Women, Gender, & Sexuality Std - Intro to Fem Theory

Catalog description

Feminist theories are influential and provocative ideas that present different ways to understand the lives of women and feminine people. This course introduces key trends in feminist theory from the last 120 years. Why are women and feminine people disadvantaged in realms as diverse as poverty, climate change, sexual exploitation, and violence? Feminist theories provide frameworks for understanding, interrogating, and debating the roots of these challenges and possible avenues for change. Students will learn to compare the strengths and weaknesses of different ideas by applying them to works of literature. Additionally, the course considers the relationship between queer theory and feminism from a perspective that affirms the identities of trans individuals. People of all genders, sexualities, and identities benefit from studying feminist theories because learning theory means learning to think about the world in new ways. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing is required. An introductory course in WGSS is helpful but not required. Satisfies: Goal 1 Outcome 1 (GE11)