NEW CLASSES IN WOMEN'S STUDIES

FEMINISM AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS - W/ST 449
Professor: Dr. Liz Philipose

This course will trace the emergence of 'women's rights as human rights' as a topic in the international human rights system, with specific reference to feminist debates on racism and colonialism. Topics to be discussed include: colonialism and knowledge; feminism and international relations; international women’s rights movements; discourses of ‘traditional practices’, liberalism and modernity; and hegemonic feminism and power. We will consider current international women’s rights issues and critiques of the ways in which veiling, genital surgeries, gender-based persecution, violence against women in war, sati, dowry murders, migration and trafficking have been taken up in western feminist discourses. Prerequisites: completion of Foundation curriculum and upper division status

SEXING THE CHICANA LITERARY IMAGINATION - WST/ENGL 442
Professor: Dr. Maythee Rojas

This course addresses how Chicanas explore the intersecting issues of race, class, and gender by critically analyzing the use of sexuality in their writing. In particular, it examines how Chicana writers navigate between realistic depictions of sexual expression and stereotypical images of female sexuality as they construct their own representations of sexual desire and identity. Since the 1970s, Chicana writers have actively sought to counter the objectification and marginalization that they encountered within both the Chicano and Women’s Movements by creating a body of literature that reflects their multipositionality. Using the erotic as a feminist lens, Chicana writers have forced readers to reconsider how “traditional” roles for women can be empowering and what it means for a woman to be “bad.” Likewise, their work reveals how the Chicana body historically has been both a physical and symbolic site for violence and conflict. Throughout this course, we discuss how re-imagining the erotic as political allows Chicana writers to emphasize the importance of sexuality in the quest for self-actualization. Prerequisites: completion of Foundation curriculum and upper division status

WOMEN WRITERS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - WST/ENG 441
Professor Angela Bowen

This course explores the literature and lives of women authors of the Ameriocan Harlem Renaissance Period of the 1920s. It examines the critical reception, relative obscurity, and current re-discovery of these writers. The course uses theoretical essays, biographical narratives, historical documents, and media images. Prerequisites: completion of Foundation curriculum and upper division status

LATINAS AND REVOLUTION
Professor: Dr. Maythee Rojas

Using fiction, testimonios, film, history, and political theory, we will examine the various effects that war and revolution have had on women in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and the US. Specifically, we will discuss how women writers depict political strife and social unrest from a feminist perspective. We will trace the development of women's political consciousness, the issues they bring to the political forefront, the multiple struggles they face, and the solutions they propose. Prerequisites: completion of Foundation curriculum and upper division status