Women's Studies   Department Information   Program Description   Career Opportunities   Features   Major Requirements (B.A.)   Other Degree Requirements   Undergraduate Courses
	This degree was pending implementation at the time of catalog production. Please check with the department for current information.
Department Information	Department of Human Development College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences Department of Human Development Office: Meiklejohn Hall 3069 Phone: (510) 885-3076   Website: http://class.csueastbay.edu/womensstudies   Professors Patricia Guthrie, Ph.D. University of Rochester Jiansheng Guo, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley   Associate Professors Rainer Bauer, Ph.D. Stanford University Lynn Comerford, Ph.D. (Director) State University of New York, Albany   Assistant Professors Godwin S. Ashiabi, Ph.D. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Steve Borish, Ph.D. Stanford University Maxwell Davis, Ph.D. University of Southern California Patricia Drew, Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara Christina Chin-Newman Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz Keri K. O'Neal, Ph.D. Texas Tech University D. Xeno Rasmusson, Ph.D. University of Georgia   Lecturers Donna Barnes, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco Vibha Chandra, Ph.D. State University of New York, Stony Brook Afshin M. Gharib Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Dina Jarrah, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco Richard A. Sprott, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Judith Williams, Ph.D. University of Hawaii   Please consult the 2010-2011 online catalog for any changes that may occur.
Program Description	Mission Statement Women's Studies explores theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of women across a range of contexts. Courses connect academic work with the social and political world outside the university, educate our students about a range of social issues and problems that relate to sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, and ethnocentrism; and link knowledge, research, teaching, and social activism. We engage students in the discovery and production of knowledge that emerges from multiple perspectives. We engage students in the study of gender and the intersection of gender with other substantive categories of analysis and identity, including race, sexuality, class, disability, and nationality. We promote responsible citizenship in a diverse local and global environment. We empower students to think more critically about their own lives and to critique social, cultural, and institutional structures, policies and practices.   Undergraduate courses in Women's Studies ensure that B.A. students receive an interdisciplinary education that bridges theory and practice, and focuses on the intersections of gender, race, class, sexuality, and nationality in all areas of research. Electives in the social sciences, sciences, and humanities increase the interdisciplinary strength of the program.   A two-quarter field-study seminar, taken in the senior year, and a two-quarter senior capstone course bring majors together to think through connections among the diverse theoretical and methodological approaches they have encountered as well as between scholarship and social action.   Goals   •  To provide students with the theoretical and methodological tools to examine the intersections of gender with other forms of difference and power-such as sexuality, race, class, and nation-in local and transnational contexts.   •  To provide a forum for intellectual debate and a catalyst for students committed to social action which addresses various forms of social injustice.   •  To provide fieldwork placements which culminate in a senior thesis.   •  To build supportive local community environments for women by disseminating fieldwork research findings back to the community.   Student Learning Outcomes:   •  Graduates will be able to understand feminist theoretical and methodological perspectives on culture and society.   •  Graduates will have the analytic competency to critique social inequalities founded on the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and nation.   •  Graduates will be able to critically reflect upon their own lives from a feminist perspective.   •  Graduates will comprehend the challenges of dismantling sexism and other oppressive beliefs, and will become leaders in work for social justice.
Career Opportunities	Women's Studies is excellent preparation for life, and careers and graduate study in a wide range of fields, including government and public policy, non-profit and social justice organizations, law, educational institutions, and many other professional and human-service fields.
Features	Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary area of scholarship and research and raises questions which have often been ignored or marginalized in traditional academic disciplines. Our program builds on several decades of feminist work in Women's Studies and deliberately integrates theory, research methods and service learning.   Women's Studies courses emphasize participatory education in which student involvement, critical thinking, and personal insight are encouraged and made relevant in the learning process. In the Women's Studies Program, theory and practice are combined creatively and productively. Research, fieldwork, and service are central to the process of learning and applying knowledge. The program stresses the importance of social responsibility, political activism, and community outreach. The curriculum explores how institutionalized sexism, racism, classism, and heterosexism limit human achievement and dignity. Local service learning fieldwork provides an opportunity to examine first-hand the changes necessary to eliminate these limitations.   Service learning fieldwork enables majors to create richly detailed accounts of women as social agents whose identities and experiences are shaped by political and economic forces. Service learning is incorporated into the major through fieldwork in community agencies focused on advocacy, law and policy, reproductive rights and health, support services for survivors of violence and abuse, and U.S. politics.   As part of its mission to educational access for all students, particularly to students with paid work and care work commitments, the program incorporates a broad range of educational formats including online classes, hybrid classes that combine an online component with face-to-face interaction, and face-to-face lecture/discussion and seminar classes.   The program also offers its major through P.A.C.E. (Program for Accelerated College Education). Please contact the P.A.C.E. office for further information.
Major Requirements (B.A.)	The major in Women's Studies requires a minimum of 17 upper-division courses for a total of 68 units. Students will be required to take 15 courses in the Women's Studies Program and 2 electives from the Women's Studies Program or from the Approved Elective Courses list located on the Women's Studies CSUEB website and in the Human Development/Women's Studies department office (MI 3069).   The Women's Studies major consists of a total of 80 units: 12 lower-division units and 68 upper-division units. The B.A. degree requires a total of 180 units.   I.  Lower Division (12 units) Select three 4-unit lower division courses from the following categories, with no more than one course from each category. If chosen wisely, these courses can be double-counted in GE and (excluding WOST courses) in the WOST major.   A.  Anthropology B.  Communication Studies C.  Economics D.  English E.  Ethnic or area studies F.  History G.  Philosophy H.  Political Science I.  Psychology J.  Sociology K.  Additional categories may be approved by the department.   II.  Upper Division (68 units) Students are required to take 17upper-division courses for a total of 68 units. (Note: Students with a specific interest/emphasis may substitute courses in other departments, with department approval.)   WOST 3110 Theories of Feminism I (4) WOST 3200 Theories of Feminism II (4) WOST 3300 Women, Law, Policy and Activism in the Contemporary U.S. (4) WOST 3440 Women and Social Constructions of Sexuality (4) WOST 3545 Women's Health and Health Care (4) WOST 3600 Women and Work in the U.S. (4) WOST 3700 Comparative Perspectives on Global Feminisms (4) WOST 3810 Domestic Discontents in the Contemporary U.S. (4) WOST 3850 Research Practices and Methods for Feminist Scholarship (4) WOST 3900 Violence Against Women (4) WOST 4500 Feminist Thought into Action (4) WOST 4600 Action Research Seminar I (4) WOST 4700 Action Fieldwork in Women's Studies I (4) WOST 4800 Action Fieldwork in Women's Studies II (4) WOST 4910 Action Research Seminar II (4)   Choose two upper-division electives. The specific upper division courses to satisfy the 8 unit requirement are selected with advisor approval from the department's subject area course list, which will include appropriate courses from other disciplines.   Approved Electives for Women's Studies' Majors 2009-2010:   Women's Studies' majors are encouraged to take up to 8 units (2 classes) from departments across campus. We encourage, but do not require, students to take 8 units listed under one of the themes.   Additional courses, not found on this list, may be approved on a case-by-case basis.   Social Justice and Community Activism   CRJA 4124 Sex Crime Investigation CRJA 4125 Women in Criminal Justice PHIL 3503 Philosophy and Law PHIL 3510 Human Rights and Social Justice: Cultural Groups and Women in the U.S. PHIL 3515 Race and Social Justice POSC 3333 Ethnic and Minority Politics POSC 3340 Women and Politics POSC 3360 Culture and Politics in the United States POSC 3170 Public Policy and the Family POSC 3419 Labor Policy and Law POSC 3715 The State and the Family SOC 3710 Social Policy SOC 4450 Urban Sociology   Resources, Technology and Globalization   BIOL 3800 Achievements of Women in Science COMM 4500 Women in Media NURS 3404 Care of Childbearing Families PHIL 3511 Philosophy of Human Rights and Global Justice POSC 3500 World Problems and Global Response POSC 3521 Politics of the Global Economy POSC 3418 U.S. Immigration Policy and Law SOC 3431 Seminar in World Development SOC 3700 Introduction to Social Services   Arts, Humanities and Society   ANTH 3750 Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective ART 3227 Women in Art COMM 4850 Gender and Communication ENGL 3050 Language and Gender ENGL 3071 Writing Women's Lives: A Workshop ENGL 3650 Woman and Literature ENGL 3770 Gay and Lesbian Literature ENGL4650 Studies in American Women's Literature ES 3030 Immigrant and Refugee Women ES 3730 Women of Color Genders and Sexualities ES 4300 Queer of Color Subjects and Critical Theory ES 3210 Latinas in the United States HIST 3570 The Family and Sexuality in American History HIST 3571 Women in American History HIST 3572 American Women in the Twentieth Century HDEV 3304 Girls and Women Across the Lifespan HDEV 4440 Lesbian and Gay Lifespan Development MLL 3938 Italian American Women Through Literature PHIL 3161 Philosophy and Sex PHIL 3720 Feminist Philosophy PSYC 3410 Psychology of Women REC 3202 Women and Leisure SOC 3410 Sociology of the Family SOC 3411 Sociology of Gender SOC 3412 Marriage and Sex SOC 3413 Sociology of Parenting SOC 3420 Social Inequality SOC 3425 Prejudice and Discrimination SOC 3510 Sociology of Identity SOC 3520 Sociology of Minority Groups SOC 3525 The African American Male SOC 3880 Work and Professions THEA 3209 Sex, Love, and Women on Stage and in Film THEA 3226 The Woman Artist THEA 3310 Interpretation of Women's and Ethnic Literature THEA 3326 Ethnic Women Playwrights and Performers THEA 3300 Sex, Race, and Body Politics in Dance
Other Degree Requirements	In addition to major requirements, every student must also complete the University requirements for graduation which are described in the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements chapter in the front of this catalog. These include the General Education-Breadth requirements; the second composition (ENGL 1002) requirement; the cultural groups/women requirement; the performing arts/activities requirement; the U.S. history, U.S. Constitution, and California state and local government requirement; the University Writing Skills Requirement; and the residence, unit, and grade point average requirements.
Undergraduate Courses	The course prefix for the following courses is WOST.   1001     Perspectives on Women (4) The observed similarities and differences in the behavior of women and men as seen from the perspective of art, history, literature, philosophy, biology, and psychology. How these differences came about and what the future may hold.   1002     Women in Contemporary Society (4) Women's work, family roles, political behavior, and legal status today. Controversial issues raised by the women's movement explored from the perspective of different racial/ethnic groups and different political/economic/social systems.   3030     Immigrant and Refugee Women (4) (See E S 3030 for course description.)   3050     Feminist Theory (4) Feminist theories of American women's liberation movement from mid-sixties to present. Gender identity; "nature vs. nurture" theories of female subservience and male domination; pornography; rape; class, race, and gender.   3100     Seminar in Women's Studies (4) An interdisciplinary consideration of topics relevant to women, involving extensive writing assignments. May be repeated two times for credit with consent of Women's Studies Director, for a maximum of 12 units.   3110     Theories of Feminism I (4) Overview of feminist theories, including issues of representation, agency and subjectivity, capitalism and patriarchy. Covers "first wave" statements to "second wave" feminism, including liberal, radical, separatist, and socialist/materialist forms of feminism. Exposure to self-assumptions, application of analytical skills to one's own life and work.   3200     Theories of Feminism II (4) Continuation of WOST 3110, Theories of Feminism I. Offers perspectives on intersectional feminist theory and contemporary issues in feminist thought from "second wave" feminism to present, including post-structuralism and postmodernism, postcolonialism and third-world feminism, ecofeminism and current feminist theoretical debates. Prerequisite: WOST 3110.   3300     Women, Law, Policy and Activism in the Contemporary U.S. (4) Feminist perspective on how U.S. law confers rights, creates obligations, and defines identities which impact social actors differently. Topics may include educational and workplace equity, privacy, family law, domestic violence, LGBT rights, reproductive rights, affirmative action and equal protection laws.   3400     Women and Careers (4) Women's experience in the workforce from a political, sociological and historical perspective. Comparison of structure and practices in the corporate structure to those in sports and the military. Obstacles women face, coping mechanisms and strategies for success.   3420     Minority Women in America (4) Persistence and change in the minority female experience in America. Focus on prominent stereotypes of minority women, patterns of courtship and marriage, employment and career trends, birth control and sexual freedom, and feminism and racial solidarity. Cross-listed with E S 3420.   3440     Women and Social Constructions of Sexuality (4) Relationship of modern sexualities and the rise of capitalism, secularism, urbanization, sexology, and sexual identity politics. Sexuality as a complex array of social codes, forces, and institutionalized power relations. Topics may include: objectification and commodification, sexual politics, sexual/social violence and resistance.   3500     Portrayal of Women in the Movies (4) Changing portrayal of women in English-language movies from 1900 to the present. Special emphasis on the persistence/breakdown of racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes associated with the presentation of women.   3520     Mothers, Daughters, and Sons (4) The relationship between mothers and their daughters and sons from a literary, psychological, and sociological point of view. Discussion of literature, film and art.   3530     Women and Their Bodies (4) An interdisciplinary course focusing on women's experiences of their bodies, especially in the areas of health and sexuality.   3540     Adultery and Literature (4) From Helen of Troy to television dramas, women and adultery continue to be a dominant feature, particularly in some literary and social aspects of past and present times. Exploration of the main aspects of this phenomenon.   3545     Women's Health and Health Care (4) Social, political, and economic perspective on current health status and health needs of women in the United States, especially in the areas of reproduction, genetic testing, and chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.   3550     Women, Work, and Family Life (4) The relationship of work and family, the dilemmas women face and strategies they use to negotiate work/family issue. The impact of economic/historical/sociological factors including gender, race, and class, all influencing work and family life.   3600     Women and Work in the U.S. (4) Patterns of women's labor; focus on debates of definition of "work," occupational sex segregation, patterns of paid and domestic labor, gender inequality, work and family issues; experiences of labor (and labor exploitation) according to race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, immigrant status   3700     Comparative Perspectives on Global Feminisms (4) Women globally in transnational and local contexts; issues of economic and social justice. Including violence against women and children, poverty, economic and international migration, political fundamentalism, globalization of capitalist economy, sexual and civil rights, immigration and citizenship, and sex trafficking.   3800     Women and Consumption (4) Feminist perspectives used to explore the commodification of women's bodies which support globalized capitalist economies through labor and consumerism. Practices of women's consumption and the consumption of women as critiqued from feminist, Marxist, and global/environmental perspectives.   3810     Domestic Discontents in the Contemporary U.S. (4) Feminist analysis of problems facing contemporary U.S. families including household division of labor and changes in economic and social roles for women; marriage as a political institution. Topics may include occupational segregation, carework, welfare, economics of marriage, divorce, child custody.   3850     Research Practices and Methods for Feminist Scholarship (4) Interdisciplinary feminist research methods. Feminist critique of social science research methods, exposing tension between the production and interpretation of data and the importance of considering power relations in the formation of knowledge; testing various social science research methods.   3900     Violence Against Women (4) Violence in intimate relationships from a feminist perspective. Violence against women and girls as instituting structured gender inequality and as perpetrated by political, social and economic institutions locally, nationally, and internationally.   3999     Issues in Women's Studies (4) Readings, discussion, and research on contemporary and/or significant issues in women's studies. May be repeated for credit when content varies, for a maximum of 8 units.   4130     Women in Midlife Transition (4) Examination of development and change in behavior of women in the United States at midlife transition, with emphasis on theory, method, and empirical research. Prerequisite: Upper division standing.   4160     Women and Aging (4) Examination of development and change in behavior of women as they age in the United States, with emphasis on theory, method, and empirical research. Prerequisite: Upper division standing.   4200     Gender, Sexuality and Popular Culture in the U.S. (4) Feminist perspective on meaning and construction of masculinity, femininity, sexuality, and stereotypes in both mainstream and sub-cultural popular culture contexts (film, fiction, non-fiction, theater, music, television, journalism, internet) with particular attention to race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, age, disability, and nationality.   4300     Women and Global intersecting Structures of Oppression (4) Sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, nationalism, ethnocentrism, ageism, and ideologies intersect to shape systems of oppression with particular attention paid to education, political economies, and media across the globe. Examines how women have worked collectively and individually to resist oppression.   4500     Feminist Thought into Action (4) Relationship between feminist research and community/political activism. State of women's activism today locally, nationally, and globally; social justice for women and girls. Includes identifying goals, contacting media outlets, writing grant proposals, and negotiating ethical issues in feminist praxis.   4600     Action Research Seminar I (4) First quarter of a two-quarter senior thesis seminar. Thesis is an applied research project which synthesizes coursework and two-quarters of fieldwork, includes project's significance, methodology, thorough documentation and relevant conclusions or recommendations. Prerequisites: Senior standing, WOST 4400 and 4500; Co-requisite: WOST 4700.   4700     Action Fieldwork in Women's Studies I (4) First quarter of a two-quarter service learning fieldwork placement arranged through instructors. Initial fieldwork data collection for senior thesis; outline plan developed individually between student and faculty sponsor. Analytic journal required. Prerequisites: Senior standing, WOST 4400 and 4500; Co-requisite: WOST 4600.   4800     Action Fieldwork in Women's Studies II (4) Second quarter of two-quarter service learning fieldwork placement arranged through instructors. Continued research fieldwork data collection for senior thesis on faculty approved student outline plan. Analytic journal required. Prerequisites: Senior standing, WOST 4400, 4500, 4600, and 4700; Co-requisite: WOST 4910.   4900     Independent Study (1-4) May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor, for a maximum of 12 units.   4910     Action Research Seminar II (4) Second quarter of two-quarter seminar for senior thesis, an applied research project synthesizing coursework and two-quarters of fieldwork, includes project's significance, methodology, detailed documentation, relevant conclusions or recommendations. Prerequisites: Senior standing, WOST 4400, 4500, 4600, and 4700; Co-requisite: WOST 4800.   4922     Women of the Classics (4) The contrast between the reality and the image of woman as protagonist and actor of literary genres and as persona in Classic Medieval, and early Renaissance literature, religion, and society. Lecture and discussion based on works of literature.
	© 2009 The California State University Last Updated: October 8, 2009