Faculty
Jamey Piland, Assistant Professor of Communication (Program Chair)
Faculty members from various disciplines contribute to the program
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Description
Trinity College offers an interdisciplinary minor in women's studies
designed to support the academic life and scholarship of both students
and faculty as they investigate and research the status of women in
every field of academic inquiry.
The discipline of women's studies was founded upon the integration of
intellectual inquiry and social practice. Students in the program are
strongly urged to combine feminist theory with practical applications of
their scholarship. The Women's Studies Program strives for a broad and
complex understanding of the female experience in a global context.
Trinity College has been committed to the advancement of women since
its founding. The College's Foundation for Leadership Curriculum
expresses this commitment and emphasizes the value of an
interdisciplinary, collaborative education. Using cross-cultural and
multi-racial perspectives, the Women's Studies Program explores women's
lives, labor, and arts; it examines the politics of gender, and it
studies the history of gender roles as well as representations of those
roles in different media. Focusing on the interaction of class, race,
gender, and sexuality, it analyzes the relations of power in various
cultures, and it provides students with a basic structure of ideas, a
framework for analyzing the fundamental shift in understanding arising
from a systematic retrieval of history and from women's changing
awareness; the program also investigates strategies for social change.
The program offers a minor in women's studies to students in the
College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Professional Studies and
supports all of Trinity's undergraduate majors as well as individualized
and interdisciplinary majors. Courses that meet FLC requirements may
also count toward the minor. Students must declare their minor in the
Office of the Registrar. The introductory course should be taken in the
spring of the student's second year or the fall of the third year.
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Minor Requirements
Required Courses (9 credits)
ALL of the following courses:
WST 240 Introduction to Women's Studies
WST 400 Internship in Women's Studies
WST 440 Senior Seminar in Women's Studies
Elective Courses (12 credits)
FOUR of the following courses chosen from three different
disciplines:*
ART 371 Women Artists
BIO 291 Seminar on Topics in Biology
BUA 210 Women on the Web
BUA 212 Women in Business
COM 388 Gender and Communication
ECO 262 Inequality
ECO 375 Women and the Economy
ENG 303 Seminar on Toni Morrison
ENG 306 The American Family on Film
ENG 323 Seminar: Kate Chopin
ENG 350 Images of Men in Contemporary Film
ENG 362 Women in Fiction
ENG 363 African American Women Writers
ENG 365 Women in Contemporary American Film
ENG 369 African American Women in Film
ENG 447 The Bronte Sisters
HIS 243 Women in United States History
HIS 245 Women, Work and Family in Medieval and Early Modern
Europe
HIS 344A African American Women's History
HRE 301 Seminar: Perspectives on Gender
HUM 300 Women in Love: The Novel in Europe and the Americas
HUM 403 Women in Border Cultures
INT 420 Philosophy and Public Policy: Gender and Economics
MUS 252 Women in Music History
NSM 300 The Search for the Breast Cancer Genes
PHI 250 Women and Philosophy
PHI 301 Readings in the Theory of Knowledge: Feminist
Epistemologies
PHI 315 Moral Psychology: Women as Agents
PHI 401 Social and Political Philosophy: Justice, Gender and
Family
PSC 328 Women and the Law
PSC 452 Seminar in Public Policy: Children
PSY 205 Psychology of Gender Roles
PSY 231 Psychology of Aging
PSY 241 Women: Developmental and Multicultural Perspectives
PSY 361 Family Systems Theory
SOC 210 Women's Health and Public Policy
SOC 250 Sociology of Women
SOC 261 Family and Society
SOC 310 Women and Third World Development
SOC 368 Women, Men, and Complex Organizations
SOC 461 Advanced Seminar on the Family
THE 265 Christian Lifestyles: Marriage and Parenting
THE 325 Feminist Theology
* Other courses may be approved by the Program Chair. The Women's
Studies Program usually publishes a list of approved courses offered
each semester.
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Program Policies
Advanced Placement:
Credits earned through AP examinations do not fulfill requirements of
the minor.
CLEP Policy: Credits
earned through CLEP examinations do not fulfill requirements of the
minor.
Grades in Required
Courses: Students are required to earn a grade of "C"
(2.0) or better in all courses counted to fulfill requirements for the
minor.
Pass/No Pass: With
the exception of internships, courses fulfilling minor requirements may
not be taken pass/no pass.
Senior Assessment:
In order to complete a minor in women's studies, students must take WST
440 Senior Seminar in Women's Studies that includes a comprehensive
assessment.
Study Abroad:
Students may meet minor requirements with courses taken during study
abroad.
TELL Policy: The
Women's Studies Program supports and encourages the college's TELL
Program. Students applying for experiential learning credit should
consult with the program faculty.
Transfer Credits:
Transfer credit from accredited institutions may be counted for minor
requirements, dependent on program review and approval.
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Course Descriptions
WST 210 Gender, Creativity, and Music
Presents gender as a category of analysis in order to examine
stereotypes, ideologies, and codes which shape and limit women's
activities and roles in the visual and performing arts. Topics include
the study of female narrative and agency, visual images, use of the
body, and creation of music and lyrics. Examples will be drawn from a
variety of styles and periods from the 13th-century to the
20th-century.
3 credits
WST 211 Rockin' Women: American Popular Song
Explores the music and lyrics created by women and examines the impact
of these on American culture. Blues, jazz, country, soul, rock 'n' roll,
R&B, rap, and hip-hop in the 20th century will all be considered.
Texts will include audio, video, and print examples. Students will be
encouraged to explore their particular interests in class.
3 credits
WST 240 Introduction to Women's Studies
Provides a basic structure of ideas for examining questions of gender
differences in history, culture, and contemporary society. Students
learn central concepts and research methods in women's studies and use
them to examine such topics as family, religion, work, gender,
sexuality, and social change.
3 credits
WST 250 Women in Popular Culture
Explores the cultural images and realities of contemporary women and
their lives. Print, film, television, short fiction, and artifact will
be used to document cultural rates.
3 credits
WST 252 Women in Television
Examines a variety of topics involving women and television both in
front of and behind the camera from image to image maker. Active
participation in deconstructing programs and gaining skills in active
viewing is included.
3 credits
WST 301 Peacemaking and Non-Violence
Considers the theoretical foundations of non-violence and explores the
application of these principles with reference to the experiences and
history of women.
3 credits
WST 330 Questioning the Archetypes
Identifies the cultural and psychological meanings of the ideal or
stereotypical constructs of femininity: the Goddess, the Beautiful
Temptress, the Madonna, the Welfare Queen, the Earthy Mother, the Aunt
Jemima, the Barbie, and others.
3 credits
WST 368 Women and Leadership
Explores women's leadership issues at the intersection of race, class,
and gender. Key themes include the relational aspects of leadership,
authenticity, identity and power, and the voice of leadership.
3 credits
WST 369 Women and Community Change
Explores women's roles in contemporary community change. Communities to
be examined includebut are not limited toLatino, African American, deaf,
Asian, White, Refugee, Native American, gay and lesbian, and religious.
3 credits
WST 400 Internship in Women's Studies
Requires students to perform nine hours of volunteer work each week in
an internship in advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, and federal
or D.C. government agencies that advance women's interests. Studies
include required readings, journal writing, construction of an
ethnography, and compiling and annotating a bibliography.
3 credits
Prerequisite: WST 240
WST 440 Senior Seminar in Women's Studies
Creates a synthesis of the student's studies in the field and deepens
skills in women's studies research, critically presenting, analyzing,
and assessing concepts, methods, and data. The topics reflect the most
current research in the field. Students take a central role in
conducting the seminar, and each one is responsible for an independent
research project.
3 credits
Prerequisite: WST 240
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