Women and Gender Studies

Watch "The 'F-Word': Feminisms Around the World" presentations made by WVC students on 9 May 2013.

Women and Gender' Studies is an Interdisciplinary program that places women's contributions,
experiences, and concerns at the center of study. The program welcomes all
students who are interested in investigating gender, race, and class issues in
their lives and world.

The Women and Gender Studies major consists of an interdisciplinary program of courses.
Together, these courses offer students the knowledge and intellectual training
needed for an introductory understanding of gender and diversity issues.

Learning Outcomes

After completing courses or an AA degree in Women and Gender Studies, a student will be able to:

• Identify and analyze women’s contributions to the sciences and humanities;
• Analyze gender roles using cross cultural and historical perspectives;
• Analyze cultural attitudes about sexualities throughout history and across cultures;
• Analyze the influence of gender, class, culture, race, ethnicity, and sexuality on the experiences of women and men in different societies;
• Analyze women’s access to power throughout
• history and across cultures;
• Participate in dialogue about fairness and justice in matters related to gender, race, class, culture, ethnicity and sexuality.

Philosophy

Women and Gender Studies encourages students to think critically about how gender has shaped their ideas about themselves and their sense of power in the world. To meet this aim, courses

• explore women’s contributions to the sciences and humanities;
• question prevailing ideas of human nature that are based on men’s experiences only;
• examine women’s roles and the reasons for those roles;
• analyze the influence of class, culture, race, ethnicity, and gender on women’s lives;
• examine women’s access to power
• promote dialogue on issues of fairness and justice in gender-related matters.

 

Major Requirements

To earn an AA degree in Women and Gender Studies, students must complete 20 units from Groups 1, 2, 3. All majors must complete the 4-unit core course.

Group 1. Core Course (4-7 units)

WS 001 Introduction to Women and Gender Studies: Knowledge, Gender and Power

4 units, acceptable for credit at UC and CSU. Pass/No Pass Option.

This course introduces students to the study of women and gender. Each semester, a faculty team will design the course around an interdisciplinary theme. Students will use this theme to examine how new scholarship is changing fundamental assumptions about women’s roles, both globally and locally. Men and women are equally welcome in this course, as all students can benefit from investigating the influence of gender in their lives and world. Students should consult the Schedule of Classes for a description of the theme for the current semester. 

WS 002 Women in the Arts

3 units, acceptable for credit at UC and CSU. Pass/No Pass Option.

This course introduces students to the study of women’s creative work in literature, the visual arts, and the performing arts. The course presents an overview of new theories and methods of scholarship, including the use of gender, race, culture, and class as lenses of analysis. Students have opportunities to examine how this new scholarship is changing appraisals of women’s contributions to the arts. Men and women are equally welcome in this course. 

Group 2. Foundation Courses in Women and Gender Studies (8-16 units)

These courses focus on women’s contributions, experiences, and concerns in various academic fields. While introducing students to the funda- mental principles and content of these disciplines, courses with a Women and Gender Studies focus deliver additional knowledge about gender, race, and class.

AJ 016 Women and Justice, 3

ANTHR 003 Cultural Anthropology: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

ART 004 Art Appreciation: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

COUNS 024 Personal Growth: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

ECON 001B Principles of Microeconomics: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

ENGL 001A English Composition: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3 

ENGL 001B English Composition: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

ENGL 001C Clear Thinking in Writing: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

ENGL 046 Comtemporary Multicultural Literature: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

FRNCH 040A Women of France, 1

FRNCH 040B  Women of France, 1

HIST 004A History of Western Civilization: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

HIST 017A United States History: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

HIST 017B United States History: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

HUMAN 001A Human Values in and from the Arts :Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

HUMAN 001B Human Values in and from the Arts :Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

SOC 001 Introduction to Sociology: Women's Studies Emphasis, 3

Group 3. Elective Courses on Gender and Diversity (0-8 units)

Courses in this group are drawn from the Cultural Diversity program at West Valley College. Courses in this group add breadth and depth to students’ understanding of the ways that gender, race, and class issues are intertwined.

CHS 005 Childhood and Culture, 3

COUNS 050 Cross-Cultural Perspectives, 3

ENGL 012 African American Literature, 3

ENGL 013 Latino/Chicano Literature, 3

ENGL 018 Asian American Literature, 3

ENGL 046 Contemporary American Multicultural Literature, 3

PE.TH 051 Dance in America: A Cultural Perspective, 3

POLIT 005 American Ideals and Institutions, 3