GWST 1010

Gender and Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary field aimed at developing a critical understanding of gender as a category of analysis in scholarly enquiry and social dynamics. Paying close attention to the experiences and perspectives of women, students have the opportunity to examine history, social structures, the sciences, language, literature, culture from the illuminating perspective of gender. In all these areas, Gender and Women's Studies investigates how gender intersects with other variables such as race, class, and cultural difference. This introductory course provides an overview of some of the central topics of Gender and Women's Studies, such as the sex/gender distinction, understanding sexualities, the social construction of motherhood, changing definitions of masculinity and femininity, and the place of sex and gender cross-culturally.