Undergraduate Women's Studies Minor
(21 Semester Hours)

Required and Elective Courses

Beginning in 2008-2009, access the ISU Electronic Catalog. Go directly to the Women's Studies Minor. Use the My Portfolio option to add/retrieve courses & programs.

For older course catalogs refer to the previous catalogs page.

Women's Studies 200: (3 hrs.) Introduction to Women's Studies—An interdisciplinary survey of major issues and current research on women and gender.  Issues studies might include, but would not be limited to: acquaintance rape, body image, eating disorders, reproductive rights, popular culture, sexuality, social activism, and Title IX.  This course counts toward elective credit in the Women's Studies minor sequence.  General Education Credits [GE89: B1, E2;GE2000: Multicultural Studies-U.S. Diversity]

Women's Studies 201: (3 hrs.) Foundations of Feminist Theories—A survey of feminist texts and themes from the 18th century through the end of the 20th century.  This course traces the theoretical foundations of contemporary feminist theory.  This is the first required course in the Women's Studies minor sequence.

Women's Studies 301: (3 hrs.) Gender, Nation, and Class- An interdisciplinary and international study of the dynamics and intersections of gender, nation, and class.  Using material from the humanities, art, social sciences, and sciences, this course examines the impact of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexuality, and class on women.  Prerequisite: 201.  Students who have taken 200 may petition the Women's Studies Director to take the course.

Women's Studies 400: (3 hrs.) Contemporary Feminist Theories—An interdisciplinary examination of various contemporary theories, including but not limited to: psychoanalytic, gay and lesbian, postmodern, global, multicultural and ecological.  This course will review these perspectives within traditional disciplinary fields and explore their impact on those fields.  Prerequisites: 201, 301, or Sociology 390 and 3 hours of approved women's studies electives, or consent of the instructor. *Advisory: WS 400 will only be offered every other spring 2005, 2007, 2009.

 Women's Studies 401: (3 hrs.) Special Topics in Women's Studies—The content of each course offering will relate to significant and complex concepts or issues in Women's Studies. Courses will involve a substantial research component. Students may enroll in different offerings of the course for a maximum of 6 hours, with a change in topic. Specific title will be listed when the course is scheduled.

Women's Studies 403: (3 hrs.) Independent Study—Directed study of a specialized topic proposed by the student and instructor and approved by the Director of Women's Studies. May be repeated once for credit with a different topic.

Women's Studies 450 (3 hrs.) Student Activism in Theory and Practice-In this course, students will explore the artistic, legal, political, social, and philosophical foundations of activism.  Students will also organize the Take Back the Night march and rally.  Prerequisites: at least 78 hours and seven of nine required Liberal Studies courses.  See General Education section of the Catalog for a complete description of the capstone requirement.  General Education Credits [GE2000: Capstone Course]

Women's Studies 475: (3 hrs.) Fieldwork in Women's Studies—Supervised fieldwork in agency, school, or other appropriate setting. Designed to provide the student with practical experiences in areas of interest while using theories, philosophies, and skills developed in the classroom. Prerequisites: 200 or 201or 450, or approval of Director of Women's Studies.