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Catalogue 2015-2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
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Women’s Studies: II. Intermediate |
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WMST 262 - Native American Women
1 unit(s)
(Same as AMST 262 ) In an effort to subjugate indigenous nations, colonizing and Christianizing enterprises in the Americas included the implicit understanding that subduing Native American women through rape and murder maintained imperial hierarchies of gender and power; this was necessary to eradicate Native people’s traditional egalitarian societies and uphold the colonial agenda. Needless to say, Native women’s stories and histories have been inaccurately portrayed, often tainted with nostalgia and delivered through a lens of western patriarchy and discourses of domination. Through class readings and writing assignments, discussions and films, this course examines Native women’s lives by considering the intersections of gender and race through indigenous frameworks. We expose Native women’s various cultural worldviews in order to reveal and assess the importance of indigenous women’s voices to national and global issues such as sexual violence, environmentalism, and health. The class also takes into consideration the shortcomings of western feminisms in relation to the realities of Native women and Native people’s sovereignty in general. Areas of particular importance to this course are indigenous women’s urban experience, Haudenosaunee influence on early U.S. suffragists, indigenous women in the creative arts, third-gender/two-spiritedness, and Native women’s traditional and contemporary roles as cultural carriers. Ms. McGlennen.
Not offered in 2015/16.
Two 75-minute periods.
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WMST 264 - African American Women’s History
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 264 ) In this interdisciplinary course, we explore the roles of black women in the U.S. as thinkers, activists, and creators during the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Focusing on the intellectual work, social activism, and cultural expression of a diverse group of African American women, we examine how they have understood their lives, resisted oppression, constructed emancipatory visions, and struggled to change society. Ms. Collins.
Not offered in 2015/16.
Two 75-minute periods.
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WMST 270 - Gender and Social Space Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as GEOG 270 and URBS 270 ) This course explores the ways in which gender informs the spatial organization of daily life; the interrelation of gender and key spatial forms and practices such as the home, the city, the hotel, migration, shopping, community activism, and walking at night. It draws on feminist theoretical work from diverse fields such as geography, architecture, anthropology and urban studies not only to begin to map the gendered divisions of the social world but also to understand gender itself as a spatial practice. Ms. Brawley.
Prerequisite: one of the following: URBS 100 , GEOG 102 , or WMST 130 , or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
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WMST 277 - Gender and Nature
1 unit(s)
In this course we will think carefully about the concepts of “nature” and the “natural.” What are the various American myths about nature? How are the concepts of “nature” and the “natural” used in American culture to justify social inequalities based on gender, race, and class? What are the consequences for environments, both natural and built, of American myths about nature? We will consider the relationship between these questions and their utility for addressing 21st century environmental issues. Students will gain practical experience using interdisciplinary resources and methods and will encounter time periods ranging from the colonial to contemporary. We will emphasize writing and critical thinking. Reading materials will include historical narratives, political polemics, personal stories, and theoretical analyses. Students will acquire tools to evaluate mainstream and radical environmental discourse. Ultimately students will attend to the complexly intertwined representations of nature, gender, race, class and sexuality in U.S. popular culture. Ms. Schneiderman.
Not offered in 2015/16.
Two 75-minute periods.
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WMST 281 - Gender and Science Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 281 ) This multidisciplinary course critically examines the intersections between science and the categories of gender, race, class, and sexuality. The course explores the ways that science and culture construct such categories and how the constructions play out in society. We consider how these constructions and the practice of science matter in terms of health care, education, food, the environment, safety, careers, and power in society. We examine the historical and current relationships between “western” science, multicultural sciences, imperialism, and economic globalization. Throughout the course, we ask how the social institution and power of science itself is affected by gender, race, class, and sexuality. For instance, who does science and who decides which projects to pursue and what constitutes a “fact”? Finally, we investigate alternative approaches to constructing knowledge. Ms. Schneiderman.
Two 75-minute periods.
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WMST 290 - Field Work Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Prerequisite for fieldwork: 2 units of work in Women’s Studies or from the list of Approved Courses.
Permission of the director is required for all independent work.
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WMST 297 - Reading Courses Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Topic for 297.01/51: Queer Theory. The program.
Topic for 297.02/52: Lesbian Sex and Politics in the United States. The program.
Topic for 297.03/53: Constructing American Masculinities. The program.
Topic for 297.04/54: Women and Sport. The program.
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WMST 298 - Independent Study Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Prerequisite for independent study: 2 units of work in Women’s Studies or from the list of Approved Courses.
Permission of the director is required for all independent work.
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WMST 299 - Thesis Preparation Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
A graded ½ unit co-requisite of the Senior Thesis, taken in the first half of the fall semester in the senior year.
1st 6-week course.
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Women’s Studies: III. Advanced |
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WMST 301 - Senior Thesis or Project Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
A 1-unit thesis or project written in two semesters.
Yearlong course 301-WMST 302 .
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WMST 302 - Senior Thesis or Project Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
A 1-unit thesis or project written in two semesters.
Yearlong course WMST 301 -302.
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WMST 306 - Women’s Movements in Asia
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 306 and SOCI 306 ) This interdisciplinary course examines the reemergence of women’s movements in contemporary Asia by focusing on their cultural and historical contexts that go beyond the theory of “resource mobilization.” Drawing upon case studies from Korea, Japan, India, and China, it traces the rise of feminist consciousness and women’s movements at the turn of the twentieth century, and then analyzes the relationships between contemporary women’s movements and the following topics: nationalism, political democratization, capitalist industrialization, ambivalence toward modernization, and postmodern conditions. Ms. Moon.
Not offered in 2015/16.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 317 - Women, Crime, and Punishment Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 317 ) This course begins with a comparative analysis of the involvement of men and women in crime in the United States and explanations offered for the striking variability. It proceeds by examining the exceptionally high rate of imprisonment for women in the U.S., the demographics of those who are imprisoned, the crimes they are convicted of, and the conditions under which they are confined. It deals with such issues as substance abuse problems, violence against women, medical care in prison, prison programming and efforts at rehabilitation, legal rights of inmates, and family issues, particularly the care of the children of incarcerated women. It also examines prison friendships, families, and sexualities, and post-release. The course ends with a consideration of the possibilities of a fundamental change in the current US system of crime and punishment specifically regarding women. Ms. Leonard.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 318 - Literary Studies in Gender and Sexuality Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENGL 318 ) Advanced study of gender and sexuality in literary texts, theory and criticism. The focus will vary from year to year but will include a substantial theoretical or critical component that may draw from a range of approaches, such as feminist theory, queer theory, transgender studies, feminist psychoanalysis, disability studies and critical race theory.
Topic for 2015/16a: Feminist Approaches to the Representation of Rape The representation of rape has been central in the Western literary tradition providing a pretext for aggression and revenge since the Iliad. These stories, foundational to narratives of the making of political entities, are repeated and recycled in the literary tradition. Yet the subjectivity of the raped woman continues to confound. Her silence seems necessary. This course considers the classical figures of Lucrece, Lavinia, and Philomel and their translation into the English literary tradition in the work of Chaucer and Shakespeare. We then turn to recent feminist work on the representation of rape. Authors may include Alcoff, Higgins and Silver, Walker, and films such as Thelma and Louise and The Accused. Ms. Robertson.
Open to Juniors and Seniors with two units of 200-level work in English or by permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 321 - Feminism, Knowledge, Praxis Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 321 ) How do feminist politics inform how research, pedagogy, and social action are approached? Can feminist anti-racist praxis and insights into issues of race, power and knowledge, intersecting inequalities, and human agency change the way we understand and represent the social world? We discuss several qualitative approaches used by feminists to document the social world (e.g. ethnography, discourse analysis, oral history). Additionally, we explore and engage with contemplative practices such as mediation, engaged listening, and creative-visualization. Our goal is to develop an understanding of the relationship between power, knowledge and action and to collectively envision healing forms of critical social inquiry. Ms. Carruyo.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 331 - Gender, Resources, and Justice
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESSC 331 ) This multidisciplinary course acquaints students with the debates and theoretical approaches involved in understanding resource issues from a gender and justice perspective. It is intended for those in the social and natural sciences who, while familiar with their own disciplinary approaches to resource issues, are not familiar with gendered perspectives on resource issues and the activism that surrounds them. It is also appropriate for students of gender studies unfamiliar with feminist scholarship in this area. Increasing concern for the development of more sustainable production systems has led to consideration of the ways in which gender, race, and class influence human-earth interactions. The course examines conceptual issues related to gender studies, earth systems, and land-use policies. It interrogates the complex intersections of activists, agencies and institutions in the global arena through a focus on contested power relations. The readings, videos, and other materials used in the class are drawn from both the South and the North to familiarize students with the similarities and differences in gendered relationships to the earth, access to resources, and resource justice activism. Ms. Schneiderman.
Not offered in 2015/16.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 341 - Studies in the Renaissance Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Intensive study of selected Renaissance texts and the questions they raise about their context and interpretation.
Topic for 2015/16a: Sex And The City In 1600: Gender, Marriage, Family, and Sexuality In Early Modern London. This course explores everyday life in the rapidly expanding early modern metropolis of London at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. We pay special attention to religious, social, legal as well as informal control mechanisms that influenced issues of gender, marriage, and sexuality in various layers of London society. We anchor our investigations in a handful of plays by Beaumont, Dekker, Jonson, Marston, Middleton, and Shakespeare, but also explore ballads, homilies, conduct books, legal and travel narratives, pamphlets, treatises, works by female authors, and other literary and non-literary texts. Mr. Márkus.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 355 - Childhood and Children in Nineteenth-Century Britain
1 unit(s)
(Same as HIST 355 ) This course examines both the social constructions of childhood and the experiences of children in Britain during the nineteenth century, a period of immense industrial and social change. We analyze the various understandings of childhood at the beginning of the century (including utilitarian, Romantic, and evangelical approaches to childhood) and explore how, by the end of the century, all social classes shared similar expectations of what it meant to be a child. Main topics include the relationships between children and parents, child labor, sexuality, education, health and welfare, abuse, delinquency, and children as imperial subjects. Ms. Murdoch.
Not offered in 2015/16.
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WMST 362 - Senior Seminar: Women in Japanese and Chinese Literature
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 362 and CHJA 362 ) An intercultural examination of the images of women presented in Japanese and Chinese narrative, drama, and poetry from their early emergence to the modern period. While giving critical attention to aesthetic issues and the gendered voices in representative works, the course also provides a comparative view of the dynamic changes in women’s roles in Japan and China. All selections are in English translation. Ms. Qiu.
Prerequisite: one 200-level course in language, literature, culture or Asian Studies, or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2015/16.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 366 - Art and Activism in the United States Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 366 , AMST 366 , and ART 366 ) Topic for 2015/16b: Exquisite Intimacy. An interdisciplinary exploration of the work and role of quilts within the US. Closely considering quilts as well as their creators, users, keepers, and interpreters, we study these integral coverings and the practices of their making and use with keen attention to their recurrence as core symbols within American history, literature, and life. Ms. Collins.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 367 - Artists’ Books from the Women’s Studio Workshop
1 unit(s)
(Same as AMST 367 and ART 367 ) In this interdisciplinary seminar, we explore the limited edition artists’ books created through the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York. Founded in 1974, the Women’s Studio Workshop encourages the voice and vision of individual women artists, and women artists associated with the workshop have, since 1979, created over 180 hand-printed books using a variety of media, including hand-made paper, letterpress, silkscreen, photography, intaglio, and ceramics. Vassar College recently became an official repository for this vibrant collection which, in the words of the workshop’s co-founder, documents “the artistic activities of the longest continually operating women’s workspace in the country.” Working directly with the artists’ books, this seminar will meet in Vassar Library’s Special Collections and closely investigate the range of media, subject matter, and aesthetic sensibilities of the rare books, as well as their contexts and meanings. We will also travel to the Women’s Studio Workshop to experience firsthand the artistic process in an alternative space. Ms. Collins.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2015/16.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 370 - Feminist Perspectives on Environmentalism
1 unit(s)
(Same as ENST 370 and ESSC 370 ) In this seminar we explore some basic concepts and approaches within feminist environmental analysis paying particular attention to feminist theory and its relevance to environmental issues. We examine a range of feminist research and analysis in ‘environmental studies’ that is connected by the recognition that gender subordination and environmental destruction are related phenomena. That is, they are the linked outcomes of forms of interactions with nature that are shaped by hierarchy and dominance, and they have global relevance. The course helps students discover the expansive contributions of feminist analysis and action to environmental research and advocacy; it provides the chance for students to apply the contributions of a feminist perspective to their own specific environmental interests. Ms. Schneiderman.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor; WMST 130 recommended.
Not offered in 2015/16.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 375 - Seminar in Women’s Studies Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2015/16a: Gender and the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. (Same as AFRS 375 and AMST 375 ) In this interdisciplinary course, we examine the modern civil rights movement in the U.S. by foregrounding the roles and experiences of women, particularly African American women. Attentive to issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality, we study the various constraints on–and possibilities for–women activists during the movement, and theorize the impact of women’s activism on U.S. society. Ms. Collins.
Prerequisite: WMST 130 .
May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 381 - How Queer is That? Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
This course sets out to examine what, exactly, constitutes the object of inquiry in queer studies. What is sexuality, and how does it relate to gender, race, class, or nation? Does homosexuality designate one transhistorial and transcultural phenomenon, or do we need to distinguish premodern same-sex practices from the modern identities that emerged in the 19th century? As part of investigating the terms and methodologies associated with queer studies, the course will interrogate competing narratives about the origins of homosexuality and what is at stake in any given account. Special attention will also be paid to the intellectual and political connections between queer studies and feminism, critical race studies, postcolonialism, Marxism, etc. Additional topics may include bisexuality, tensions between mainstream tactics and subcultural formations, the closet, coming out, popular culture, debates around gay marriage, and similarities and differences between lesbian and gay culture. Readings and films will draw on works by Butler, Foucault, Freud, Halberstam, Halperin, de Lauretis, Lorde, E. Newton, Rich, M. Riggs, Sedgwick, and Wilde. Mr. Perez.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor; WMST 130 and relevant 200-level course desirable.
One 2-hour period.
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WMST 382 - Marie-Antoinette
1 unit(s)
(Same as HIST 382 ) More than 200 years after her death, Marie-Antoinette continues to be an object of fascination because of her supposed excesses and her death at the guillotine. For her contemporaries, Marie-Antoinette often symbolized all that was wrong in French body politic. Through the life of Marie-Antoinette, we investigate the changing political and cultural landscape of eighteenth-century France including the French Revolution. Topics include women and power, political scandal and public opinion, fashion and self-representation, motherhood and domesticity, and revolution and gender iconography. Throughout the course, we explore the changing nature of the biographical narrative. The course also considers the legacy of Marie Antoinette as martyr and fetish object in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and her continuing relevance today. Ms. Choudhury.
Not offered in 2015/16.
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WMST 384 - Transnational Queer: Genders, Sexualities, Identities
1 unit(s)
(Same as CLCS 384 and INTL 384 ) What does it mean to be Queer? This seminar examines, critiques, and interrogates queer identities and constructions in France and North America. In what ways do diverse cultures engage with discourses on gender and sexuality? Can or should our understanding of queerness change depending on cultural contexts? Through guest lectures and discussion seminars, the course examines a broad range of queer cultural production, from fiction to cinema and performance. Topics include such diverse issues as queer bodies, national citizenship, sexual politics, legal discourse, and aesthetic representation. All lectures, readings, and discussions are in English. Mr. Swamy.
Prerequisites: Freshman Writing Seminar and one 200-level course.
By special permission.
Not offered in 2015/16.
One 3-hour period.
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WMST 385 - Women, Culture, and Development
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 385 , LALS 385 and SOCI 385 ) This course examines the ongoing debates within development studies about how integration into the global economy is experienced by women around the world. Drawing on gender studies, cultural and global political economy, we explore the multiple ways in which women struggle to secure wellbeing, challenge injustice, and live meaningful lives. Ms. Carruyo.
Not offered in 2015/16.
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WMST 399 - Senior Independent Study Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Prerequisite for independent study: 2 units of work in Women’s Studies or from the list of Approved Courses.
Permission of the director is required for all independent work.
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Yiddish: I. Introductory |
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YIDD 105 - Beginning Yiddish Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course 105-YIDD 106 .
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YIDD 106 - Beginning Yiddish Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course YIDD 105 -106.
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Yiddish: II. Intermediate |
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YIDD 210 - Intermediate Yiddish Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course 210-YIDD 211 .
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YIDD 211 - Intermediate Yiddish Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
Year long course YIDD 210 -211.
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Yiddish: III. Advanced |
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YIDD 310 - Advanced Yiddish Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
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YIDD 311 - Advanced Yiddish Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Special Permission.
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YIDD 381 - Yiddish Language and Culture Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
In this half credit Yiddish course, students explore various aspects of Yiddish language and culture. This is an introductory class in which students will learn elementary conversational skills and gain a basic understanding of the Hebrew script and grammatical structures of Yiddish. Through songs, poems, and other literary texts students will explore Yiddish culture and the importance of Yiddish in today’s diasporic Jewish community.
One 1-hour period.
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