WGSS - Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

WGSS408 Literature by Women Before 1800 (3 Credits)

Selected writings by women in the medieval and early modern era.

Prerequisite: Must have two ENGL or WGSS courses beyond Fundamental Studies; or must have permission of the English Department.

Cross-listed with: ENGL408.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

WGSS410 Women of the African Diaspora (3 Credits)

Explores the lives, experiences, and cultures of women of Africa and the African diaspora--African-America, the Caribbean, and Afro-Latin America. A variety of resources and materials will be used providing a distinctive interdisciplinary perspective.

Credit Only Granted for: WMST410 or WGSS410.

Formerly: WMST410.

WGSS411 Black Queer Studies (3 Credits)

Black Queer Studies is an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach to LGBTQ+ Studies and Black Studies. In this course, we will center Blackness to meditate upon the overlapping and interwoven categories of race, gender, and sexuality with the goal of decoupling whiteness from LGBTQ+ studies and decoupling heterosexuality from Black studies. We will look at texts from the humanities and social sciences as well literature and film in order to trace topical trajectories of Black queer thought. We will explore the meaning of queerness in relation to blackness, touch upon moments in black queer history, analyze questions of black queer representation and erasure, and press upon "hot button" topics such as queer identity and the black church, African and global queer and trans identities, Blackness and homophobia, white LGBTQ+ racism, and Black queer pleasure. Throughout we will consider how Black queer liberation can and has provided tools and a guide for our collective liberation.

Cross-listed with: LGBT411, AAAS416.

Credit Only Granted for: LGBT411, WGSS411, LGBT448L, or AAAS416.

Formerly: LGBT448L.

WGSS422 Asian American Women and Gender (3 Credits)

Examines Asian/American cultural production along with theories of gender and sexuality in the field of Asian American Studies. We consider how Asian American femininities/masculinities are conceived and circulated, drawing from a diverse selection of twentieth-century and contemporary texts, films and images that connect Asian American bodies to ideas of absence, danger, inscrutability, hyper- or hypo-sexuality, and virulence. Beginning with early to mid-twentieth century representations, the course attends to theories that clarify the contested relationship between the East/West and Asia/U.S. Also examined are the methods through which bodies differentiated by sex, gender, and race are managed, surveilled, and rehabilitated, with close attention to the enduring legacies of American expansionism and conquest, anti-immigration policies in the U.S., and twentieth-century wars and occupations in Asia. The course engages Women of Color feminisms, queer theory, and disability studies.

Cross-listed with: AAST422.

Credit Only Granted for: AAST498G, AAST422, or WGSS 422.

Formerly: AAST498G.

WGSS425 Gender Roles and Social Institutions (3 Credits)

Relationship between gender roles and the structure of one or more social institutions (e.g., the economy, the family, the political system, religion, education). The incorporation of gender roles into social institutions; perpetuation or transformation of sex roles by social institutions; how changing gender roles affect social institutions.

Credit Only Granted for: SOCY425, WMST425 or WGSS425.

Formerly: WMST425.

WGSS428 Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)

Thematic exploration of a topic in women, gender, and sexuality studies.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST428.

WGSS438 Advanced Topics in LGBTQ Studies (3 Credits)

Advanced Topics in LGBTQ Studies

Cross-listed with: LGBT438.

Repeatable to: 9 credits.

WGSS441 Feminism, AI, and Health (3 Credits)

Situated at the intersection of feminist theory, AI, and health care, this interdisciplinary course will investigate the sociopolitical and ethical implications of emerging technologies in medical contexts. Drawing on feminist critiques of technology, we will explore how systems of oppression--including sexism, racism, ableism, and colonialism--shape the design, deployment, and impact of AI in health care. Students will engage with scholarly texts, discussions, and activities to analyze the historical entanglement of gender, race, and health care; the epistemic foundations of feminist knowledge production; the ethics of datafication and surveillance; and the transformative potential of feminist praxis. Coursework will include case studies, debates, and a final project envisioning inclusive, justice-oriented futures for AI in health care.

WGSS444 Feminist Critical Theory (3 Credits)

Issues in contemporary feminist thought that have particular relevance to textual studies, such as theories of language, literature, culture, interpretation, and identity.

Prerequisite: WMST200, WGSS200, WMST250, WGSS250, or ENGL250.

Cross-listed with: ENGL444.

Credit Only Granted for: ENGL444, WMST444 or WGSS444.

Formerly: WMST444.

WGSS448 Literature by Women of Color (3 Credits)

Literature by women of color in the United States, Britain, and in colonial and post-colonial countries.

Prerequisite: Must have two ENGL or WGSS courses beyond Fundamental Studies; or must have permission of the English Department.

Cross-listed with: ENGL448.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

WGSS449 Special Topics in LGBTQ Studies (3 Credits)

In-depth study of particular themes and issues in LGBTQ studies.

Prerequisite: LGBT200; or permission of LGBT Studies Program.

Cross-listed with: LGBT448.

Restriction: Junior standing or higher.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

WGSS452 Women in the Media (3 Credits)

Participation and portrayal of women in the mass media from colonial to contemporary times.

Cross-listed with: JOUR452.

Credit Only Granted for: JOUR452, WMST452 or WGSS452.

Formerly: WMST 452.

WGSS455 Women in Medieval Culture and Society (3 Credits)

Medieval women's identity and cultural roles: the condition, rank and rights of medieval women; their access to power; a study of women's writings and the constraints of social constructs upon the female authorial voice; and contemporary assumptions about women.

Cross-listed with: HIST495.

Credit Only Granted for: HIST495, WMST455 or WGSS455.

Formerly: WMST455.

WGSS456 Women and Society in the Middle East (3 Credits)

Examines the customs, values and institutions that have shaped women's experience in the Middle East in the past and in the contemporary Middle East.

Recommended: Prior coursework in Middle East studies or gender studies.

Cross-listed with: HIST492.

Credit Only Granted for: HIST492, WMST456 or WGSS456.

Formerly: WMST456.

WGSS458 Literature by Women After 1800 (3 Credits)

Selected writings by women after 1800.

Prerequisite: Must have two ENGL or WGSS courses beyond Fundamental Studies; or must have permission of the English Department.

Cross-listed with: ENGL458.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

WGSS468 Feminist Cultural Studies (3 Credits)

Each version of this course focuses on one or several forms of popular culture -- such as TV, music, film, cyber-culture, or genre fiction (for example, science fiction) -- and demonstrates how feminists value, critique and explain such forms. Tools of feminist cultural studies include economic and social analyses of power, race, sexuality, gender, class, nationality, religion, technology, and globalization processes.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST468.

WGSS469 Study Abroad Special Topics IV (1-6 Credits)

Special topics course taken as part of an approved study abroad program.

Repeatable to: 15 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST469.

WGSS471 Women's Health (3 Credits)

Women's health issues and the barriers faced by women striving to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Emphasis is placed on socio-cultural, historical, political, economic, and behavioral factors. Students will examine topics including access to healthcare, women in the workforce, women's sexual and reproductive health, preventive health, screenings and wellness, and the interpersonal and social aspects of women's health. This course is designed to support students in their personal exploration of attitudes, knowledge, and values related to women's health and to assist them as they analyze their individual behaviors.

Cross-listed with: HLTH471.

Restriction: Must be in a program in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; or must be in a major within SPHL-Behavioral & Community Health department.

Credit Only Granted for: HLTH471, WMST471, or WGSS471.

Formerly: WMST471.

WGSS475 Magical Black Femmes: Queering Black Femininity (3 Credits)

Queer femme identity, rooted in 1940s and 1950s bar culture, continues to resonate. Often linked with butch, femme is a queer, feminine expression that challenges the binary tying femininity to cisgender, heterosexual women. Femme exists outside that frame. Black women have long moved beyond white heteropatriarchal norms, and Black femmes of all genders have turned that resistance into power. This course explores Black femme identity as a radical critique of gender, sexuality, and whiteness. Through cultural studies and humanities methods, we will examine femme's complexity and how it unsettles what we assume about queerness, femininity, and identity.

Recommended: LGBT200 or another LGBT course.

Cross-listed with: LGBT475, AAAS475.

Credit Only Granted for: LGBT475, WGSS475, AAAS475 or LGBT448E.

Formerly: LGBT448E.

WGSS486 Advanced Feminist, Critical Race, and Queer Theories (3 Credits)

Provides undergraduates with a survey of foundational texts in the intersecting fields of feminist, critical race, and queer studies, as well as an overview of current scholarship in order to give students an opportunity to understand the origins and the development of these fields. This course is especially recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate education. Our discussions will be focused on the trajectories of these intellectual conversations as they have developed in the academy.

Prerequisite: WMST301 or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

WGSS487 Advanced Projects Seminar in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies (3 Credits)

A research seminar that allows students to focus their developed skills on a single topic of their own choosing while meeting regularly in seminar to discuss, critique, support, and learn from their peers' projects and assessments. Students choose a topic based on their own interests and prior coursework, perform advanced research appropriate to the question, and formulate an appropriate method of presentation of their research findings. The culminating presentation may take the form of a written paper or a creative, digital, or activist project.

Prerequisite: WGSS301.

Restriction: Must be in an undergraduate program in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Credit Only Granted for: WMST487 or WGSS487.

Formerly: WMST487.

WGSS488 Advanced Seminar (3 Credits)

Seminar for advanced majors in women's studies or other students with appropriate preparation. Interdisciplinary topics will vary each semester.

Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

WGSS489 Individual Research in Gender, Race and Queer Studies (3 Credits)

Allows students who wish to continue the research they began in WMST487 or WGSS487 to do so under the guidance of an individual faculty mentor. Each student taking this class will develop an individual syllabus based on the project on which they are working, with the goal of developing a work of scholarship specific to their interests that can serve as an entry point for graduate study or professional work.

Prerequisite: WMST487 or WGSS487.

Repeatable to: 9 credits.

WGSS491 Judaism and the Construction of Gender (3 Credits)

The study of Jewish culture, religious practice, communal authority, and literature through the frame of such critical categories of analysis as gender, sexuality, masculinity, power, ethics, and the feminine.

Prerequisite: 1 course in JWST; or 1 course in LGBT; or 1 course in WMST or WGSS.

Cross-listed with: JWST491.

Credit Only Granted for: JWST491, WMST491 or WGSS491.

Formerly: WMST491.

WGSS492 Sex, Gender, and Jewish Identity (3 Credits)

An exploration of Jewish embodiment, including dynamics related to biological sex, culturally-framed gender, and sexuality. Topics of discussion may include transgender and intersex Jews, stereotypes and gender performance, modesty, genetics, and body alteration. Focus is on contemporary Jewish culture, framed within the larger historical and textual tradition.

Prerequisite: 1 course in WGSS; or 1 course in JWST; or 1 course in LGBT; or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed with: JWST492, LGBT448W.

Credit Only Granted for: JWST492, JWST409G, LGBT448W, WMST498W or WGSS492.

Formerly: WMST498W and JWST409G.

WGSS496 African-American Women Filmmakers (3 Credits)

Examines the cinematic artistry of African-American women filmmakers and the ways in which these films address the dual and inseparable roles of race and gender.

Credit Only Granted for: WMST496 or WGSS496.

Formerly: WMST496.

WGSS497 Professional Development (1 Credit)

To assist students in thinking about the next step post-undergraduate degree and to think long term about the importance of their WMST degree in lifelong career, personal, and political development. This course will provide students an opportunity to reflect upon where they are going beyond the B.A. and develop ways to communicate how their coursework and experiences at UMD have prepared them for the next step. The course will focus on the practicalities of resume writing, internship or job searches, etc. but also on the specific challenges/opportunities of translating interdisciplinary training to professional internship or beyond-the B.A. sites. Students may take this course in preparation for their internship (working to select an appropriate internship that can translate well to post-undergraduate aspirations) or they may take it post-internship as they determine their post-graduation steps.

Prerequisite: 12 credits in LGBT, WMST or WGSS courses.

Restriction: Must have completed a minimum of 75 credits.

Credit Only Granted for: WMST497 or WGSS497.

Formerly: WMST497.

WGSS498 Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)

Advanced study of a thematic topic in women, gender, and sexuality studies.

Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST498.

WGSS499 Independent Study (1-3 Credits)

Research and writing or specific readings on a topic selected by the student and supervised by a faculty member of the Women's Studies Department.

Prerequisite: 1 course in WMST or WGSS.

Restriction: Permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST499.

WGSS601 Theoretical Foundations in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 Credits)

Examines fundamental concepts in the interdisciplinary field of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Engages intersectionality as a critical analytic and set of responses to structural power and domination. Provides students with a theoretical foundation for understanding gender, race, and sexuality as analytic categories operating in transnational and global contexts and intersecting with other categories of difference.

Prerequisite: WMST400 or WGSS302; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.

Restriction: Must be in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies doctoral or graduate certificate program.

Credit Only Granted for: WMST601 or WGSS601.

Formerly: WMST601.

WGSS602 Methodologies and Epistemologies in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 Credits)

Examines the politics and practice of knowledge production in the interdisciplinary field of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Explores how theory is connected to the formation of raced/gendered/sexed bodies, subjectivities, and existences that unsettle Eurocentric genealogies of disciplinary knowledge formation. Introduces students to methodological and epistemological frameworks for attending to the impact of relations of power and domination on how research and scholarship are created and defined within and across disciplinary boundaries, cultures, and paradigms.

Prerequisite: WMST400 or WGSS302; or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Restriction: Must be in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies doctoral or graduate certificate programs.

Credit Only Granted for: WMST602 or WGSS602.

Formerly: WMST602.

WGSS618 Feminist Pedagogy (3 Credits)

Examines the higher education classroom from a feminist perspective through theory and analysis. Students are graduate teaching assistants with the Women's Studies department.

Restriction: Permission of ARHU-Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Repeatable to: 9 credits.

Formerly: WMST618.

WGSS619 Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Teaching Practicum (1 Credit)

Provides WGSS graduate teaching assistants with ongoing regular faculty supervision during the semesters the students are teaching courses in the department.

Restriction: Must have permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies; and must be a current WGSS teaching assistant.

Repeatable to: 8 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST619.

WGSS628 Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Colloquium (1 Credit)

An intensive advanced exploration of current problems and issues in women, gender, and sexuality studies.

Repeatable to: 12 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST628.

WGSS698 Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 Credits)

Advanced work in selected topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Prerequisite: WMST400 or WGSS302; or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Restriction: Must be in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies doctoral or graduate certificate program; or permission of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Repeatable to: 12 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST698.

WGSS699 Independent Study (1-3 Credits)

Research and writing on specific readings on a topic selected by the student which is approved and supervised by a faculty member of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Restriction: Permission of instructor.

Repeatable to: 9 credits.

Formerly: WMST699.

WGSS708 Research Seminar in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 Credits)

Guides students through the process of developing a research article in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from idea to completed draft, with a view to future publication. Students will work to build research skills and develop their individual projects within the structure, accountability, and collaboration of a seminar format. The work of the class will include arranging individual meetings with core and affiliate Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty who can advise the student on their specific research area.

Restriction: Permission of instructor.

Repeatable to: 9 credits if content differs.

Formerly: WMST708.

WGSS709 Directed Independent Reading for Major Field Exam (1-6 Credits)

Directed reading in preparation for Major Field Exam. In consultation with their advisors, students identify, analyze, critique and synthesize material relevant to their major fields of inquiry. Grading will be based on combinations of oral performance in the bi-weekly meetings, production of annotated bibliographies and synthetic papers.

Restriction: Permission of Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Repeatable to: 12 credits.

Formerly: WMST709.

WGSS799 Masters Thesis Research (1-6 Credits)

Master's Thesis Research

Repeatable to: 9 credits.

Formerly: WMST799.

WGSS898 Pre-Candidacy Research (1-8 Credits)

Pre-Candidacy Research

Repeatable to: 12 credits.

Formerly: WMST898.

WGSS899 Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-8 Credits)

Doctoral Dissertation Research

Repeatable to: 36 credits.

Formerly: WMST899 .