Degree Requirements

Throughout history, art has been used as a tool for communication.  This course examines art that shapes culture, builds community, and creates social transformation. We study art that challenges the status quo and art practice that enters the world of activism.  Historic and contemporary examples of art will be examined that inspire dialogue and change by engaging with the sociopolitical issues within culture.

This course will offer students the chance to engage with the longer history of feminist and LGBTQ movements in the twentieth century, while at the same time immersing them in how Catholics responded to historic debates about gender and sexuality that shaped political and cultural life in this same period.

Can beauty save the world as Dostoevsky once claimed? Can beauty make a difference in a world that is often ugly and unjust - can it even "save" us? In this course, we will explore ways of interpreting beauty that are more than skin deep. Drawing on artists, cultural critics, theologians, and ethicists, we will discuss how beauty has served as both a tool of oppression and an inspiration for ethical action.

Leading lives that matter, knowing our purpose and becoming who we want to be are central to living the good life. The years in college and emerging adult are a time when we think from our deepest self about what we most will value and desire for our lives. Yet these years can also be confusing and finding how to build the most meaningful life possible for us can be challenging. This course uses the timeless writings and wisdom of great thinkers-philosophers, psychologists, religious thinkers, artists and writers, professional leaders-to help us think through real life cases that will guide us to finding the good life of meaning, purpose, and faith that we seek. Students will: 1. Read, understand and discuss the works of great thinkers in philosophy, literature, psychology, religion, and the arts--classical to contemporary--- who write about living a good life. 2. Analyze and write about the real life case studies that explore the questions, issues, values, and beliefs about what makes the good life. 3. Develop their own guides that chart a path for the good life. 4. Develop writing, speaking, and thinking abilities.

This class will explore body image representations portrayed in popular American magazines from a media literacy perspective. Drawing on research about media influence and instructional capabilities from such researchers as Schramm, Bandura, Comstock, and Liebert.

Exploration and in-depth analysis of women's images portrayed in American advertising from a media literacy perspective, using research about the influence of advertising on women's roles and attitudes.

Films are cultural artifacts. Each film contains within itself a complex social system reflecting the attitudes, values, and morals of the society that produced it. This course uncovers the values that encode the function of women on screen including the images they project, roles they assume, values they encode, and relationships they establish with men, children, and each other. Readings, screenings, and written assignments required.
Prerequisite: TAKE CM-101

TThis course capitalizes on timely topics in advertising and public relations providing students with an in-depth study of advertising and public relations genres, industry practices, and cultural impact. The specific topic will show on the student's transcript.
Prerequisite: Take CM-101

Explores the changing roles of women in the criminal justice system. The course focuses on women offenders, women victims, and women criminal justice professionals.

Focuses on the study of victimization by examining the causes and consequences of victimization as well as the criminal justice system's response to victims of crime. Contemporary topics in the field of victimology are discussed in detail.

This course explores various current events and historical, social, and political issues as represented through dance. Through this course students will have a deeper understanding of a range of social issues as well as knowledge of how greater global awareness can be achieved through dance.

In this course we will read, discuss, and write about texts written by major Black and Latinx writers from the modern and contemporary periods.  We will analyze works from a variety of genres - poetry, sermons, speeches, fiction, song and film.  We will examine what these texts show us about the intersection of national origin, race, racism, identity and community, gender, sexuality, and class with American culture and its values.

Deals with current American authors; course description varies each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite: Take FYS or FYWS 125

A one-semester survey of the most important works of American literature. Required for English majors only.
Prerequisite: Take FYS or FYWS 125

This course examines the writings of African- American women. The specific authors change each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite: Take FYS or FYWS 125

This course will focus on contemporary literature written by women from former British colonies in South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, examining themes related to the postcolonial experience.

An examination of fiction as a form of social and ideological critique and the society that provided the backdrop from which the fiction emerged. The course also examines the interconnection between embodied experience and political agency with particular emphasis on diasporic groups, working class, and women. Students will have an opportunity to create their own form of social fiction using new media technologies.

This interdisciplinary course examines the representation of various types of psychological trauma in contemporary fiction.
Prerequisite: Take FYS or FYWS 125

In this course students will read the works of major American women writers. These writers may be selected anywhere from the Colonial to the Contemporary Period. The works of these writers may be fiction, poetry, drama, or non-fiction. Students will read, discuss and write about the works of these major writers and examine how the works of these writers represent and advance the values and project of American culture and reflect issues of race, gender, and class in American culture.

Treats literary works by French and Francophone women in a variety of genres including novel, autobiography, drama, poetry, and letters. Discussion of feminist literary criticism and theory. May treat specific period.
Prerequisite: Take FR-201 or FR-202 or placement

Treats literary works by Italian women in a variety of genres including novel, autobiography, drama, poetry, and letters. Discussion of feminist literary criticism and theory. May treat specific period.
Prerequisite: Take IT-201 or IT-202 or by placement

From the ongoing struggle against the permissiveness of sexual harassment waged by the "Me Too Movement," to the robust pro-life movement, to the calls for transgender rights, the legacies of the feminist as well as gay liberation movements, and the criticisms levied against these struggles are still salient and even disputed in political life today. Among those voices, religious leaders continue to passionately debate these issues using theological arguments to undermine and/or advocate for women's, gay, and trans peoples' liberation. Considering this story from the Catholic perspective, this course considers how Catholics engaged with these movements often vehemently debating, and sometimes embracing, the "new woman" of the 1920s, contraception, second-wave feminism, gay liberation, and abortion. This course will offer students the chance to engage with the longer history of feminist and LGBTQ movements in the twentieth century, while at the same time immersing them in how Catholics responded to historic debates about gender and sexuality that shaped political and cultural life in this era.
Prerequisite: Take HI-100 or HI-102 or HI-110 or HI-115

This course examines the challenges faced by women in America from the colonial period to the present, as well as their contributions to the formation of the United States and our history. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which gender has been historically constructed in American culture.
Prerequisite: Take HI-100 or HI-102 or HI-110 or HI-115

By focusing on women's activist movements throughout history, this course examines the social changes brought about by Muslim and non-Muslim women who claimed their rights within their family and in society and politics.
Prerequisite: Take HI-100 or HI-102 or HI-110 or HI-115

Explore the progression of women as a vital part of the United States workforce and the resulting social issues which arose from this change. The course will focus on three key areas: the history of women in the workforce, both as domestic workers and as modern industrialized worker; the social issues which arose as women became an integral part of the workforce; and the modern issues facing women today as they enter the workforce and pursue their careers. Additionally this course will examin the underlying reasons resulting from gender roles as they relate to work related issues.

This class will give a general overview of women's involvement in the world of music from Medieval roots to current American popular music, including composers, performers, educators, and conductors.

An in-depth analysis of issues relating to human sexuality including historical perspectives and their significance, research evaluation, gender identity, communication, sexual response and sexual dysfunction and its treatment, influence of media on sexuality, and how sexuality is a component of overall wellness and well-being.
Prerequisite: Take PS-110

This course examines the psychology of diversity which is rooted in social and cognitive processes. We will explore advantages and challenges of a diverse society.

Surveys and examines current research and theories about women and gender including LGBTQ+ community and men. Examines social issues around gender.  Topics include gender-role stereotypes, attitudes toward women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and men, gender-role socialization, women and work, sexuality, and the biology of women.
Prerequisite: PS 110

The effects and characteristics of family violence from the legal, medical, and social perspectives. Incidence and preconditions of child abuse, spousal abuse, and elder abuse are studied.

Provides a framework for understanding how diversity and inclusion shape the human experience, especially through consideration of cultural, structural, and constructed social and political norms.

This course will introduce students to current and historical issues and controversies of human rights and social justice through case studies, lectures, and group work.

The aim of this course is for students to develop an understanding of the nature, causes, and consequences of poverty and socioeconomic inequality in contemporary United States. These problems are examined from theoretical, descriptive, historical, and comparative perspectives. The intersection of the problems of poverty and inequality with gender, race, ethnicity, and political power are also examined. Students will have an opportunity to examine critically current public policies designed to deal with the problems of poverty and inequality in American society.

This course will explore sociological scholarship on a wide range of questions relating to the body, including representation, embodiment, social construction of the body, human reproduction, biotechnology, and virtual bodies. In doing this we will utilize both macro- and microsociological theories to examine the politicization of bodies as sites of discipline, regulation, normalization, empowerment, and agency.

Examines family in terms of structure, roles, and functions. Emphasis is on understanding: family life cycles; the shift in perspective about the family; the conflict between family values and individual values; the interplay between individual families and the larger society; and the flexibility and diversity of the family as an institution.

Emphasis is on human diversity. This course is designed to give students an understanding of the conditions that lead to minority emergence and the consequence of minority status; it fosters acceptance of diversity, cultural pluralism, and social change.

This course provides an introduction to the sociological study of gender by exploring gender as something that is individual, interactional, and institutional. This course elaborates specifically on how gender is a central component of inequality and oppression and the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality.

Philosophically examines how feminist analysis can enhance an understanding of ourselves and the world.
Prerequisite: TAKE A PHILOSPHY COURSE

Examines the relationship between religion and sexuality in various world religions. Topics include asceticism versus eroticism, defining normality and deviance, sex as a means to challenge or maintain the social order, and religious responses to the changing sexual morality in contemporary Western society.

This course will study the role of women in world religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. The goal of the course is to understand how interpretation of religious tradition changes over time and the impact this has on individuals and society. To that end, we will explore ancient religious texts as well as case studies of contemporary religious communities. Change in religion is often controversial, so we will examine and both sides of several contemporary debates over women's roles. We will also learn various theories that can help us understand and critically assess gender in religion.

Investigates philosophical and religious theories of human rights, the modern history of rights, and ways to implement a human rights agenda.
Prerequisite: Take a 3 credit TRS course

This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of women, gender, and sexuality studies. In this course, we explore ideas about gender and sexuality in varied societies and periods and the subject of women in terms of their changing roles throughout history and across the world. Course readings and discussions will cover topics such as women and their relationships with systems of oppression and privilege; social and individual identities; the body and body politics; family, contraception, pregnancy, and motherhood; productive and reproductive labor; domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault; state law, and public policy; health and reproductive rights; sexuality; science, art, music, and creative expression; and power and empowerment.