Courses Offered
Women's and Gender Studies
A list of regularly offered courses follows. The indication of when a course will be offered is based on the best projection of the department and can be subject to change.
Please note the key for the following abbreviations: (A) Arts; (H) Humanities; (S) Social Sciences; (N) Natural Sciences with Laboratory; (LS) Language Studies requirement; (NSP) Natural Science in Perspective; (NW) Non-Western Cultures requirement.
WGS150. Invisible Worlds. (S) (W) Fall 2009
In this First Year Seminar, we will explore the “things that go bump in the night.” Some scholars have argued that we can learn a good deal about more visible social relations by paying careful attention to the stories groups tell about beings like ghosts and fairies. The seminar will test this theory through our exploration of texts, films and documentaries, as well as material drawn from other media. Some larger topics that will arise in this class include the social-historical construction of landscape, how people represent others through narrative and cultural concepts of gender. We will finish our seminar with consideration of the global appeal of a very famous invisible world, the magical reality of Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. Same as ANT 150. Bastian
WGS157. War and Gender in Modern Europe. (S)(W) Fall 2009
Exploration of the experiences of European men and women in the First and Second World Wars. Through literature, film, propaganda and other primary sources, the course examines the shifts in masculine and feminine identities occasioned by total war. Same as HIS 157. Mitchell
WGS160. Rights and Representations. (S) (W) Spring 2010
This seminar studies social, legal and political controversies surrounding representation in American history and contemporary culture, with particular focus on race and gender. It offers an introduction to First Amendment jurisprudence and explores these key questions: Do representations (or depictions in literature, film and music) injure individuals and groups? How are rights to free speech balanced against equal protection in American law? This class focuses on how social groups — on the left and right in American politics — have tried to use the law to suppress “harmful” expression. Same as AMS 160. Kibler
WGS210. Gendered Perspectives. (S) Spring 2010
Focusing on issues related to women’s experiences in the contemporary United States and in other societies around the globe, this broad core course in women’s studies explores basic concepts, methods of inquiry, empirical studies and symbolic interpretations from a feminist perspective. WGS 210 is required for the WGS minor and joint majors. Students who are considering a WGS minor or joint major are urged to take WGS 210 early in their college career. Gosse
WGS213. Black American Film. (S) Offered in 2009–2010
An introduction to film studies using black film as a genre of Hollywood and independent film. Covers the work of Oscar Michaux through the “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s and beyond. Explores films as social commentary in their particular historical contexts. Particular attention is given to screen analysis of segregation, sexuality, class differences and more. Same as AFS/AMS/TDF 213. Staff
WGS215. Women in Society. (S) Fall 2009
How gender roles affect women’s participation in political, ritual, economic and other social relations. The course materials will include detailed ethnographic work on specific societies and will maintain a theoretical perspective informed by contemporary gender studies. Prerequisite: ANT 100. Same as ANT 215. Ahlberg-Yohe
WGS231. Women Writers I. (H) Fall 2009
A study of the experiences of women as presented in selected British and American literature from the Middle Ages through the 19th century, as presented from a variety of cultural perspectives. We will consider various readings of the texts, including those that emphasize feminist theory and historical context. Among others, we will be reading Jane Austen, Aphra Behn, Anne Bradstreet, the Brontës, George Eliot and Mary Wollstonecraft. Same as ENG 231. Hartman
WGS233. Women Writers II. (H) Fall 2010
A study of the changing world of American and British women in the 20th century as portrayed by women writers. The critical emphasis will be on feminist theory and the political, social and cultural background of the times. Among others, we will read works by Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Anne Sexton, Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. Same as ENG 233. Hartman
WGS244. Women in the Economy. (S) Spring 2010
An analysis of the roles women and men have historically played and continue to play in the economy, both within and outside of the labor market. Topics include the historical conditions under which dominant gender ideals emerged, the value of unpaid work and national accounting, occupational segregation and labor market discrimination. Economic and interdisciplinary approaches are used. Prerequisite: ECO 100 and 103, or permission of the instructor. Same as ECO 244. Tcherneva
WGS250. Witchcraft and Sorcery in a Global Context. (S) Spring 2011
In this course we will consider how the categories of “witchcraft” and “sorcery” have been used in Anthropology, both to describe mystical acts (particularly mystical attacks) and as an ethnographic metaphor to discuss the pressures of communal life for individuals. Course content will consist of, but not be limited to, witchcraft and sorcery as a “social strain gauge,” witchcraft and sorcery as expressions of symbolic power, the gendered name of witchcraft and sorcery, as well as witchcraft and sorcery under conditions of western-style modernity. Same as ANT/RST 250. Bastian
WGS282. Women, Culture and Development. (NW) (S) Fall 2009
Role of gender in different cultures across non-industrialized world and impact of economic development on position of women and gender relations in these societies. Women’s contribution to economic and social change and the extent to which conventional methods of analysis in development economics can be applied to their situations. Examination of the development of the “Third World woman” in the development literature. Prerequisite: ECO 100 and 103, or permission of the instructor. Same as ECO 282. Zein-Elabdin
WGS310. American Masculinities. (S) Fall 2009
This course explores the importance of masculinity and its various constructions in American history and the contemporary period. We begin by examining the theoretical and historical foundations of American masculinities. We will focus on key ways in which men (and women) sustain and recreate masculinities. Topics include manhood and the workplace, politics, sports, courtship, fatherhood, military, immigration and ethnicity, crime and prisons and religion. Same as AMS/HIS 310. Deslippe
WGS320. Women in American Society and Politics since 1890. (S) Fall 2009
An interdisciplinary study of the various ways women have participated in American society and politics. Topics include the suffrage movement, modern modes of political participation and the New Deal and World War II. Critical analysis of the meaning of feminism and special attention to the post–1945 period. Same as AMS/HIS 320. Westkaemper
WGS350. Sociology of Gender. (S) Spring 2010
An examination of the transmission of gender expectations and their impact on women’s and men’s educational and employment patterns, interpersonal relationships, psychological traits, family patterns and sexual behavior. Consideration of the role of biology, the intersection of gender with other variables such as social class and the impact of micro- and macro-scale change. Prerequisite: SOC 100. Same as SOC 350. Auster
WGS355. The Body. (S) Spring 2010
Examines contemporary theoretical and ethnographic discussions relating to the human body. Topics covered will include social constructions of gender, reproduction and reproductive technologies, cultural ideologies of sexuality, social inscriptions on the body, “the body in extremis,” cultural depositions of the corpse and what some might call hybrid, cyborg, or even virtual bodies. Prerequisite: ANT 200 or permission of the instructor. Same as ANT 355. Bastian
WGS365. Queens, Goddesses and Archaeology. (S) Spring 2010
This course will consider how archaeologists examine gender and interpret the roles of women in ancient subsistence economies, politics and religions. To achieve this goal we will discuss the roles of women in egalitarian and stratified societies and explore the actions and status of both high-ranking and everyday women in the ancient world. Prerequisites: ANT 100, ANT 102, ANT 200, or permission of the instructor. Same as ANT 365. M. A. Levine
WGS388. Public Health Research: Pregnancy Outcomes in American Women. (S) Spring 2011
This interdisciplinary seminar will explore women’s health and pregnancy outcome through the lenses of both science and social analysis. In addition to reading and discussion on influences on pregnancy outcomes, students will examine results of surveys of Amish women in Lancaster County, African-American and Hispanic women in Lancaster City and women of child-bearing age in central Pa. This course is supported by funds from the PA Dept. of Health. (Any course that includes methods of data analysis or permission.) Same as GOV/PUB/STS 388. Miller, Yost
WGS403. Selected Studies in Modern European History. (S) Offered in 2009-2010
Readings and research in selected aspects of the political, social and cultural history of Modern Europe. Recent seminars include “Gender in Modern Europe,” “Social Discipline and Social Deviance: The Construction of Modern European Subjectivity,” “The French Revolution,” “The Politics of Memory,” “Human Rights and Civil Rights,” and “Urban History.” Some of these courses have prerequisites (see relevant departmental offerings). Same as HIS 403. Schrader, Mitchell
WGS431. Politics of Gender in Contemporary Art. (A) Spring 2011
An advanced seminar examining the challenges posed by the modern political movement of feminism to traditional ways of thinking about, looking at and making art. Emphasis is placed on work made during the last 3 decades of the 20th century. Questions considered include the feminist challenge to the cultural stereotype of “Artist”; women’s efforts to define a “female” aesthetic (or, is there such a thing?); the feminist critique of visual representation. Prerequisite: ART 103 or permission of the instructor. Same as ART 431. Aleci
WGS450. Selected Studies in East Asian History. (NW) (S) Fall 2010
Readings and research in selected topics of the social, political and cultural history of East Asia. Recent seminars include “Women and Gender in Chinese History,” “Memories of Empire.” Same as HIS 450. Reitan
WGS466. Love, Lust and Loss in Early American Lancaster. (H) Spring 2010
Desired and envied, Peggy Shippen and Ann Coleman were young women blamed for highly irregular behavior by famous men, Benedict Arnold and James Buchanan. The possibly banal or even complex realities of their lives are typically reduced to the melodramatic conventions of sentimental fiction. In this seminar, we will work in a number of registers: the historical (What happen?), the collision of historiography and genre (How are sentiment and sympathy used to imagine the lives of young women?) and the narratological (how do various narrative strategies tell truth, inspire action, or support particular ideological positions?) Permission of the instructor required. Same as AMS/ENG 466. Battistini
WGS490. Independent Study. Every Semester
Permission of chairperson. Staff
Topics Courses Expected to be Offered in 2009–2010
Gender and the Law.
Girls’ Culture.
Rights and Representation.
Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity.
Sociology of Sport.
