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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS


SAMPLE COURSE DESCRIPTION

COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM

GENERAL EDUCATION DESIGNATION

DEPARTMENTS OFFERING DIVERSIFICATION COURSES

Women’s Studies (WS)

College of Social Sciences

WS 151 Introduction to Women’s Studies (3) Introduction to feminist interdisciplinary analysis from global and critical perspectives; relationships between women and men from Asia-Pacific, Hawaiian, and other cultures, with a focus on gender, race, class, and sexual dynamics; exploration of women’s negotiations with institutional dynamics. DS

WS 175 History of Gender, Sex, and Sexuality in Global Perspectives to 1500 CE (3) Explores how gender, sex, and sexuality become key elements in human society from prehistory to 1500 CE. Examines ancient world civilizations from multiple perspectives stressing issues and forces still influential today. A-F only. Fall only. FGA

WS 200 Culture, Gender, and Appearance (3) Social construction of gender within culture and its visual expression through appearance. Analysis of role, identity, conformity, and deviance in human appearance. Open to nonmajors. (Cross-listed as APDM 200) DS

WS 202 Psychology of Women (3) Survey of topics in psychology relevant to women’s lives: socialization of gender, mental health, violence against women, achievement motivation, lifespan issues, domestic violence. A-F only. Pre: 151 or PSY 100. (Cross-listed as PSY 202) NI DS

WS 245 Women Writers of World Literature (3) Major women writers of world literature examined in context of female literary tradition. Pre: one of ENG 100A, 101, or ELI 100; or consent. NI DL

WS 257 Sexual Identity in Literature (3) Selected themes in major works of various types, cultures, periods. Requires a minimum of 3,000 words of writing. Pre: one of ENG 100A, 101, or ELI 100. NI DL

WS 304 Women, War, and the Military (3) The military as it includes and excludes women as soldiers, nurses, wives, prostitutes, and victims. Women and war economics; feminism, war, and peace. Pre: one of 151, 362, 375 or SOC 362; or consent. DS

WS 305 Women and Health (3) Explores current issues in the conceptualization and delivery of health care for women. Pre: one of 151, 202, POLS 110, or SOC 100. (Cross-listed as NURS 305) DS

WS 311 U.S. Women’s History (3) History of U.S. women and gender relations. Topics include women’s work in and outside the household, women’s involvement in social movements, changing norms about gender and sexuality, and shared and divergent experiences among women. Pre: 151, 151A (or concurrent) or AMST 201, AMST 201A (or concurrent) or AMST 202, 202A (or concurrent); or consent. (Cross-listed as AMST 316 and HIST 361) DH

WS 315 Sex and Gender (3) Cross-cultural theories and perceptions of sexual difference; linkage between biology and cultural constructions of gender; relationship of gender ideology to women’s status. Pre: ANTH 152 (or concurrent). (Cross-listed as ANTH 315) DS

WS 318 Women and Social Policy (3) Social and economic policies affecting women in families, education, social services, government, health care, the economy; public policy implementation and development; policy impact on women. Pre: one of 151, SOC 100, any 200-level SOC course, or junior standing; or consent. (Cross-listed as SOC 318) DS

WS 320 Women and Madness (3) Interdisciplinary critical examination of the relationship between gender and mental health. Psychological research, feminist theory, autobiography, literature, and cinema. Pre: one of 202, 245, PSY 202; or consent. DS

WS 339 South Asian Migrants: Culture and Politics (3) Historical and contemporary experiences of South Asian migrants in North America, Pacific, Caribbean, and/or African diasporas; causes and patterns of migration, inter-ethnic relations policies; role of race, gender, culture in community, identity formation. A-F only. Pre one ES or WS course in the 100, 200 or 300 level; or consent. (Cross-listed as ES 339) DS (Once a year)

WS 345 20th-Century Literature by Women (3) Twentieth-century women writers and their works; novels, short stories, poems, autobiographies. Interrelations of gender and literature. Pre: one of 245 or ENG 250–257, or consent. DL

WS 346 20th-Century Literature by Chinese Women (3) A survey and critical examination of contemporary Chinese women writers from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Traces a genealogy of women’s writing from the early 1920s up until now through novels, poetry, drama, and film. Pre: one DH or DL course, or consent. (Cross-listed as EALL 364) DL

WS 350 Sex Differences in the Life Cycle (3) Human sex differences, their biological basis and significance; genetic, hormonal, and behavioral determinants of sexual differentiation; biology of gender, sexuality, menopause, and aging. Pre: one semester of biological sciences. (Cross-listed as BIOL 350) DB

WS 351 Women, Ideas, and Society (3) Status of women in American society today in light of the cultural, historical, and philosophical forces that have produced it. Pre: HIST 151 and HIST 152; or consent. DH

WS 356 Women and Religion (3) Examining roles of, and attitudes toward, women in major religious traditions through autobiographies, films, and primary texts. Pre: ANTH 150 or 151; or consent. (Cross-listed as ANTH 356 and REL 356) DH

WS 360 Pacific/Asian Women in Hawai‘i (3) Adaptive strategies of Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Samoan, and Southeast Asian women in Hawai‘i; feminist anthropological and historical analysis. Pre: any ANTH, SOC, or WS course. (Cross-listed as ES 365) DS

WS 361 Seminar: Women and International Development (3) Topics: Women’s role, status, work and treatment in the Third World; economic development, changing work/family roles, agriculture and business, improvement/deterioration in gender equity across the Third World global feminization of poverty. Open to nonmajors. Pre: a 100 level economics course or any women’s studies course; or consent. (Cross-listed as ECON 361) DS

WS 362 Sociology of Gender (3) Effect of sex and gender roles (both traditional and nontraditional) on attitudes and behavior within the family and educational, economic, and governmental systems. (Cross-listed as SOC 362) DS

WS 375 Women and the Media (3) Media portrayal of women and men; role of the media in reproducing gender inequality. Women as producers and consumers of media. Feminist alternatives to mainstream media. Pre: one of 151, 362, SOC 362. DS

WS 381 Gender, Sexuality and Literature (3) Basic concepts and representative texts for the study of literary constructions of gender and sexuality. Pre: two ENG DL courses; second may be taken concurrently; or consent. (Cross-listed as ENG 382) DL

WS 384 Women and Politics (3) Women’s role in political institutions and processes in the U.S. and other countries; female and male approaches to power; feminist political goals and actions. Pre: 151 (or concurrent) or 362 (or concurrent) or any 100 level POLS course (or concurrent); or consent. (Cross-listed as POLS 384) DS

WS 390 Gender and Race in U.S. Society (3) Historical and sociological studies of race and gender in U.S. society; grassroots feminist and race/ethnic activism in the mainland and Hawai‘i. A-F only. Pre: 151, ES 101, or Social Science Cores. (Cross-listed as ES 390) DS

WS 392 Sexualities (3) Multi-disciplinary course draws from psychology, sociology, biology, history, cultural anthropology, law, Hawaiian, ethnic, feminist, gender, and queer studies to explore human sexualities with emphasis on the U.S., Hawai‘i and the Asia-Pacific regions. A-F only. Pre: one of 151, 202, 315 or 350; or consent. DS

WS 399 Directed Reading (V) Pre: consent.

WS 414 Women in Drama and Theater (3) The role of women and their representation in the theater from ancient Greece to the present; focus on the socio-political status of women. Pre: THEA 311 or consent. (Cross-listed as THEA 414) DH

WS 418 Women and Work (3) Gender and racial division of labor nationally and internationally; racial and gender differentials in wages, training, working conditions and unemployment; historical trends and future directions. Pre: One 300-level SOC or WS or ES course. (Cross-listed as ES 418 and SOC 418) DS

WS 419 Feminist Issues in Philosophy (3) Examination of a number of basic feminist issues in philosophy within the areas of ethics, philosophy of religion, and epistemology/methodology. Pre: any course 200 or above in WS or PHIL; or consent. (Cross-listed as PHIL 418) DH

WS 430 Seminar in the Biology of Women (3) Embryological, anatomical, and physiological development of human female; hormonal, neural, and behavioral determinants of female sexual behavior; psychobiology of pregnancy, ovariectomy, and menopause. Pre: 350, 377, or BIOL 172, BIOL 350; or consent. (Cross-listed as BIOL 430) DB

WS 435 Women and Crime (3) Women’s relations with the criminal justice system; types of women’s offenses; responses to women’s crime; women as victims; women as workers in the criminal justice system. Pre: any WS or SOC course. (Cross-listed as SOC 435) DS

WS 436 Gender, Justice and Law (3) Past and present roles of women in American political and legal institutions; common law, judicial decisions, and federal and state legislation affecting women of various socioeconomic groups. A-F only. Pre: one of WS 151, 202, 251, 360, or 381, junior standing, or consent. . (Cross-listed as AMST 436 and POLS 436) DS

WS 437 Gender and Violence: Transnational Feminist Analyses (3) Multidisciplinary course will reexamine and complicate western concepts of gender violence in the U.S. and elsewhere with a focus on race, class, sexuality, nation and empire. Repeatable one time. A-F only. Pre: one of 151, 202, 360, 361, 439, 460, 462, or consent. DS

WS 438 Gender and Environmental Philosophy (3) Interdisciplinary approach to women’s perspectives and roles on ecological and environmental issues; critical analysis of eco-feminism as a social and political movement; cross-cultural comparison of women’s roles in human ecology. Pre: any course 200 or above in PHIL or WS or any course 200 or above with a DB or DP designation, or consent.(Cross-listed as PHIL 438) DH

WS 439 Feminist Theory (3) Contemporary debates in feminist theory concerning gender, race, and class; subjectivity and representation; gender and colonialism; bodies, sexualities and “nature.” Pre: any 300 level WS or POLS course, or consent. (Cross-listed as POLS 339) DS

WS 440 Feminist Methods and Research (3) Overview of feminist issues with dominant theories of knowledge and major methodologies employed in the social sciences; and exploration of role of gender theory and feminist politics in feminist research. Pre: 151 or consent. (Once a year) DS

WS 445 U.S. Women’s Literature and Culture (3) Reading of selected works of U.S. women’s literature and cultural texts (such as art and film). Emphasis on historical and cultural context and diverse expressions of women’s gendered identities. Pre: 151 (or concurrent), AMST 202 (or concurrent), or one ENG DL course (or concurrent); or consent. (Cross-listed as AMST 455 and ENG 455) DL

WS 446 Analysis in Rape and Sexual Abuse (3) Theories, methodologies, and research findings on rape victimization and treatment; sexual abuse of women and children in Hawai‘i. Pre: SOC 275 or consent. (Cross-listed as SOC 446) DS

WS 452 Marriage and Family: Feminist Perspective (3) Sex-role socialization, motherhood, work-family conflicts. Alternative family structures in U.S. and other countries. Pre: 351, a 200-level SOC, or upper division social science course. (Cross-listed as SOC 452) DS

WS 453 Gender Issues in Education (3) Examination of current and historical issues in education and how they are impacted upon by gender, with particular reference to gender as it intersects with ethnicity and class, locally and globally. Pre: 151 or junior standing, or consent. (Cross-listed as EDCS 453 and EDEF 453) DS

WS 460 Feminism, Nation and Empire (3) Examines U.S. feminist movements in the 19th and 20th century by exploring how U.S. racism, nationalism and imperialism have provided the context from which feminism emerged. A-F only. Pre: 151, 360; or consent. DS

WS 462 Asian Women (3) History, culture, and contemporary reality of Asian women in Asia and the U.S. Includes critical analysis of American feminist methodology and theory. Pre: 360, 361, or 439 or any 100 level POLS course or POLS 339; or consent. (Cross-listed as AMST 438 and POLS 372) DS

WS 463 Gender Issues in Asian Society (3) Construction of gender identities in contemporary Asia. How these interface with other aspects of social difference and inequality (e.g. with class, religion, ethnicity). Pre: any WS course or ASAN 242, or consent. (Cross-listed as ASAN 463) DS

WS 481 Women and Film (3) Exploration of film as a philosophical and artistic form in the context of gender, race, and sexuality. Pre: 151 or one of ENG 250–257 or THEA 201, or consent. DH

WS 483 Studies in Literature and Sexuality and Gender (3) Intensive study of selected problems and issues in the construction and representation of sexuality and gender in specific genres, social and cultural contexts, thematic or figurative clusters. Repeatable one time. Pre: ENG 320 and one other 300-level ENG course; or consent. (Cross-listed as ENG 482) DL

WS 492 Women and Revolution (3) Conditions under which women’s activism and participation in protest and revolutionary movements developed in the 19th- and 20th-centuries. Cross-cultural comparisons. (Cross-listed as HIST 492) DH

WS 495 Selected Topics (3) Problems and issues for reading and research: feminist theory, criticism, affirmative action, etc. Pre: any WS course in appropriate area. DS

WS 610 Faculty Seminar Series (1) Seminar/discussion to introduce students pursuing the Graduate Certificate to the Woman’s Studies faculty and their areas of research, and to initiate student’s graduate studies in a woman’s studies field. Repeatable one time. Pre: classified graduate status (or status pending) and consent.

WS 612 Women in American Culture (3) Historical/contemporary status of women in the U.S.; women’s roles as defined by legal, educational, political, economic, and social institutions; implications for social science method. (Cross-listed as AMST 612)

WS 613 Feminist Research and Methods of Inquiry (3) Examination of an emergent body of literature about how to shape questions concerning gender, sex, race, class, colonialism, and other vectors of power. Includes methods from social sciences and humanities and debates in the philosophy of science. Repeatable one time. Pre: classified graduate status and consent.

WS 615 Feminist Theory (3) Selected ideas from contemporary feminist theory concerning power, knowledge, and self; articulating women’s voice; deconstructing gender. (Cross-listed as POLS 615C)

WS 620 Feminism and Its “Others” (3) Relationship between feminist and other sites of critical insight and scholarship that have contributed to creating anticolonial, antiracist, antihomophobic theory, method and action. Questions the legacy of feminist coalition practices and engages the ongoing transformations that have begun to produce new alliances and coalitions that disrupt traditional boundaries of identity and power. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing, no waiver.

WS 623 Topics in Feminist Social Policy Research (3) Feminist social scientists from a variety of fields have explored issues of gender, social change and social justice. Draws from their work to critically examine strategies for conducting social policy research that is feminist in values and impact. Repeatable one time. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing, no waiver.

WS 650 Research in Feminist Studies: Capstone Experience (2) Provide women’s studies graduate certificate students with an opportunity to design, develop and complete a research project culminating in a publishable quality work and a professional quality seminar presentation. A-F only. Pre: classified graduate status and consent.

WS 699 Directed Reading and Research (V) Pre: classified graduate standing and consent of chair.

WS 753 (Alpha) Research Seminar in Chinese Literature (3) Study of authors, a genre, a period, or a problem. (M) modern; (T) traditional. Repeatable one time for (M). A-F only for (M). Pre: 613, 615, 650, or CHN 611; or consent for (M); CHN 612, CHN 613, or consent for (T). (Cross-listed as CHN 753 (Alpha))