Program in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies
Website: http://www.twu.edu/ws/
Interim Chair: Dr. Ashley Bender
Location: CFO 904
Telephone: 940-898-2119
Fax: 940-898-2101
E-mail: womenstudies@twu.edu
The innovative Bachelor of Arts degree in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies (MWGS) prepares students for a wide range of professions and graduate studies. With its rigorous and flexible curriculum, the B.A. program could support students seeking careers as doctors; professors; attorneys; human resource specialists; researchers; or diversity, equity, and inclusion consultants. This degree also supports students interested in positions in research and service organizations that focus on social, political, and economic issues that impact women’s lives. In general, MWGS students gain strong transferable skills in reading, comprehension, speaking, writing, and active listening. Employers call these “soft” skills, and they are highly desirable in the workplace.
There are three tracks in the undergraduate program: Health Studies, Community Leadership, and General Studies. All three tracks share a common set of courses required for the major (18 credit hours), including an upper-level capstone class that directly prepares students to transition to professional life and graduate or professional studies. This structure makes it easier for students to change tracks or to decide which track to pursue later in the program. B.A. students must also select a minor (18 credit hours) to provide a strong foundation in a discipline that will support their career goals. All MWGS majors have the opportunity to pursue an internship with an organization for elective credit. Regardless of the track, each student will work closely with an advisor to develop their degree plan. All electives must be approved by this advisor.
Undergraduate Degrees Offered
The BA program has three tracks to prepare students for a range of employment options and for further studies:
At the graduate level, TWU offers one of the few freestanding Master of Arts degrees in Women’s and Gender Studies in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region and the only Ph.D. degree in Women’s and Gender Studies in Texas. For further information, see the Graduate Catalog and visit the Department’s website.
All applicants must meet the general undergraduate admission requirements.
Faculty
Asterisk (*) denotes Graduate Faculty status.
Courses
Contact hours identified in the course descriptions are based on a 15-week term. Students who enroll in Summer or mini-terms are expected to meet the same total number of contact hours as a 15-week term.
WS 2013. Gender and Social Change: An Introduction to Multicultural-Women's Studies. Introduction to multicultural-women's studies as an interdisciplinary field and how gender, "race," class, nationality, sexuality, disability, and other identity categories shape human experiences. Examination of social institutions, norms, and practices for their impact on the status and roles of women; visions and strategies for social transformation. Satisfies three hours Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core (40) or Component Area Option (90). Satisfies Global Perspectives graduation requirement. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 2033. Womanist Spiritual Activism: Social Justice Theories for Wellness and Transformation. Introduction to interrelated roles of spiritual practice, imagination, and creativity in personal well-being and struggles for social justice. Multicultural, indigenous, and womanist approaches to wellness and social change. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90) or (91). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 2053. Women and Minorities in Engineering, Mathematics, and Science. Examines reasons why women and minorities are traditionally under-represented in the areas of engineering, mathematics, and science and includes strategies for increasing their representation. Introduction to problem-solving strategies, useful for any discipline, which emphasize solutions incorporating both current and emerging technologies. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 2093. Women as Citizens: Women and Community Activism. Interdisciplinary analysis of women's roles in community building from the colonial period to present and examination of current grassroots activism in the United States worldwide. Emphasis on women leaders, interest groups, and movements impacting the political process. Required community service internship. Prerequisites: ENG 1013, ENG 1023, HIST 1013, HIST 1023, and POLS 2013 or POLS 2023. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 2383. Gendered Images in Dance and Performance. Survey of the development of gendered images in various dance genres and events embedded in U.S. culture and how movement expression inscribes markers of identity such as gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality in their inscription on the body in performance. Satisfies three hours Creative Arts Core (50) or Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 2393. Introduction to Literature by Women. Introduction to important works of literature by women. May be organized by theme, topic, genre, ethnic group, or nationality. Satisfies three hours Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core (40) or Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 2703. Gender and Education. An interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between gender and education in the U.S. Explores how gender relationships are created, maintained, enacted, and transformed through educational structures, practices, and institutions. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3023. U.S. Women of Colors. Multidisciplinary, relational explorations of the histories, theories, cultures, and lives of U.S. women from a wide variety of ethnic/cultural backgrounds. Themes of agency, survival, resistance, and transformation. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3063. Women in Politics. Impact of gender on power and influence in society; political socialization, participation, and leadership of women; women's political issues and movements. Prerequisite: Three hours of political science or consent of instructor. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3073. Literature by Women. Advanced examination of literature by women. Organized by theme, topic, or genre. May be repeated when topic varies. Prerequiste: ENG 1023. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3083. Ethics and Feminism. A comprehensive study of the literature, principles, and linguistic impact of contemporary ethics with special emphasis on the origins, authors, and audiences related to feminist philosophy. Satisfies three hours Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core (40) or Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3193. Women and Western Religions. Women's religious roles and contributions to religious traditions with emphasis on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; interconnections between religion and gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, and culture; and feminist/womanist critiques and transformations of Western religious traditions. Satisfies three hours Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core (40) or Component Area Option (90). Satisfies Global Perspectives graduation requirement. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3213. Woman's Roles. Women's roles are examined in the context of social institutions such as the family, the economy, and the government. Implications of sexual inequality, changing gender roles, and diversity by race, ethnicity, class, and age. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3223. Women, Crime, and Justice. Introduction to gender, crime, and justice. Focus on women as offenders, as crime victims, and as employees in criminal justice. Feminist and critical perspectives on women, girls, and crime. Issues of gender inequality in criminal justice policy and practice. Prerequisite: SOCI 1013, SOCI 3213, WS 3213, WS 2013, or WS 3023. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3343. Women in the Visual Arts. A survey of women visual artists of the Western world and how their roles relate to those of women visual artists worldwide. An analysis, from a traditional and a feminist point of view, of the recording of the female artist's place in history. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3393. Gender, Identity, and the Law. Impact of gender, identity, race, and class on legal status; evolution of the current legal environment, with an emphasis on parallels between gender discrimination and discrimination based on racial, ethnic, and sexual identity; substantive law regarding working conditions, compensation, education, the family, reproductive rights, and criminal law; feminist perspectives on legal reforms to improve the professional lives of individuals of all genders. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3703. Women in Music. An examination of music from the historical, cultural, and contemporary perspectives of women. Topics will include women as composers and performers, and the cultural values that have affected women's participation in musical life. Satisfies three hours Creative Arts Core (50) or Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3733. Psychology of Women. Issues in the development and behavior of women, including theoretical perspectives, male-female differences, achievement, motivation, stereotype, androgyny, sexuality, career choices, mental health and disorders, psychotherapy, life-span, and special sub-groups. Satisfies three hours Core Component Area Option (90). Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 3793. Feminist Research Methods. Introduction to strategies, concepts, and methods for conducting feminist research. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4013. Texts, Trends, and Issues in Women's Studies. Focuses on contemporary women's issues, a body of research or scholarly work relevant to women or topics of a specialized nature such as women and health, women and leadership, women and work, or women of color. May be repeated for credit when the topic varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4023. Sexualities and Identities: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies. Sexuality as an identity formation, social category, and theoretical construct. Interdisciplinary in focus and foundation. Aesthetic, cultural, historical, and institutional discourses that frame our contemporary understandings of sexuality. Three lecture hours. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4113. The Family. A sociological and feminist analysis of the family as an institution and of the processes and dynamics of the interpersonal relations of marriage and family life. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4203. Family Violence and Sexual Assault. Practice implications of various forms of family violence and sexual assault with an emphasis on women as victims and survivors. Theoretical explanations, research literature, policies, treatment issues, and prevention strategies in relation to child abuse, battering, incest, and intimate sexual violence. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4493. Feminist Theory. Explores the diversity of feminist theories and their applications to the social, political, and intellectual contexts of women's lives. Includes consideration of historical context for the development of the theoretical perspectives and critiques their analytical strengths and weaknesses. Attention also given to particular theorists. Prerequisite: WS 2013. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4793. Senior Capstone in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies. Social justice career pathways and application of feminist theories and research methods to address social justice issues. Prerequisite: 18 hours of 3000 and 4000 level coursework. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4903. Special Topics. Seminars on topics related to womanist/feminist theories or current areas of inquiry in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4913. Independent Study. Individual study of topics in feminist theory, scholarship, or practical areas consistent with student interests and needs. Contract between student and professor expected. Prerequisite: Minor in Women's Studies and instructor's approval. Credit: Three hours.
WS 4951. Internship in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies. Supervised practical experience in an agency or organization related to the intellectual and career interests of students interested in non-profit and advocacy careers, and other related professional fields. Minimum of 50 practicum hours on-site or remote. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Permission of department. Credit: One hour.
WS 4952. Internship in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies. Supervised practical experience in an agency or organization related to the intellectual and career interests of students interested in non-profit and advocacy careers, and other related professional fields. Minimum of 100 practicum hours on-site or remote. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Permission of department. Credit: Two hours.
WS 4953. Internship in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies. Supervised practical experience in an agency or organization related to the intellectual and career interests of students interested in non-profit and advocacy careers, and other related professional fields. Minimum of 150 practicum hours on-site or remote. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Permission of department. Credit: Three hours.
