Global Gender Studies (GGS)

GGS Courses

• GGS 101LEC Introduction to Gender and Women's Studies
  Lecture
  

  Introduces students to basic concepts in women's studies. Covers the history of the women's movement and its relation to the rise of women's studies as a discipline. Examines and discusses a multiplicity of 'recurring themes' affecting differing women's lives; including the social construction of gender, the impact of race, sexuality, reproduction, work, education, media, material condition (class), and women's agency. Discusses current controversies among feminists, and the broader political arena. Discovers how studying women's history challenges traditional notions of women and traditional notions of history.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 126SEM Topics in Arts and Culture
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors. This course is the same as AMS 126 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 149SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 167SEM Cross Cultural Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 198SEM UB Seminar
  Seminar
  

  The one credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps transition to UB through an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 198 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.

  Credits: 1
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  Other Requisites: Students who have already successfully completed the UB seminar course may not repeat this course. If you have any questions regarding enrollment for this course, please contact your academic advisor.
  
• GGS 199SEM UB Seminar
  Seminar
  

  The three credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps students with common learning outcomes focused on fundamental expectations for critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and oral communication, and learning at a university, all within topic focused subject matter. The Seminars provide students with an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 199 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  Other Requisites: Students who have already successfully completed the first year seminar course may not repeat this course. If you have any questions regarding enrollment for this course, please contact your academic advisor.
  
• GGS 205LEC Women in the Global System
  Lecture
  

  Explores how the current expansion of the world market is overturning the seclusion of women in traditional societies and looks at the consequences of globalization on the lives of women throughout the world. Women in developing countries share common patterns of location and differentiation within the international division of labor. Examines how women are struggling to represent their identities in the midst of rapid changes in their societies. Examines why more and more women are becoming active in the international human rights movement. Looks at how women are attempting to shape the discourse of development in different regions of the world economy. Intended to develop a multidisciplinary approach to gender and more specifically, to understand how gender is constructed by political, economic, and cultural discourses in industrialized and industrializing societies, and to understand the differences between the lived experiences of women in these societies, the heterogeneous nature of women based on class, race, religion, and nationality, and how women's lives are changing in the context of the global economy.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 212LEC The American Jewish Woman
  Lecture
  

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 213SEM Women in Contemporary Society
  Seminar
  

  Explores the roles, functions, practices, and consciousness of women cross-culturally based in various U.S. communities. Focuses on the socio-cultural history of women's movements, issues and multiple oppressions. By understanding and examining race, class, gender, sexuality and nationality, students will learn how to think, read, and write in a critical and creative framework. Students will discover the importance of "re-claiming and education."

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 222SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 225SEM Violence in a Gendered World
  Seminar
  

  Surveys components in the spectrum of gender-based violence, in the U.S. and in some other countries. Historical, legal, sociological, psychological, literary and first person accounts comprise the course readings. Students will gain an understanding of the dynamics of violence against women and children, social movements that attempt to ameliorate it, and how gender, race, class and theoretical grounding influence local, national and global efforts to end violence and empower women.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 228SEM Introduction to Feminist Theory
  Seminar
  

  Introduces to the complexity of feminist thought and theorizing through a discussion of many of the major schools of feminist thought and past and present debates within feminist theorizing as it has developed both within the United States, and abroad. A solid grasp of the core theories, their fundamental approaches, their insights into social phenomenon and the key criticisms of each, will allow the student to enter into and participate in the ongoing conversations that characterizes feminist thought. Feminist theory has always developed in tandem with feminist movements and activism. Thus, throughout the course, students will not only learn about feminist theories, but also apply the tenets of different theories to current issues and modern problems. Theories are not meant to be passive ideas unrelated to our everyday reality, but are meant to be used as tools to analyze the world around us. As a critical theory, feminist theory aims not only to produce knowledge, but also to provide a base for action. Feminist theories ask us to rethink what we mean by sex and gender, how we understand our sexuality, the roles, status, and ideals assigned to men and women in our societies and how we reward and punish individuals that question, challenge or deviate from these roles. Feminist theory engages with issues of social inequality, oppression, and sexism, and invites us to imagine strategies for creating a world where there is more equality and liberation.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 234LEC Women in the Middle East
  Lecture
  

  Roles of women in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey; women's emancipation movements in these countries; and the impact of Islamic tradition.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 238LEC Women, Work, and Family in the Twentieth Century
  Lecture
  

  Explores the experience of women of different race, class, and ethnic groups regarding changes in women's responsibilities in the family, participation in the labor force, and the development of new family forms. Illuminates contemporary issues regarding work, marriage, and family from a historical perspective. This course is the same as AMS 238 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 239LEC Television, Gender and Society
  Lecture
  

  Traces the rise of commercial television in the United States as a form, which has profoundly impacted upon the representation and social roles of women in the family and the workplace. We assume that television is a major cultural, social, and economic force in American society that has shaped and altered every aspect of our lives, and that as a social force it relies heavily on fixed notions of gender.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 240SEM Women in Contemporary Asia
  Seminar
  

  Surveys contemporary issues for women in East Asia and South East Asia namely, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia Malaysia. One of the main objectives is to analyze the impact of development on various aspects of social life of women in Asia. Examines women's roles and opportunities in the process of development, including women of poor and working class households as well as women from middle class and professional backgrounds. This course is the same as AS 240 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 241SEM Women in Developing Countries, Socio-Economic and Political Perspectives
  Seminar
  

  Survey of women's socio-economic and political status in developing counties. Examination of policies and practices that shape their lives, as well as discourses that construct their experiences. Analyzes women's organizing, advocacy and social mobilization to engender change and equity. Introduction to a broad, interdisciplinary and international literature focusing on current and emerging issues related to women's work and globalization; poverty and inequality; displacement and environmental degradation; social practices such as female genital mutilation; and HIV/AIDS, within national, regional, and global contexts. Course will dwell on a variety of teaching material such as videos, life histories, case studies and policy documents combined with authoritative scholarly sources. The course will combine lectures and discussions, as well as creative projects to promote an interactive learning environment, and to encourage critical thinking among students in analyzing salient issues and theories pertinent to women's conditions in developing countries, and strategies to effect social change.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 242LEC Sexuality in America
  Lecture
  

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 247SEM Women in Latin America
  Seminar
  

  Women's political mobilization and its effects in Latin American countries. Explores how women in Latin America and the Caribbean have participated in the national movements, revolutions, rebellions, and social movements that have dominated Latin America's political, social, and economic development. Readings cover the incredible variety of women's participation by examining women's activism across time, space and political position. Women's struggles to improve the quality of their lives and the lives of others are a central component of the course. However, to avoid romanticizing women's activism, the course also discusses women's actions on behalf of political projects designed to uphold the interests of the elite and the status quo. Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, as elsewhere, live complicated lives, have complicated political goals and commitments, and have different access to political, social, and economic power depending upon their position within the class, racial, ethnic, religious, age, and gender hierarchies of their societies. Over the semester, we will analyze why women have been involved in political movements, the effects of women's activism on women's position within these societies, the changing relationship between men and women, contested understandings of gender relations, and the overall impact of these struggles on the Latin American and Caribbean countries.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 254SEM Women and Image in Fine Arts
  Seminar
  

  Art is a part of the human civilization and it is influenced by the demands of society. Women always were the important art objects, but in different epochs artists treated them differently. By this difference we can see woman's role and place in the society. Discusses woman as art objects and artists.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 260SEM Women's Health: Problems and Practices
  Seminar
  

  Reviews the health care system in the U.S. and its treatment of women. Content includes a history of health care and the changing definition of "health", the current roles of women in this system, and the intersection of the legal system on women's bodies and women's health. Women in the 1970's and beyond started examining the politics of health care, which exploded into the millennium such as cost containment and restriction of services through managed care; newer and more expensive technologies; growing consumer dissatisfaction with the current system; and trends towards holistic and alternative care outside of the "mainstream" health care system. Develops an analysis of the current system with a rational plan for improving health care for all women. Addresses the roles that women have played in relation to health and health care, the history of women as healers, the shift to women as patients and consumers, and women as workers, both paid and unpaid, in the system of care. This course is the same as AMS 260, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 264SEM Black Child in America
  Seminar
  

  Focuses on the great variety of black children's experiences in the United States, including their experiences both during slavery in the Southern country towns and in the emerging "ghettos" in the North. The course also discusses historical development of social service programs such as Aid to Dependent Children and other government policies. It also explores various issues that contribute to the welfare of African American children.This course is the same as AMS 264, and AAS 264, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 265SEM Sexualities and Cultures
  Seminar
  

  Examines the various constructions of women's sexualities: heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian. Readings from literature, feminist theory, queer theory, psychology and sociology in order to develop an understanding of how sexuality is constructed. Examines the impact of violence, gender, health, media reproduction, class, and race on women's sexualities.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 270LEC Asian American Studies: Asian American Women Writers
  Lecture
  

  Introduces students to some basic feminist critical theories, including French, Anglo-American, and "Third World" feminist assumptions and positions. Explores how women writers' and poets' creativity and technical strategies are related to the intersected issues of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class, through closely examining works by Asian American women.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 280SEM American Women Writers
  Seminar
  

  Introduction to literature written by women, with focus on historical and cultural context of women's lives. For example: Prof. S. Moynihan, America and American-ness in Women's Literature This course will provide an introduction to the study of literature by women and to the significance of gender in literary analysis. In our readings, we will consider themes that often resurface in women's literature, such as body image, women's work and constructions of domesticity, reproduction and motherhood, women's culture, and issues of agency and voice. Is there a particular aesthetic associated with femininity? How does gender intersect with other forms of difference (racial, sexual, class-based)? Do the differences among women allow for connection or solidarity, both in terms of feminist politics and in terms of literary critique? How have women's social, political, and economic positions affected literary production? How has women's literature enacted social and political critique? In what ways has women's literature re-envisioned history? How have women drawn upon and yet revised cultural traditions? What is the relationship between women's literature and the literary canon? Focus will be on American women's literature, particularly texts that engage ideas of American-ness. For example: H. Recny, A Literature of One's Own How does women's writing distinguish itself from its male counterparts? Are there common themes that appear in writing by women? Can they be universal? How do women represent (other) women? How have women writers and the characters that they represent grappled with the exclusions and inequalities among women? How are you connected to women in the United Kingdom, Antigua, India, and Zimbabwe? This course focuses on how gender influences the writing of a particular time and place. Using canonical and non-canonical texts, we will explore how non-western women writers from the colonies and newly independent nations represent women and identities that do not fit traditional categories of gender, race, and nation. We will engage in debates about the literary canon, language ownership, the usefulness of gender as basis for a literary genre and community, and the function of writing as part of a global exchange.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 285SEM Race, Law & Society
  Seminar
  

  Explores that part of U.S. law that has dealt with the human and civil rights of African Americans (and by implication other racial ethnic groups in U.S. society: Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, etc.) We do this by examining the relevant legislation and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. However, where appropriate, decisions of the Executive branch made under various 'Executive Orders' are also considered. Any understanding and appreciation of U.S. constitutional democracy requires us to acknowledge the powerful role of race in the evolution of this democracy. Consequently regardless of the time period--the lives of all in the U.S. (of whatever color and sex) have been touched by the interaction between law and race. In Part One of the course we concentrate on an area of legal studies called 'Critical Race Theory,' where our concern is to explore the interaction of law and race from the perspective of issues such as culture, history, gender, identity, politics, class, the media, etc. In Part Two we examine the interaction between race and law from the perspective of the historical evolution of democracy in the U.S. This course is the same as AAS 295, AMS 293, and HIS 304 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 301SEM Introduction to Native American Women
  Seminar
  

  Traces historical periods that affected Indigenous women's lives; emphasizes current laws and policies that have impacted their families and communities. This course is the same as AMS 301, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 302SEM Black Writers: Women
  Seminar
  

  A study of modern literature by Black women writers, with emphasis on the major traditions, i.e., naturalist, civil rights, the new Black Arts movement, Black womanism, etc. and the writers' contribution to the shaping of modern literary culture. Explores the writers' expressions of political, social, artistic and aesthetic issues.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 304LEC Sci:Mcrowrld Bio of Wmn
  Lecture
  

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 305SEM Gender and the Custodial State
  Seminar
  

  Focuses on historical and cross cultural components informing contemporary issues of women's imprisonment. With respect to the comtemporary scene, emphasizes the process by which women come to be incarcerated and differentials in treatment of incarcerated women. Examines institutional forces in contemporary corrections generally which may contribute to an understanding of women's imprisonment issues.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 308LEC Images of Women and Men in a Changing World
  Lecture
  

  Examines the history and development of gender imagery, historically to the current age of globalized mass-mediated images. Examines how mass media has influenced gender representation, socialization, and identity construction, primarily in the United States but also abroad. Analyzes the ways these representations implicate and are implicated and negotiated by gender, racial, class, ethnic, and religious minorities.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  
• GGS 309SEM New Research On Women
  Seminar
  

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 312LEC Culture and Reproduction
  Lecture
  

  Explores the meanings and stratification of reproduction in our culture. Examines how culture constructs reproduction including controversial topics such as gay adoption, eugenics, reproductive technologies, teen sexuality and government's role in reproduction. Uses a variety of sources from the fields of public health, epidemiology, feminist criticism and the women's health movement to discover the history and current determinants of women's reproductive health and reproductive rights.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 315SEM Cross-Cultural Study of Women
  Seminar
  

  Analyzes the evolution and diversity of socially constructed gender differences and hierarchies viewed from comparative international and historical perspectives. The maintenance of gender inequalities in societal institutions, such as education, the family, politics and the economy will be explored. In addition, the course will focus on the prevailing cultural backlash of women and men in America in comparison to other societies. To explain gender differences and hierarchies, the course will consider a range of sociological, and other disciplinary perspectives including biological, psychological, and psychoanalytic. Course objectives will be achieved through lectures, readings, guest lecturers, films, and class discussions.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 316SEM Gender Issues Cont Africa
  Seminar
  

  This seminar examines current policy frameworks and agendas such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and public policy responses to poverty, gender inequalities in democratic participation and socioeconomic development. It further interrogates burning issues of human rights and the rights of the girl child as they pertain to social practices such as female mutilation and child soldiers. It analyzes also the changing dynamics of households due to the combined effects of transnational migration, HIV/Aids and conflicts and their gender implications. It revisits opportunities for social change in the face of an increased pressure from globalization, environmental degradation, a growing retrenchment of the state, and many threats to human security. This course is the same as AAS 312 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 323SEM Culture of Biology, Medicine, Gender and Race
  Seminar
  

  Ideas about "scientifically" established differences between women and men, people of color and whites, gays and straights are prevalent in popular culture. Examines how popular culture makes sense of these differences and how science has been shaped by our culture and likewise, how cultural-biases are reinforced by scientific lines of inquiry.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 324SEM Controlling Reproduction: Reproductive Rights, Policies, Practices, and Technologies
  Seminar
  

  Explores questions such as: What constitutes women's reproductive lives? How do women's reproductive lives impact gender status in society? How do women's reproductive lives differ by age, race, nationality and sexual preference? Who controls reproduction and the cultural discourse regarding reproduction? What public policies and practices foster or undermine reproductive freedoms? Why are reproductive rights integral to human rights?

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 330SEM Global Women's Voices
  Seminar
  

  The interplay between women's social movements and the flow of women's literature within and across national spaces recognizes the power of the word as a critical feminist tool for elevating women's voices in an increasingly technology-oriented global economy. This reading intensive seminar will consider examples of contemporary fiction and nonfiction by representative women; for the purposes of comparing how women living/writing in industrial and developing countries succeed in disrupting the geographic boundaries imposed by culture and politics-specifically the myth of them and us that can frame discussions of social issues foregrounded by women in differing regions. By examining and, hopefully, exposing this myth and its contours, we hope to better understanding why writing and literature remain crucial tools of global feminist activism. This course is the same as JDS 330 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 335LEC Women Writers
  Lecture
  

  Study of writing by women across a variety of periods and genres, with focus on the historical and cultural context of women's lives. A: Twentieth-Century Women Writers Study of the writing of twentieth-century women, attending to its differences from and connections to earlier periods and mainstream traditions. May include a variety of genres. B: U.S. Women Writers Exploration of U.S. women's writing as it participates in mainstream literary and rhetorical traditions and creates its own counter-traditions. May include women's autobiographies, speeches, essays, letters, captivity and slave narratives, poetry, fiction and drama from a variety of periods. For example: Prof. J. Holstun, Socialism and Feminism In this course, we'll talk about the twentieth-century American dialogue between socialism and feminism, with emphasis on the novel. For example: Prof. A. Lyon: American Women Activist Writers This is a course in political activisim, rhetoric, and human rights. We will look at bad girls and figure out how their language helps to create both the identity of women and changes it the larger society. To do this, we are going to read selections from almost three centuries of writings by American bad girls. This course is the same as ENG 387 and AMS 335 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 337SEM Coming of Age
  Seminar
  

  Contemporary adult literature has experienced an incredible boom in coming of age texts, especially in the popular memoir genre. What does it mean for girls to come of age in the U.S. and other countries? We will read a variety of adult coming of age texts in order to examine how girls from diverse backgrounds confront the social expectations of gender, race, class, culture, sexuality, and religion that determine their transitions from girlhood to womanhood.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 341LEC Social History of Women in the United States
  Lecture
  

  This course will examine the history of women in colonial America and the U.S. through the 19th century. We will concentrate on social history, looking at how women of different races, ethnicities, classes, regions and ages experienced and shaped their daily lives under the constraints of a given era. Themes will include work, family relations, slavery, childbirth and motherhood, sexuality, and popular culture. We will also look at political issues, including changing notions of patriarchy, women's legal status, the meaning of the American revolution for women, and women's political activism in the abolition, temperance, and woman's rights movements. The central questions will be: How can we understand these issues historically, and what relevance do they hold for more recent history and our own time. This course is the same as HIS 341 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 350SEM Gender Issues in Contemporary Africa
  Seminar
  

  How do African women and men construct and reorder their lives on a daily basis? How do they negotiate their positions, ascribed gender roles and identities in familial, communal, and national spheres? What are the salient and socio-economic and political issues facing them? How do they emerge as agents of social change? Examines current policy frameworks and agendas such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and public policy responses to poverty, gender inequalities in democratic participation and socioeconomic development. Interrogates human rights issues and the rights of the girl child as they pertain to social practices such as female mutilation and child soldiers. Analyzes the changing dynamics of households due to the combined effects of transnational migration, HIV/AIDS and conflicts and their gender implications. Revisits opportunities for social change in the face of an increased pressure from globalization, environmental degradation, a growing retrenchment of the state, and many threats to human security. Interposing several theoretical lenses and building on an interdisciplinary approach, this seminar analyzes the agency roles of women and men in particular African countries. The course objects are to inspire analytical and critical thinking in students, to develop research and problem solving skills, and to challenge students to integrate multiple analytic perspectives.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 353SEM Gender and the Law
  Seminar
  

  Introduces upper-level students to a legal examination of language and issues regarding gender and the law.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 354SEM Race, Class, and Society
  Seminar
  

  Considers how the social divisions of race, gender, ethnicity, and class in the United States today influence the functioning of society in terms of politics, economics, culture, and so on. The course also places special emphasis on current and historical African American experiences. This course is the same as AAS 355 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 4
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 355SEM Theories of Feminism and Queer Studies
  Seminar
  

  This course provides an overview of feminist, gender, and queer theory at the advanced undergraduate level. It will focus on the historical and theoretical foundations of feminism, gender, and queer theory; examine the ways in which gender theories approach femininities and masculinities as social, cultural, political, and economic constructions; and in a similar vein, it will explore the ways in which we can draw from queer theory to problematize heteronormativity and destabilize gender and other identities.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 356LEC Social History of Women, 1875-Present
  Lecture
  

  The making of women's lives in modern America: work and family, sexuality and politics, race and class. Lectures and readings in autobiographies and historical fiction.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 368SEM Research in Human Sexuality and Religion
  Seminar
  

  This course will explore sexuality and ecstasy, the ritual use of intoxicants, and music and trance in religious life. These present opportunities for psychically and physically intense experiences, and they can induce transpersonal and ecstatic states, as well as those of euphoria, harmonization, and interconnectedness, sometimes called peak and flow experiences. We?ll look at how peak and flow experiences are generated by these means, how religious institutions authorize or sanction those practices, and the ways in which they are integrated into religious canons, rituals, and lives.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 375SEM Topics in Women's Studies
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 376LEC Special Topics
  Lecture
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 376SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 379SEM Sex: Gender and Popular Culture
  Seminar
  

  The advent of television in 1950s America, coupled with technological advances in filmmaking popularized visual culture as a primary means of both naming and interrogating the ways in which we understand the social constructions of race, sex, gender, and sexuality. Feminist perspectives are ways ofexamining how these social constructions (and expectations) are shaped by popular culture, mainly television programming and films; and thus shape our ideas about ourselves and others as "feminine" and "masculine" and "sexual" beings. We discuss texts on and view episodes of popular television shows such as "Sex and the City," "The L Word," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Will and Grace." We also view several short films (as time permits). We consider a number of questions including (1) how does "entertainment" act as a substitute for the transmission of social knowledge?; (2) what are the advantages and disadvantages of popular culture in the construction of contemporary American life?; (3) how does popular culture define "racialized" bodies?; and (4) how does popular culture impact the consumption of American socio-cultural values, globally? Students will demonstrate knowledge of a broader understanding of the terms "popular culture," "entertainment," "women's television," and "mediated lives." Students who successfully complete this course should be able to articulate verbal and written alternative critiques to contemporary popular culture.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 382SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 387SEM Black Female in Literature
  Seminar
  

  Literature from African American women writers that explore their themes, images, and roles present in narratives, fiction, poetry, and plays. Our examination also includes selected works by African women.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 392SEM Seminar for Majors
  Seminar
  

  Topics will vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 400SEM Black Women Writers and the Reimagination of American Culture
  Seminar
  

  In the 1970's, Black women writers established themselves as significant voices within contemporary American letters; marking what became known as "the second renaissance in Black women's literature." Since then, the impact of Black women writers has re-shaped the discourse defining Black women's lives and American culture. This seminar examines creative and critical literature written by major writers of poetry and fiction; illuminating the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, culture and class in the re-imagination of Black women's identities and American culture.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 401LEC Special Topics
  Lecture
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 401SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 402LEC Special Topics
  Lecture
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 402SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary according to faculty/instructors.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 409SEM Quantitative Methods in Social Research
  Seminar
  

  Introduction to basic statistical methods and their application to social science research focusing on gender issues. Students will have the opportunity to learn how to conduct basic statistical analyses and apply them to research topics such as gender and global health, maternal health, gender and global development, and contemporary democratization and women. In addition, students will acquire knowledge of how to extract data from existing databases as well as be guided in the collection of their own empirical data. Two types of statistical analyses will be used to assess samples of data: a broad range of descriptive statistics, and correlation and regressions models. This course is a hands-on experience and is held in a computer lab; therefore, students will have a good opportunity to become skilled and experienced in understanding and conducting basic statistical research. This course will also teach students how to interpret published empirical papers that use quantitative research methods. We will be learning applications through the use of the SPSS and ActivStats programs.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 414SEM Contemporary Global and Gender Issues
  Seminar
  

  This course will explore the complex relationships and nexus between gender and poverty from a global and comparative perspective.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 415SEM Media, Gender and Society
  Seminar
  

  Looks at the history and development of gender imagery, from the age of oil painting to the current age of globalized mass mediated images. Examines the impact of mass media on gender representation, socialization, and identity construction in the United States as well as the rest of the world, and the way in which ethnic, geographic, cultural, racial, and religious differences affect the way gender images are received and used.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 421SEM Democracy and Gender
  Seminar
  

  How is democratization interconnected with gender? Survey recent debates about diffusing democracy, examining current research in this important field. We assess the impact the forces of democratic trends have on gender relations; culture and cultural identity; women vs. men's social, economic, and political opportunities; and maternal health. In particular, using broad scope of most current theoretical approaches from theoretical frameworks of diffusion, modernization, democracy and development theory, the dependency and the world system theory, and cultural relativism perspective, this course examines current research in several pertinent areas of democratic processes though the lens of gender equality. In particular, the effects of global trends in culture, democracy and capitalist economy, cultural McDonalization are analyzed in view of gender relations. This is to compare the impact of national politics as it effects the social position and roles of women in comparison to men.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 425SEM Women's Movement, Contesting Identities and Global Change
  Seminar
  

  Provides an overview of women's movements from a global perspective, specially emphasizing organizational and empowerment strategies used by women in local struggles that aim at social change. We look at women's movements, in particular sites across the developing world, and assess women's share in demanding self-determination through various forms of activism against exploitation. The goal of the course is to help students sharpen their analytical skills in thinking about the oppressive economic and political forces at the national and international levels while at the same time learning more about those feminist struggles that confront forms of oppression.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• GGS 435SEM History of Working Women
  Seminar
  

  Traces the changes in women's work in the home, in the family, and in the labor force in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Focusing on working class women's experiences in the labor force, we explore the impact of urbanization and industrialization on women in different ethnic and racial communities, their experiences and conflicts with unions, and their contributions to labor struggles. This course is the same as AMS 435, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.?

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 447SEM Pedagogy and the Interrogation of Methodology
  Seminar
  

  Introduces students to the basic concepts and practices of feminist pedagogy. Reviews the intellectual roots of feminist pedagogy and examines the ways in which feminist pedagogy has changed over the past twenty-five years. In addition, we explore the connection between feminist pedagogy and social movements, paying special attention to the way feminist pedagogy addresses issues of class, race, and gender. Since the course intends to be useful in training future teachers, it has a practical component in which students design a small unit for a class and attempt to teach it.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 460SEM Black Women in United States History
  Seminar
  

  Examines the history of black women in the United States from the slave era through the reform movements that occurred after World War II. Focuses on the range of demands placed on black women during the Gilded and Progressive eras - the founding of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896, their participation in the women's suffrage movement, black struggles for liberation in the United States and in the African Diaspora, cultural movement, war, labor force participation, and health. Also explores black women's interaction with male-dominated groups and feminists from other racial and ethnic groups. Students will analyze black women as leaders, their leadership styles and the impact that they have made on constituents. This course is the same as AAS 460 and HIS 468 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• GGS 464SEM History of the United States Feminist Movement
  Seminar
  

  Nineteenth- and twentieth-century feminist and womanist movements; sources of feminism; suffrage; women's clubs; temperance; womanism.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 466LEC Women, Work, and Social Change
  Lecture
  

  Introduction to the study of women, work and social change in developing countries, focusing not only on women workers in labor intensive manufacturing jobs but also on women engaged in other formal and informal sectors of the global economy. Examination of the many processes that generate and contribute to women's subordination, paying particular attention to the many ways in which women assert their own agency and autonomy, and have power to act on their own behalf. By utilizing a comparative cross-country framework, the class will address the larger issues of the feminization and globalization of poverty via the struggles of working women in relation to economic development and the struggles of women from all walks of life who are trying to effect social and political change in their own communities. The objective of this course is to provide a gendered perspective on work and social change in a localized context and to highlight the importance of women's agency through their experiences of work and living. We will learn how women can take responsibility, can struggle to make a difference, and can improve their own situations. This course is the same as AMS 466 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 487SEM International Organizations, Gender, and Development
  Seminar
  

  This seminar provides students critical frameworks of current and emerging theories, paradigms, and approaches on gender, development, and global change from an interdisciplinary perspective. Second, it provides students a forum to analyze and appraise development policies and practices from a gender perspective incorporating economic, social, cultural, and legal aspects of development. Third, it offers the opportunity to link theory and practice, as well as revisit the actual 'practice' of development through policy analysis, discursive analysis of development polices, project appraisal, critical assessment of international organizations agendas, and forms of resistance to globalization. This seminar emphasizes students' active participation and leadership in discussions and interactive scholarly groups. Students will gain exposure to the politics and economics of gender and development, the changing institutions and social context of development, and the mediating influence of international organizations such as the World Bank and the UN, to critically analyze and formulate strategies and actions plans for social change from a gender perspective.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• GGS 490TUT Senior Seminar: Research Project
  Tutorial
  

  Provides majors with the opportunity to develop a research paper that addresses the foundational intersecting discourses within the discipline: race, gender, sexuality, class/material condition, culture, language, and other indices of difference. The research paper(generally 30-50 pages in length) should reflect these larger discourses through the lens of a more specific topic. Required for majors only and consists of two sequential semesters of work in the student's senior year.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 494SEM Senior Capstone Course
  Seminar
  

  Course for senior-level majors intended to provide a learning experience that integrates knowledge from lower-level courses. The course is designed to provide an opportunity for seniors to put into practice theories and concepts developed in their coursework. Topics may vary.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 495TUT Supervised Teaching
  Tutorial
  

  Credits: 6
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 496TUT Women's Studies Internship
  Tutorial
  

  Hands-on experience in the field. Provides an opportunity for majors to put into practice feminist theories and concepts developed in their coursework. In addition to valuable experiential learning, an internship can be used as the first step towards a career, an excellent addition to a resume, and a source for job contacts and future references. Internships are available, for example, at Planned Parenthood, Erie County Commission of the Status of Women, Everywoman Opportunity Center, Inc., or in an area of the student's major concentration and interest. Department registration required. Permission of the internship and advisor required.

  Credits: 1 - 16
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 497TUT Departmental Honors Thesis or Project
  Tutorial
  

  The student and the faculty member agree to regular meetings during which they discuss the student's writing and progress toward completion of a specialized thesis or project. The student should expect to receive critical comments from the faculty member on her/his writing. The final product should be worthy of the designation of a thesis or project.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 498TUT Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity
  Tutorial
  

  Students collaborate with faculty research mentors on an ongoing project in a faculty members' laboratory or conduct independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. This experience provides students with an inquiry-based learning opportunity and engages them as active learners in a research setting. Students will choose someone whose area of expertise is most suited to the student's interests, and student should discuss the possibility of working together prior to the semester.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• GGS 499TUT Independent Study
  Tutorial
  

  Individualized student work under the guidance of a faculty member, intended to pursue topics not ordinarily offered through regular coursework. Individualized student work under the guidance of a faculty member, intended to pursue topics not ordinarily offered through regular coursework.

  Credits: 1 - 16
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring