815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
Women’s Studies
Director of the Women's Studies Program: Adrienne Zuerner
Affiliated Faculty
American Studies: Mary C. Lynn, Joanna Schneider Zangrando
Anthropology: Susan Bender, Gerald Erchak, Jill Sweet, Eileen Walsh
Art History: Lisa Aronson, Katherine Hauser, Penny Jolly
Classics: Leslie Mechem
English: Barbara Black, Joanne Devine,
Catherine Golden, Sarah Webster Goodwin,
Kate Greenspan, Susan Kress, Susannah Mintz,
Phyllis Roth, Mason Stokes
French: Adrienne Zuerner
Geosciences: Katherine Cartwright, Audeliz Matias
Government: Katherine Graney, Natalie Fuehrer Taylor
History: Erica Bastress-Dukehart, Jordana Dym, Margaret Pearson
Italian: Shirley Smith
Library: Barbara Norelli
Management and Business: Pushkala Prasad
Music: Deborah Rohr
Philosophy: Joel Smith
Psychology: Joan Douglas, Beth Gershuny
Religion: Mary Zeiss Stange
Sociology: Catherine White Berheide, Susan Walzer
Spanish: Viviana Rangil, Patricia Rubio
Theater: Carolyn Anderson
THE WOMEN'S STUDIES MAJOR: Women's studies is an interdisciplinary
academic field that draws on feminist theories and scholarship
by and/or about women to analyze the experiences, perspectives,
and contributions of women and systems of gender relations in
various cultural settings and time periods. The women's studies
major is a multidisciplinary program that involves students
in the exploration of topics such as the social construction
of gender, women's historical and contemporary experiences,
and their roles within various societies.
Completion of the major strengthens students' preparation for
further work in fields including women's studies, law, public
and international affairs, social sciences, the humanities,
communications, and the arts. Through the major, students also
gain a foundation for understanding the social, intellectual,
and political forces that shape their personal and professional
lives. The major leads to a bachelor of arts degree.
Students majoring in women's studies must successfully complete
nine courses, at least three of which must be at the 300 level,
for a total of at least thirty credit hours, including:
Introduction to Women's Studies.
This requirement may be fulfilled in one of two ways:
In exceptional cases and only with
permission of the director of the Women's Studies Program, two
entry-level courses in the women's studies curriculum in different
areas (social sciences, humanities, or the sciences). Students
who take this option must successfully complete eleven courses
for the major.
WS201, Feminist Theories and Methodologies. Prerequisite:WS101.
At least one course from the women's
studies curriculum including works by or about women of color
or women from other cultures. This category includes courses
with a non-Western focus (e.g., "Issues of Gender in African
Art," "Women in the Global Economy") as well as those
that deal centrally with culturally diverse groups within the
United States.
Five additional courses in the
women's studies curriculum. Courses should reflect the interdisciplinary
nature of women's studies by drawing from at least three different
disciplines. Electives should be selected in consultation with
the program director so as to constitute both exploration and
concentration. A concentration, normally three courses at least
one of which is at the 300 level, may be designed to focus on
a discipline, a theme, a time period, or an issue.
WS375: Senior Seminar in Women's
Studies. Prerequisites:WS101 and
201.
HONORS: Students desiring honors in women's studies must meet
the requisite grade-point average and must complete a senior
thesis under the supervision of a women's studies faculty member.
The thesis must be approved for honors by the Women's Studies
Advisory Board.
THE WOMEN'S STUDIES MINOR: A minor consists of five courses, for
a total of at least eighteen semester hours, including
WS101 and
201; and three
additional courses, at least one at the 300 level, chosen from the women's studies curriculum
in consultation with the program director.
Women’s Studies Curriculum
WS 101. INTRODUCTION
TO WOMEN'S STUDIES 4
An introduction to the origins,
purpose, subject matters, and methods of women's studies. Through
an interdisciplinary investigation of the evolving body of scholarship
by and about women, this course presents a survey of women's
social, psychological, historical, political, and cultural experiences.
The goal of the course is to help students develop a critical
framework for thinking about gender and sexuality, with special
attention to issues of class, race, and ethnicity. (Fulfills
LS2 requirement.)
WS 201. FEMINIST
THEORIES AND METHODOLOGIES 3
A critical exploration of the
history, development, impact, and implications of feminist theory.
Beginning with seventeenth- and eighteenth-century proto-feminism,
the course moves through the "first and second waves"
of the women's movement in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
and looks toward the future through consideration of current
trends in feminist theory and method. Emphasis is placed on
the cross-disciplinary nature of feminist inquiry, and the specific
ways in which particular methodologies arise from or relate
to specific theoretical positions. Prerequisite:WS101.
WS 210. ECOFEMINISM,
WOMEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT 3
An interdisciplinary exploration of
the complex relationship between feminist theory and praxis, and
environmental philosophy and activism. Using the idea of
"ecofeminism" as its unifying focus, the course examines
such national and global issues as deforestation, overpopulation,
species extinction, bioregionalism, environmental pollution, habitat
loss, development, and agribusiness. Representative perspectives
include those based in deep ecology, social ecology, animal and
nature rights, human ecology, earth-based spiritualities,
"wise use," the "land ethic," conservation,
and wildlife management. (Fulfills LS2 requirement.) M. Stange
WS 212. WOMEN
IN ITALIAN SOCIETY: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW 3
Students examine the changing role of women in Italian society. Authors
and filmmakers studied include Natalia Ginzburg (Family Lexicon), Dacia
Maraini (The Blind Countess), and Lina Wertmuller (Pasqualino Seven
Beauties). A portion of the course is dedicated to the new multiethnic
Italian reality. Texts by women immigrants in Italy in the last decade
include works by Igiaba Scego and Christiana de Caldas Brito. Also
counts for the minor in Italian. S. Smith, Foreign Languages and Literatures
WS 220. TOO
FAT? TOO THIN? WOMEN AND EATING DISORDERS 3
The course begins with a historical examination of the ways in
which the female body has been coded with meanings, and the
effects those meanings have had on women’s real lives. We will
study the ambivalence and contradictions regarding norms of
health, thinness, and obesity. We will approach eating
disorders from feminist perspectives, which consider these
behaviors as women’s responses to oppression. Finally we will
consider food from a scholarly as well as real-life
perspective. Prerequisite:WS101 or one course listed as
applicable to Women’s Studies. V. Rangil
WS 225. WOMEN IN SCIENCE 3
An exploration of the historical and contemporary roles of women in
the natural science professions. Attention is given to the gendering
of science, the interaction of culture and science, the feminist
perspectives on science, and the future of women in the science
workforce. This course will also examine the barriers to the full
participation of women in the natural sciences and mathematics with a
view to envisioning the future of women in the science workforce.
Students engage in written critical analyses of assigned readings as a
basis for regular classroom discussion. K. Cartwright, A. Matias
WS 227. HOLDING UP HALF THE SKY:
GENDER, WRITING, AND NATIONHOOD IN CHINA 3
Interdisciplinary exploration of gender issues in China, especially but not
exclusively focusing on the roles of women in the making of modern Chinese
history. Students will learn about cultural specificities in the experiences of
Chinese women while exploring the diverse meanings of "women's status" and
gender relations. Themes to be examined in the course content include gendered
subjectivities, the ideology of the new women, the impact of globalization and
transnational capital, different gender roles, and women’s writing from the
Opium War to contemporary China. Emphasis on different stages of women’s
writing in relation to their cultural conditions and social awakening, and on
the ways ideologies helped form gender identities in the twentieth century.
(Designated a non-Western culture course.) M. Chen
WS 371, 372. INDEPENDENT STUDY 3, 3
A program of individual reading
and research under the direction of the women's studies faculty.
Prerequisite: approval of the director of women's studies.
WS 375. SENIOR SEMINAR IN WOMEN'S
STUDIES 4
Exploration of primary and secondary
sources in the interdisciplinary examination of a particular
theme or topic in women's studies. The focus is on advanced
research, and close attention is paid to the development, organization,
and production of a major project. Students will present their
research to the seminar; those intending to write an honors
thesis will present their thesis proposals. Prerequisite:WS101 and
201.
WS 376. SENIOR THESIS 3
Independent study and research
leading to a thesis examining, from an interdisciplinary perspective,
a topic relevant to women's studies. Students will work under
the direction of a faculty advisor as well as a second reader.
Open to women's studies majors only, and required of candidates
for program honors.
WS 399. PROFESSIONAL
INTERNSHIP IN WOMEN'S STUDIES 3
Internship opportunity for students
whose academic and cocurricular experience has prepared them
for professional work related to women's studies. With faculty
sponsorship and approval of the director of the Women's Studies
Program, students may extend their educational experience into
such areas as counseling, education, crisis intervention, health
care delivery, business and management, and other areas relevant
to women's studies. Academic assignments will be determined
by the faculty sponsor in consultation with the on-site supervisor.
Prerequisites: Two courses in women's studies, at least
one of which is at the 200 or 300 level.
The following list may be revised with the approval of the director
as departments offer additional courses in women's studies.
AH 369 Women in the Visual Arts AH 375D Seminar: Theory and Methodology "Gender Issues in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art" AH 376E Colloquia in Art History: "Issues of Gender in African Art" AH 375H Seminar: Special Topics in Art History (when applicable) AM 230 Born in America AM 340 Women and Work in America AM 363 Women in American Culture AM 376 Disorderly Women AN 242 North American Indians AN 260 Southwest Indians AN 347 Women and Gender in Evolutionary Perspective AN 351 Topics in Anthropology
"Gender in East Asia"
"Magic, Ritual, and Religion" CC 365 Topics in Classical Studies
"Family in Antiquity"
"Women in Antiquity" EC 351 Women in the Economy EN 208 Language and Gender EN 223 Women and Literature EN 229 Native American Women Writers EN 316 Nineteenth-Century Novel EN 338 Queer Fictions EN 357 The Rise of Modern American Literature EN 360 Women Writers EN 363 Special Studies in Literary History
"The James Circle"
"Manhattan in the Twenties"
"Jane Austen: Texts and Contexts" GO 223 Current Issues in Public Policy GO 313 Politics of Contemporary United States Social Movements GO 352 Women and the Law GO 353 Sex and Power GO 354 Feminist Political Thought GO 357 Sexing Global Politics: Gender and International Relations HI 215C Perceptions of Medieval and Early Modern Women HI 217 Topics in History (when applicable) HI 228 Race, Class, and Gender in Latin America HI 362 Japan: Women's Diaries HI 363 Topics in History (when applicable) LS2 102 Romance and Gender LS2 120 Sexual Science LS2 136 American Women Entrepreneurs LS2 152 Women and Music LS2 198 Images of Latinas MB 336H Diversity and Discrimination in the American Workplace: Is the Melting Pot Boiling Over? PS 331 Psychology of Women RE 205 Women, Religion, and Spirituality RE 220 Encountering the Goddess in India RE 330 Advanced Topics in Religion: "Feminist Theologies" SB 315 Work, Family, and Organizations SO 214 Family and Gender SO 225 Quantifying Women SO 316 Women in Modern Society SO 331 Women in Global Economy TH 334 Special Studies in Theater History and Theory: "Women in American Theater"
