| Class Schedules Index | Course Catalogs Index | Class Search Page |
| African-American and African Studies | |
| AAS 2224 | Black Femininities and Masculinities in the US Media (3) |
| This course, taught as a lower-level seminar, will address the role the media has played in creating images and understandings of 'Blackness' in the United States, particularly where it converges with popular ideologies about gender. Course was offered January 2025, Summer 2024, January 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023, Spring 2023, January 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2022, Spring 2022, Janiuary 2022, Fall 2021, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, January 2021, Fall 2020, Summer 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Summer 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Summer 2016, Spring 2016, Summer 2015, Spring 2015, Summer 2014, Spring 2014, Summer 2013 | |
| AAS 3000 | Women and Religion in Africa (3) |
| This course examines women's religious activities, traditions and spirituality in a number of different African contexts. Drawing on ethnographic, historical, literary, and religious studies scholarship, we will explore a variety of themes and debates that have emerged in the study of gender and religion in Africa. Topics will include gendered images of sacred power; the construction of gender through ritual; sexuality and fertility; and women Course was offered Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| AAS 4500 | Advanced Seminar in African-American and African Studies (3) |
| Reading, class discussion, and research on a special topic in African-American and African Studies culminatiing in the composition of a research paper. Topics change from term to term, and vary with the instructor. Primarily for fourth-year students but open to others. Course was offered Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| Anthropology | |
| ANTH 2420 | Language and Gender (3) |
| Studies how differences in pronunciation, vocabulary choice, non-verbal communication, and/or communicative style serve as social markers of gender identity and differentiation in Western and non-Western cultures. Includes critical analysis of theory and methodology of social science research on gender and language. Course was offered Spring 2021, Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010 | |
| ANTH 3105 | Love and Romantic Intimacies (3) |
| This course offers an introduction to recent anthropological scholarship on romance to examine how intimate relationships shape human experiences. Through readings and films, we investigate the increasingly popular idealization of "companionate marriages," in which spouses are ideally linked by affection. Our examples include queer and straight experiences, and a diversity of racial, cultural, classed, and gendered representations. | |
| ANTH 3129 | Marriage, Mortality, Fertility (3) |
| Explores the ways that culturally formed systems of values and family organization affect population processes in a variety of cultures. Course was offered Fall 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| ANTH 3370 | Power and the Body (3) |
| Studying the cultural representations and interpretations of the body in society. Prerequisite: ANTH 1010 or permission of the instructor. Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Spring 2010 | |
| Arabic | |
| ARAB 4230 | Love, War, and Diaspora in Hoda Barakat's Writings (3) |
| In this course, we will examine the themes of love, war, and diaspora in the literature of the Lebanese writer, Hoda Barakat. Some of the topics that will interest us are: the role of the author as a witness to the Lebanese civil war, the challenges of rewriting history, recreating the homeland's image in diasporic locales, collective and individual memories and its role in trauma recall and testimony. Course was offered Fall 2015 | |
| History of Art | |
| ARTH 3491 | Women Photographers and Feminist Aesthetics (3) |
| This course explores the question of whether there might be something called a 'feminist aesthetics.' We look at the work of a handful of women photographers, and read criticism about photography, to leverage our exploration into feminist aesthetics. The course works within the frame of feminist discourse. It presents the work of a small number of photographers whose work we will interpret in conjunction with readings in criticism and theory. Course was offered Spring 2015, Spring 2014 | |
| Arabic in Translation | |
| ARTR 3350 | Introduction to Arab Women's Literature (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | A comprehensive overview of contemporary Arab women's literature, this course examines all Arab women's literary genres starting from personal letters, memoirs, speeches, poetry, fiction, drama, to journalistic articles and interviews. Selected texts cover various geographic locales and theoretical perspectives. Special emphasis will be given to the issues of Arab female authorship, subjectivity theory, and to the question of Arab Feminism. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2015, Fall 2013 |
| Chinese in Translation | |
| CHTR 3840 | Writing Women in Modern China (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This seminar focuses on works of fiction from modern China that articulate womanhood from a variety of perspectives. In addition to women writers (Qiu Jin, Ding Ling, Eileen Chang, Xi Xi, Chen Ran, Zhu Tianxin), male writers such as Xu Dishan, Mao Dun, and Lao She who devote unusual attention to feminine subjectivity are also included. Familiarity with Chinese culture and society and literary analysis are preferred, but not required. |
| CHTR 5840 | Writing Women in Modern China (3) |
| This seminar focuses on works of fiction from modern China that articulate womanhood from a variety of perspectives. In addition to women writers (Qiu Jin, Ding Ling, Eileen Chang, Xi Xi, Chen Ran, Zhu Tianxin), male writers such as Xu Dishan, Mao Dun, and Lao She who devote unusual attention to feminine subjectivity are also included. Familiarity with Chinese culture and society and literary analysis are preferred, but not required. Students enrolled in the 5000 level course will be required to use some Chinese language materials. | |
| Classics | |
| CLAS 3040 | Women and Gender in Ancient Greece and Rome (3) |
| This course focuses on women's roles and lives in Ancient Greece and Rome. Students are introduced to the primary material (textual and material) on women in antiquity and to current debates about it. Subjects addressed will include sexual stereotypes and ideals, power-relations of gender, familial roles, social and economic status, social and political history, visual art, medical theory, and religion. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.virginia.edu/classics/. Course was offered Fall 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2019, Fall 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2010 | |
| Comparative Literature | |
| CPLT 3750 | Women, Childhood, Autobiography (3) |
| Cross-cultural readings in women's childhood narratives. Emphasis on formal as well as thematic aspects. | |
| Drama | |
| DRAM 2080 | Circus in America (3) |
| Introduces the circus as a form of American entertainment. Focuses on its development, growth, decline, and cultural influences. Course was offered Summer 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Summer 2014, Spring 2014, Summer 2013, Spring 2013, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Summer 2011, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| Education-Human Services | |
| EDHS 2891 | Mentorship Skills with Adolescent Girls (4) |
| This course is an opportunity for students to develop their leadership skills through academic service learning. Students explore the psychological, social, and cultural issues affecting adolescent girls and apply this understanding through service with the Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP), a mentoring program pairing middle school girls with college women for a year. Offered on the Undergraduate and Graduate levels. | |
| EDHS 5891 | Issues Facing Adolescent Girls (3) |
| This course provides an opportunity for students to develop their leadership skills through involvement in academic service learning. Students will explore the psychological, social, and cultural issues affecting adolescent girls and apply this understanding through service with the Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP), a mentoring program that pairs middle school girls with college women for a year. Offered on the Undergraduate and Graduate levels. Graduate level requires additional readings and assignments. | |
| German in Translation | |
| GETR 3750 | Women, Childhood, Autobiography (3) |
| Cross-cultural readings in women's childhood narratives. Emphasis on formal as well as thematic aspects. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://www.virginia.edu/german/Undergraduate/Courses. | |
| History-South Asian History | |
| HISA 3121 | History of Women in South Asia (3) |
| Surveys the evolving definitions and roles of women in the major social and cultural traditions of South Asia, i.e., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Course was offered Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Summer 2010, Spring 2010 | |
| History-United States History | |
| HIUS 3150 | Salem Witch Trials: History and Literature (3) |
| The seminar will examine the historical scholarship, literary fiction, and primary source materials relating to the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692 and enable students to work with all the original sources. Prerequisites: Restricted to Religious Studies, American Studies, English, SWAG, and History Majors. | |
| HIUS 3611 | Gender & Sexuality in AM, 1600-1865 (3) |
| Studies the evolution of women's roles in American society with particular attention to the experiences of women of different races, classes, and ethnic groups. | |
| HIUS 3612 | Gender & Sexuality in America, 1865 to Present (3) |
| Studies the evolution of women's roles in American society with particular attention to the experiences of women of different races, classes, and ethnic groups. Course was offered Spring 2024, Summer 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Summer 2017, Summer 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| Japanese in Translation | |
| JPTR 3020 | Survey of Modern Japanese Literature (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This is an introductory course to Japanese literary traditions from the late 19th century to the present. By reading a broad range of writings including political accounts, fictional narratives and poetic prose, the course examines how a variety of writing practices contributed to the production of modern Japanese literature. No knowledge of Japanese is required. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 |
| JPTR 3290 | Feminine Fictions in Japanese Court Literature (3) |
| This seminar will take up the world's earliest instance of literature written extensively by, for, and about women, including such famous works as the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon and Sarashina Diary, among others. The focus will be on reading gender as a fictional enactment of desire and identity that is performed through acts of writing and reading. No prior knowledge of Japanese language or literature is required. | |
| JPTR 5020 | Survey of Modern Japanese Literature (3) |
| This is an introductory course to Japanese literary traditions from the late 19th century to the present. By reading a broad range of writings including political accounts, fictional narratives and poetic prose, the course examines how a variety of writing practices contributed to the production of modern Japanese literature. No knowledge of Japanese is required. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 | |
| JPTR 5290 | Feminine Fictions in Japanese Court Literature (3) |
| This seminar will take up the world's earliest instance of literature written extensively by, for, and about women, including such famous works as the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon and Sarashina Diary, among others. The focus will be on reading gender as a fictional enactment of desire and identity that is performed through acts of writing and reading. No prior knowledge of Japanese language or literature is required. | |
| Media Studies | |
| MDST 3306 | Sexuality, Gender, Class and Race in the Teen Film (3) |
| The focus of this class will be on viewings and analyses of films featuring images of teens produced between 1930 and the present, focusing on the following questions: what is adolescence (and how has it been defined in American film)? What is the range of experience that characterizes American adolescence across gender, race, and class lines? How does it make sense to think about the social influence of films on individuals and society? Course was offered Summer 2017, January 2017, Summer 2016, January 2016, January 2015, Summer 2014, January 2014, Spring 2013, January 2013, Summer 2012 | |
| MDST 3409 | LGBTQ Issues in the Media (3) |
| This course will explore the complex cultural dynamics of LGBTQ media visibility, along with its social, political, and psychological implications for LGBTQ audiences. It explores four domains: (1) the question of LGBT media visibility (2) the complex processes of inclusion, normalization, and assimilation in popular culture (3) media industries and the LGBT market (4) the relationship between digital media, LGBT audiences, and everyday life. Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2020, Summer 2019, Summer 2018, Summer 2017, Fall 2016, Summer 2016, Fall 2015 | |
| MDST 4107 | Feminism and the Public Sphere (3) |
| This class will examine the normative basis of the public sphere and critiques of its current structure and ask: What would a more inclusive vision of political participation and communication look like? In attempting to build an answer, we will examine a number of works on communication ethics, politics and media, with an emphasis on feminist and queer scholarship. Course was offered Fall 2013 | |
| MDST 4110 | Gender Non-Conformity in Media Culture (3) |
| As one of the primary cultural drivers of common sense, shared values, and political ideology, media are certainly influential storytellers. This course creates space for considering media's role in articulating and fashioning the limits and possibilities of gender identity. We will pay particular attention to representations of gender non-conformity in popular culture such as female masculinity, male femininity, and transgender subjectivity. Course was offered Spring 2015 | |
| Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Cultures | |
| MESA 2360 | Women and Social Media in the Middle East and South Asia (3) |
| Women in the Middle East and South Asia have embraced social media as a tool for expressing their identities and promoting causes important to them. This course examines women's use of social media in five selected countries -Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and Pakistan - and investigates how it simultaneously enables and limits women's empowerment. | |
| Persian in Translation | |
| PETR 3320 | Life Narratives & Iranian Women Writers (3) |
| This seminar examines life narratives and other forms of literary output by Iranian women writers. We will examine the ways these writers have desegregated a predominantly all-male literary tradition, as well as their arrival at the forefront of a bloodless social movement. Some of the genres to be investigated include novels, short stories, poetry, autobiographies, memoirs, and films. | |
| PETR 5320 | Life Narratives & Iranian Women Writers (3) |
| This seminar examines life narratives and other forms of literary output by Iranian women writers. We will examine the ways these writers have desegregated a predominantly all-male literary tradition, as well as their arrival at the forefront of a bloodless social movement. Some of the genres to be investigated include novels, short stories, poetry, autobiographies, memoirs, and films. | |
| Philosophy | |
| PHIL 3780 | Reproductive Ethics (3) |
| The focus of the course will be the exploration of various moral, legal and policy issues posed by efforts to curtail or enhance fertility through contraception, abortion, and recent advances in reproductive technology. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at http://www.virginia.edu/philosophy/. Prerequisite: One prior course in ethics from any department. | |
| Politics-Comparative Politics | |
| PLCP 3350 | Gender Politics in Comparative Perspective (3) |
| Focuses on the state and how power is gendered in the developing world. Topics include feminist methods and concepts, women in the military, nationalism, women's movements, quotas, citizenship and globalization. Cross-listed with SWAG 3350. | |
| PLCP 4840 | Gender Politics in Africa (3) |
| Investigates the ways social structures and institutions shape gender in sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on the state. Topics include gender in the pre-colonial and colonial era, contemporary African women's movements, women in politics, development, HIV/AIDS and sexuality. | |
| Politics-Political Theory | |
| PLPT 4200 | Feminist Political Theory (3) |
| Studies modern and contemporary feminist theories of political life. Prerequisite: One previous course in political theory or instructor permission. Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2010, Spring 2010 | |
| Psychology | |
| PSYC 4603 | Psychology of Sexual Orientation (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Overview of research and theory related to sexual orientation across the lifespan from the standpoint of the social sciences. Topics include conceptualization of sexual identities, origins and development of sexual orientation, sexual identity formation and disclosure. Selected issues such as couple relationships, employment and careers, parenthood, and aging are also explored, since they may be affected by sexual orientation.
Prerequisite: Third- or fourth-year psychology major Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, January 2010 |
| Religion-African Religions | |
| RELA 3000 | Women and Religion in Africa (3) |
| This course examines women's religious activities, traditions and spirituality in a number of different African contexts. Drawing on ethnographic, historical, literary, and religious studies scholarship, we will explore a variety of themes and debates that have emerged in the study of gender and religion in Africa. Topics will include gendered images of sacred power; the construction of gender through ritual; sexuality and fertility; and women. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| Religion-Buddhism | |
| RELB 3150 | Seminar in Buddhism and Gender (3) |
| This seminar takes as its point of departure Carolyn Bynum's statements: "No scholar studying religion, no participant in ritual, is ever neuter. Religious experience is the experience of men and women, and in no known society is this experience the same." The unifying theme is gender and Buddhism, exploring historical, textual and social questions relevant to the status of women and men in the Buddhist world from its origins to the present day. Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Fall 2010 | |
| Religion-Christianity | |
| RELC 3150 | Salem Witch Trials (3) |
| Salem Witch Trials | |
| RELC 4610 | Sex and Morality (3) |
| A theological overview of Jewish and Christian reflection on proper sexual conduct in the United States, with specific emphasis on pre-marital sex, adoption, abortion, gay marriage, and the teaching of sex education in public schools. Course was offered Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| Religion-Islam | |
| RELI 2559 | New Course in Islam (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Islam | |
| Religion-Judaism | |
| RELJ 2030 | Judaism, Roots and Rebellion (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | What does it mean to construct one's identity in dialogue with ancient texts and traditions? Can the gap between ancient and contemporary be bridged? Or must texts and traditions born of a remote time and place remain hopelessly irrelevant to contemporary life? This course explores these questions by examining the myriad ways that contemporary Jews balance the complexities of modern life with the demands of an ancient heritage. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 |
| RELJ 3390 | Jewish Feminism (3) |
| Jewish Feminism Course was offered Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014 | |
| South Asian Literature in Translation | |
| SATR 3000 | Women Writing in India & Pakistan: 1947-Present (3) |
| We will read and critique the fiction and poetry of culturally specific regions while reflecting on the assumption that experiences and identities are fundamentally gendered. We will explore issues associated with women writing in regional languages to writing in mainstream languages like Hindi, Urdu and English. We will also examine how the publication and dissemination of women's texts are related to the women movements in India and Pakistan. Prerequisite: Completion of First Writing Requirement Course was offered Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2013, Fall 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| Slavic Folklore & Oral Literature | |
| SLFK 2120 | Russian Folklore (3) |
| What is folklore exactly? Further, what is it in the Russian context? This course is a thorough overview of different types of folklore throughout Russian history. We will cover a brief history of Russia from pre-Christian times and continue into a thorough analysis of various examples of Russian folklore. This will include narrative folklore (folktales, fairy tales, songs, etc.), material folklore (house structures and layout, clothing, etc.), and social folklore (weddings, funerals, etc.). Students will also be expected to investigate their own ethnic backgrounds through paper topics based on what is learned in the course. Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 | |
| Sociology | |
| SOC 2052 | Sociology of the Family (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Comparison of family organizations in relation to other social institutions in various societies; an introduction to the theory of kinship and marriage systems. Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Summer 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Summer 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 |
| SOC 2320 | Gender and Society (3) |
| Gender and Society Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Summer 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010 | |
| SOC 3100 | Feminist Theory (3) |
| Feminist Theory offers a focused exploration of ways that late 20th Century and early 21st Century feminist theorists challenge, alter and deploy central concerns and paradigms of Western cultural assumption. Although Feminist Theory as a category incorporates interdisciplinary and global perspectives, the slant of this course is a focus on Western culture and Feminist Social Theory. | |
| SOC 3306 | Sexuality, Gender, Class and Race in the Teen Film (3) |
| The focus of this class will be on viewings and analyses of films featuring images of teens produced between 1930 and the present, focusing on the following questions: what is adolescence (and how has it been defined in American film)? What is the range of experience that characterizes American adolescence across gender, race, and class lines? How does it make sense to think about the social influence of films on individuals and society? Course was offered Spring 2013 | |
| SOC 3450 | Women, Islam and Modernity (3) |
| The global Islamic revival is often considered an obstacle to gender equality. So how are we to understand women's involvement in Islamic movements? And what can these phenomena tell us about gender and modernity? This class will read ethnographic accounts of Muslim women in various parts of the world. We will discuss these ethnographies with an eye for how they speak to and challenge sociological theories of gender, identity, and globalization. Prerequisites: Student must have taken at least one course on gender, or instructor permission. | |
| SOC 4350 | Comparative Gender Stratification (3) |
| Examines gender stratification - the relative level of equality of men and women in a given group - in comparative and cross-historical perspective. Several theories are presented to explain the variations, from gender-egalitarian to highly patriarchal groups.
Prerequisite: Six credits of Sociology or instructor permission. Course was offered Spring 2021, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2010, Fall 2009 | |
| SOC 5320 | Sociology of Gender (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course will explore the social construction and consequences of gender, covering such topics as work, care, sexuality, identity, politics and inequality. Readings will include the classics as well as newer works in the field.
Prerequisite: Graduate status; six credits in sociology or permission from the instructor. |
| Spanish | |
| SPAN 4310 | Latin American Women Writers from 1900 to the Present (3) |
| Study of major Latin American women writers from 1900 to the present, including poets, essayists, playwrights, and fiction writers. Discussion will focus on the literary representation of issues related to gender and culture. Prerequisite: SPAN 3010, 3300, and 3 credits of 3400-3430, or departmental placement. | |
| SPAN 4620 | Hispanic Women Writers (3) |
| Examines writings by women authors of Spain and Latin America, using the texts as a basis for studying the evolving roles and paradigms of women in these societies. Prerequisite: SPAN 3010, 3300, and 3 credits of 3400-3430, or departmental placement | |
| SPAN 4621 | Latin American Women Poets (3) |
| In this course we will read extensively from the poetry of the three most famous women poets of Latin America in the twentieth century: Uruguay's Delmira Agustini, Argentina's Alfonsina Storni, and Chile's Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Prerequisite: SPAN 3010, 3300, and 3 credits of 3400-3430, or departmental placement | |
| Women and Gender Studies | |
| WGS 1001T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Artistic, Interpretive, and WGSosophical Inquiry. | |
| WGS 1002T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Cultures and WGSieties of the World. | |
| WGS 1003T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to WGSorical Perspectives. | |
| WGS 1004T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Social and Economic Systems. | |
| WGS 1005T | Non-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4) |
| Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalent to current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Chemical, Mathematical, and Physical Inquiry. | |
| WGS 1510 | Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality (1 - 4) |
| Special Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality. Course was offered Summer 2018, Summer 2017 | |
| WGS 2100 | Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | An introduction to gender studies, including the fields of women's studies, feminist studies, LGBT studies, & masculinity studies. Students will examine historical movements, theoretical issues, & contemporary debates, especially as they pertain to issues of inequality & to the intersection of gender with race, class, sexuality, & nationalism. Topics will vary according to the interdisciplinary expertise & research focus of the instructor. Course was offered Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Summer 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Summer 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, January 2019, Fall 2018, Summer 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Summer 2017, Spring 2017, January 2017, Fall 2016, Summer 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Summer 2015, Spring 2015, January 2015, Fall 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Summer 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 |
| WGS 2125 | Race & Power in Gender & Sexuality (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Offers a study of race-racialization in relation to gender-sexuality. Consider how the concept of race shapes relationships between gendered selfhood & society, how it informs identity & experiences of the erotic, & how racialized gender & sexuality are created-maintained-monitored. With an interdisciplinary perspective, we will consider how race & power are reproduced & resisted through gender & sexuality, individually-national-international. |
| WGS 2224 | Black Femininities and Masculinities in Media (3) |
| Addresses the role the media has played in creating images and understandings of "Blackness" in the United States, particularly where it converges with popular ideologies about gender. Course was offered Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2012 | |
| WGS 2500 | Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality (1 - 4) |
| Special Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality vary by semester. | |
| WGS 2559 | New Course in Women, Gender & Sexuality (1 - 4) |
| The course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of women, gender & sexuality Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Summer 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 | |
| WGS 2600 | Human Sexualities (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Examines human sexuality from psychological, biological, behavioral, social, and historical perspectives. Topics include sexual research and theoretical perspectives, sexual anatomy and physiology, sexual health, intimacy, communication, patterns of sexual response and pleasure and sexual problems and therapies. Course will also include examination of the development of sexuality and the intersections of other identities, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexuality and the law, sexual assault, and other social issues in sexuality. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020 |
| WGS 2700 | Men and Masculinities (3) |
| "What is understood as ""masculine"" has varied throughout time as well as across cultural contexts and distinct social groupings, it is equally true that most historical periods, cultures, groups, etc. believe their own understandings of masculinity to be universal. In this course, we will deconstruct this. From this class, you should be able to think critically about where men and masculinity have been, where they are going, and what this might mean more generally for gender relations and gender inequality." Course was offered Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023, Fall 2022, Summer 2022, Fall 2021, Summer 2021, Spring 2021 | |
| WGS 2800 | Politics of Motherhood (3) |
| Motherhood, mothering practices, and maternal identities have long been crucial elements of human existence that have not received the level of attention or support that their importance calls for. This course takes an interdisciplinary look (inc. anthropology, feminist theory, media studies, philosophy, psychology, sociology) at scholarly conceptualizations of "good" mothering and analyzes depictions of mothering practices. Course was offered Spring 2023 | |
| WGS 3100 | Intro to WGS Theory (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Explores major debates, key ideas, and historical developments in women, gender, & sexuality theory. Students will gain familiarity with queer, trans, and feminist theory, including Black, Native, socialist, crip, and other approaches. Will consider the different methods that gender & sexuality scholars have used to explain the social world, and why such explanations are vital to WGS. Course emphasizes reading, discussion,and critical writing. |
| WGS 3125 | Transnational Feminism (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course places women, feminism, and activism in a transnational perspective, and offers students the opportunity to examine how issues considered critical to the field of gender studies are impacting women's lives globally in contemporary national contexts. We will look closely at how violence, economic marginality, intersections of race and gender, and varied strategies for development are affecting women in specific geographical locations. |
| WGS 3135 | Queer Politics (3) |
| The phrase, "The first Pride was a riot" has long been repeated in LGBTQ+ circles. But what does this phrase mean, and what histories does it draw upon? What are the political histories of sexual and gender minorities in the United States beyond and before "Pride?" What are the current political stakes of Pride¿s history as protest movement? What queer political futures are on the horizon? This course explores such questions. Course was offered Summer 2024 | |
| WGS 3200 | Women, Gender and Sports (3) |
| This course traces the history of American female athletes from the late 1800s through the early 21st century. We will use gender as a means of understanding the evolution of the female athlete, and will also trace the manner by which issues of class and race inform sportswomen's journeys over time, particularly with regard to issues of femininity and homophobia. Course was offered Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Summer 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012 | |
| WGS 3210 | Gender, Sport and Film (3) |
| This course will examine how film has portrayed women's sports and female athletes. We will explore how well the film industry has documented the history of women's sports, issues important to female athletes such as race, sexuality, equality and issues of femininity, and we will look to see how well these productions stack up against films portraying male athletes and men's sports. Course was offered Summer 2024, Summer 2023, January 2021, Summer 2020, January 2020, January 2019, January 2018, Summer 2017, Summer 2016, Spring 2015 | |
| WGS 3220 | Global Perspectives on Gender & Sport (3) |
| This course will examine female athletes from a global perspective, comparing and contrasting their experiences, and placing them in historical perspective. Among the topics considered will be the Olympic Games, Chinese sports schools, the post-apartheid athletic landscape of South Africa, and Iranian women athlete's struggle against clothing restrictions. | |
| WGS 3230 | Gender and the Olympic Games (3) |
| In ancient Greece, women risked death if they even attended the Olympic Games. As Pierre de Coubertin looked to revive the games in 1896, he thought women better suited to cheering on the male victors, than to competing themselves. This course will explore women's early participation in the Olympic Games, the pressures upon Olympic sportswomen to be feminine, and the important intersections of race, class, and sexual orientation. | |
| WGS 3240 | Gender, Race and Sport: A History of African American Sportswomen (3) |
| Explore the intersection of gender and race in sport, specifically examining the African-American female experience in sport. This course will ask students to consider whether sport was (and continues to be) the great equalizer for both African-American sportsmen and sportswomen, and to evaluate their portrayals (or lack thereof) in both the white and black media. Course was offered Spring 2022, Spring 2020 | |
| WGS 3305 | Issues in LGBTQ Studies (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course is an interdisciplinary analysis of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) Studies. We will study historical events and political, literary and artistic figures and works; contemporary social and political issues; the meaning and development of sexual and gender identities; and different disciplinary definitions of meaning and knowledge. |
| WGS 3310 | Queer American History (3) |
| Course focuses on 20th century history of LGBTQ activism, but will include formation of heterosexual and homosexual identities and historical constructions of sexual practices prior to the 1900s. From 20th c. the course will focus on the Homophile Movement, Gay Liberation, and ACT UP, among other activist movements. Although primary emphasis will be placed on historical activism, contemporary movements regarding LGBTQ-rights will be included. | |
| WGS 3409 | LGBTQ Issues in the Media (3) |
| This course will explore the complex cultural dynamics of LGBTQ media visibility, along with its social, political, and psychological implications for LGBTQ audiences. It explores four domains: (1) the question of LGBT media visibility (2) the complex processes of inclusion, normalization, and assimilation in popular culture (3) media industries and the LGBT market (4) the relationship between digital media, LGBT audiences, and everyday life. | |
| WGS 3415 | Sex and Resistance on the Internet (3) |
| From message boards to dating apps, sex and sexuality have been on the internet since its founding. At the same time, attempts to curb certain kinds of eroticism have long followed sexual content online. This course explores the ways that sexuality, eroticism, and desire have taken shape online, the ways it has been promoted and restricted, and the ways that marginalized groups have used the internet to take sexuality "into their own hands." Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| WGS 3500 | Research and Methods in Women, Gender & Sexuality (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course develops fundamental skills for critical thinking, researching, writing, and communicating in WGS. Students will learn methods for finding and analyzing sources, approaches to framing arguments, and skills for effective written and oral communication. Seminars are offered on a variety of topics. This class fulfills the Second Writing Requirement and Enhanced Writing Requirement. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2019, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012 |
| WGS 3559 | New Course in Women, Gender and Sexuality (3) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subjects of women, gender and sexualities. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, January 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Summer 2018, Fall 2017, January 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, January 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2014, January 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 | |
| WGS 3600 | Pleasure Activism Across Time (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | The history of white supremacy & the heteropatriarchy includes denying sexual pleasure of marginalized communities. A major benefit of pleasure is empowerment, which threatens power structures & leads to restrictive practices & laws. This course focuses on queer activists & feminists of color who examine pleasure, systemic oppression, & the connection of inner desires & needs -physical, mental, & emotional -as a part of enacting social change. Course was offered Spring 2024 |
| WGS 3611 | Gender and Sexuality in the United States, 1600-1865 (3) |
| This course explores the significance of gender and sexuality in the territory of the present-day U.S. during the period from the first European settlements to the Civil War. | |
| WGS 3612 | Gender and Sexuality in the United States, 1865-Present (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course explores the significance of gender and sexuality in the territory of the present-day U.S. during the period from the Civil War to the present. Course was offered Spring 2024, Summer 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Summer 2021, Spring 2020, Summer 2019, Spring 2018, Summer 2017, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 |
| WGS 3680 | Eve's Sinful Bite: Foodscapes in Women's Writing Culture and Society (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course explores how Italian women writers have represented food in their short stories, novels and autobiographies in dialogue with the culture and society from late nineteenth century to the present. These lectures will offer a close reading of the symbolic meaning of food in narrative and the way it intersects with Italian women's socio-cultural history, addressing issues of gender, identity and politics of the body. Course was offered Spring 2018, Spring 2017 |
| WGS 3750 | Women, Childhood, Autobiography (3) |
| Cross-cultural readings in women's childhood narratives. Emphasis on formal as well as thematic aspects. | |
| WGS 3770 | Women Writers: Women on Women (3) |
| This course focuses on women writers from any era who address the topic of femininity: what it means or implies to be a woman. Course was offered Fall 2016 | |
| WGS 3897 | Gender Violence and Social Justice (3) |
| Introduction to dynamics of gender-based violence, the political and cultural structures that perpetuate it, and avenues for achieving social justice. Students will think critically about the (largely) domestic impact of this violence, and develop a practical understanding of how it intersects with other forms of oppression, by applying theory to real-world problems through experiential learning projects in the community and at the University. Course was offered January 2025, January 2024, January 2023, Fall 2022, Janiuary 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021 | |
| WGS 3900 | Gender & Sexuality in Islamic Culture (3) |
| This course examines the politics of gender and sexuality in various Muslim societies since the 19th century. It covers a range of topics and themes, including historical, theological, political, and anthropological accounts of gender and sexuality discourses; various feminist movements; and sexuality, marriage, family, masculinity and LGBTQ issues. | |
| WGS 3993 | Independent Study (1 - 4) |
| Independent Study Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 | |
| WGS 4101 | Issues in Women's Autobiographies (3) |
| This course focuses on women's autobiographical texts and the diverse ways authors explore issues surrounding identity, power, and resistance in their narratives. We will read compelling accounts of imprisonment, reservation life, political detention, and more, while closely examining women's participation in ongoing struggles for social justice. | |
| WGS 4110 | Gender Non-Conformity in Media Culture (3) |
| As one of the primary cultural drivers of common sense, shared values, and political ideology, media are certainly influential storytellers. This course creates space for considering media's role in articulating and fashioning the limits and possibilities of gender identity. We will pay particular attention to representations of gender non-conformity in popular culture such as female masculinity, male femininity, and transgender subjectivity. Course was offered Spring 2016, Spring 2015 | |
| WGS 4120 | Trans Studies in the Américas (3) |
| This interdisciplinary course introduces students to trans studies via Latin American and Latinx Studies. Through cultural and literary texts, performance art, visual culture, and activisms that highlight the imbrications of race, class, sex, gender, and nation, we examine travesti and trans of color critique; travesti activism and sexual politics; trans archival formations; and sex work as knowledge, history, and world-making practices. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| WGS 4200 | Sex and Gender Go to the Movies (3) |
| This course will examine the ways in which different mass media help to define our cultural ideas about gender differences and the ways in which feminist scholars have responded to these definitions by criticizing existing media images and by creating some alternatives of their own. The course will examine the notion that the mass media might influence our development as gendered individuals and consider different forms of feminist theory. | |
| WGS 4325 | Feminist Disability Politics (3) |
| This course investigates what and who feminist disability politics encompass. We will explore disability and ableism through their relations to interlocking structures of domination. We will link disability to anti-blackness, capitalism, empire and conquest, carcerality and policing, and cisheteropatriarchy. A major focus includes theories and practices of resistance. Students can develop creative projects alongside scholarly writing. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |
| WGS 4450 | Violence Against Sexual Minorities (3) |
| This course emphasizes violence against minority groups. Particular attention will be paid to violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, although the class will also focus on forms of abuse against other historically-marginalized groups. Topics covered will include racist and sexist violence, sexualized abuse, including rape and sexual assault, domestic violence, and the politics of hate crime. Course was offered Spring 2023 | |
| WGS 4500 | Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality (1 - 4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality vary by semester. Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016 |
| WGS 4559 | New Course in Women, Gender & Sexuality (1 - 4) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject of studies of women and gender. Course was offered Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014 |
| WGS 4610 | LGBTQ Communities: Race, Class, Gender (3) |
| This course examines the historical and continuing role of LGBTQ communities in U.S. society. Topics covered will include changes that have taken place over time, LGBTQ-rights as a social movement, and homelessness as an LGBTQ-rights issue. Particular emphasis will be placed on power relations in LGBTQ communities, including the role of racism, classism, and sexism. | |
| WGS 4730 | Global Perspectives on Men and Masculinities (3) |
| This course examines central topics in global masculinity studies by expanding students' awareness of non-US cultures. A panoramic view of masculinity from various countries, cultures and traditions enables further examination of beliefs in "manhood." Themes will include the intersection between masculinity and colonization, nationalism, hegemony, fatherhood, marriage, initiation rituals, war/warriors, violence and health. | |
| WGS 4750 | Global History of Black Girlhood (3) |
| This course will allow students to explore the new scholarship on black girlhood. Scholars working on the history of black girls in the US, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa have created a vibrant new field of black girl studies. Combining insights from black feminism and the history of childhood, these scholars have centered black girls' experience as a means of reframing our understanding of citizenship, labor, and creativity. Course was offered Spring 2018, Spring 2017 | |
| WGS 4800 | Queer Theory (3) |
| Introduces students to some key & controversial theoretical texts that make up the emerging field of queer theory. The approach will be interdisciplinary, w/ an emphasis on literary, social, & aesthetic criticisms that may shift according the instructor's areas of expertise. Active reading & informed discussion will be emphasized for the often unseen, or submerged, aspects of sexuality embedded in cultural texts, contexts, & litterateurs. Course was offered Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022, January 2021, Spring 2020, January 2020, Spring 2019, January 2019, January 2018, January 2017, January 2016, January 2015 | |
| WGS 4810 | Feminist Theory (3) |
| This course provides an overview of the historical bases and contemporary developments in feminist theorizing and analyzes a range of theories on gender, including liberal, Marxist, radical, difference, and postmodernist ideas. We explore how feminist theories apply to contemporary debates on the body, sexuality, colonialism, globalization, transnationalism incorporating analyses of race, class, national difference and cross-cultural perspectives. | |
| WGS 4820 | Black Feminist Theory (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | This course critically examines key ideas, issues, and debates in contemporary Black feminist thought. With a particular focus on Black feminist understandings of intersectionality and womanism, the course examines how Black feminist thinkers interrogate specific concepts including Black womanhood, sexual mythologies and vulnerabilities, class distinctions, colorism, leadership, crime and punishment, and popular culture. |
| WGS 4840 | Gender Politics in Africa (3) |
| Comprehensive introduction to gender politics in Africa, including gender transformations under imperial rule, gender and national struggles, gender and culture claims, women's movements and the gendering of the post-colonial state. | |
| WGS 4900 | Black Geographies in the Americas (3) |
| This course will interrogate Black geographies in the Americas and the ways in which traditional geographies adhere to a racial-sexual logic. Through an interdisciplinary approach, we will examine Black thinkers' and scholars' concepts of geography and how their interventions allow us to think differently about place, space, and Blackness. Topics include maroon communities, abolition geography, plantation geographies, and demonic grounds. | |
| WGS 4998 | Women, Gender & Sexuality Senior Thesis I (3) |
| Women, Gender & Sexuality majors are encouraged to become Distinguished Majors. Students complete a two-semester written thesis (approx 40-60 pages in length) in their 4th year under the supervision of a WGS faculty member. The thesis allows students to pursue their own interests in depth & have the intellectual satisfaction of defining & completing a sustained project. Please see your WGS advisor for more info. Prereq: WGS Major, WGS 2nd Major | |
| WGS 4999 | Women, Gender & Sexuality Senior Thesis II (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | Majors in Women, Gender and Sexuality (WGS) are encouraged to become Distinguished Majors. Students complete a two-semester written thesis (approximately 40-60 pages in length) in their fourth year under the supervision of a WGS faculty member. The thesis allows students to pursue their own interests in depth and have the intellectual satisfaction of defining and completing a sustained project. Please see your WGS advisor for more information.
Prerequisite: WGS Major, 2nd Major Course was offered Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 |
| WGS 5140 | Advanced Border Crossings: Women, Islam, & Lit. in Middle East & N. Africa (3) |
| A focus on a bloodless, non-violent revolution that is shaking the foundation of the Islamic Middle East and North Africa, a revolution with women writers at the forefront. An examination of the rhetoric and poetics of sex segregation, voice, visibility, and mobility in a spectrum of genres that includes folklore, novel, short story, poetry, biography, autobiography, and essay. This course section is for graduate students only. Prerequisites: Instructor Consent Required Course was offered Fall 2015 | |
| WGS 5500 | Gender, Sexuality, and Education Course Topic(s) (3) |
| Education topic courses offered on a semster-to-semester basis. Please see the WGS website for specific approved sections. | |
| WGS 5559 | Topics in Women, Gender & Sexuality (3) |
| Offered Spring 2025 | To offer graduate level topics courses. |
| WGS 5993 | Independent Study (1 - 4) |
| Graduate level independent study. Course was offered Summer 2021 | |
| WGS 7500 | Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (3) |
| This course is a graduate-only advanced introduction (inevitably partial and selective) to key concepts, thinkers, and texts in the fields of feminist and queer theory. The goal is to develop a foundation for your own research and teaching on gender and sexuality. Together, we will explore books and articles that have traveled across disciplines to shape debate in a variety of fields. | |
| WGS 7559 | New Course in Women, Gender & Sexuality (1 - 4) |
| This course provides the opportunity to offer a new topic in the subject area of women, gender & sexuality. | |
| WGS 7850 | Transgender Studies in the Américas (3) |
| Trans Studies in the Américas centers Latinx and Latinx American epistemologies and cultural production to introduce students to the vibrant field of transgender studies. Drawing from critical theory, history, politics, visual culture, literary, and performance studies, we examine central theories, methods, and objects that have shaped the field's core theoretical concerns. Emphasis on new and emergent work in the field. Course taught in English. Course was offered Spring 2024 | |