Click here for Fall 1999 semester Explanatory Notes from the Women's Studies program

Associate Professors Malcolmson (English), Chair, Eames (Anthropology)(on leave, winter semester and Short Term), and López (Spanish)(winter semester and Short Term); Assistant Professors Shulman (Mathematics)(on leave, winter semester), Hill (Political Science), Shankar (English), and Herzig (Women's Studies)

Women's studies at Bates is an interdisciplinary program of study. In addition to core courses in methodology and specialized women's studies courses in science studies, the program draws upon the expertise of a wide range of faculty members from the disciplines of anthropology, art, classics, economics, English, French, history, mathematics, Japanese, political science, psychology, rhetoric, Russian, sociology, and Spanish, among others. The majority of faculty members has contributed to the program's curriculum, as have most departments and programs. Core courses offered by these faculty members focus directly on women, gender, and/or sexuality. Courses that include approximately one-third (or more) women's studies content are defined as women's studies component courses.

The goal of the Women's Studies Program is to enable students to recognize and use gender as an effective analytical tool. This method of analysis can help us to understand the realities and meanings of women's lives in many cultures and historical periods. Women's studies not only increases what we know about women, it enriches our understanding of men and allows us to understand gender relations -- how the roles assigned to men and women structure our societies and shape our personal interactions and public policies. The courses offered provide a cross- cultural comparison and encourage students to view women's experience from the perspectives of a variety of fields. Students may choose either to major or to pursue a secondary concentration in women's studies.

Secondary Concentration option. Students' proposed programs of study, consisting of seven courses, are normally approved by the program committee in the fall of their junior year. Normally, a secondary concentration in women's studies consists of Women's Studies 100, 201, 250, at least two 300-level core or component women's studies courses, and two other committee-approved courses.

Major requirements. Any student considering a major in women's studies should take Women's Studies 100 and Women's Studies 250 before the end of the sophomore year. Students must complete the following set of requirements: a total of ten courses, including Women's Studies 100, 201, 250, 400, and 458 (senior thesis). In addition, one of the ten courses must be a 300-level (or 400-level) core course. The remainder must be chosen from the list of women's studies core and component courses that follows. The list represents only those courses which are currently part of the Bates curriculum. Students may use courses -- including first-year seminars and topics courses -- which were listed as women's studies core or component courses in a previous year, provided the catalog year is one in which the student was matriculated. No more than one Short Term unit may be counted toward the major.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, many courses in women's studies have prerequisites in other departments. Many majors also develop a focus in one division or group of departments, and need to supplement their women's studies courses with other courses in that area of focus. Majors should plan their schedules carefully and are urged to consult regularly with the chair to ensure that their programs have both breadth and depth. Majors should consider taking Women's Studies 400 in the junior year because this course includes theoretical thinking, which can help prepare them for the senior thesis.

A thesis advisor is chosen by each student, in consultation with the chair, according to the subject matter of the thesis. Planning for the senior thesis and choosing a thesis advisor begin in the junior year. Majors normally write their theses in the second semester of the senior year and, with the assistance of their advisor, submit a thesis proposal to the Committee on Women's Studies by Thanksgiving break to enroll in 458 (or, for those beginning to write their theses in the fall semester, by April 1), that is, during the semester before thesis writing begins.

100. Introduction to Women's Studies. An interdisciplinary study of women's experiences in cross- cultural and historical perspective. Emphasis is given to the diversity of women's lives and to the potential for solidarity among women divided by race, class, ethnicity, age, (dis)ability, sexuality, nationality, and religion. Enrollment limited to 45. R. Herzig.

121G. Asian American Women Writers. This course examines fictional, autobiographical, and critical writings by Asian American women including Meena Alexander, Sui Sin Far, Gish Jen, Maxine Hong Kingston, Trinh Minh-ha, Bharati Mukherjee, Tahira Naqvi, Cathy Song, Marianne Villanueva, and Hisaye Yamamoto from a sociohistorical perspective. A study of their issues, with concerns of personal and cultural identity, as both Asian and American, as females, as minorities, as (often) postcolonial subjects, highlights the varied immigration and social histories of women from different Asian countries, often homogenized as “Oriental” in mainstream American cultural representations. This course is the same as English 121G. Enrollment limited to 25 per section. L. Shankar.

200. Women's Journey: Still Waters Run Deep. Women in biblical literature, post-biblical literature, and in the oral literature of the Middle East are not silent bystanders. They actively define the world around them and pursue their own relationship with the divine, their environment, and the search for perfection. This course is the same as Religion 200. Open to first-year students. M. Caspi.

201. African American Women and Feminist Thought. African American history, like white American history, omits the struggles and contributions of its women. Using historical perspectives, the individual and collective experiences of African American women are examined. Particular attention is given to developing knowledge and understanding of African American women's 1) experiences of enslavement; 2) efforts at self- definition and self-sufficiency; 3) social and political activism; and 4) forging of Afra- American/multicultural/womanist/feminist thought. Open to first-year students. Staff.

210. Technology in U.S. History. A survey of the development, distribution, and use of technology in the United States from colonial roadways to microelectronics, using primary and secondary source material. Subjects treated include the emergence of the factory system; the rise of new forms of power, transportation, and communication; sexual and racial divisions of labor; and the advent of corporate sponsored scientific research. Enrollment is limited to 40. R. Herzig

234. Third World Women and Gender in Economic Development. This course is designed to give students a critical introduction to the central issues within the field of women/gender in economic development in developing societies. Students approach this topic by exploring three broad themes. First, they examine the conceptual literature related to economic development and gender. Second, they explore praxis-oriented strategies to include women/gender in economic development projects. Finally, they explore how mainstream discourses and practices of development are being critiqued and influenced by Third World feminism. Open to first-year students. Enrollment is limited to 40. This course is the same as Political Science 234. K. Asher

239. Black Women in Music. Angela Davis states, “Black people were able to create with their music an aesthetic community of resistance, which in turn encouraged and nurtured a political community of active struggle for freedom.” This course examines the role of black women as critics, composers, and performers who challenge externally defined controlling images. Topics include: black women in the music industry; black women in music of the African diaspora; and black women as rappers, jazz innovators, and musicians in the classical and gospel traditions. This course is the same as African American Studies 239 and Music 239. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. L. Williams.

250. Interdisciplinary Studies: Methods and Modes of Inquiry. Interdisciplinarity involves more than a meeting of disciplines. Practitioners stretch methodological norms and reach across disciplinary boundaries. Through examination of a single topic, this course introduces students to interdisciplinary methods of analysis. Students examine what practitioners actually do, and work to become practitioners themselves. Prerequisite(s): any two courses in women's studies, African American studies, or American cultural studies. This course is the same as African American Studies 250 and American Cultural Studies 250. T. Chin.

264. Voice and Gender. This course focuses on the gender-related differences in voice from the beginning of language acquisition through learning and development of a human voice. A variety of interdisciplinary perspectives is examined according to the different determinants of voice production-- physiological, psychological, social interactional, and cultural. Students explore how race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and age affect vocal expression. Students also analyze “famous” and “attractive” human voices and discuss what makes them so. Recommended background: Theater 263, Women's Studies 100. This course is the same as Theater 264. Open to first-year students. K. Vecsey.

266. Gender, Race, and Science. Examines the intersections of gender and race in the norms and practices of modern science. Using methods drawn from philosophy, history, sociology, and anthropology, the course investigates: 1) participation in the sciences by white women and people of color; 2) the formation of scientific concepts of racial and sexual difference; and 3) the influence of gender and race on key scientific categories such as nature, objectivity, and experimentation. Open to first-year students. R. Herzig.

267. Blood, Genes, and American Culture. Places recent popular and scientific discussions of human heredity and genetics in social, political, and historical context. Topics include racial categories of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, eugenics, the “gay gene,” cloning and reproductive rights, the patenting and commercialization of genetic material, the Bell Curve, and the Human Genome Project. Recommended background: coursework in biology. R. Herzig.

343. Women, Culture, and Health. This course examines a variety of perspectives on women's health issues. Issues include reproductive health, body image, sexuality, substance use and abuse, mental health, cancer, AIDS, heart disease, poverty, work, violence, access to health care, and aging. Each topic is examined in sociocultural context, and the complex relationship between individual health and cultural demands or standards is explored. Prerequisite(s): Psychology 211 or 303. Open to first-year students. This course is the same as Psychology 343. K. Low

348. Latina Women Writers in the United States. This course provides an overview of the works of Latin American women writers who associate themselves with the United States. It covers poetry, short stories, theater, essays, and autobiographies. Authors may include Marjorie Agosin, Julia Alvarez, Cherrie Moraga, and Gloria Anzaldœa. Prerequisite(s): Spanish 215 and 216. Written permission of the instructor is required. Open to first-year students. This course is the same as Spanish 348. L. Umpierre

350. Walking the Edge: About Borders. What happens to identity when we move beyond conventional definitions of space, region, territory, or nation? What happens when a hybrid or mestiza subject defies traditional categories of nationality, ethnicity, race, or gender? This advanced seminar explores the fluid, unpredictable dynamic of "borderlands" beyond such boundaries, those places where identity and relationships are always in process. The course raises questions about representations and expressions of those who inhabit the borderlands--women of color, women of mixed heritage, women of multiple nationality--in order to reconceptualize notions of the self. Prerequisite(s): one women's studies or literature course. Enrollment is limited to 20. C. Guzm‡n and M. Rice-DeFosse

360. Independent Study. Independent study of selected topics by individual students. Registration is granted only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a research project and has secured the sponsorship of a faculty member to direct the study and evaluate the results. Students must meet periodically with faculty and complete papers or projects. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

365. Special Topics. A course or seminar offered from time to time and reserved for a special topic selected by the Committee on Women's Studies. Staff.

400. Junior-Senior Seminar. This seminar is an advanced inquiry into feminist theories and methods. Drawing on work in several disciplinary fields, students ask how using gender as a category of analysis illuminates and/or changes the questions of other disciplines. Students also investigate the development of core theories and methods within women's studies. Prerequisites: five courses in women's studies. Required of all majors.

400B. Feminist Literary Criticism. A study of current modes of feminist literary theory, including materialist, deconstructionist, and psychoanalytic approaches. The course considers theories of the contribution of literature to the social construction of gender, class, race, and sexuality. It analyzes how particular approaches imply models of the family, society, uses of history, and attitudes toward the position of women writers. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level English course. This course is the same as English 395L. Enrollment limited to 15. Written permission of the instructor is required. L. Shankar.

457. 458. Senior Thesis. The research and writing of an extended essay or report, or the completion of a creative project, under the supervision of a faculty member. Majors normally register for 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Women's Studies 457 in the fall semester and 458 in the winter semester. Staff.

Short Term Units

s24. Technology in New England. A historical survey of the development and use of technologies in New England, focusing on gendered divisions of labor. Students travel to regional historical sites, factories, and corporations in order to examine the machines and processes under consideration. Topics include colonial manufactures, early textile production, extractive industries, infrastructure development, and biotechnology. Enrollment is limited to 12. R. Herzig

s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit is granted only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a faculty member to direct the study and evaluate the results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

The following courses meet the 1998-1999 requirements for the women's studies major.

Core Courses

Courses on women, gender, and/or sexuality:

African American Studies/Music/Women's Studies 239. Black Women in Music.

Anthropology 275. Gender Relations in Comparative Perspective.

Art 287. Women and Modern Art.
Art 375. Issues of Sexuality and the Study of Art.

Biology 130. Life, Sex, and Cells.

Classics 201. Women in Antiquity.

Economics 230. Economics of Women, Men, and Work.
Economics s25. Women and Work in Taiwan.

Education 240. Gender Issues and Education.

English 121G. Asian American Women Writers.
English 395J. The Gothic Tradition.
English 395P. Pre-1800 Women Writers.
English s30. Feminist Literary Criticism.

First-Year Seminar 177. Doing It, Getting It, Seeing It, Reading It.
First-Year Seminar 219. Growing Up Latino/a: Literary Constructions.
First-Year Seminar 228. Civil War Women.

French 352. French Literature of the Seventeenth Century.

German 246. Female Figures in German Film.

History 282. Gender in Latin American History.
History 390B. Women and Men in American History.
History 390C. Gender and the American Civil War.
History 390M. Holocaust Memoirs: Gender/Memory.
History s39A. Wollstonecraft: First Feminist.

Japanese 250. Modern Japanese Women's Literature.

Music/African American Studies/Women's Studies 239. Black Women in Music.
Music 260. Women and Music.

Philosophy 262. Philosophy and Feminism.

Political Science 155. Women, Power, and Political Systems: Introduction to Women and Politics.
Political Science 234. Third World Women and Gender in Economic Development.
Political Science 235. Black Women in the Americas.
Political Science 245. Political Change, Gender Politics.
Political Science 329. Law and Gender.
Political Science 335. Black Political Thought.
Political Science 347. Gender and the State.
Political Science 352. Women as Political Subjects.

Psychology 370. Psychology of Women and Gender.
Psychology 403B. Rape and Domestic Abuse.

Religion/Women's Studies 200. Women's Journey: Still Waters Run Deep.

Rhetoric 275. African American Public Address.

Russian 240. Women and Russia.

Sociology 270. Sociology of Gender.
Sociology s20. Gender and Childhood.

Spanish 344. Women Writers of Post-Franco Spain.

Theater 110. Women in Film.
Theater/Women's Studies 264. Voice and Gender.

Women's Studies/Religion 200. Women's Journey: Still Waters Run Deep.
Women's Studies/African American Studies/Music 239. Black Women in Music.
Women's Studies/Theater 264. Voice and Gender.

Component Courses

Courses with approximately one-third women's studies content:

Anthropology 101. Social Anthropology.
Anthropology 234/Religion 261. Myth, Folklore, and Popular Culture.
Anthropology/Sociology 325. Ethnicity, Nation, and World Community.

Art 225. Iconography.
Art 265. The Early Renaissance: Interpreting European Art, 1250-1450.
Art 266. The High Renaissance and Mannerism: Interpreting European Art, 1450-1600.
Art 283. Contemporary Art.
Art s29. Just View It: Popular Culture, Critical Stances.

Classics 200. Ancient Comedy and Satire.

Economics 336. Population Economics.

English 121I. Reading “Race” and Ethnicity in American Literature.
English 238. Jane Austen: Then and Now.
English 241. American Fiction.
English 250. The African American Novel.
English 294. Storytelling.
English 395A. Twentieth-Century Caribbean Narrative.
English 395B. Dissenting Traditions in Twentieth-Century American Literature.
English 395F. To Light: Five Twentieth-Century American Women Poets.
English 395G. Postcolonial Literatures and Theory.
English 395K. African American Literary and Cultural Criticism.
English s25. Sociocultural Approaches to Children's Literature.

First-Year Seminar 224. Black Culture and Black Consciousness in Diaspora.

French 240C. Problématiques de l'Identité.
French 250. Introduction to French Literature I.
French 251. Introduction to French Literature II.
French 351. Early French Literature.
French 353. French Literature of the Eighteenth Century.
French 354. French Literature of the Nineteenth Century.
French 355. French Literature of the Twentieth Century.
French 365C. The Dynamics of the Durassian Love Cycle.
French 370. L' Individu Face à la Société.

German 242. German Literature of the Twentieth Century II.
German 243. Introduction to German Poetry.
German 260. Germany and Its Others.

History 141. America in the Nineteenth Century.
History 144. Social History of the Civil War.
History 181. Latin America.
History 224. The Old Regime and the Revolution in France.
History 276. Japan Since 1945 Through Film and Literature.

Japanese 240. Japanese Literature: A Survey.

Music 102. Composers, Performers, and Audiences.
Music 254. Music and Drama.

Philosophy 211. Philosophy of Science.
Philosophy 258. Philosophy of Law.

Political Science 165. Politics and Popular Culture.
Political Science 191. Western Political Theory.
Political Science 296. Contract and Community.
Political Science 297. The Household and Political Theory.
Political Science 298. Sexuality and the Politics of Difference.
Political Science 346. Power and Protest.

Psychology 202. Human Sexuality.
Psychology 240. Developmental Psychology.

Religion 235. Ancient Israel: History, Religion, and Literature.
Religion 236. Introduction to the New Testament.
Religion 241. History of Christian Thought I: Conflict, Self-Definition, and Dominance.
Religion 261/Anthropology 234. Myth, Folklore, and Popular Culture.

Rhetoric 255. Moving Pictures: The Rhetoric of Committed Documentary.
Rhetoric 331. Rhetorical Theory and Practice.

Sociology 120. Race, Gender, Class, and Society.

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