1. Foundational Course (Offered Every Spring)
CAS WS 801 - Theories and Methods in WGS
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.
2. Other WGS Graduate Courses:
CAS WS 505 - Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Topic for Spring 2025: Intersectional Theories of Affect. This course will examine intersectional theories of affect and emotion with particular focus on cultural constructions of happiness, joy, shame, anger, optimism, disgust, sadness, and compassion. Along the way, we will meet feminist killjoys, discuss queer shame, and consider how affect and emotion play a role in strengthening social bonds, creating collective identities, and motivating action.
CAS WS 507 - Diversity of Sex
Examines the integrative and comparative biology of sex and sexes based on readings drawn from recent primary literature, review papers, and book chapters.
CAS WS 512 - Sexual Violence
This course engages the topics of sexual deviance and sexual trauma through multiple lens. These lenses include psychological, sociological, criminal justice, public health, and social justice perspectives. The course explores multiple facets of understanding sexual deviance and sexual trauma including legal and philosophical perspectives, historical activism, understanding and treatment of sexual offending, and survivor responses. The roles of multiple systems including the media, mental health organization and the criminal justice system are taken into account. This course includes ongoing group work that engages critical inquiry, addressing relevant topics in sexual trauma in practical ways. Students utilize knowledge of theory and research methodology to pursue real world responses to issues of sexual violence and trauma.
CAS WS 530 - Global Intimacies: Sex, Gender, and Contemporary
Explores theoretical and ethnographic approaches to gender, sex, and sexuality as linked to globalizing discourses and transnational mobilities. Readings and discussion emphasize intersections of sex, gender, labor, love, and marriage in a globalized world.
CAS WS 542 - Language, Race, and Gender
Do women talk differently from men? How do race and ethnicity relate to the way people use language? This course examines these interrelated questions from the perspective of modern sociolinguistic theory, analyzing a range of languages and communities throughout the world.
CAS WS 562 - Studies in Asexualities
Writing intensive seminar that explores asexuality studies as well as various kinds of sexual and romantic absences in contemporary literature, literary analysis, and critical theory with particular attention to race and disability.
CAS WS 594 - Advanced Feminist Theory
This seminar explores advanced readings in feminist and queer theory on a focused topic or topics: for example, the politics of love and sex, reproductive politics, feminist theory and climate change, or the politics of gender and violence.
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.
CAS WS 631 - 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.
CAS WS 635 - Women, Gender, and Islam
Investigates the way Muslim religious discourse, norms, and practices create and sustain gender and hierarchy in religious, social, and familial life. Looks at historical and contemporary challenges posed to these structures.
CAS WS 640 - The Quran
The emergence of the Quran as a major religious text, its structure and literary features, and its principal themes and places within the religious and intellectual life of the Muslim community.
CAS WS 642 - Philosophy and Feminism
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 645 - Shariah Law
Shariah Law looks behind the stereotypes and headlines–despotic rulers, barbaric punishments, women’s oppression–to understand the origins, history, and structure of Islamic law. Explores its implementation in various times and places, modern transformations, and contemporary debates over legal reform.
CAS WS 650 - Internships: Women, Gender, and Social Change
A seminar which introduces students to the practices/ideas of social change organizations through local internships and weekly discussions related to class, race, sexuality, women and gender.
CAS WS 660 - Topics in LGBTQ History
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.
CAS WS 665 - Intersectionalities: Theories, Methods, and Praxis
“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 700 - Directed Study in WGS
Directed study in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies.
3. Other Courses Counting Toward Graduate Certificate:
WGS Certificate students are encouraged to seek out courses from their home department, and submit them for credit approval from our Director of Graduate Studies. Courses that focus on WGS subjects are likely to be approved. Some recently approved courses include:
CAS AA 667: Critical Studies: Black Diaspora Theory and Practice
CAS EN 775: Early Modern Women Authors
CAS EN 798: Contemporary Work in Black Visual and Literary Study
CAS LS 850: Gendered Pseudonyms in Latin America
SSW HB 790: Reproductive Justice and Social Work
WHE ME 851: Forbidden Texts in Math and Science Education
To submit a course for approval, please email the Director of Graduate Studies with the course name, instructor, and syllabus.