Courses & Programs of Study

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Rebecca West, 5733 S. University Ave.,

Rm. 301, 702-9936, r-west@ uchicago.edu

Assistant Directors: Stuart Michaels, 5733 S. University Ave., Rm. 300,
702-2365, stuartm@uchicago.edu; Gina Olson, 5733 S. University Ave., Rm. 304, 702-9936, golson@uchicago.edu

Web: humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/cgs/

Program of Study

Gender Studies at the University of Chicago encompasses diverse disciplines, modes of inquiry, and objects of knowledge. Gender Studies allows undergraduates the opportunity to shape a disciplinary or interdisciplinary plan of study focused on gender and sexuality. The plan of study, designed with the assistance of a Gender Studies Adviser, can take the form of a gender-track in a traditional academic discipline, interdisciplinary work on a gender-related topic, or a combination thereof. Students can thus create a cluster of courses linked by their attention to gender as an object of study or by their use of gender categories to investigate topics in sexuality, social life, science, politics and culture, literature and the arts, or systems of thought.

Program Requirements

The major requires eleven courses, a B.A. Essay Seminar, and a B.A. research project or essay that will count as a thirteenth course. The Center for Gender Studies recognizes two main paths by which students might develop an undergraduate concentration. Path A is for students whose central interest lies in the interdisciplinary study of gender and sexuality; it is designed to provide students with a range of conceptual and historical resources to pursue such study with creativity and rigor. Path B is for students whose interest in gender and sexuality is primarily organized around a specific other discipline or field such as History, English, or Political Science; it is designed to provide students with the conceptual and methodological resources to pursue Gender Studies within such a field. Within those goals, each path is meant to provide students with the opportunity to design a course of study tailored to their particular interests. Each path consists of the two required introductory Problems in Gender Studies courses (GNDR 10100 and 10200), a group of nine electives chosen in consultation with the student's Gender Studies Adviser (this will often be the Director of the Center for Gender Studies), a B.A. Essay seminar for fourth-year students, and a B.A paper written under the supervision of an appropriate faculty member.

Path A: GNDR 10100; GNDR 10200; nine electives, which must meet the following chronological, geographical, and methodological distribution guidelines: at least one course with a main chronological focus that is pre-1900 and at least one course with a main chronological focus that is post-1900; at least one course with a main focus that is North America or Europe and at least one course with a main focus that is Latin America, Africa, or Asia; at least two courses in the Humanities and at least two courses in the Social Sciences. Any given course may fulfill more than one distribution requirement; for instance, a course on gender in Shakespeare would count as fulfilling one course requirement in pre-1900, Europe, and Humanities.

Path B: GNDR 10100; GNDR 10200; five Gender Studies courses in a primary field; and four supporting field courses. Courses in the primary field focus on gender and/or sexuality in a single discipline or in closely related disciplines and develop a gender track within that discipline. Supporting field courses provide training in the methodological, technical, or scholarly skills needed to pursue research in the student's primary field.

Two-Quarter Theory Course Sequence. All students majoring in Gender Studies take Problems in Gender Studies (GNDR 10100 and 10200) in their second or third year.

Research Project or Essay. A substantial essay or project is to be completed in the student's fourth year and advised by a member of the Gender Studies Core Faculty in the student's primary field of interest. The essay will be due by May 1 of the student's fourth year or fifth week of their quarter of graduation.

This program may accept a B.A. paper or project used to satisfy the same requirement in another major if certain conditions are met and with the consent of the other program chair. Approval from both program chairs is required. Students should consult with the chairs by the earliest B.A. proposal deadline (or by the end of third year, when neither program publishes a deadline). A consent form, to be signed by both chairs, is available from the College adviser. It must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.

Summary of Requirements

9 courses distributed according to the

requirements of Path A or Path B

2 Problems in Gender Studies (GNDR 10100-10200)

1 B.A. Essay Seminar (GNDR 29800)

1 B.A. Essay (GNDR 29900)

Grading. Two of the supporting field courses may be taken P/F. All other courses must be taken for a quality grade.

Honors. Students with a 3.0 or higher overall grade point average and a 3.5 or higher grade point average in the major are eligible for honors. The faculty adviser for the B.A. essay will be invited to nominate honors-worthy essays to a subcommittee of the Gender Studies faculty, which will then make the final decision.

Advising. Each student will have a Gender Studies Adviser who is a member of the Gender Studies Core Faculty and is chosen from among those listed below. By the beginning of the third year, students are expected to have designed their programs of study with the assistance of the Gender Studies Adviser. Students may also consult the Undergraduate Program Chair for advice in program design.

Nonmajors are encouraged to use this listing of faculty and course offerings as a resource for the purpose of designing programs within disciplines, as an aid for the allocation of electives, or for the pursuit of a B.A. project. For further work in gender studies, students are encouraged to investigate other courses taught by resource faculty. For more information about Gender Studies, consult the Center for Gender Studies Web site at humanities.uchicago.edu/cgs/ or the Assistant Director at 702-9936.

Faculty

D. Allen, L. Auslander, L. Berlant, D. Bevington, C. Brekus, B. Brown, M. Browning,
M. A. Case, G. Chauncey, K.-H. Choi, S. Clark, E. Clemens, C. Cohen, B. Cohler,
J. Comaroff, W. Doniger, E. Emens, M. Feldman, N. Field, S. Fitzpatrick, R. Fulton,
S. Gal, J. Goldsby, J. Goldstein, R. Gregg, E. Hadley, M. Hansen, M. Harris-Lacewell,
E. Helsinger, J. Henly, S. Jaffe, J. Johnson, W. Johnson, R. Kendrick, J. Knight,
L. Letinsky, D. Levin, A. Lugo-Ortiz, M. McClintock, S. MacPherson, A. Maggi,
P. Markell, J. Mateo, T. Meares, F. Meltzer, S. Michaels, D. Miliotes, M. Miller,
K. Morrison, J. Mueller, D. Nelson, L. Norman, M. Nussbaum, W. Olmsted, C. Raver,
V. Ritter, M. Roderick, M. Roth, L. Ruddick, A. Ruttan, S. Sassen, J. Saville,
B. Schultz, L. Seidel, M. Silverstein, W. Sites, L. Slatkin, A. Stanley, J. Stewart,
R. Strier, L. Van Valen, W. Veeder, C. Vogler, F. Walsh, M. Ward, E. Weaver, L. Wedeen,
R. West, A. Winter, H. Wu, I. Young, J. Zeitlin, R. Zorach

Courses: Gender Studies (gndr)

10100-10200. Problems in Gender Studies. (=ENGL 10200-10300, HUMA 22800-22900, SOSC 28200-28300) PQ: Second-year standing or higher. Completion of the general education requirement in social sciences or humanities, or the equivalent. May be taken in sequence or individually. This two-quarter interdisciplinary sequence is designed as an introduction to theories and critical practices in the study of feminism, gender, and sexuality. Both classic texts and recent conceptualizations of these contested fields are examined. Problems and cases from a variety of cultures and historical periods are considered, and the course pursues their differing implications in local, national, and global contexts. Both quarters also engage questions of aesthetics and representation, asking how stereotypes, generic conventions, and other modes of circulated fantasy have contributed to constraining and emancipating people through their gender or sexuality.

10100. Problems in the Study of Gender. This course addresses the production of particularly gendered norms and practices. Using a variety of historical and theoretical materials, it addresses how sexual difference operates in various contexts (e.g., nation, race, class formation; work, the family, migration, imperialism, postcolonial relations). S. Michaels. Autumn.

10200. Problems in the Study of Sexuality. This course focuses on histories and theories of sexuality: gay, lesbian, heterosexual, and otherwise. This exploration involves looking at a range of materials from anthropology to the law and from practices of sex to practices of science. S. Michaels. Winter.

15600. Medieval English Literature. (=ENGL 15600) For course description, see English Language and Literature. M. Miller. Autumn, 2004.

18200. Postwar American Culture, 1945 to 1970. (=HIST 18200) For course description, see History. G. Chauncey. Spring. Offered 2005-06; not offered 2004-05.

20065. Ancient Near Eastern Peoples and Cultures: Women in Ancient Egypt. (=NEHC 20065) For course description, see Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Near Eastern History and Civilization). J. Johnson. Autumn, 2004.

20066. Ancient Near East Peoples and Cultures: Women in Mesopotamia. (=NEHC 20066) M. Roth. Spring, 2005.

20069. Ancient Near East Peoples and Cultures: Women in the Modern Middle East. H. Shissler. Winter, 2005.

20800. Sexual Identity, Life Course, and Life Story. (=HIPS 26900, HUDV 24600/34600, ISHU 35900, PSYC 24600/34600, SOSC 25900) For course description, see Human Development. B. Cohler. Spring.

21400/31400. Introduction to Theories of Sex/Gender: Ideology, Culture, and Sexuality. (=ENGL 21401/30201, MAPH 36500) PQ: Consent of instructor required; GNDR 10100-10200 recommended. For course description, see English Language and Literature. L. Berlant. Winter.

21500. Darwinian Health. (HUDV 21500) For course description, see Human Development. J. Mateo. Winter.

21600. Milton's Paradise Lost. (=FNDL 21900, HUMA 20800, RLST 26400) For course description, see Fundamentals. W. Olmsted. Autumn, 2004.

21900. Victorian Women Writers. (=ENGL 21900/42300) For course description, see English Language and Literature. E. Helsinger. Spring, 2005.

22201. Women and Music. (=MUSI 22700) For course description, see Music. J. Misurell-Mitchell. Winter, 2005.

22701. Sexuality and Censorship in Pre-Stonewall Film. (=CMST 20901) For course description, see Cinema and Media Studies. R. Gregg. Winter, 2005.

23001/33001. Gender and Literature in South Asia. Prior knowledge of South Asia not required. (=SALC 23002/33002) For course description, see South Asian Languages and Civilizations. V. Ritter. Spring.

23200. Women, Writing, and Spirituality in Colonial America. (=ENGL 23901/43901) For course description, see English Language and Literature. J. Knight. Autumn, 2004.

23301. Caribbean Literature: Rewriting Colonial Fictions. (=CMLT 23000, ENGL 22802) For course description, see Comparative Literature. N. Tinsley. Autumn.

23501. Gender and "Development." (=PLSC 23110/33100) For course description, see Political Science. I. Young. Winter, 2005.

23600. Women Writers in Late Imperial China. (=CHIN 23701/33700) PQ: Advanced standing required; some background in Chinese literature, history, or language recommended. For course description, see East Asian Languages and Civilizations (Chinese).Weekly "language learning across the curriculum" sessions will be offered for those with some knowledge of Chinese characters or Kanji. J. Zeitlin. Autumn.

24701/34700. Gender and Japanese History. (=EALC 25506, HIST 24802/34802, JAPN 25506/35506) For course description, see History. S. Burns. Autumn, 2004.

24900. Foucault and The History of Sexuality. (=CHSS 41900, HIPS 24300, PHIL 24800) PQ: Prior philosophy course or consent of instructor. For course description, see Philosophy. A. Davidson. Autumn.

25200. Happiness. (=HUMA 24900, PHIL 21400, PLSC 22700) For course description, see Philosophy. B. Schultz. Spring.

25300. Autobiographical Writings, Gender, and Modern Korea. (=EALC 24306, KORE 24306) For course description, see East Asian Languages and Civilizations (Korean). K.-H. Choi, Winter.

25701/35700. Teatro del Rinascimento. (=ITAL 25700/35700) For course description, see Romance Languages and Literatures (Italian). E. Weaver. Winter.

25900. Austen: Emma and Pride and Prejudice. (=FNDL 25500, HUMA 21600, IMET 32400, LLSO 22400) For course description, see Fundamentals. W. Olmsted. Winter, 2005.

27100. Sociology of Human Sexuality. (=SOCI 20107/30107) PQ: Prior introductory course in the social sciences. For course description, see Sociology. E. Laumann. Spring.

27500. Language, Voice, and Gender. (=ANTH 27300, PSYC 27300) For course description, see Anthropology. M. Silverstein. Winter, 2005.

28101. The Cinema of Max Ophüls. (=CMST 26500/36500, ENGL 28101/48101) For course description, see Cinema and Media Studies. M. Hansen. Winter, 2005.

28400. Sex, Sexuality, Society: The Slavia Orthodoxa World. (=HUMA 29300, SLAV 29300/39300) For course description, see Slavic Languages and Literatures (General Slavic). D. Hristova. Winter, 2006.

29300. Mythologies of Transvestism and Transsexuality. (=DVHR 40800, RLST 27400, SALC 25900/35900) For course description, see Religious Studies. W. Doniger. Autumn, 2004.

29700. Readings in Gender Studies. PQ: Consent of instructor and program chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. May be taken P/F with consent of instructor. With prior approval, this course may be used to satisfy course requirements for Gender Studies majors. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29800. B.A. Essay Seminar. PQ: Consent of instructor and program chairman. May be taken P/F with consent of instructor. GNDR 29800 and 29900 form a two-quarter sequence for seniors who are writing a B.A. essay. The seminar provides students with the theoretical and methodological grounding in gender and sexuality studies needed to formulate a topic and conduct the independent research and writing of their B.A. essay. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29900. B.A. Essay. PQ: Consent of instructor and program chairman. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form signed by the faculty B.A. essay reader. The purpose of this course is to assist students in the preparation of drafts of their B.A. essay. Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.