories that explain the origins, strategies, and success of different forms of social movements across the world. We also critically analyze case studies from different parts of the world to understand how social movements work on the ground and in specific cultural environments with unique historical trajectories, attending to ways in which social movements are shaped by, and do or do not result in changes to social structures of gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality. This course is required for undergraduate GWS majors and minors. Applies to UK Core requirement: Global Dynamics
GWS 302-201: GENDER ACROSS THE WORLD: BODIES ACROSS NATIONS
INSTRUCTOR: SNEHAL SHARMA
ONLINE, ASYNCHRONOUS, JUN 14-AUG 10
This course will engage in critical inquiry and analysis of human diversity and issues related to equality across nations. The course will use the theme ‘bodily autonomy’ to understand how the same topic can mean and be understood differently across cultures and nations. A significant component of the class will be evaluating ‘human rights’ in the context of bodily autonomy and the ways people can access or not access these rights due to their social locations (based on gender, sex, class, race, caste, nationality, citizenship status, local political situation, etc.). These rights include from basic decision of what a person wants to wear, to the complex issues related to gender identification, sexual relations, reproductive rights, sex-work, organ donation, disability rights, etc. The course will explore the question - How the right over our own body is impacted by the larger social norms, government laws and policies, as well as by local, national, and international politics. The course material will focus on transnational understanding/debates related to bodily autonomy across nations and cultures. This course counts toward requirements for GWS majors and minors and fulfills the UK Core requirements for Global Dynamics.
ADDITIONAL COURSES FOR GWS CREDIT
JOU 455: MASS MEDIA AND DIVERSITY: RACE, GENDER, AND CLASS
INSTRUCTOR: DEBORAH CHUNG
ONLINE, ASYNCHRONOUS, JUN 29-AUG 11
This course will examine the role of the media in representing and communicating social constructions of race, gender and class in society. We will focus on a wide range of media, including newspapers, magazines, television and radio. We will cover topics primarily about gender, sexuality, class and race/ethnicity. In this course, we will examine how mass media, as social institution, affect our understanding of diversity. We will discuss how mass media portrayals and representations reflect reality and how they affect our perceptions of diverse groups. We will also examine how these representations have changed, or not changed, over time and why. This course will also introduce you to theory related to mass communication and cultural studies.
