Women’s Studies
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2007 - 2008 Catalog
Women’s Studies
521 S. Mountain, Lower Level
541-552-6750
Barbara Scott Winkler, Director
Women’s studies at Southern Oregon University is an interdisciplinary program emphasizing the teaching and study of women and gender in society, culture, and history. The program focuses on women as a diverse, heterogeneous group; courses in women’s studies examine the numerous ways in which gender intersects with multiple social forces and shapes human experience.
Students learn about themselves and the world through critical thinking and personal and social empowerment. Integrating various disciplines, women's studies provides a supportive and challenging liberal arts education for students of any gender. Women’s studies also has a distinct interpretive framework. At SOU, women’s studies emphasizes the relationship of classroom learning to social awareness and community involvement. As well as providing general education courses, the program offers a minor, drawing on courses from many departments and programs.
In addition to the minor, students may take the Independent Interdisciplinary Major (IIM) with women’s studies as either a primary or secondary area. To become a minor or IIM, contact the program director.
Requirements for the Minor
Required Courses (8 credits)
| Women in Society: Introduction to Women’s Studies (WS 201) | 4 |
| Research (WS 401) and/or Practicum (WS 409) | 4 |
Electives (16 credits)
| Gender Issues (ANTH 340) | 4 |
| Seminar: Women in Development (ANTH 407) | 4 |
| Activist Art (ARTH 399) | 4 |
| Race, Gender, and Ethnicity in Art (ARTH 450) | 4 |
| Gender and Human Communication (COMM 425) | 4 |
| Culture, Identity, and Communication (COMM 460C) | 4 |
| Women Transforming Language (COMM 460) | 4 |
| Gender, Race, and Media (COMM 470) | 4 |
| Gender Issues in Economics (EC 340) | 4 |
| Class, Culture, and Feminism in Victorian and Edwardian England (ENG 341) | 4 |
| British Women Writers (ENG 367) | 4 |
| Women Writers in the U.S. (ENG 368) | 4 |
| British Novel After 1850 (ENG 418) | 4 |
| Chicano Subjectivities and the Intersection of Race, Gender, Class, Sexuality, and Religion (ENG 447) | 4 |
| Wilde’s Worlds: 1880s–1890s (ENG 447) | 4 |
| Nonwestern Literature (ENG 455) | 4 |
| Topics in Women’s Writing (ENG 498) | 4 |
| Human Sexuality (PSY 369) | 4 |
| Seminar: Feminism as Therapy (PSY 407) | 4 |
| Psychology of Women (PSY 492) | 4 |
| Lesbian and Gay Studies (PSY 495) | 4 |
| Women in Science (BI 385) | 3 |
| Poverty, Family, and Policy (SOC 304) | 4 |
| Sociology of the Family (SOC 312) | 4 |
| Sociology of Gender Roles (SOC 340) | 4 |
| Social Inequality (SOC 434) | 4 |
| International Women’s Movements (WS 301) | 4 |
| Contemporary U.S. Women’s Movements (WS 302) | 4 |
| Gender and the Body (WS 399) | 4 |
| Sex, Gender, Violence, and Justice (WS 399) | 4 |
| Reading and Conference (WS 405) | TBA |
| A Cultural History of the Breast (WS 407) | 4 |
| Sexual Politics in U.S. History (WS 417) | 4 |
| Intimate Violence Victim Advocacy Skills (WS 418) | 4 |
Note: Other SSC 399 and 407 courses are occasionally offered for women’s studies credit.
Courses from the Women’s Studies Summer Forum, which is offered through Extended Campus Programs, also count toward credit for the women’s studies minor. See the summer course listing or contact the program office for more information.
Students are strongly advised to plan their course of study with the program director. They are also urged to complete an application for minor degree status. Applications are available at the program office.
Women’s Studies Courses
See Course Prerequisites PolicyLower Division Courses
| WS 201 Women in Society: Introduction to Women’s Studies |
| 4 credits |
| Provides an introductory survey of the concepts, issues, and new scholarship on women and gender in American society. Sources and readings are drawn from different disciplines, including literature, history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, communication, economics, and the arts. Topics may include gender relations in the home and workplace, language and gender, body image, media, sexuality, intimate relationships, the dynamics of patriarchy, diversity and differences among women, the intersection of gender with race and class dynamics, violence against women, feminism, and women’s movements. Approved for University Studies (Explorations). |
Upper Division Courses
| WS 301 International Women’s Movements |
| 4 credits |
| Examines contemporary feminist movements worldwide. Explores the emergence or re-emergence of feminist organizing in the U.S., Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Topics include the relationship of religion, race, class, and sexual orientation to conceptualizations of feminism worldwide; women’s rights as human rights; economic development, transnational corporations and their impact on women’s roles; and sexual rights and reproductive freedom. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division University Studies requirements. |
| WS 302 Contemporary U.S. Women’s Movements |
| 4 credits |
| Explores the origins of contemporary feminist movements in the U.S. Examines such controversial topics as pornography, date/acquaintance rape, sexual harassment, abortion, and reproductive rights. Studies the history of feminist social movements, organizations, and the development of feminist social theory. Includes the contributions of feminists of color and lesbian feminists and looks at the ways in which race, class, and sexual orientation affect women’s lives. |
| WS 303 Sex, Gender, Violence, and Justice |
| 4 credits |
| Explores historical and contemporary understandings of hate crimes, domestic violence, sexual assault, institutional violence, warfare, human trafficking, cultural appropriation, and cultural relativism from multidisciplinary perspectives. Students will learn local-to-global critical analysis of these issues and explore ways to become effective agents of change. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. |
| WS 399 Special Studies |
| Credits to be arranged |
| WS 401 Research |
| Credits to be arranged |
| Stresses the development of research and writing skills. Research projects must be approved by the program director and Women’s Studies Council. |
| WS 405/505 Reading and Conference |
| Credits to be arranged |
| WS 409 Practicum |
| Credits to be arranged (maximum 15 credits) |
| Students work in organizations and settings that focus on women’s and gender issues. They analyze this experience using the critical perspectives gained in women’s studies courses. Placements are arranged to suit individual interests and career goals and may include social service agencies (on and off campus), women’s advocacy programs, political and nonprofit organizations, and mentorship programs with professional women in the area. |
| WS 417 Sexual Politics in U.S. History |
| 4 credits |
| Examines historical changes in and struggles over the meaning, regulation, and politics of sexuality in the United States from the period of settlement to the present. Explores the relationship of gender, race, class, and region to sexual experience and identity. Focuses on the rise of gay, lesbian, and bisexual identity and politics. Also investigates debates over sex education, birth control, prostitution, pornography, AIDS, and the moral panics elicited by these issues. Topics vary each term. |
| WS 418 Intimate Violence Victim Advocacy Skills |
| 4 credits |
| Provides forty hours of advocacy skills training for those interested in working with victims/survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and other forms of sexual and domestic violence. Topics include: understanding the impact of sexual violence on victims/survivors, the social and cultural contexts in which sexual and domestic violence occurs, public policy and laws related to sexual and domestic violence, and the roles and limitations of services from advocates while they assist victims/survivors with law enforcement, the legal system, social services, and medical services. Prerequisite: Instructor consent or successful completion of WS 201. |
Graduate Courses
| WS 501 Graduate Research |
| 4 credits |
|
