Requirements for a Minor in Women’s Studies

The Women’s Studies minor requires 18 hours, including WS 200 and WS 430 or WS 470. Women-related courses such as PY 371, AMS 340, EN 373, COM 425 and COM 469 may be applied to the women’s studies minor. A minimum of 6 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus.

Students may concentrate in women’s studies through the American Studies and New College curricula.

Women’s Studies minors must complete a minor declaration form that must be approved and signed by the department chair. The minor declaration form should be completed, signed, and a copy filed in the Department of Women’s Studies.

To Declare Your Minor in Women’s Studies, please see Dr. Ida Johnson in the Department of Women’s Studies.

104 Manly Hall
348-8462 or 348-5782
ijohnson@bama.ua.edu

click here for a handout

Courses include:

WS 200 Introduction to Women's Studies (Three hours). An interdisciplinary course examining the roles of women in patriarchal society, with emphasis on how factors such as race, class, gender, and sexuality contribute to the oppression of women and ways they can be challenged through feminist critical practices.

WS 205 Women's Autobiographies (Three hours). Through an examination of women’s autobiographical writings, the roles women have assumed in different cultures and periods are considered. Analytical techniques from the study of art, literature, and psychology are used to discover issues inherent in women’s experiences.

WS 220 Mothers and Daughters (Three hours). Prerequisite: WS 200 or permission of the departmental chair. Investigation of the institution of motherhood, the forces shaping it, and the significance of mother-daughter relationships.

WS 234 Women and Spirituality (Three hours). (same as REL 234). Women’s spiritual experiences in several religious traditions, ancient and modern.

WS 240 Culture of Southern Black Women (Three hours). The history and culture of black women in the South are examined through essays, creative writing, film, music, first-person narrative, and field research.

WS 300 Women in the Visual Arts (Three hours). Women’s creative expression in fine art and domestic arts and crafts is examined from historical and contemporary perspectives; slide lectures offer examples of women’s art work. Consideration is also given to professional and social roles of women artists.

WS 310 Special Topics (Three hours). Examination of selected issues in women’s studies.

WS 330 Gender and Social Activism. The course will examine how social, political, and legal movements in the United States influenced the status of women in society. The intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, class and sexuality will be explored as a mechanism to address the struggles, experiences, and successes of women. Individual and collective strategies to mobilize social change will be analyzed. The relationship between theory and practice will be realized through the completion of gendered based action projects.

WS 340 Women and Law - This seminar’s major focus is the impact of law on the status and lives of women.

WS 402:403 Women’s Studies Internship (Three hours ). Prerequisites: WS 200, WS 430 and permission of the department chair.

WS 410 – Essential Readings and Writings in Women’s Studies (Three hours). Prerequisite: WS 200 or permission of the instructor. Essential readings and writings for female equality. Assignments focus on the publications and activities of feminist pioneers from the Enlightenment through the suffragist/abolitionist movement and contemporary period.

WS 430 – Women in Contemporary Society/Feminist Theory(Three hours). Prerequisite: WS 200 or permission of the department chair. Considers major economic, sociological, psychological, and philosophical approaches to the study of women. Emphasis is on the formulation of theories.

WS 440:441- Seminar in Women’s Studies (Three hours). Prerequisite: WS 200 or permission of the instructor. Courses under this rubric are designed to meet a specific need and supplement regular offerings.

WS 450:451 – Independent Study in Women’s Studies (One to six hours). Prerequisites: Permission of the department chair and arrangement in advance of the semester in which the enrollment is planned. Independent study on any subject pertaining to women, under the supervision of a professor in the chosen field and/or department chair.

WS 470: Gender, Class and Race (Three hours). Prerequisite: WS 200 or permission of the instructor. A cross-cultural approach to the study of gender, race, and class discrimination. Focuses on the mutually reinforcing forces of oppression.

Special Topics:
Women and Work
Women in the World
Social Inequality
Women and Sexuality
Women and Utopia