Information found in this online edition of the 2008-09 catalog is unofficial and for informational purposes only. By authority of the dean of the College, some factual corrections to the printed version may appear here. The official document of record is the printed edition of the 2008-09 Catalog. For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
Gender Studies
Director: Deborah Heath
Gender studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the biological, social, and cultural construction of femininity and masculinity, and the ways men and women locate themselves within gender systems. Gender defines relationships among women, among men, and between men and women. It interacts with factors such as race and class, and it structures the activities into which women and men enter in all aspects of life.
Building on Lewis & Clark's commitment to gender issues and gender balance across the curriculum, our Gender Studies Program, the first of its kind in the country and now in its 21st year, has received national recognition. It provides a continuing resource for integration of gender throughout the curriculum and also enables students to explore these crucial areas of human concern directly and in depth through an interdisciplinary minor in gender studies. The program identifies resources, gathers information, develops programs, sponsors an annual symposium, and serves as a catalyst for change that should be of equal concern to men and women.
The Minor Program
The interdisciplinary minor in gender studies examines the relationship between biological differences and social inequality, explores the construction of sexual identity, and analyzes the variations in gender systems that have occurred across cultures and over time. It illuminates the images of femininity and masculinity that shape cultural representations and explores similarities and differences in men's and women's artistic expression. Courses take gender as a subject of focus and investigate how gender interacts with race, class, and culture. Lewis & Clark's internationalized curriculum and overseas study programs make it possible for students to examine the intersections of gender, race, and class in a variety of cultures. Finally, the minor engages students in the political and philosophical exploration of strategies for transforming coercive and unequal gender systems and enhancing individual choice and our common humanity.
Minor Requirements
A minimum of 24 semester credits, distributed as follows:
- Gender Studies 200, 231, 300, and 440.
- Eight semester credits selected from a list of approved electives available annually from the program director and on the program website.
At least 16 semester credits must be discrete to the minor (may not be used in any other set of major or minor requirements). In addition, at least four of the courses for the minor must be taken at Lewis & Clark.
Sponsoring Faculty
Nicole Aas-Rouxparis, professor of French.
Katharina Altpeter-Jones, assistant professor of German.
Linda Isako Angst, assistant professor of anthropology.
Stephanie K. Arnold, professor of theatre.
Jane Monnig Atkinson, professor of anthropology.
Eleonora Beck, professor of music.
Andrew Bernstein, associate professor of history.
Kimberly Brodkin, visiting assistant professor of humanities.
John F. Callahan, Morgan S. Odell Professor of Humanities.
David A. Campion, associate professor of history.
Mary Clare, professor of counseling psychology.
Rachel Cole, assistant professor of English.
Rhea Combs, adjunct instructor.
Modhurima DasGupta, assistant professor of sociology.
Janet E. Davidson, associate professor of psychology.
Isabelle DeMarte, assistant professor of French.
Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell, associate professor of psychology.
Dinah Dodds, professor emerita of German.
Kurt Fosso, associate professor of English.
John M. Fritzman, associate professor of philosophy.
Sarita Gaytan, Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow.
Susan Glosser, associate professor of history.
Robert Goldman, professor of sociology.
Karen Gross, assistant professor of English.
Julie Hastings, visiting assistant professor of anthropology.
Deborah Heath, associate professor of anthropology.
Andrea Hibbard, adjunct professor of English.
Jennifer Hubbert, assistant professor of anthropology.
Jane H. Hunter, professor of history.
Curtis N. Johnson, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Professor of Government.
Susan Kirschner, senior lecturer in humanities.
Timothy Mechlinski, assistant professor of sociology.
Tatiana Osipovich, associate professor of Russian.
Paul R. Powers, assistant professor of religious studies.
Will Pritchard, assistant professor of English.
Bruce Suttmeier, assistant professor of Japanese.
Mary Szybist, assistant professor of English.
Jean M. Ward, professor emerita of communication.
Benjamin W. Westervelt, associate professor of history.
Kristi Williams, adjunct professor of humanities.
Elliott Young, associate professor of history.
Rishona Zimring, associate professor of English.
GEND 200 Women And Men In American Society
Brodkin, Hunter, Staff
Content: The gender system in contemporary American society. Contemporary debates considering biological bases for sex differences in reproductive functions and in physical, sexual, and psychological development. Socialization into masculine and feminine identities, sexual and reproductive choices, the relationship between family and career, occupational segregation and wage differentials, housework and consumption, participation in public life. Interactions among gender, class, and race. Situations of middle-class and working-class people and members of dominant and minority racial groups. Feminist thought applied to current problems; alternative approaches to their solution. An introductory course intended for sophomores and second-semester first-year students.
Prerequisite: None.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
GEND 231 Gender In Cross-Cultural Perspective
Angst, Heath, Mechlinski
Content: Gender--how maleness and femaleness are defined--as it has been socially, culturally, and historically constituted in different times and places. Theoretical developments in the anthropology of gender. Cross-cultural exploration using examples from a wide range of societies, past and present. The relationship between cultural definitions of gender and the social experience of women and men.
Prerequisite: Sociology/Anthropology 100 or 110 or sophomore standing.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
GEND 300 Gender And Aesthetic Expression
Arnold, Osipovich, Williams, Zimring
Content: Forms of female and male expression in the arts and humanities. Questions such as the existence of feminine and masculine forms, voices, symbolic systems; the possibility of a feminist aesthetic; theories of representation. Ways women and men have used the same forms, such as poetry, fiction, film, painting. Materials drawn from literature, the arts, religion.
Prerequisites: One course in humanities or arts. Junior standing.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
GEND 440 Feminist Theory
Angst, Fritzman, Heath
Content: Philosophical and political analysis of issues in feminist theory. Discussion of recent theoretical work (e.g., Butler, Mitchell) in relation to past feminist thinking (e.g., Wollstonecraft, Gilman, deBeauvoir). A problemoriented approach that explores feminist theorizing about such topics as sex, gender, race, power, oppression, identity, class, difference.
Prerequisites: One course in gender studies. Junior standing.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
GEND 444 Practicum
Staff
Content: Development and execution of extensive projects relating to gender issues in organizational settings. Placement in community-based social and educational agencies concerned with gender-related problems, such as employment discrimination, rape, sexual harassment and abuse, reproductive rights, freedom of sexual identity, the law and public policy, political organization.
Prerequisites: Declared gender studies minor. One gender studies course. Consent of program director and faculty sponsor.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits, credit-no credit.
GEND 499 Independent Study
Staff
Content: Independent, student-designed research project supervised by a faculty member with expertise in the topic or methodology of the project.
Prerequisites: Declared gender studies minor. Junior standing. Consent of program director and faculty sponsor.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits.