Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Gender Studies
Courses of Instruction
Gender Studies (SWMS)
The terms indicated are expected but are not guaranteed. For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.
SWMS 140g Contemporary Moral and Social Issues (4) (Enroll in PHIL 140g)
SWMS 210gm Social Issues in Gender (4, FaSp) Multidisciplinary survey of gender assumptions in relation to sexuality, mental health, social and political relations, and artistic expression.
SWMS 215g Gender Conflict in Cultural Contexts (4, Fa) Identification and examination of social and cultural conflicts through the lens of gender, and comparison of such conflicts across cultures, regions, and historical periods.
SWMS 225 Gender, Sex, and Science: A Gender Studies Approach (4, FaSp) Study of sex, gender in relation to science and social sciences; survey of scientific methods, approaches, current research; investigation of gender influences on scientific research.
SWMS 245gm Gender and Sexualities in American History (4) (Enroll in HIST 245gm)
SWMS 300 Women in Antiquity (4) (Enroll in CLAS 300)
SWMS 301m Introduction to Feminist Theory and the Women’s and Men’s Movements (4, FaSpSm) Theories of feminism; historical, social and cultural perspectives of the women’s movement in America, Europe, and in developing countries; men’s roles in the feminist movement.
SWMS 302 From Sappho to Stonewall: Lesbians in History (4, Sp) (Enroll in HIST 302)
SWMS 303 From Goddesses to Witches: Women in Premodern Europe (4) (Enroll in HIST 305)
SWMS 304xm Italian Renaissance Art: Old Masters and Old Mistresses (4) (Enroll in AHIS 304xm)
SWMS 305 Childhood, Birth and Reproduction (4) (Enroll in ANTH 305)
SWMS 307 Women in Medieval Europe, c. 1000–1500 (4, Fa) (Enroll in HIST 307)
SWMS 311 Gender Studies and the Community: Internship (4, FaSpSm) A combination of internships in the community and an intensive seminar on the relationship of the students in the academic community with the larger urban community of which it is a part.
SWMS 316 Gender and Global Issues (4) (Enroll in IR 316)
SWMS 320 Male and Female in Pacific Society (4) (Enroll in ANTH 320)
SWMS 321 Gender and Judaism (4) (Enroll in JS 321)
SWMS 324 Women in Medieval and Renaissance Europe (4) (Enroll in COLT 324)
SWMS 330m Culture, Gender and Politics in South Asia (4) (Enroll in ANTH 330)
SWMS 335 Gender, Religion, and Sexuality (4) (Enroll in REL 335)
SWMS 336 Health, Gender and Ethnicity (4, Sp) Cross-cultural notions of the body, health, and healing; historic and cultural variability of ideas of reproduction, birth, sexuality, mental illness, and disability.
SWMS 345 Men and Women in United States History from the 1920s to the Present (4) (Enroll in HIST 345)
SWMS 347 Race, Gender and Power in Francophone Literature (4) (Enroll in FREN 347)
SWMS 349 Women and the Law (4, Fa) Discussion of the relationship between women and the law in light of feminist jurisprudence, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and cross-cultural perspectives.
SWMS 355 Transgender Studies (4, Sp) Analysis of transgender behaviors, from androgyny and transvestism to transexuality. Discussion of changing laws, representations, medical standards, and social attitudes towards transgender and intersex people.
SWMS 358 U.S. Gay and Lesbian History (4, Sp) Exploration of shifting social organization and cultural meanings of same-sex desire and cross-gender behaviors in the U.S., primarily during the 20th century.
SWMS 363m Race, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Art (4) (Enroll in AHIS 363m)
SWMS 366m Chicana and Latina Sociology (4) (Enroll in SOCI 366m)
SWMS 369 The Family in a Changing Society (4) (Enroll in SOCI 369)
SWMS 370 Family and Kinship in Cross-Cultural Perspective (4) (Enroll in ANTH 370)
SWMS 372 Human Sexuality (4) (Enroll in PSYC 372)
SWMS 374gm Women Writers in Europe and America (4) (Enroll in COLT 374gm)
SWMS 375 Women and Gender in China: Past and Present (4) (Enroll in EALC 375)
SWMS 377 The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (4) (Enroll in JOUR 375)
SWMS 378 Literature, Theory, Gender (4) (Enroll in COLT 377)
SWMS 380 Sex and Gender in Anthropological Perspective (4) (Enroll in ANTH 380)
SWMS 381 Sex, Power, and Politics (4) (Enroll in POSC 381)
SWMS 382 Political Theories and Social Reform (2 or 4) (Enroll in POSC 380)
SWMS 383 French Women Writers (4) (Enroll in FREN 383)
SWMS 384m Gender, Social Inequality, and Social Justice (4, Fa) Analysis of the most effective strategies and techniques for reducing prejudice against racial/ethnic minorities, women, gays and lesbians, and others subjected to stigma.
SWMS 385m Men and Masculinity (4) Interdisciplinary examination of social, personal meanings of masculinity; variety of male experience by social class, race, sexuality, and age; emerging masculinities of the future.
SWMS 390 Special Problems (1–4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.
SWMS 395m Gender, Media and Communication (4) (Enroll in COMM 395m)
SWMS 402 Human Trafficking (4, FaSp) (Enroll in SOCI 402)
SWMS 410 Senior Seminar in Gender Studies (4, Fa) Study of a selected problem, period, or theme in the study of women and men in society by integrating perspectives from cross-cultural and interdisciplinary studies.
SWMS 412 Gender, Sexuality and Media (4, max 8) (Enroll in CTCS 412)
SWMS 415 Ecofeminism (4, Sp) Examination of the philosophy and politics of Ecofeminism. It will critique the ideologies that link the oppression of women to the exploitation of nature. Recommended preparation: SWMS 210 or SWMS 301.
SWMS 420 Woman, Nature, Culture: The Behavioral Ecology of Women (4, FaSp) Analysis of theoretical perspectives and empirical data from biology, psychology and anthropology that relate to women’s physiology and behavior.
SWMS 425 Queer Los Angeles (4, Sp) Interdisciplinary study of queer Los Angeles through examination of histories, memoirs, essays, fiction, poetry, documentaries, narrative films, and local archives.
SWMS 426 Gender, Family and Society in Europe and the United States, 1500–Present (4) (Enroll in HIST 426)
SWMS 430 Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Culture (4) (Enroll in EALC 430)
SWMS 434m Women and Aging: Psychological, Social and Political Implications (4, FaSpSm) (Enroll in GERO 435m)
SWMS 435m Women in Society (4) (Enroll in SOCI 435m)
SWMS 437m Sexuality and Society (4) (Enroll in SOCI 437m)
SWMS 440 Women’s Literature in Germany I (4) (Enroll in GERM 440)
SWMS 442m Women’s Spaces in History: “Hussies,” “Harems,” and “Housewives” (4) (Enroll in ARCH 442m)
SWMS 445 Studies in Gender and Feminism (4) (Enroll in FREN 445)
SWMS 455m Gender and Sport (4) Sport as an institutional locus for construction of gender relations; lives of female and male athletes; issues of sexuality, violence, racism, spectatorship, and media.
SWMS 456 Women in International Development (4) (Enroll in POSC 456)
SWMS 465 Gender in Media Industries and Products (4) (Enroll in COMM 465)
SWMS 467 Gender and the News Media (4) (Enroll in JOUR 467)
SWMS 469 Women in English Literature before 1800 (4) (Enroll in ENGL 469)
SWMS 470 Women in English and American Literature after 1800 (4) (Enroll in ENGL 470)
SWMS 476m Images of Women in Contemporary Culture (4) (Enroll in ENGL 476m)
SWMS 478m Sexual/Textual Diversity (4) (Enroll in ENGL 478m)
SWMS 490x Directed Research (1–8, max 12, FaSpSm) Independent research and readings. Not available for graduate credit.
SWMS 492 Honors Thesis (4, Sp) Writing of the honors thesis; for students in the Gender Studies Honors Program. Open only to gender studies majors. Recommended preparation: SWMS 410.
SWMS 499 Special Topics (2–4, max 8) Study of a selected problem, period, or theme through interdisciplinary approaches.
SWMS 504 Theories of Race, Class, and Gender (4) (Enroll in ENGL 504)
SWMS 505 Seminar in Feminist Theory and Art History (4, max 8) (Enroll in AHIS 505)
SWMS 507 Gender and International Relations (4, Irregular) (Enroll in IR 507)
SWMS 508 Ethics of Liberation Theology (4) (Enroll in REL 508)
SWMS 509 Culture, Gender, and Global Society (4) (Enroll in IR 509)
SWMS 516 Seminar: Feminist Theory and Communication (4, 2 years, Sp) (Enroll in COMM 516)
SWMS 530 Sociology of Gender and Sexuality (4, FaSp) (Enroll in SOCI 530)
SWMS 544 Feminist Theory for Historians (4, Fa) (Enroll in HIST 544)
SWMS 546 Comparative History of Women and Gender in the West to 1800 (4, Fa) (Enroll in HIST 546)
SWMS 548 Fertility Control Policies (4) (Enroll in SOCI 548)
SWMS 550 Gender and Education in the Third World (3) (Enroll in EDPA 550)
SWMS 551 Studies in the History of Women, Gender and Sexuality (4, max 8) (Enroll in HIST 550)
SWMS 552 Sex and Gender in Society (4) (Enroll in SOCI 552)
SWMS 553 Race, Gender and Sexuality (4) (Enroll in AMST 553)
SWMS 554 Women in Global Perspective (4) Women and immigration, employment, and household and family relations in the context of the global economy; women’s social and political movements in diverse cultural contexts.
SWMS 556 Seminar on Women and the Family in China (4) (Enroll in EALC 556)
SWMS 560 Feminist Theory (4, FaSpSm) History of feminist theory and major perspectives of current feminist theory: liberal feminism, socialist/Marxist feminism, radical feminism, psychological feminism, spiritual feminism, and ecological feminism.
SWMS 577 Therapy, Gender, and Ethnicity (3) (Enroll in SOCI 577)
SWMS 588 Seminar in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies (4) Interdisciplinary cross-cultural, historical, psychological, sociological, and contemporary political perspectives on female and male homosexual eroticism, and the emergence of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender identities.
SWMS 590 Directed Research (1–12, FaSpSm) Research leading to the master’s degree in cognate fields. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
SWMS 593 Practicum in Teaching the Liberal Arts (2, FaSp) (Enroll in MDA 593)
SWMS 599 Special Topics (2–4, max 8) Seminar in selected topics relating to gender and feminism.
SWMS 621 Gender Discrimination (1–4, FaSp) (Enroll in LAW 621)
SWMS 623 Family Law (3 or 4) (Enroll in LAW 623)
SWMS 630 Studies in Gender (4, max 12) (Enroll in ENGL 630)
SWMS 650 Seminar on Women’s and Family History (4, max 8, Sp) (Enroll in HIST 650)