Women's and Gender Studies
Director: Michelle Comstock (English)
Graduate Advisor: Margaret Woodhull (Humanities)
Office: 1050 9th Street, #102
Telephone: 303-556-5835
Overview
Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST) is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the centrality of gender and sexuality to understanding our past and present worlds. Students and faculty probe assumptions about men and women and question structures of inequality as they play out in local and global contexts. Through a study of gender and sexuality, we expand our thinking about other relations of power, such as race, class, ethnicity, nationality and physical ability. WGST fosters connections with the local community and promotes advocacy of human rights and social justice.
Undergraduate Information
Click here to learn about the requirements for the Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies.
Individually Structured Major
Students interested in a major in Women’s and Gender Studies may develop one through the Individually Structured Major (ISM). The ISM is an interdisciplinary major based on an individual contract rather than a preset list of courses. By choosing an ISM, students can pursue their interests in WGST across a variety of departments. For more information on an ISM in Women’s and Gender Studies, contact Associate Dean Marjorie Levine-Clark and see the Individually Structured Major section of this catalog.
Graduate Information
Please go to the Graduate catalog to read about our graduate programs.
Associated Faculty
Joanne Addison (English)
Chris Agee (History)
Elizabeth Allen (Psychology)
Laura Argys (Economics)
Pompa Banerjee (English)
Soumia Bardhan (Communication)
Nicky Beer (English)
Michelle Comstock (English)
Candan Duran-Aydintug (Sociology)
Paula Espinoza (Ethnic Studies)
Sarah Fields (Communication)
Sarah Hagelin (English)
Rachel Harding (Ethnic Studies)
Amy Hasinoff (Communication)
Joanna Luloff (English)
Donna Langston (Ethnic Studies)
Marjorie Levine-Clark (History)
K. Mohrman (Ethnic Studies)
Candice Shelby (Philosophy)
Gillian Silverman (English)
Sarah Tyson (Philosophy)
Cate Wiley (English)
Margaret Woodhull (Humanities)
Women Studies (WGST)
WGST 1050 - Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (3 Credits)
This course provides an introduction to key concepts, themes and approaches to the interdisciplinary field of women's and gender studies. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 1111 - First Year Seminar (3 Credits)
Restriction: Restricted to Freshman level students. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Freshman level students
WGST 2900 - Smart Girl Leadership Training and Practicum (3 Credits)
Provides leadership and mentoring training, and a practicum in which UCD students mentor teenagers in their community or school settings. Following completion of the training, students work as near-peer mentors and coaches with groups of teenage girls in the Denver community and apply the skills learned in their training. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
WGST 3010 - Sociology of Human Sexuality (3 Credits)
Increases the understanding of differences in views of sexuality, specifically the link between sex and reproduction and its role as the motivation for gender roles and sex acts. Explores the history of sexuality, cross-cultural studies and primate modeling. Cross-listed with SOCY 3010. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 3020 - Gender, Sexuality and Race in American Popular Culture (3 Credits)
This course explores the impact of popular culture on the lived experience of diverse women and men in America. Students will examine how cultural media (including film, television, print ads, music & digital games) can both reproduce and challenge existing structural inequalities. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: Denver Core Requirement, Cultural Diversity.
WGST 3080 - Sex and Gender (3 Credits)
Causes and consequences of sex role differentiation at the individual, group and societal levels. Current issues related to changing norms and values concerning gender in modern society are examined. Cross-listed with SOCY 3080. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 3343 - Women & Gender in US History (3 Credits)
This course will explore women and gender as drivers of US history. From politics to popular culture, jobs to sexual empowerment, civil rights to economic restructuring, we will use gender as a lens to re-envision familiar stories about American history. Cross-listed with WGST 5343, HIST 3343, and HIST 5343. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 3450 - Contemporary Women Writers (3 Credits)
Examines how women write about a specific theme, such as home, work, family, the "other," as well as how women's writing may differ from men's. Theme and genre vary. Prereq: sophomore standing or higher. Cross-listed with ENGL 3450. Term offered: fall, spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Sophomore standing or higher.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
WGST 3700 - Families and Society (3 Credits)
This course explores multiple dimensions of family as a social institution. Using a critical approach, we examine historical, cultural, and political views about families. We consider multiple forms of contemporary families, discuss the many issues facing families, and study how families and family life have become politicized. Cross-listed with SOCY 3700. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 3840 - Independent Study: WGST (1-3 Credits)
Note: Students must submit a special processing form completely filled out and signed by the student and faculty member, describing the course expectations, assignments and outcomes, to the CLAS undergraduate advising office for approval. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
WGST 3939 - Internship (1-3 Credits)
Designed experiences involving application of specific, relevant concepts and skills in supervised employment situations. Prereq: Students must have junior standing and at least a 2.75 GPA and must work with Experiential Learning Center advising to complete a course contract and gain approval. Repeatable. Max Hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Prereq: Junior standing or higher and at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA
WGST 4010 - Special Topics in Women's and Gender Studies (1-3 Credits)
Examines current topics in the field of Women’s studies and Gender studies. Topics vary from term to term. May be repeated as long as the topic is distinct and different from courses student has already received credit for. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
WGST 4150 - Gender Politics in the Middle East: Beyond Orientalism & Islamism (3 Credits)
This course is about Middle Eastern women’s subjectivity and various forms of agency. It explores the nexus of domestic, regional and international forces that shapes the lives of Middle Eastern women, in particular in the Algerian, Egyptian, Iranian, Israeli and Palestinian contexts. Far from being silent observers of the contests among these forces, as is often assumed, Middle Eastern women have been active actors in the public arena since the 19th century colonial encounter and the importation of the modern state to the region using an array of means to make their voices heard. Theirs were often more militant than those of their countrymen.
The course is divided into two parts. The first part provides an overview of the theoretical notions discussed such as Orientalism, agency, colonialism and post-colonialism. Related to this theoretical section is a historical overview that is necessary to the understanding of the contemporary conditions of Middle Eastern women and the continuities and changes
between past and present. The second part covers pressing topics in the lives of Middle Eastern women in the post-independence era such as the rise of Political Islam, the global trend of democratization, war and occupation. The emphasis in this section is on women as active participants in the debates surrounding these issues, rather than as objects of them.
The readings assigned include both texts written by scholars from the region and by others from without. They provide analyses of the contexts within which Middle Eastern women’s struggles take place. In addition, students will be exposed to materials produced by Middle Eastern women activists that express their own opinions and views in order to avoid misrepresentation and to reflect the diversity among them. Cross-listed with PSCI 4150. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4215 - Women's Rights, Human Rights: Global Perspectives (3 Credits)
Explores the global feminist movement's campaign to "engender" human rights. Examination of women's human-rights issues and the critique of this campaign as representing cultural imperialism. Prereq: 6 hours of political science or permission of instructor. Cross-listed with PSCI 4215. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4225 - Urban America (3 Credits)
This course will explore how Americans experienced their rapidly growing and changing cities during the past two hundred years. This course will cover a wide range of urban themes, including segregation and gentrification, self-invention and policing, ethnic gangs and race riots, skyscrapers and suburbia, and commercial sex and Hollywood. The course will ultimately chart how a range of Americans - including immigrants, teenagers, laborers, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color – all fought for their own "right to the city". Cross-listed with HIST 4225, HIST 5225, WGST 5225, GEOG 4625. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4230 - Women in the West (3 Credits)
Focuses on ways in which women, from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century, of different races, classes, and ethnic background, have interacted and been active participants in the development of the western states. Cross-listed with HIST 4230, HIST 5230 and WGST 5230. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4248 - Gender, Development and Globalization (3 Credits)
Examining the cost and impact of globalization; not only on women and gender but economic equality, human movement and displacement, sustainable development and the environment. Highlighting the complexities of a highly interconnected world and intersectional nature of a globalized world, answering the question: Who Wins? Who Loses? Cross-listed with PSCI 4248, PSCI 5245 and WGST 5248. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4270 - Social Meanings of Reproduction (3 Credits)
Reproduction involves more than biological processes, assuming symbolic, political, and ideological meanings. This course examines contested meanings of reproduction, including how people experience reproduction, controversies over who should reproduce (and under what circumstances), and how public policy mediates these conflicts. Cross-listed with SOCY 4270, SOCY 5270 and WGST 5270. Prereq: junior standing or higher or permission of instructor. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: junior standing or higher
WGST 4303 - Sex and Gender in Modern Britain (3 Credits)
Examines modern British history by focusing on sex and gender as central aspects in people's lives. Considers the ways gender shapes the realms of politics, economics, society and culture in Britain from the 18th century to the present. Cross-listed with HIST 4303/5303 and WGST 5303. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4305 - Women of Color Feminisms (3 Credits)
This course is an overview of women of color feminist theorizing (thinking) and praxis (practice) in the U.S. We will explore these feminisms through the writing, art, and organizing efforts of women and trans, femme, and non-binary people of color with a focus on key themes and concepts including identity, difference, oppression, intersectionality, representation, violence, resistance, empowerment, solidarity, and coalition. Texts for the course highlight key issues in the feminist theorizing and praxis of Black, Latina/x, Chicana/x, Asian (American), Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and Arab (American) women and trans, femme, and non-binary people of color, especially the politics of identity and representation; structural oppressions and violences; and practices of survival, resistance, and activism. Not only will we examine how these feminists have critiqued oppression(s) based on race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and religion, (as well as how these systems of domination intersect), but what kinds of approaches, strategies, and changes these thinkers and activists have organized for and promoted. Cross-listed with WGST 5305, ETST 4305 and ETST 5305. Max hours: 3 Credits
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Spring.
WGST 4306 - Survey of Feminist Thought (3 Credits)
Examines changes and continuities in feminist thought from the 18th century to the present, using historical and literary materials. Explores the ways that women's characteristics, experiences, and capabilities have been understood and challenged. Cross-listed with ENGL 4306, 5306, HIST 4306, 5306, WGST 5306. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4307 - History of Sexuality (3 Credits)
Explores the relationships between gender and norms, sexual practice, and ideas about sexuality in Europe and the United States. Examines how sex and sexuality have changed over time and how those changes relate to social, cultural, political and economic history. Cross-listed with HIST 4307/5307 and WGST 5307. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4308 - Contemporary Feminist Thought (3 Credits)
This course explores contemporary feminist thought in philosophy and literature in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include lesbianism, black feminism, Chicana feminism, transgender identity, women and work and others. Cross-listed with ENGL 4308, ENGL 5308, PHIL 4308, PHIL 5308, WGST 5308. Term offered: spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Spring.
WGST 4345 - Gender, Science, and Medicine: 1600 to the Present (3 Credits)
Examines the ways science and medicine have both shaped and been shaped by ideas about gender. Pays particular attention to the relationship between scientific/medical ideas about the sexes and the social organization of gender. Cross-listed with HIST 4345/5345 and WGST 5345. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4420 - Goddess Traditions (3 Credits)
Explores the many forms which Goddesses have assumed through history, including the Neolithic Great Mother and her heiresses in the ancient Mediterranean cultures, such as: Isis, Ishtar, Demeter, Hecate, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena and others, and their parallels in India. Goddess traditions have encompassed a full spectrum from virgins to Great Mothers to dark underworld Goddesses of death and destruction. Cross-listed with RLST 4420/5420 and WGST 5420. Term offered: spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Spring.
WGST 4494 - Red and Blue America: U.S. History, 1973-Present (3 Credits)
This course explores American history during a period of immense cultural and political polarization. After 1973, the United States experienced the rise of the New Right, changing attitudes towards sexual "permissiveness," and rapid advancements in technology. Both "law-and-order" politics and the rights campaigns led by immigrants, women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ peoples all reshaped democracy. These developments in the United States, meanwhile, influenced and were shaped by the nation's "hot" and "cold" conflicts in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the rest of the globe. Cross-listed with WGST 5494, HIST 4494, and HIST 5494. Term offered: fall. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall.
WGST 4500 - Feminist Philosophy (3 Credits)
Seminar on key debates & figures in historical & contemporary feminist philosophy. Topics may include: rights, embodiment, gender, sexuality, race, reason, & violence. Figures may include: Wollstonecraft, Stanton, Beauvoir, Judith Butler, and bell hooks. Cross-listed with WGST 5500, PHIL 4500 & 5500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4510 - Whores and Saints: Medieval Women (3 Credits)
Studies how women are presented in texts, as well as works by women. Investigates the roles open to women and societal attitudes toward women, who were considered seductresses, saints, scholars and warriors in the middle ages. Prereq: Nine hours of literature courses or instructor permission. Cross-listed with ENGL 4510/5510, RLST 4730/5730 and WGST 5510. Term offered: spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Spring.
WGST 4511 - French Women Writers (3 Credits)
Designed to explore writings by French and Francophone women from the Middle Ages to the present. Addresses the question of what it means to be a woman and want to write. The selections include a wide variety of genres: autobiographical writings, stories, poems, manifestos, letters, political and historical documents. Note: This course assumes that students have passed FREN 3112 or 3122 or an equivalent course, plus one other 3000 level course in French. Cross-listed with FREN 4510/5510 and WGST 5511. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4540 - Race, Class, and Gender in Spanish Golden Age Literature (3 Credits)
Explores works of various genres in relation to their social and political contexts in 16th and 17th century Spain, emphasizing the cultural attitudes toward race, class, and gender that inform them. Prereq or Coreq: SPAN 3101. Cross-listed with SPAN 4340/5340 and WGST 5540. Term offered: fall, spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq or Coreq: SPAN 3101
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
WGST 4555 - International Women's Resistance (3 Credits)
Examines local and international struggles of women to build peace and justice by resisting systems of inequality such as colonialism, racism, patriarchy, globalization, and religious intolerance. Cross-listed with PSCI 4555/5555, ETST 4555 and WGST 5555. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4564 - Gender and Politics (3 Credits)
Analysis of the political experience of women and of strategies for change. Emphasis on the U.S. Cross-listed with PSCI 4564. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4610 - Communication, Media, and Sex (3 Credits)
This class develops the tools to think critically about representations of sexuality and to understand the social construction of sexuality, the role of sexual representations in mass media and society, and the complex relationships between sexual acts, identities, and desires. Restriction: Restricted to class level Junior, Senior, or permission of instructor. Cross-listed with COMM 4610. Term offered: fall, spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: junior standing or higher
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
WGST 4660 - Queer Media Studies (3 Credits)
Queer Media Studies, a discussion-based seminar, investigates the history of a variety of LGBTQ+ media — including news, film, television, comics, games, music, and the Internet. Students engage in a variety of media projects to explore LGBTQ+ histories, queer aspects of media production, reception, and media messages. Restriction: Restricted to students with junior standing or higher or permission from the instructor. Cross-listed with COMM 4660, COMM 5660, WGST 5660. Term offered: fall, spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: junior standing or higher
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
WGST 4710 - Women and Religion (3 Credits)
A sociological exploration of the contemporary roles of women in religion. Course examines American and world religious groups with an eye to women's involvement. Considers how women have changed these traditions as they take on leadership roles and discusses the tensions that arise within these traditions as a result of their expanded participation. Cross-listed with HUMN 5710, SSCI 4710/5710, WGST 5710, RLST 4710/5710. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4720 - Sex, Gender, and Visual Representation (3 Credits)
Studies sexuality, gender and identity representation from classical antiquity through the present in the visual arts. Uses the literature of visuality, feminism, race and queer theory. Explores representations of femininity, masculinity and androgyny and their reinforcement and challenge to gender-identity norms. Cross-listed with HUMN 5720, HUMN 4720, IDST 5720, IDST 4720, WGST 5720. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4770 - Viewing Empire: The Art of Imperial and Colonial Propaganda (3 Credits)
Western empires disseminate political, social, economic & cultural practices through complex interplay of cultural practices. Visual production is a complex site for meaning making within imperialism. Examines how visual discourses operated to create meaning for audiences, through focus on postcolonial critique. Cross-listed with HUMN 4770, HUMN 5770, IDST 5770, IDST 4770, SSCI 5770, SSCI 4770, WGST 5770, SJUS 4770, SJUS 5770. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
WGST 4780 - Violence in Relationships (3 Credits)
Course focuses on the study of violence among individuals involved in intimate relationships; factors in society such as norms, laws and institutions that are related to creating violence among intimates; and social policies, prevention, intervention and treatment programs. Cross-listed with SOCY 4780, SOCY 5780 and WGST 5780. Prereq: junior standing or higher or permission of instructor. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Prereq: junior standing or higher
WGST 4827 - Women and the Law (3 Credits)
Examines the role of the courts in the development of public policy toward women; how the legal system affects the economic power, family roles, safety and political participation of women. Cross-listed with PSCI 4827 and ETST 4827. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
WGST 4840 - Independent Study (1-3 Credits)
Note: Students must submit a special processing form completely filled out and signed by the student and faculty member, describing the course expectations, assignments and outcomes, to the CLAS undergraduate advising office for approval. Prereq: permission of instructor. Repeatable. Max Hours: 12 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 12.
WGST 4880 - Directed Research (1-6 Credits)
Students will engage in original research projects supervised and mentored by faculty. Students must work with faculty prior to registration to develop a proposal for their project and receive permission to take this course. Note: Students must submit a special processing form completely filled out and signed by the student and faculty member, describing the course expectations, assignments and outcomes, to the CLAS undergraduate advising office for approval. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
WGST 4933 - Philosophy of Eros (3 Credits)
What does it mean to understand philosophy as an erotic activity? This question will be examined, first by studying Plato's dialogues-such as Lysis, Symposium and Republic-and then by reading texts from Sigmund Freud, Michael Foucault and others. Cross-listed with PHIL 4933/5933, WGST 5933, SSCI 5933 and HUMN 5933. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade