Winter 2017 Course Offerings

Introduction to Women’s Studies WS 222 Section 1 Delys Snyder (English) Section 2 Renata Forste (Sociology)

WS 222 offers a general introduction to the field of

Global Women's Studies. Students will learn and apply the disciplinary vocabulary as they learn about the ways history, social structures, and cul-tural norms affect the lives of women (and men). The class will discuss women's contributions to fa-milial, social, political, religious, and cultural prac-tices in the United States and around the world. The course will also focus on the gendered pressures both women and men face. If students learn the ways gender shapes their choices, they will be bet-ter able to make informed choices about their own behavior, health, education and employment deci-sions.

5 pages total

Mormon Women’s History WS 332 Rebecca de Schweinitz

Earlier this year Keith Erekson, director of the Church History

Library declared that we are at a “crossroads” in Mormon Wom-

en’s History. Erekson was right! There has been an explosion of

scholarly interest in Mormon Women’s History—leading to the

publication of exciting new books and articles in the field. More-

over, there are new primary sources documenting Mormon

Women’s lives available as well—through both the Church Ar-

chives and through the efforts of individuals and institutions

who are collecting oral and written sources about LDS women. It

is a thrilling time to study Mormon Women’s History! Winter

2017 we’ll be exploring important foundational scholarship in

Mormon Women’s history and new work that brings to light new

aspect of Mormon women’s lives, especially in the 20th century.

In this discussion-oriented class, we will look at the variety of

Mormon women’s experiences, including LDS women living outside the United States. Students

will have a chance to conduct in-depth primary source research and talk with scholars working

Feminism & Masculinities

WS 390R Special Topics Section 1 Kevin Shafer (Sociology) & Rex Nielson (S&P)

Masculinity studies is an interdisciplinary field that interrogates

the constructions of masculinity in communities across the world

and at various times in history. It explores the tense and complex

relationship between hegemonic masculinities (that is, the idea of

what it means to be a “real man” in a given time and place) and

subordinate masculinities (masculinities that fall outside of hege-

monic ideals). Masculinity studies is a field that is strongly in-

formed by feminist theories that work to unveil or make visible

naturalized forms of gender inequality in society.

Drawing heavily upon feminist theory, this course will examine

the construction of masculinity from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including the liberal

arts, sociology, history, and religion.

Women & the Book

WS 390R Special Topics Section 2, Maggie Kopp (English)

Women have been closely involved in the creation of the written

word throughout Western history, as authors, as artisans, and as dis-

tributors and consumers of texts. This course examines the history of

the book from the perspective of women’s interactions with books

and the written or printed word, with attention to major technologi-

cal shifts in the production of books and historic trends related to

women’s literacy, employment, and authorship. Students will get

hands-on experience interpreting books and book history from the

Middle Ages through the 21st century using rare books and docu-

ments from the L. Tom Perry Special Collections in the Lee Library.

Gender, Literature, and the Family

WS 390R Special Topics Section 3/SFL 395R Erin Kramer Holmes (SFL) & Neal Kramer T/Th 9:30-10:45 a.m. 1002 JKB

This course is designed to help you explore gen-der in families. Applications of theory will draw on recent developments in family studies and literary theory. Aside from reading the research literature on gender, our study of gender will ex-tend to core stories that explore ways in which gender becomes meaningful in family and socie-ty. Stories will include material from Genesis, Ancient Greece, Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Vir-ginia Woolf, and Marilynne Robinson.

When you take this class, you will receive upper division elective credit for your SFL major, SFL minor, or Women’s Studies minor.

Women in Antiquity

WS 390R Special Topics Section 4/CLSCS 490R Laura Zientek (CA&L) This course examines the lives of women in the ancient classical

world, from the Archaic Greece to the Imperial Rome (roughly

from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE). We will consid-

er all aspects of women’s lives and how the shifting social, cultur-

al, and political landscape of the ancient Mediterranean region

affected them over time. This course will introduce you to the

classical sources, methodologies, and current debates focusing on

women in antiquity. We will explore representations of women in

classical literature and art as well as in the place of women in an-

cient Greek and Roman culture by analyzing textual, visual, and

archaeological evidence. Our wide variety of sources will provide information about everyday,

famous, and infamous women, and in our examination of this evidence, this course will build

skills in reading primary sources critically and will explore how the ancient Greco-Roman

views of women can inform our understanding of women’s lives today.

Women Studies Colloquium

WS 392R Valerie Hegstrom The Women’s Studies Colloquium is a forum for discussion, intellectual development, and

scholarly collaboration among students, faculty, and oth-

ers interested in participating in a community of Women’s

Studies scholars. Colloquium lectures present research

findings on topics relating to women’s lives and experi-

ences throughout history, across the world, and within

ethnic, educational, and economic segments of society.

During winter semester 2017, speakers will include Kif

Augustine-Adams (BYU Law) on women and children ref-

ugees from Central America, Deidre Lynch (Harvard Eng-

lish) on Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Francesca Morgan (Northeastern Illinois History) on

gender and genealogy, Daniel Nielson (BYU Political Science) on cell phones and women’s wel-

fare in Tanzania, Erin Holmes (BYU Family Life) on the effects of involved fatherhood, and

Dale Pratt (BYU Spanish) on women science fiction writers. Colloquium offers you the oppor-

tunity to meet these scholars, and learn from and respond to their research.

Women, Peace, Transitional Justice, and Rule of Law

WWS 390R Special Topics Section 5/POLI 359R Section1 Natalie Wright Romeri-Lewis (International Development)

This class explores females as leaders (e.g. negotiators,

diplomats), victims, and other agents during the con-

flict and post-conflict periods and particularly within

the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Move-

ment. Students will acquire an understanding of the

relevant issues (e.g. grassroots lobbying, sexual vio-

lence, who participates in negotiation, international

development needs of women and girls); organizations

(e.g. UN agencies, policy centers, universities, wom-

en's organizations); and players (e.g. religious leaders,

individual witnesses). This research and discussion-

based course is grounded in theory, case studies, notable reports from key players, and guest

speakers (with whom students can network for internships). In teams, students track the evolu-

tion of their chosen post-conflict country from conflict to peace and from peace to transitional

justice (e.g. truth commissions, prosecutions for human rights violations). In addition to hands-

on activities, each country-team prepares an academic paper or project on their post-conflict

country that they may submit to a conference or policy organization. Country-focused research

and analysis will allow students to begin to develop a regional expertise and an appreciation for

how the international community works.

Workshop on UNSC Resolution 1325, " Negotiating a

Better Women & Civil Society at the Table,"

Women in Int’l Security