Core Requirements for the Major and Minor
Fall, 2013
Women's Studies 101W: Introduction to Women's Studies. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Class #88111, #88119
Giardina
This course explores the core concepts underlying the interdisciplinary
field of Women's Studies,
introducing the ways in which the study of women and sex/gender
as social categories transforms our
understanding of culture, history and society. Topics include the social
construction of gender,
the gender division of labor, production and reproduction, intersections
of gender, race, class and ethnicity,
and the varieties of sexual experience. This course is the required
introduction to the Women's Studies
major and minor, and has no prerequisites. (SS) Fall, Spring
Women's Studies 201W: Theories of Feminism
Class #88136
Warren
The main theories used in Women's Studies today will be analyzed from
a historical perspective and with
respect to the combined effects of gender, race and class on the status
of women in contemporary society.
The course will include the study of the problems inherent in establishing
full social equality for women.
Women's Studies 310: VT: Research Seminar
Class #88149
Warren
This course allows students to undertake individual research with any
member of the Queens College faculty,
in conjunction with the Women's Studies Director. Students typically
meet weekly with a faculty member and
work towards an original research paper, project, or performance.
Women's Studies 320: Field Work
Class #88154
Giardina
In recognition of the activist roots and goals of Women's Studies, the
major includes supervised field work
in an advocacy or service organization for women. Students work in political
organizations, battered women's
shelters, welfare rights groups, women's health groups or similar organizations
and prepare a formal document
based on their experiences and readings.
Other Women's Studies Courses
Women's Studies 210: History of Women in Modern Europe
Class #88146
Bloch
Women's Studies 3903W: Tutorial
Class #88159
Warren
Permission of the director of Women's Studies and the director of Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. Students
undertake and complete an individual research project under the supervision of a member of the women's
studies faculty.
Cross-listed Courses For Fall, 2013
Please check prereqs
AFST 234W: Black Women Writers -- Class #90101
3 cr. Prereq.: Sophomore standing or permission of the
instructor. This comparative study of women writers
from Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States will
examine the ways in which these writers re-envision
history and challenge traditional conceptions of gender,
race, and class.
ANTH 272: Human Skeleton -- Class #83724
Prereq.: ANTH 102 or any college biology course. Using
an anthropological and evolutionary perspective, this
course combines an anatomical and functional approach
in order to acquaint students with the human skeleton
and identification of skeletal remains. Also introduces
students to metric studies and to the use of osteometric
and anthropometric instruments.
ECON 219W: Economics of Class, Race, and Sex -- Class #92320
This course is concerned with theoretical and historical explanations of stratification by class, race, sex and ethnicity. Specifically, it is concerned with explaining
differential rates of progress among ethnic groups; the economic position of the black population versus the white one; black/white males vis-a-vis black/white
females; and finally, males and females.
ENGL 325: Gender & Sexualities -- Class #86201
Prereq.: ENGL 165W (or 140W) or 170W
(or 150W) or one PLAS Reading Literature course. An
exploration of the literature and culture of gender and
sexuality. Topics may include feminist and queer theory,
traditions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer writing (autobiography, fiction, poetry, etc.) or
themes such as marriage, sexual and gender identity, or
HIV/AIDS. This is a variable topics course.
ENGL 326: Women Writers -- Class #86495
The study of women's tradition, through the close reading of a selections of writings by women, primarily in English and American literature. Among
the topics considered are the realtionship between women writers and their cultural and social backgrounds; conditions affecting women's literary
production; the influence of female and male precursors; the impact of race and class; and continuities and breaks with the dominant literary tradition.
ENGL 383-01: Aspects of Poetry -- Class #85974
Elizabeth Bishop and Adrienne Rich: "The Eye of the Outsider"
You don't have to be an English major. And, in terms of anxiety about reading poems, something that, in my experience, is not at all uncommon among English majors: teaching poetry electives in English always also means introducing some ways of thinking about what poems are and how they work (the difference the line makes ) and this introduction, as part of an elective course, is necessary for many English majors too.
Interpersonal relations in contemporary American marriage and family
life. Topics include dating, courtship,
sex attitudes and behavior, family preplanning, communication, marital
conflict, the unmarried, and elements
of a successful marriage.
FNES 151: The Family and Consumer Studies -- Class #85721 and #85744
A study of consumer issues as they affect the family, with special emphasis on cultural, social, psychological, and economic factors influencing consumer behavior; consumer rights and responsibilities; and public policy issues.
FNES 157: History of Costumes & Furnishings: Ancient Egypt to the French Revolution -- Class #86040
The study of the relationships between the history of western civilization; sociocultural, technological, and artistic developments; and the evolution
of styles of furnishings and costumes.
FNES 248: Problems in Marriage and Family -- Class #86241
An exploration of current factors that precipitate family crisis, and the effect of crisis on the family as a group.
HIST 270: History of Women in the US, Colonial to 1880-- Class #85805
A study of women in the colonies, the young republic, the Jacksonian period, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Includes women’s role in Westward Expansion and the origins of the Women’s Rights Movement.
HIST 308/WOMST 210: History of Women in Modern Europe -- Class #89870/88146
A study of the myths and realities
of women’s roles in European history, from the
eighteenth century to the present, including their roles in
the home and family, in the public spheres of education,
work, and politics
PSCI 105: Political Theory -- Class #85493 ONLY
PSCI 271: Core Concepts in Political Theory -- Class #85713
An examination of major concepts such as
justice, equality, freedom, sovereignty/governmentality,
and power/resistance in the history of political thought.
The course may be organized to emphasize the work of
specific thinkers, thematically or historically.
PSYCH 354: Sexual Behavior-- Class #91638
A survey of research and theory about sexual behavior in humans and animals. Among the topics covered are neural and hormonal correlates of sexual
behavior, the role of early experience and learning, survey and laboratory studies of human sexuality, cross-cultural studies of sexual practices, and sexual
dysfunctions and their treatment.
SOC 214: The Family -- Class #87915
Historical and contemporary factors that shape families, with special emphasis on the American family. Topics include changes over time, cultures and social classes, and interpersonal issues of family life.
SOC 222: Social Welfare as a Social Institution-- Class # 89475
Social welfare as an institution, with emphasis on its structure and development, and sociological analysis of problems of aging, divorce, and adoption, etc
SOC 243: Sex and Gender in Comparative Perspective--Class #85005
This course explores the social construction of gender in a comparative-historical perspective. Emphasis is given to the ways in which particular social and historical conditions shape gender relations in the ecomony, the political system, the family, and the ideology and practice of sexuality.
SOC 244: Sociology of Women -- Class #85001
This course explores the changing position of women as a social group, focusing on the contemporary United States. The sexual division of labor in the paid labor market and in the household, the relatiionship of women to family change and "family crisis", the changing role of women in politics, and the changing social construction of female sexuality will be studied.
SOC 245: Women and Work -- Class #85031
An exploration of the changing situation of women in the U.S. workforce. Included is a study of the causes and consequences of job segregation by sex,
and sex differentials in pay. The relationship between women's paid work and their role in the family and society will also be explored.
SOC 246: The Sociology of Human Sexuality -- Class #85039
This course explores the social sources of patterns of human sexuality. Among the topics examined are why sexuality has been regulated in all known societies, the sociology of heterosexual and homosexual behavior and identity throughout the life cycle, gender-based sexual socialization, sexual politics (e.g., rape) and commercial sex (e.g., prostitution and pornography).
WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAM/QUEENS COLLEGE, CUNY
Women's Studies majors and minors and other interested students have
the opportunity to carry out an
internship with an organization on- or off-campus that concerns itself with women's issues. Internships
receive 3 academic credits, through Women's Studies 320: Fieldwork in Women's Studies. Students are graded on the
evaluation of their learning experience as recorded through a final piece of writing.
Among the opportunities available to students are internships in women's shelters, publishing, law, radio stations, political organizations, and women's
organizations. Interested students should contact the Women's Studies office to discuss placement.
You may email us if you have any questions