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The Minor in Women's Studies

Course Requirements for the Minor: 18 units

The following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, are required of all candidates for this minor.

Minor Core: 9 units

3 courses required:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
MCGS 155 Introduction to Multicultural and Gender Studies   3.0 FS  GE
An introduction to the concepts, terminology, and issues in multicultural and gender studies, including exploration of America's multicultural history, gender as an element of culture, and contemporary issues in the field. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (002602)
WMST 170 Introduction to Women's Studies   3.0 FS  GE  USD
This course explores the impact of cultural beliefs and practices on diverse women's lives. Readings, films, and lectures analyze women's challenges, struggles, and accomplishments. Specific topics include race and class, media images of women, the women's movement, work, motherhood, and sexuality. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (009621)
WMST 300W Feminist Theory   3.0 SP  W
Prerequisite: WMST 170.
An examination of key feminist theories and their applications in feminist research and practice. Readings include historical and contemporary materials. This is an approved Writing Course. (021549)

Breadth: 3 units

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
CHLX 420 Latina & Chicana Power   3.0 S2  
Prerequisite: CHLX 157 or WMST 170.
Latina and Chicana women had been wielding power for centuries before feminism arrived, and now they are unstoppable. Find out how Xicana feminism challenged racism and sexism, how the activism of diverse Latinas has changed the landscapes of gender and ethnicity. Explore the complexities of Latina/Chicana power: political, social, spiritual, sexual, and artistic. 3 hours lecture. (021869)
ENGL 261W Women Writers (W)   3.0 FS  GE  W
An exploration of the thematic and stylistic elements of literature by women with an emphasis on the ways women's lives have been shaped by societal expectations with regard to gender roles, sexuality identify and expression, socio-economic status, and ethnic and/or religious identities. Readings may include life writing, short story, novel, drama, poetry, essays, and criticism by women from different cultures and periods. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (021708)
MCGS 240 Socioeconomic Class and Food Injustice: Inequities across Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender Lines   3.0 FS  GE  USD
This course is also offered as SOCI 240.
This fully online course facilitates the study of intersecting systems of oppression and inequity--in particular socio-economic class, ethnicity, and gender--all of which impact access to basic needs, especially healthy food. The course provides a scholarly, theoretical context for individuals working with communities outside of the middle class. Students are guided in the application of concepts and ideas in their personal lives and professional practice. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (021867)
MCGS 310 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Issues and Identities   3.0 FS  GE  USD
Prerequisites: MCGS 155 or WMST 170 recommended.
An exploration of current scholarship in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer theories, issues, and communities. Grounded in feminist scholarship, the course examines LGBTQ identity construction and formation through media, politics, sex/sexuality, science, and the law. Specific focus will vary from semester to semester. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (009639)
MCGS 310W Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Issues and Identities (W)   3.0 FS  GE  USD  W
Prerequisite: MCGS 155 or WMST 170 recommended.
An exploration of current scholarship in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer theories, issues, and communities. Grounded in feminist scholarship, the course examines LGBTQ identity construction and formation through media, politics, sex/sexuality, science, and the law. Specific focus will vary from semester to semester. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (021360)
MCGS 380W Gender, Race, Sexuality, Science, and Society (W)   3.0 SP  W
Recommended: MCGS 155, MCGS 310, or WMST 170.
An exploration of how science and culture have affected people's understandings of gender and sexuality, in both Western and non-Western cultures, from ancient times to the present. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. Formerly MCGS 380. (005642)
WMST 211 Gender & Sexuality in Media   3.0 FS  GE  USD
This course is also offered as JOUR 211.
The purpose of this course is to help students examine portrayals of gender and sexuality in the range of media they consume. This course treats gender and sexuality as something we co-create through communication, rather than as something that we inherently are. Course topics are approached from historical, critical and cultural perspectives and encourage individual reflection and opportunities for digital activism. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (021252)
WMST 233 Women Internationally   3.0 FS  GE  GC
This is an interdisciplinary course which concentrates on the universal experiences of women around the world. The impact of international and domestic politics and culture on women, the role of women in economic development, equity issues, and women's role in the social movement are the centrality of the course. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021197)
WMST 275 Women and Religion   3.0 FS  GE  GC
This course is also offered as RELS 275.
Analysis of the images, roles, and experiences of women in world religions in historical and contemporary contexts. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021806)
WMST 275W Women and Religion (W)   3.0 FS  GE  GC  W
This course is also offered as RELS 275W.
Analysis of the images, roles, and experiences of women in world religions in historical and contemporary contexts. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved Global Cultures course. (021201)
WMST 324W Women and Politics (W)   3.0 FA  GE  W
This course is also offered as POLS 324W.
Analysis of the roles of women in politics; volunteer, candidate, elected official. Considers politics of the women's movement and women's issues. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved Writing Course. This is an approved General Education course. (007491)
WMST 339 Cultural Images of Women   3.0 FS  GE  USD
This cross-cultural study of women emphasizes changing constructions of gender and gender relations from the Paleolithic period to the contemporary. The course looks at depiction's of women in the United States as they are related to the historical imagery. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. This is an approved US Diversity course. (000517)
WMST 368 Women's Health   3.0 FS  GE
This course is also offered as PHHA 368.
This course represents an overview of health care issues faced by women throughout the life cycle. The course begins an examination of scientific inquiry and the study of disease in women. Then, using sociological, political, and behavioral sciences, the roles, rights, and responsibilities of women in the health care system are assessed. The course concludes with a biological review of the female body and specific health care problems common to women. This course encompasses a woman-centered philosophy which encourages women's active participation in their health care decisions. 3 hours discussion. This is an approved General Education course. (004381)
WMST 430 Current Issues and Theories in Women's Studies   3.0 F1  
Prerequisites: WMST 170 or WMST 300.
This course provides in-depth and advanced study of key feminist and gender theorists' analyses of pivotal issues in the intersections of race, class, and gender constructions, with a different focal topic chosen each semester. 3 hours lecture. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units. (009640)
WMST 443 Gender and Sexuality in Early America   3.0 S2  
This course is also offered as HIST 443.
This course explores the political, economic, legal, social, and cultural dimensions of early American gender history, running from pre-contact Native American society through the period of the early American republic. It examines women's daily lives and experiences, illustrating shifting definitions of femininity and masculinity as crosscut by race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, region, and religion. Through discussion, readings, and research, this seminar illustrates themes that circumscribed women's opportunities in early America: sexuality, reproduction, and women's bodies; the political and legal status of women; women's labor, paid and unpaid; women in war; education and literacy; and consumption, among others. 3 hours lecture. (021864)

Minor Capstone: 6 units

2 courses required:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
MCGS 389 Informed Activism and Internship   1.0 -3.0 FS  
A seminar designed to complement the 120-hour fieldwork portion of your service/advocacy/activism internship in the area of multicultural, gender, and/or sexuality studies. Learn and practice the kinds of thinking, researching, and skill building that enhances any service and activism work you may choose to do in the future, as well as what you are engaged in during your internship. In order to pass this course you must receive a review of at least "satisfactory" from your fieldwork supervisor. No more than 3 units may be counted toward the major or minor. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 15.0 units. (005647)

Note: MCGS 389 must be taken for 3 units. This is a letter-graded internship.

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
MCGS 495W Senior Seminar in Multicultural and Gender Studies (W)   3.0 SP  GW  W
Prerequisite: GE Written Communication (A2) requirement.
Exploration of theory and extended research in the field of multicultural and gender studies leading to a public presentation. This course is designed as the capstone experience for multicultural and gender studies majors and minors. 3 hours seminar. This is an approved Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement course; a grade of C- or higher certifies writing proficiency for majors. This is an approved Writing Course. (002610)
Catalog Cycle:21