Gender Studies
Wabash College is committed to preparing its students for leadership and service in a diverse and changing society. As part of that commitment, the minor in Gender Studies affords students the opportunity to gain a firm grounding in an interdisciplinary field that investigates the social, cultural, and biological factors that constitute femininity, masculinity, and sexual identity. Gender Studies explores the similarities and differences between the experiences, perspectives, and voices of women and men by analyzing variations in gender roles that occur across cultures and over time, examining relationships between biological differences and social power, and investigating the complex interaction of gender with race, class, and culture. Gender Studies also involves a critical investigation of strategies that aim to transform unjust or coercive social systems based on gender. Through coursework and an independent senior project, students undertake a systematic and critical analysis of gender issues across academic disciplines. The program is administered by the Gender Studies Minor Steering Committee.
Wabash College students who participate in the minor in Gender Studies will enhance their preparation for careers in a wide variety of areas. These include, but are not limited to, human services, law, government, teaching, the arts, clinical work, social work, public relations, advertising, and journalism. Some graduates with expertise in Gender Studies may also pursue further study of gender as graduate students in a wide range of academic fields.
Student Learning Goals
Become familiar with the vocabulary and theories of the field of Gender Studies
Appreciate Gender Studies as an interdisciplinary field that investigates the social, cultural, and biological factors that constitute femininity, masculinity, and sexual identity
Understand how living out the Wabash mission requires them to think critically about the continuously evolving concept of gender, act responsibly on the issue of gender inequality, lead effectively by educating others about the role of gender, and live humanely by promoting gender equality when they have the power to do so.
Requirements for the Minor
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEN-101 | Introduction to Gender Studies | 1 |
| Electives | 3 | |
| Three credits from at least two different departments. | ||
| Human Sexual Behavior | ||
| Fatherhood | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Special Topics: Behavioral Sciences | ||
| Topics in Modern Europe | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Studies in Multicult/Nat'l Lit | ||
| Adv Topics:World&Comp History | ||
| Gender and Communication | ||
| Studies in Special Topics | ||
| Advanced Topics: American History | ||
| Seminar in English Lit | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Capstone 1 | 1 | |
| Gender Studies Capstone | ||
| Total Credits | 5 | |
- 1
This may be either an independent study project that explores the student’s chosen focus in greater depth or, if enough students are completing minors, a seminar class in which students will explore their topics comparatively. These will be assigned as GEN-490 Gender Studies Capstone Independent Study courses, and must be approved by the Committee Chair. Students should expect to complete the capstone by the fall semester of their senior year.
Each student’s program will be approved and supervised by the Gender Studies Minor Steering Committee, and a member of this committee may serve as secondary field examiner on the senior oral examination.
Occasional courses (Special Topics or other courses of particular relevance to Gender Studies) may also count toward this requirement with the approval of the Gender Studies Minor Steering Committee. Interested students should consult with a member of the Gender Studies Minor Steering Committee for advice regarding relevant courses and the frequency of offerings. Students should also consult the Academic Bulletin and semester-by-semester information from the Registrar’s office regarding when courses are offered.
Students are encouraged to take Gender Studies 101 in their freshmen or sophomore year, and to complete as much of the minor as possible before enrolling in the Capstone course in the fall of their senior year.
GEN-101 Introduction to Gender Studies
This course introduces students to the
interdisciplinary field of gender studies by
exploring questions about the
meaning of gender in society. The course will
familiarize students with the central issues,
questions and debates in
Gender Studies scholarship by analyzing themes of
gendered performance and power in law, culture,
education,
work, health, social policy and the family. Key
themes may include but are not limited to the
relationship between
sex and gender, the legal and social workings of
the private / public distinction, the way that
disciplinary practices
code certain behaviors as masculine or feminine,
the intersection of gender with race and
ethnicity, the gendered
structure of power, the tension between
difference and equality, the production and
circulation of gender
expectations in the media, and the contested role
of the law in achieving equality. By course end,
students will
understand central themes and debates in the
field of gender studies, demonstrate a facility
with basic terms and
concepts of the field, apply methods of analyzing
gender to society and to their own life
experiences and
communicate effectively about these issues in
writing and speech
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts, , History/Philosophy/Religion, Global Citizenship, Justice, and Diversity
GEN-102 Human Sexual Behavior
An overview of human sexual anatomy, development,
function, and diversity. Emphasis is on the
psychological aspects of sexuality including the
study of attitudes towards sexuality, sexual
preference, love and marriage, contraception, and
commercial sex. Particular attention is paid to
the development and enactment of sex roles, the
construction of gender, and sex differences.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-103 Seminars in Theater
These seminars focus on specific topics in
theater and film. They are designed to introduce
students to the liberal arts expressed by
noteworthy pioneers and practitioners in theater
and film.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-104 Intro to Philosophy: Nature
This course will serve as an introduction to
philosophy by examining the ways philosophers have
used nature historically to justify the social
order: by identifying essences that prescribe
roles, legitimating social hierarchy by dividing
the world between what is closer to nature and
what overcomes or surpasses nature, distinguishing
between good and natural actions and bad and
unnatural ones, and distinguishing between culture
and the material of culture. This course will
examine the philosophical positions behind these
claims and critiques of these positions. The
course will take up the example of gender at
various places across the semester to think about
the implications of various conceptions of nature
in the history of philosophy.
Students are discouraged from taking more than one
course numbered 109 or below.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Equated Courses: PHI-104
GEN-105 Fatherhood
An introduction to the psychological research
into issues surrounding fatherhood. Topics to be
covered include the role of fathers in children's
development, the effect of being a father on
adult development, men's views on fatherhood, the
effect of fatherhood on romantic relationships,
and balancing work and home life.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution: Behavioral Science
Equated Courses: PSY-105
GEN-171 Special Topics
It may be repeated for credit upon the nstructor's
approval. Topics vary with each scheduled
offering. Refer to Student Planning's section
information for descriptions of individual
offerings, and applicability to distribution
requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
GEN-200 Special Topics
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-209 Special Topics: Behavioral Sciences
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
GEN-210 Topics in American History
Since the content of this course varies from
semester to semester, it may be repeated for
credit upon the instructor's approval
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-212 World Cinema
The course will survey non-Hollywood
international movements in the history of cinema.
It will explore issues of nation, history,
culture, identity and their relation to questions
of film production and consumption in
contemporary film culture. Emphasis will be
placed on major directors, films, and movements
that contributed to the development of narrative
cinema internationally. The course will
investigate a variety of genres and individual
films, paying close attention to their aesthetic,
historical, technological and ideological
significance. For example, African cinema
introduces themes of colonialism, resistance and
post-colonial culture, while the New Iranian
Cinema articulates problems of politics and
censorship within a new national film culture.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
GEN-230 Topics in Modern Europe
Various topics on gender, sex and/or sexuality in
modern Europe. Since the
content of this course varies from semester to
semester, it may be repeated upon the instructor's
approval. Refer to the Course Descriptions
document on the Registrar's webpage for topics and
descriptions of current offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-231 Intermediate Topics in Political Theory
Intermediate course on a topic in political theory
focusing on gender, sex and/or sexuality. Topics
vary from semester to semester. Refer to the
Course Descriptions document on the Registrar's
web page for topics and descriptions of current
offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-270 Special Topics: Lit/Fine Arts
It may be repeated for credit upon the
instructor's approval. Topics vary with each
scheduled offering. Refer to Student Planning's
section information for descriptions of individual
offerings, and applicability to distribution
requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
Distribution: Literature/Fine Arts
GEN-277 Special Topics
It may be repeated for credit upon the
instructor's approval. Topics vary with each
scheduled offering. Refer to Student Planning's
section information for descriptions of individual
offerings, and applicability to distribution
requirements.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-300 Studies in Multicult/Nat'l Lit
Toni Morrison and the African American Novel.
This course is about one thing, reading Toni
Morrison's novels and her literary essays. In the
process, we will explore the features of what
Morrison calls the African American novel. We
will also come to see and understand Morrison's
mastery of craft and subject in the production of
amazing stories that speak the "truth in timbre.
The goals are to read, learn and grow in your
understanding of the possibilities and
limitations of rendering a people's lived
experience in language.
Jewish American Literature.
The contributions of Jewish American writers and
filmmakers have been pervasive and significant.
We will read selected fiction, poetry and plays,
and see films that focus on the Jewish American
experience. Authors and filmmakers may include
Philip Roth, Bernard Malamud, Cynthia Ozick,
David Mamet, Allen Ginsberg, and Woody Allen.
African American Literature: Introduction.
This course explores various genres of African
American Literature. Emphasis is placed on works
that reflect the socio-historical development of
African American life. Poetry, Slave narratives,
autobiographies, novels, plays, musical lyrics,
and spoken word form the subject of study in the
course. Special attention is given to works of
fiction that become motion pictures and the
emerging area of audio books. The aim of the
course is to provide students with a sense of the
historical and contemporary developments within
African American literature. Students are
introduced to African American critical theory as
well as African American history.
Pen and Protest: Literature and Civil Rights.
This course takes a literary approach to the
study of the civil rights movement. Students will
examine the autobiographies, plays, novels, and
other various artistic expressions of the
mid-1950s through 1980. The aim of the course is
to explore the use of literature and art as means
of political, cultural, and religious expression.
Students are introduced to critical theory as
well as black studies.
Prerequisites: ENG-105,106,107,109,160,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,260, or
297
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-302 Adv Topics:World&Comp History
It may be repeated for credit upon the nstructor's
approval.Topics vary with each scheduled offering.
Refer to Student Planning's section information
for descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: 0.5 credit from HIS
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
GEN-303 Gender and Communication
As a culture, we often we take gender for
granted. Yet, we live in a culture where men and
women are molded and shaped by communicative
practices and mass-mediated representations that
generate our ideals of masculinity and
femininity. This class examines this
process-providing a platform for students to
reflect upon gender formation and develop a
theoretical vocabulary for describing this
process. By the end of the semester, class
participants will develop a more sophisticated
understanding of the manner in which gendered
messages and practices have shaped perceptions of
their symbolic universe.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
Distribution:
Equated Courses: RHE-360
GEN-304 Studies in Special Topics
Topics vary with each scheduled offering. Refer to
Student Planning's section information for
descriptions of individual offerings, and
applicability to distribution requirements.
Prerequisites: Pre-Req: 1 Wabash Literature course.
Credit: 1
GEN-324 Advanced Topics: American History
This course provides opportunities for small
group and independent work in intensive study of
selected topics in American history. Since the
content of this course varies from semester to
semester, it may be repeated for credit upon the
instructor's approval. Refer to the Course
Descriptions document on the Registrar's webpage
for topics and descriptions of current offerings.
Prerequisites: HIS-240, HIS-241, HIS-242, HIS-244, or HIS-245
Credit: 1
Distribution: History/Philosophy/Religion
GEN-400 Seminar in English Lit
Refer to Student Planning and the Registrar's
webpage for topics and descriptions of current
offerings.
Prerequisites: none
Credit: 1
GEN-487 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-488 Independent Study
Individual research projects. The manner of study
will be determined by the student in consultation
with the instructor. Students must receive
written approval of their project proposal from a
department Chair before registering for the
course.
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 0.5-1
GEN-490 Gender Studies Capstone
Seminar in Gender Studies
Prerequisites: GEN-101
Credit: 1
Distribution: Global Citizenship, Justice, and Diversity
Gender Studies Minor Steering Committee
Jennifer Abbott, Rhetoric, chair
Crystal Benedicks, English
Eric Freeze, English
Eric Olofson, Psychology
Noe Pliego Campos, History
Michelle Rhoades, History
Agata Szczeszak-Brewer, English
Adriel Trott, Philosophy
The Gender Studies Minor Steering Committee is typically composed of faculty who teach regularly for the minor. In order to develop a stable sense of identity for this interdisciplinary program, the general expectation is that to teach for the minor, faculty will serve on the committee. We recognize that this creates an additional obligation for those faculty, but the expectations for steering committee members are light. Faculty serving on the committee, and thus teaching for the minor, are expected to
-
teach a course once every three years
-
attend a meeting once a semester to meet with students and to discuss any administrative concerns regarding the minor
-
publicize the minor with students
In the event that a faculty member who is unable to meet these obligations wishes to offer or cross-list a gender studies course, they are welcome to submit their courses to the steering committee for consideration. While we make exceptions for extenuating circumstances, we encourage faculty who plan to teach courses that they want cross-listed on a regular basis to join the committee. The minor values regularity and predictability of courses and commitment of faculty above a wide range of offerings.