During Spring 2010, the following courses will be offered for credit toward a Women's and Gender Studies minor. Students may also petition the Head of Women's and Gender Studies for permission to use a course not listed here for credit.
PHIL 275: The Unruly Body: Philosophy, Science, and Culture. In this course students will examine theories of embodiment. Beginning with the history of philosophy (from Aristotelian biology to the Cartesian mind-body split), we consider how the body is considered mere matter, a building block that is unpredictable and passionate, and needs to be controlled, subordinated, or shaped by the mind or the soul. After discussing the examination, depiction, and reconstruction of the body in science, the course proceeds to explore the social-cultural influences to which the (mindful) body is subjected. Notably we will discuss Foucault's account of docile bodies. Lastly, we will consider how we can rethink, relive, regard, refigure, restore, and respect our bodies and the bodies of others in more productive and thought-provoking ways.(HU, GE4c.) Professor Verhage
SPAN 295: Special Topics in Conversation: Hispanic Women in Literature, Cinema, and Society. This course focuses on women in the Hispanic world and on social issues concerning the role of women in society and the advancement of female agency, as seen through literature, news articles, cinema, and life in the community. The course is organized around several broad issues, including: "Female Identity and the Construction of Gender;" "The Public and the Private: Women's Roles in Society;" "Motherhood;" "The Immigrant Woman;" and "Ecofeminism." For each topic students read literary works by Hispanic women writers, including novels, short stories, and poetry, and selections of news articles; and see, discuss, and analyze movies by and about Hispanic women. In addition, the course has a community service component, with students using their Spanish language skills to work every week with Hispanic women from the area, through various community organizations in Rockbridge County. This is an intensive reading and writing course, with appropriate assignments designed to enhance the course's primary emphasis on conversational skills. Professor Pinto-Bailey
WGS 150: Women in Sport. This course will explore the history of women's access to and participation in sport in the United States. Students will examine women's opportunities in sport in the United States, including an in-depth study of Title IX and its effectiveness and influence. A critical perspective will be used to examine social and cultural considerations, media image and gender stereotypes. Professor Levine
