Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2011-2012 > Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts > Women’s Studies

Women’s Studies

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Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts

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Women’s Studies Model Four-Year Plan

Faculty

Chairperson: Nancy W. Jabbra

Professor: Nancy W. Jabbra

Assistant Professor: Stella Oh

Objectives

The mission of Women’s Studies at Loyola Marymount University is to engage students in a critical understanding of the complex ways gender shapes the world around them, particularly in relation to race, sexuality, class, and other social factors. Women’s Studies invites all students to participate in a vibrant interdisciplinary program of study that places women at the center of traditional disciplines in which they have been historically marginalized. It encourages the critical examination of academic fields such as the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the arts, together with the gendered assumptions that underwrite them. Further, Women’s Studies proposes not only that we ask different questions of academic disciplines from the perspective of women, but also that we transform those fields and ways of knowing through the innovative theoretical tools and new methodologies that have been developed by feminist scholars and activists over the past thirty years. As a department committed to transformation through education, the mission of Women’s Studies is to call attention to the androcentric nature of society, propose alternatives and strategies that honor women’s human rights, and promote a vision of society where gender hierarchy, as well as other forms of social injustice, are eliminated. Grounded in feminist pedagogy, Women’s Studies courses provide students with a broad understanding of the asymmetry of gender relations within diverse historical and cultural contexts. Our mission is to foster a vigorous intellectual environment where students can develop their analytical thinking skills and conceptual tools for social change.

Women’s Studies Student Learning Outcomes

After completing their program in Women’s Studies, students will have:

Acquired a critical understanding of the complex ways gender shapes the world, particularly in relation to race, sexuality, class, and other social factors
Acquired a strong commitment to social justice for women of all ethnicities
Learned new methodologies and theoretical tools
Learned to express themselves well both orally and in writing.

Major Requirements

Lower Division Requirements: 12 semester hours

WNST 100, 101, and 200, plus one of the following for the Lower Division Health and Sexualities Requirement: WNST 220 or 222.

Upper Division Requirements: 24 semester hours

WNST 301, 302, 351, and 497.

Upper Division Options: 12 semester hours

Choose 9 semester hours (3 classes) from one of the following clusters, plus 3 semester hours (1 class) from one of the others. Please note that some classes are listed in more than one cluster. Students may take such classes for credit in only one cluster. At times a special studies class may be taken in lieu of one of the electives listed below. Please consult the Department for advice.

Note: One of the upper division options must include WNST 303 or another History of Women class. If History of Women is chosen as a cluster, then the student must choose one course from another cluster.

History of Women: WNST 303, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, or 461.

Transnationalism and Women in the Third World: WNST 346, 347, 431, 452, or 454.

Gender at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Sexuality: WNST 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 348, 349, 440, 445, 453, or 461.

Feminist Aesthetics, Literature, and Cultural Studies: WNST 311, 331, 332, 334, 335, 336, 337, 343, 411, 430, or 431.

Social Movements, Social Justice, and Public Policy: WNST 347, 451, 454, or 490.

Feminist Theology and Philosophy: WNST 361, 370, 371, 372, or 373.

Total: 36 semester hours. Women’s Studies majors should have a minimum of a C (2.0) in all Women’s Studies classes.

Please note that cross-listed courses may have departmental prerequisites; consult departments for details.

Minor Requirements

18 semester hours, including WNST 100 or 101, 301, and 497. At least 12 semester hours must be in upper division courses. A minimum grade of C (2.0) must be earned in both WNST 100 and 497. An average grade of C (2.0) must be earned in the Women’s Studies minor courses.