Undergraduate Bulletin 2007-2009
Womens Studies

Course Offering(s)

• Women's Studies  105      3 units (crs.)
  Social Work Ethics in a Diverse Society
  Introduces the student to the framework of ethics in a diverse society for generalist practice, focusing in particular on women's issues.  To clarify ethical issues, social workers will need to use ethical concepts paired with social work knowledge, skills and values, when dealing with populations at risk.  This course presents the student with basic philosophical theories and moral and ethical decision making models to prepare the student to fully understand the logic systems of the client as well as one's own values and behaviors. Cross-listed: Social Work 105/Women's Studies 105. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Open only to Social Work majors or Women's Studies minors, or by consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  201      3 units (crs.)
  Introduction to Women's Studies (SS)
  Introduction to social scientific analysis of the cultural construction of gender and how it affects women's experiences past and present.  Includes interdisciplinary study of women's issues in the family, work place, media, education, politics, and other cultural institutions, as well as intersections of ethnicity, class, and gender.  Provides an introduction to the origins, purpose, subject matter and methods of Women's Studies as a discipline for Women's Studies minors and others interested in the field.
• Women's Studies  224      3 units (crs.)
  Women in Literature (HU)
  Representations of women and female experiences in literature. A variety of genres and historical periods may be covered from American, British, and/or colonial literatures. Cross-listed: English 224/Women's Studies 224. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Any Writing-Based Inquiry Seminar (188), or English 101 or English 110.
• Women's Studies  225      3 units (crs.)
  Images of Women (HU)
  Interdisciplinary approach to cultural representations of women past, present, and future.
• Women's Studies  240      3 units (crs.)
  Human Sexuality (GE) (SS)
  The study of human sexual functioning which will include social, political, biological, and aesthetic components and application of these components in developing a mature understanding of one's own sexuality and the responsible use of sex in one's life. Cross-listed: Health Education 240/Women's Studies 240. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  243      3 units (crs.)
  Women in the Arts: Encounters (HU)
  Women in the Arts: Encounters is a team-taught interdisciplinary course which provides an overview of the significant contributions of women in the arts, while offering a critical look at individual achievements and at societal attitudes and limitations which have impacted the nature and direction of women's artistic output. Students will gain hands-on experience through guided studio work in music, visual art and theater and the combination of these are forms via collaborative projects. Students may receive credit for only one of the cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  265      3 units (crs.)
  Women and Religion (NW) (ES) (HU)
  Explores the role of women and the feminine in the religions of the world. Using sacred textual traditions as a base, we will examine the place of women and the feminine in 1) mythology, 2) social and family relations, and 3) religious ritual and organization, including monasticism. Attention will also be given to the significance of the gendered nature of deity for women's spirituality and experience in the world's religions. Cross-listed: Religious Studies 265/Women's Studies 265. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  268      3 units (crs.)
  Gender, Communication and Relationships (SS)
  Focuses on the relationship between gender and communication within the context of interpersonal relationships. Topics covered include hetero/homo affective relationships, friendships, and professional relationships. Cross-listed: Communication 268/Women's Studies 268. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Communication students are recommended to have taken Communication 111 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  302      3 units (crs.)
  Civil Liberties in the United States (SS)
  Philosophy of civil liberties; constitutional basis, rights of conscience and expression; rights of persons accused of crime; political rights; equal protection of the laws. Cross-listed: Political Science 302/Women's Studies 302. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Political Science 105.
• Women's Studies  303      3 units (crs.)
  Women and Politics (SS)
  This course is intended to be an examination of the status of women in the American political system. This examination will explore the history and current status of women's rights, women as voters, political activists, and officeholders, and current issues surrounding the role and status of women in the United States. Cross-listed: Political Science 303/ Women's Studies 303. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Political Science 105.
• Women's Studies  307      3 units (crs.)
  Discrimination, Gender, and the Economy (ES) (SS)
  Analysis of the experiences of women and ethnic minorities in the economy, extending the traditional interpretations of economic issues to the unique experiences of these groups. Economic tools will be developed, and then applied to such topics as Comparable Worth, Wage Determination, Occupational Choice and Segregation, Poverty, and the Criminal Justice System. Cross-listed: Economics 307/Women's Studies 307. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Economics 106, 204 or 209.
• Women's Studies  314      3 units (crs.)
  Native American Women
  This class explores the diverse experiences, perspectives, histories, cultures, and contemporary issues of Native North American women as well as the ethics of research and representation. Relevant topics include family and gender roles, health, alcoholism, education, language, cultural preservation and change. Examples will be drawn from ethnography, ethnohistory, autobiography. Cross-listed: Anthropology 314/Women's Studies 314. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  316      3 units (crs.)
  Gender, Discourse and Power (HU)
  This course explores gender issues through the framework of public discourse and power dynamics. This course analyzes the vocabularies through which we publicly understand contemporary issues, examines the interests served by such language discourses, and invites discussion regarding alternative language choices. Prerequisite: Communication 118 and Communication 236, or Women's Studies 201, or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  320      3 units (crs.)
  Gendered Lives (SS)
  Analysis of how gender affects human experiences throughout the life span, from infancy through old age. Using insights from social science theories of human development and of gender, explores how males and females are expected to behave, how they actually define themselves, and how they act out or challenge gender prescriptions, at each stage of the life cycle.  Cross-listed: Liberal Studies 320/ Women's Studies 320.  Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  324      3 units (crs.)
  Gender in Literature: Optional Content
  This course may be offered with different content. With a different subtitle, it may be taken twice with the signature of the director. A study of literature from various periods illustrating gender roles in their cultural and social contexts. Cross-listed: English 324/Women's Studies 324. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: English 281 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  330      3 units (crs.)
  Discrimination and Legal Remedies (SS)
  Examination of issues of discrimination in American society against groups and individuals and how the system responds to these problems. Issues of race, ethnicity, gender, economic class, sexual orientation, and physical disability are among those examined. Cross-listed: Political Science 330/Women's Studies 330. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  332      3 units (crs.)
  Early Women Writers - Optional Content
  This course may be offered with different content. With a different subtitle, it may be taken twice with the signature of the department chair.  A study of women writers before 1900. The content will vary from term to term, and may include such subjects as Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Early American, Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Women Writers. Cross-listed: English 332/Women's Studies 332. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: English 281 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  334      3 units (crs.)
  Women in Modern European History (SS)
  An examination of the role of women in modern European History from the Enlightenment to the Present. Particular attention will be paid to how women's work, political participation, and family roles have influenced and have been influenced by industrialization, modernization, and suffrage as well as political movements like democracy, communism, and fascism. Cross-listed: Women's Studies 334/History 334. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: History 102 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  338      3 units (crs.)
  Adult Development and Aging (SS)
  A study of the developmental tasks of early, middle, and late adulthood. Work, marriage, parenthood, retirement, death, and other issues will be examined with regard to cognitive, emotional, motivational, and psycho-social functioning through the adult years.  Cross-listed: Psychology 338/Women's Studies 338. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Psychology 101, 104 or 110.
• Women's Studies  344      3 units (crs.)
  Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Gender (SS)
  Examination of comparative gender roles and the behavior, status, and economic position of the sexes in cultural groups other than contemporary U.S. society.  Prerequisite: Anthropology 102, Anthropology 122, Anthropology 101, Sociology 101 or Sociology 151. Cross-listed with Anthropology 344.  Students may receive credit for only one of the cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  345      3 units (crs.)
  Twentieth-Century Women Writers - Optional Content
  This course may be offered with different content. With a different subtitle, it may be taken twice with the signature of the department chair. Studies in literature written by women in the Twentieth Century, with emphasis on works by contemporary authors.  Cross-listed: English 345/Women's Studies 345. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: English 281 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  346      3 units (crs.)
  Women & Gender Relations in Latin American History
  This course will explore the role of women and the construction of gender relations in Latin America since Pre-Hispanic times to the Twentieth Century. It will start with the analysis of these topics among the Aztec and Maya and will next focus on the way in which gender relations contributed to the construction of the colonial world. The course will next look at the position that women played in the nineteenth century and the transformations that affected gender relations towards the end of the century, when new middle-class values began pervading Latin American society. The course will finally examine the way in which the modernization process of the first half of the Twentieth Century brought women into the public sphere as workers, political leaders, and intellectuals. Cross-listed: History 346/Women's Studies 346. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Either History 102 or History 201.
• Women's Studies  347      3 units (crs.)
  Race, Class, Gender in American Film (ES) (HU)
  An introduction to the issues of race, class and gender, including sexual orientation, and their function within American films.  The investigation into media representations will reveal the historical, social, and political contexts that shaped and continue to construct these images. Cross-listed: Communication 347/Women's Studies 347. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Cumulative 2.5 GPA and Communication 201 for RTF majors and minors: OR 2.5 Cum GPA and Women Studies 201 for Women's Studies minors; OR  Communication 118 and 236 for Speech Communication majors and minors.
• Women's Studies  350      3 units (crs.)
  Women, Race and Class (ES) (SS)
  Explores how women's lives are shaped by the intersections of the major socially-constructed systems of differentiation and power: race, class, gender and sexual orientation. Examines how women of color have shaped feminist thought and how all of us can participate together in feminist and anti-racism work. Fulfills Ethnic Studies general education requirement. Prerequisite: Women's Studies 201 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  353      3 units (crs.)
  Domestic Violence (SS)
  The course will familiarize students with the problem of domestic violence. Special emphasis will be given to spouse abuse, the cycle of violence, alternatives available to the victim, legal options, and counseling approaches used.  Aspects of prevention, community intervention will be explored, along with the historical perspective and contributory factors such as sex-role stereotypes, social violence, and cultural norms. Cross-listed: Human Services 353/ Women's Studies 353. Students may receive credit for only one of the cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  357      3 units (crs.)
  Sex Differences in Society (SS)
  A study of behavior and social inequalities based on sex differences.  Interdisciplinary perspectives on sex roles in the family and at work.  Historical and cross-cultural perspectives on the position of women in society.
• Women's Studies  365      3 units (crs.)
  Gender and Nature (SS)
  This course offers an introduction to the connections between concepts of gender and nature in the West. It examines ecological feminist theories about the relationship between the domination of nature and the subordination of women as well as the impact of gender differences on ideas and experiences of nature. Topics include: scientific explanations of the nature of gender, the feminization of nature in Western thought, the roles of men and women in the environmental movement, and the gendered division of environmental risk, work, and benefits in contemporary political economies. Cross-listed: Environmental Studies 365/Women's Studies 365. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  366  1-3 units (crs.)
  Service Learning Field Study (SS)
  In this course, students will apply their Women's Studies education in service activities in the community related to women's issues, under the supervision of an individual at the site and a member of the faculty or academic staff.  Students will volunteer for a certain number of hours per week depending upon the number of credits they will receive.  Students will also write reflective papers that connect their service experiences with relevant readings.  Additional work is required for graduate credit. Prerequisites: Instructor permission and 6 hours of Women's Studies course credit.  (Note:  The general prerequisites for Independent Study/Related Readings are waived for this course.)
• Women's Studies  368      3 units (crs.)
  Sociology of Gender (SS)
  Analysis of the social construction of gender, which shapes the lives of men and women through the organization of roles or patterns of expectations related to order in society, including sex-typed behavior and self-expression, sexualities, the division of labor, the organization of households, parenting, power and gender-based forms of discrimination. (This course cannot be taken under both Sociology 368 and Women's Studies 368.) Prerequisite: Sociology 101 or 151 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  370      3 units (crs.)
  Women and the Law (SS)
  Examines the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, symbolic discrimination, women and the political system, constitutional status of women, social status of women (family, law, pregnancy, educational status), economic status of women, and comparative status of women.
• Women's Studies  371      3 units (crs.)
  African American Women Writers - Optional Content (ES)
  This course may be offered with different content.  With a different subtitle, it may be taken twice with the signature of the department chair/director.  An examination of work by African American women writers such as Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Paule Marshall and others.  Cross-listed: English 371/Women's Studies 371. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: English 281 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  380  2-3 units (crs.)
  Women's Health: Issues and Nursing Practice (SS)
  An overview of the health care of women from a nursing perspective. The status of women as health care professionals, as well as clients in the health care system, is explored. Aspects of health promotion and female health related problems are studied with the incorporation of psycho-sociopolitical aspects. Content related to child-bearing will not be addressed. Open to majors and non-majors.  Cross-listed: Nursing 380/Women's Studies 380. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  386      3 units (crs.)
  Women in the United States (SS)
  The status, work, role, and leadership activities of white, Native American and African American women in United States history. Exceptional women, and the feminist, suffrage, and liberation movements examined within the perspective of the life and attitudes of the mass of women in the United States.  Cross-listed: History 386/Women's Studies 386. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: History 201 or 202.
• Women's Studies  390      3 units (crs.)
  Feminist Theory: Optional Content (SS)
  Explores the distinct but intersecting explanations for women's personal, professional, and political conditions, as well as various recommendations for improving or transforming those conditions.  This course may be offered using different content.  When cross-listed with different departments or offered using different subtitles, it may be repeated for credit with consent of director.
• Women's Studies  391      3 units (crs.)
  Gay and Lesbian Literature - Optional Content
  This course may be offered with different content. With a different subtitle it may be taken twice with the signature of the department chair. An examination of lesbian and gay literature, with emphasis on work by contemporary authors. Readings will be arranged thematically, with particular attention to identity politics and to the AIDS epidemic. Cross-listed: English 391/Women's Studies 391. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: English 281.
• Women's Studies  395      3 units (crs.)
  Special Topics: Optional Content (SS)
  A course on a topic not normally covered in the curriculum. Each time it is offered, the topic will be announced in the timetable. May be repeated with different content. Sometimes specific sections are cross-listed with other departments. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses.
• Women's Studies  412      2 units (crs.)
  Nursing: Childbearing Families (SS)
  The childbearing family and the nurse's role in the holistic health care and health promotion of the childbearing family are the focus of this course. Individuals and changing relationships within the family will be addressed from a family development perspective. Normal physiological changes as well as psychosocial, environmental, and cultural influences and pathophysiological processes occurring during the reproductive cycle are included. Cross-listed Nursing 412/Women's Studies 412. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Nursing 314, 315, 319, 346, 358, and Admission to the Clinical Major.
• Women's Studies  435      3 units (crs.)
  Women's Studies Senior Seminar (SS)
  A capstone seminar for the Women's Studies minor program, designed for exploration of topics from a feminist perspective.  Multi-disciplinary approach, allowing students to combine work in their major field with Women's Studies research, if they wish, using both primary and secondary sources.  Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credits of Women's Studies courses or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  446  1-3 units (crs.)
  Independent Study (SS)
  See Independent Study under Course and Academic Advisement Policies information for general course description, general prerequisites, and proper contract form.
• Women's Studies  450      3 units (crs.)
  Rhetoric of the US Women's Movement 1776-1920 (SS)
  This course introduces students to primary rhetorical texts of the women's rights movement, spanning from 1776 to 1920. Students will analyze the main arguments, appeals, and ideas of the women's rights movement. Specifically, students will critically analyze the connections and distinctions among texts, examine the points of contention within the women's movement, and explore the ideological assumptions that underlie the major arguments, appeals and ideas. Cross-listed: Communication 450/Women's Studies 450. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Communication 118,  Communication 236, or Women's Studies 201 or consent of instructor.
• Women's Studies  451      3 units (crs.)
  Rhetoric of the U.S. Women's Movement 1920-Present (SS)
  This course introduces students to primary rhetorical texts of the women's movement in the United States from 1920 to the present.  Students will analyze the main arguments, appeals, and ideas of the women's movement. Specifically, students will critically analyze the connections and distinctions among texts, examine the points of contention within the women's movement, and explore the ideological assumptions that underlie the major arguments, appeals, and ideas.  Cross-listed: Communication 451/Women's Studies 451. Students may receive credit for only one of the two cross-listed courses. Prerequisite: Communication 118, Communication 236, or Women's Studies 201, or consent of instructor.