Introduction To Women’s, Gender, Sexuality, And Feminist Studies

Catalog description

This interdisciplinary course surveys cornerstone concepts of Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies and feminist, critical race, queer, class, transgender, and crip theories, especially intersectionality and transnationalism. Students will consider how cultural values about “identity” and social locations such as gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, caste, nationality, immigrant status, ability, and religious affiliation structure societies locally and globally to create inequity and privilege. Emphasis is on acquiring knowledge and skills in anti-oppression activism. Justice-oriented critiques of the historical development and current perspectives associated with the surveyed theories are included. Specific topics vary according to instructor’s specializations. Course Learning Outcomes 1. Understand the basic principles of feminist critical race, queer, class, transgender, and crip theories and methods. 2. Operationalize intersectional transnational analysis using the basic principles of social location, privilege, and oppression. 3. Cultivate critical consciousness and reflexive thinking that enable interventions that foster equity and social justice. 4. Acquire knowledge of and skills in anti-oppression activism. 5. Understand the regulatory functions of social institutions and identify strategies for transforming them to maximize their liberatory potential and minimize oppression. 6. Execute justice-oriented critiques of historical developments and current perspectives associated with feminist, anti-racist, queer, class, and literary and film studies. 7. Students will analyze how cultural values about identity and social location such as gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, caste, nationality, immigrant status, ability, religious affiliation, structure societies locally and globally to create inequity and privilege. View Class Schedule