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An In-Depth
Look at Women's Studies
Who
should take Women's Studies?
Where
does this course "fit" in a student's course of
study?
How
does this course contribute to a student's education?
What topics
does the course cover?
Isn't
Women's Studies a lot of arguing and negativity?
What do
students say about WMST 201?
Who
should take Women's Studies?
- Students,
first-year through senior, traditional and
non-traditional, men and women
- Students seeking
to understand how issues regarding women and gender affect
their social, professional, and personal lives
- Students
interested in exploring global issues and the
relationships between themselves and women around the
world
- Students looking
for connections between classroom theory and everyday
reality
- Students seeking
to develop their ability to question, discuss, and affirm
within a supportive classroom setting
Where
does this course "fit" in a student's course of
study?
Women's Studies 201 (MST 201) fulfills a general
education requirement in humanities; it may also
serve as the first course in the Women's Studies major
or minor;
and finally, it may be taken as elective credit. In
addition to its usefulness in liberal arts areas, WMST 201 is
particularly relevant for students pursuing careers in
business, social work, criminal justice, education, and health
sciences.
How
does this course contribute to a student's education?
Drawing on the social sciences, religion and philosophy,
and the arts, and professional areas, Women's Studies 201
offers students an interdisciplinary experience; it encourages
students from a variety of academic areas to make sense of
multiple disciplinary angles of vision. Further, students are
introduced to the new scholarship on women which over the past
25 years has affected the focus and methodologies of many
academic areas. Lastly, the course encourages students to
connect--with their very humanity, with their immediate social
context, and with the global setting--through reading,
discussion, research, writing, and reflection.
What
topics does the course cover?
Topics vary somewhat from semester to semester, but usually
include:
- Valuing
differences of gender, race, and class
- Sexuality, health,
and safety
- Effecting social
& political change
- Women, work, and
family
- Socio-cultural
factors that shape gender
- Varieties of
feminism
- Women and
institutions: religion, law, government, education, and
medicine
Isn't
Women's Studies a lot of arguing and negativity?
While confronting women's at times difficult realities,
WMST 201 emphasizes the strength and creativity, past and
present, used by women and others to solve problems. Further,
the course celebrates the achievements of outstanding and
everyday women.
What
do students say about WMST 201?
"I have learned a lot from this course by reading
about women in different cultures, feminism, stereotypes of
women, abortion, sex, single parenting, domestic violence,
older women . . . Women's Studies has been a growth process
for me. It has helped me to explore myself and find my
identity. It has helped me find answers to who I am and where
I am going. . . . This class [had] an enjoyable atmosphere
that I looked forward to attending every week."
-Cindy Carroll, Sociology/Psychology major
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