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Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS WS 594: Advanced Feminist Theory
    This course explores themes in advanced feminist theory. Specific themes vary by semester. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS WS 617: Gender and Crime
    Examines social forces shaping gender discrepancies in crime. Using a feminist lens, students explore how cultural ideologies about masculinity and femininity shape criminalization, victimization, and offending. Topics include the gendered contexts of crime and punishment, gender-based violence, and intimate labor. Effective Fall 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS WS 631: Seminar: Genders, Sexualities, and Youth Cultures
    Investigates the social construction of gender and sexuality in adolescence. Engaging critical approaches to youth cultures, the course examines the structural conditions that shape gender and sexuality norms, and the ways youth navigate and redefine their social worlds. Effective Fall 2023 this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS WS 642: Philosophy and Feminism
    Undergraduate prerequisites: two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. An advanced survey course of historical and contemporary philosophical approaches to feminism. Topics include: methodology, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, black feminist thought, decolonial feminism, global feminism, philosophy of gender, and queer and trans philosophy.
  • CAS WS 658: The Nonbinary Nineteenth Century
    Undergraduate prerequisite: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). - Examines fictional and non fictional works from nineteenth-century France on themes of sexual and gender identity, contextualized through contemporary queer, trans, and feminist theory.
  • CAS WS 660: Topics in LGBTQ History
    Undergrad prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR100 or WR120). - Seminar examines topics in the history of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) people and cultural or political movements. May be repeated for credit if topics vary. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS WS 665: Intersectionalities: Theories, Methods, and Praxis
    Undergraduate pre-requisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - "Intersectionality," is one of the prominent contributions made by critical race feminist scholars that now broadly extend across disciplines. This course takes stock of the multiple ways that intersectional scholars and activists conceptualize intersectionality in relation to sociological theory, research problems, design, and praxis.
  • CAS WS 679: Fatal Women and Dangerous Bodies
    Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120). - Examines depictions of the femme fatale and fears of female sexuality in realist, naturalist and decadent French fictions. Effective Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS WS 700: Directed Study Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies
    Directed study in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies.
  • CAS WS 801: Theories and Methods in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
    Explores the variety and complexity of theories and methods in the interdisciplinary fields of women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Provides a forum for assessing research strategies used by gender and sexuality scholars. Required for the WGS Program Graduate Certificate.
  • CAS XL 525: Judith Butler
    Undergraduate prerequisites: two previous XL, WS, or PH courses; or consent of instructor. Graduate prerequisites: graduate standing. - An intensive study of Judith Butler's philosophical thought and social theory from the 1990s to the present, with an emphasis on the continuities and discontinuities between Butler's early work on gender performativity and more recent writings on racial justice, war, and violence. Fall 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Critical Thinking, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, The Individual in Community .
    • Critical Thinking
    • The Individual in Community
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS XL 530: Marxist Cultural Criticism
    An introduction to Marxist cultural criticism that examines the transformation of concepts in classic Marxism (Marx, Lukacs, Althusser, Adorno, and Gramsci) into contemporary debates about race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, modernity, and language (Said, Zizek, Spivak, and others). Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • The Individual in Community
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS XL 540: Translation Seminar
    Prerequisites: proficiency in a second language. - Translation seminar where students produce substantial literary translations into English from their language of choice with the guidance of the instructor and language-specific mentors. Students hone their translation skills, read, and discuss articles about practical issues of translation.
  • CAS XL 541: Translation Today
    Weekly lectures and discussions with prominent literary translators from Boston and elsewhere. Students engage with a variety of languages and several genres: poetry, drama, essay, fiction, and more. Focus on concrete, practical translation issues arising from the speakers' work. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Creativity/Innovation
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS XL 550: Topics in Literary Criticism
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: two literature courses. - Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit if topic changes. Topic for Spring 2023: This course is an introduction to Marxist cultural criticism that examines the transformation of concepts from classic Marxism (Marx, Lukacs, Althusser, Adorno, and Gramsci) into contemporary debates about race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, modernity, and language.
  • CAS XL 743: Alexander the Great in the East
    Study of the various narratives about Alexander the Great, also known as Sikandar or Iskandar, as conqueror, philosopher-king, and hero, in medieval Middle Eastern and Asian literatures. Modern filmic representations of the historical figure are also compared.
  • CAS XL 951: Directed Study in Comparative Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor and department. - A directed study in the field of comparative literature. May be repeated for credit.
  • CAS XL 952: Directed Study in Comparative Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor and department. - A directed study in the field of comparative literature. May be repeated for credit.

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