Women's Studies Courses
2011-2012

Intro to Women's Studies: WS 222
(Section 001) Earl Kay Stice: MW  11:00 – 12:15pm
Fall 2011 syllabus

This course will help you describe the field of women's studies, determine how to test the truthfulness of gender-related statements, place the current status of women in U.S. society into a historical context, identify gender discrimination, discuss theories of gender and gender development, evaluate the impact of education and the education system on women, recognize the necessity for women to be informed about health and medical issues and about the medical system, explaing the impact fo religion on the lives of women, critically evaluate mass media messages and mass media use of women, understand the importance od politics and the law to gender issues, recognize gender-related communication issues, evaluate the positive and negative impacts that marriage and family can have on women, reduce the likelihood of being personally subjected to gender violence and also reduce the likelihood that family, friends, and acquaintances will be involved in gender violence, strongly denounce pornography, make more informed choices about marriage, birth control, and children, identify the costs and benefits for women of working outside the home, and intelligently and respectfully discuss gender-related issues in a time-constrained group setting.

(Section 002) Lorraine Wood: TTH 1:35 – 2:50pm

Women's Studies Colloquium: WS 392R  
Valerie Hegstrom: TH 12:00 – 12:50

Women’s Studies Colloquium, a lecture series held every fall and winter semester, offers students the opportunity to learn about some of the latest research on women’s lives and issues, to interact with other Women's Studies students, and to meet faculty members from BYU and other universities who are actively involved in making available new knowledge about women. Lectures in the series present scholarly findings on topics relating to women's lives and experiences throughout history, across the world, and within ethnic, educational, and economic segments of society. Students gain experience interviewing and introducing lecturers, discussing new ideas in Q&A sessions, and responding verbally and in writing to colloquium presentations. Please join us!

Gender and Politics: PlSc 359R (Section 1), WS 390 R (Section 2) 
Jessica Preece TTH 3:00-4:15pm

We will study the role of gender in citizenship, voting, public office-holding.  We will also study gendered political issues, such as abortion, domestic violence, and sexual harassment.  We will discuss these issues from both an international and American perspective.  At the end of the course, students will be able to write and speak about gender and politics in an informed, nuanced, and thoughtful way.

Early Modern Spanish Women Writers: WS 390R (section 003)
Valerie Hegstrom TTH  1:00-2:20pm

Learn about Early Modern women who wrote biographies, poetry, plays, letters, novels, and riddles in Spanish. Find out about the saint who became the first female Doctor of the Catholic Church, the biological sisters who became sisters in the convent where they staged plays, the nun who ran away to become a soldier, the best-selling author who wrote scandalous novellas, the widow who supported her family by taking in boarders and writing novels on the side, and many other amazing women who wrote and wrote when women weren't supposed to write at all. (You will need some Spanish language skills to enroll in this course.)

Refugee and Migrant Health: Hlth 403 R (Section 004), WS 390R (section 004)
E. Linton: F 12:00-2:30pm

This course provides an in-depth approach to the various types of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPS) that evolve from conflict, natural disaster, or trafficking situations. A focus is placed on health needs and services to include: emergency aid and protection among vulnerable populations such as women, children, the elderly, and disabled. A significant emphasis is placed upon political, cultural, social, and organizational aspects of health and disease prevention and control, along with the challenges and potential solutions of resettlement.

Theories of Women's Studies: WS 422
Brandie SiegfriedTTh 3:00-4:15pm

Introduction to theoretical approaches to women's studies

Kinship and Gender: ANTHR 431 
John Hawkins: MWF 12:00-12:50pm

Kinship theory and analysis, 1920-present. Recent issues in anthropological treatment of gender, marriage, and family structure.

The Family in Europe: HIST 319
Amy Harris: MWF 10:00-10:50pm
Fall 2011 Assignments
Fall 2011 Syllabus 

History 319 is designed to give an overall knowledge of families in the European past – beginning with precedents from the ancient world and concluding in the early twenty-first century. It concentrates on family structures and relationships (including the importance of gender), on the intersection between families and the law (secular and religious), and the social and cultural aspects of family life and the influence of family on other social and cultural trends. Students should leave the class with knowledge of historical change in families as well as a working knowledge of everyday life in families in the past.

US Women’s History: HIST 384 
Rebecca Deshweinitz: MWF 12:00-12:50pm

In this course we will examine women’s experiences in America from the colonial period to the present, significant issues and debates in U.S. Women’s history, and the ways that ideas about gender have shaped American life, institutions, and policies.  We will pay special attention to how political, social, and economic changes influenced women’s lives and to the ways that race and class have shaped women’s experiences as well as notions of gender.

Women’s Health Issues: HLTH 450 
Eleanor Shores: TH 4:00-6:30pm
Winter 2012 Syllabus

Overview of selected health topics affecting women's health status. Primary emphasis on steps to enhance personal health and fulfill divine roles from childhood through adulthood.

Psychology of Gender: PSYCH 306 
Niwako Yamawaki: TTh  8:00 – 9:15am
TBA: T 4 :00 – 6 :30
TBA: Th 5:00 – 7:30
Winter 2012 Syllabus

This course introduces students to psychological research on the experiences, behaviors, and abilities of men and women. We will study attitudes about gender, theories of gender development, and research about similarities and differences between men and women. Topics we will study include sex differences and similarities in mental abilities, personality, social behavior, and relationships.  We will also study mental health issues and experiences of men and women in the workplace, as well as look at the most current research documenting advances in gender equity and other gender related issues that continue to need attention.

Studies in Women's Literature: ENGL  396 
Kristin Matthews: MWF 2:00-2:50pm

This semester's English 396 will examine questions raised by and in American women's literature from 1960-present—questions about gender, race, economics, language, self, beauty, and the body. Reading fiction, poetry, drama, and autobiography, the course will be run as an interdisciplinary seminar drawing from various historical, philosophical, and sociological texts to supplement our literary readings. The course emphasizes critical thinking, which we will arrive at through spirited exchange, discussion, and much writing. The class does not operate by lecture; we are collectively responsible for its intellectual activities. Because these texts demand self-conscious and ethical readership, I too expect you to be a responsible reader, an informed discussant, and an engaged participant in the course's production of meaning. Our class will rely upon your readings and questions to propel the discussion. This is a rigorous class—be prepared.

Women in Art: ARTHC 301 
Heather Jensen: TTh 4:00 – 5:15pm
Fall 2011 Syllabus
Fall 2011 Student Comments

The Family & the Law: SFL 461 
William Duncan: TTH 12:05 – 1:20pm
duncanw@marriagelawfoundation.org

Legal environment of the family system, with emphasis on husband-wife and parent-child relationships, rights, and responsibilities.

Family Work & Relationships: SFL 471
Jenet Erickson: TTH 12:05 – 1:20pm

Changes in household labor across time, current issues around gender and household labor, and philosophical perspectives of family work and family relationships.

Racial & Minority-Group Relations: SOC 323
Howard M Bahr: MWF 10:00 – 10:50pm

Sociology 323 (Race and Ethnicity) focuses on ethnic divisions in human society, with special reference to their history, structure, and consequences. Among other things, we explore some of the vocabulary and conceptual frameworks that have informed the study of ethnic relations in the social sciences. Our geohistorical scope emphasizes but is not limited to ethnic relations in North America in the past century, along with such earlier history as seems relevant. One of our texts explicitly aims for a world perspective, and another draws primarily on mid-20th-century European history. This is explicitly a multidisciplinary course in which we immerse ourselves in several viewpoints—our authors include a sociologist, an anthropologist, two essayists on race in America who might be considered “American Studies” or literary figures, and a journalist.

Intro to Family Sociology: SOC 360 
Renata Tonks Forste: TTH 9:30 – 10:45pm

This is an elective course in sociology and assumes that you are not necessarily a sociology major.  You will learn to read journal articles and become familiar with the most recent sociological and demographic research on the family.  The focus will be on families in the United States.  This course will require active reading, writing, and discussion.  Topics include: Family theory, Trends over time, Transition to adulthood, Cohabitation, Marriage, Fertility, Work & family roles, Fathering & Mothering, Child well-being, Divorce, Poverty, Remarriage, & Grandparenting.

Soc of Gender: SOC 367  
Catherine Jeppsen: MWF 9:00 – 9:50pm

Through course readings, lectures, and student participation, this Sociology of Gender course will provide an overview of ways in which gender is considered within the discipline of sociology. Specifically, course participants will explore the answers to four main questions: First, what is gender? Second, what are the main theoretical perspectives within the sociology of gender? Third, how arethese perspectives related to the questions we ask about gender? Fourth, what do we do with thisinformation?