Course Descriptions
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Womens Studies
6WST 210 (I, II-3) Constructing Utopias
This course considers the history of real and imagined utopian communities from medieval monasteries through contemporary science fiction. Sometimes utopian communities succeed, providing interesting case studies in the effects of social planning. Even when they don't succeed, their design and discussion represent an important form of social criticism. Studying their history provides a window into the political, economic, and social development of Europe and the United States from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the present day. Cross-listed as HIS 210.
6WST 220 (I, II-3) German Women Writers
An introduction to the multifaceted culture of women's literature written in Germany from about 1700 to the present. In a seminar setting, students explore a wide range of writing by women, including fairy tales, autobiography and autobiographical fiction, letters, short stories, and novels in the context of social, political, and historical developments. Cross-listed as GER 220.
6WST 230 (I, II-3) Men, Women, and War in the Twentieth Century
An exploration of major historical changes of the twentieth century by focusing on the social impact of modern war, especially World Wars I and II. Topics include the crisis of liberalism, the rise of fascism, the horror of the Holocaust, occupation and resistance, comparisons of military and civilian experience, pacifist politics, women in the military, the birth of psychoanalysis, the spread of modernist art and culture, the rise of the welfare state, and contemporary international affairs. Cross-listed as HIS 230.
6WST 240 (I, II-3) Women and Religion
A study of conceptions of women embodied in the imagery of various religious traditions, the role of women in worship, and the impact of religious traditions on feminine experience and social definitions of gender roles. For each region, we consider both religious doctrine and the lives of women in the context of societies holding to these religious beliefs. Cross-listed as AR 240.
6WST 250 (I, II-3) Conflicts in Feminism
People often think of feminism as a relatively recent phenomenon, but in fact arguments for sexual equality have existed since at least the eighteenth century. This course studies the history and theory of different kinds of feminism by considering a series of "conflicts in feminism": historic moments when feminists have disagreed over how to address given social situations. Topics are drawn from the experience of women and men in Europe and the United States from the eighteenth century through the present. Cross-listed as HIS 250.
6WST 260 (I, II-3) Virginia Woolf
A study of major fiction and selected nonfiction by one of the world's great modern writers and social thinkers. Emphasis is placed on understanding her writings in relation to her life and the social, economic, and political developments of her time, especially the two World Wars. Cross-listed as ENG 260.
6WST 262 (I, II-3) Voices of Women Artists
An exploration of challenges faced by women musicians, visual artists, dancers, and writers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the creative solutions employed by women in the fine arts to these challenges. All of our readings are autobiographical, and therefore we focus on how women choose to articulate their lives as artists. Cross-listed as ENG 262.