Foundations in Women's and Gender Studies

This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of gender, sexuality, and feminist studies. Examining gender and sexuality always in conjunction with the categories of race and class, the course foregrounds how inequalities are perpetuated in different fields of human activity and the creative ways in which groups have resisted these processes. The course is organized in sections to illuminate the effects of particular social institutions and structures on individual lives. Each section will introduce a broad overview of feminist interventions in different fields of inquiry. Cumulatively, the course reveals the importance of gender and sexuality as analytical categories to understand social reality and to comprehend important areas of culture. 3 hrs. lect.