Women’s and Gender Studies

Women’s and Gender Studies Program (WMST)

Director: Glynis Carr

Assistant Professors: Coralynn Val Davis, Susan A. Reed

Advisory Board: Nina Banks, Glynis Carr, Coralynn Davis, Mara DeGenarro, Katherine Faull, Bill Flack, Stephanie Larson, Sheila Lintott, Ghislaine McDayter, Karen Morin, James Peterson, Harriet Pollack, Annie Randall, Susan Reed, James Shields, Ann Tlusty

Women’s and gender studies is distinguished by its interdisciplinary nature. The two central goals of women’s and gender studies at Bucknell University are the examination of history, society, science, and culture from feminist theoretical perspectives, and the strengthening of analytical thinking and inquiry through special attention to women’s experiences, the construction of femininity and masculinity, the relations between women and men, and the differential power structures that create these social categories. The major and minor in women’s and gender studies are designed to provide the breadth of exposure, critical perspective, and research tools necessary for understanding the social construction of gender in its relation to race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability, and age both in the past and present. The program of study frames questions of gender and feminisms in ways that connect the local to the global and promote an understanding of the relations of power among nations and cultural constituencies.

A major in women’s and gender studies at Bucknell may provide the first stage for graduate work in a number of disciplines. (Some departments at Bucknell offer courses at the graduate level in women’s and gender studies.) It also offers a background for careers in local and state agencies addressing the needs of girls and women, and in fields such as journalism, law, international affairs, teaching, public and private corporations, and personnel management.

The minimum requirement for a major in women’s and gender studies is eight courses. Students majoring in women’s and gender studies must distribute their courses as follows:

  • One of the following:
    WMST 140 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (may be crosslisted as ENGL 140)
    WMST 150 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

  • WMST 220 Introduction to Feminist Thought

  • One of the following:
    ANTH 232 Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
    ANTH 270 Sexuality and Culture
    ANTH 273 Women Writing Culture
    ANTH 282 Performance and Culture
    CAPS 407 Women in the World Economy
    ENGL 227 Contemporary Caribbean Literature: Voyage of Discovery
    SPAN 295 Escritoras Hispanoamericanas
    SPAN 324 Cuentistas Latinoamericanas
    SPAN 324 El Género en la Literatura Hispanoamericana del siglo
    WMST 232 Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
    WMST 251 Women and Development
    WMST 273 Women Writing Culture

  • Four courses from the women’s and gender studies approved course list selected in consultation with your women’s and gender studies adviser.

  • One seminar. Any 300- or 400- level course from the approved list. (Contact the women’s and gender studies director or academic assistant for a full list of approved courses.)

No more than two 100-level courses can count toward the major.

Women's and gender studies majors may participate in the honors program, subject to the general guidelines of the University Honors Council. Applications should be made to the women's and gender studies Advisory Board, after selecting an honors adviser from among the women's and gender studies faculty.

The minor in women’s and gender studies requires five courses:

  • WMST 140 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies in the Humanities or WMST 150 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies in the Social Sciences.

  • One of the following courses: WMST 220 Introduction to Feminist Thought, ANTH 232 Gender and Sexuality in South Asia, ANTH 270 Sexuality and Culture, ANTH 273 Women Writing Culture, ANTH 282 Performance and Culture, CAPS 407 Women in the World Economy, ENGL 227 Contemporary Caribbean Literature: Voyages of Discovery, SPAN 295 Escritoras Hispanoamericanas, SPAN 324 Cuentistas Latinoamericanas, SPAN 324 El Género en la Literatura Hispanoamericana del siglo, WMST 232 Gender and Sexuality in South Asia, WMST 251 Women and Development, WMST 273 Women Writing Culture.

  • Three courses from the women’s and gender studies approved list. No more than two of these may be in a single department.

Study off campus and/or abroad is strongly encouraged for both majors and minors in women’s and gender studies. Internships and field experience also are possible for course credit but should be planned and approved at least six months in advance of the semester in which they are to be taken.

Students wishing to declare a women’s and gender studies major or minor should contact the director of the  women’s and gender studies program.

Women’s and Gender Studies Course List

The following courses are approved for the women’s and gender studies major and minor.

ANTH 232 Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
ANTH 270 Sexuality and Culture
ANTH 271 Dance and Culture
ANTH 273 Women Writing Culture
ANTH 282 Performance and Culture

ARBC 150 Women in Islam and Middle East

ART 319 Special Studies: English Renaissance

CAPS 401 Renaissance Women
CAPS 407 Women in the World Economy
CAPS 413 Fairy Tales as Historical Documents
CAPS 419 Examining our Lives: Issues in Autobiography
CAPS 428 Mating and Marrying in America
CAPS 431 Women and the Penal System
CAPS 451 Voices of the Renaissance Literature
CAPS 496 Sex-Wanted and Otherwise
CAPS 497 Women in the Workplace
CAPS 499 Women in their 20s and Beyond: Choices, Challenge, and Change

CLAS 237 Ethnicity, Gender and Identity in Antiquity
CLAS 350 Women in the Ancient World

ECON 236 Unemployment and Poverty
ECON 319 Economic History of Women in the United States

EDUC 290 Gender Issues in Education

ENGL 140 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies in the Humanities
ENGL 213 Southern Exposure
ENGL 213 Multicultural American Literature
ENGL 214 Nineteenth-century American Women Writers
ENGL 215 Twentieth-century American Women Writers
ENGL 219 The Novels of Toni Morrison
ENGL 223 Survey of Women's Literature
ENGL 227 Contemporary Caribbean Literature
ENGL 228 Topics in Gender Studies
ENGL 235 Gender and Film
ENGL 286 The Modern Novel: V. Woolf
ENGL 290 Women's Voices in Hip Hop Culture
ENGL 307 Emerson, Dickinson, Whitman
ENGL 321 Black Women Writers and Myth
ENGL 340 Arthurian Realms
ENGL 370 Seminar in 19th-century English Literature: Romantic Musings
ENGL 392 Contemporary African American Novel
ENGL 398 Gender Criticism
ENGL 401 Unsettling Memories: Body and Trauma in Southern Literature and Photography

HIST 238 Witchcraft and Magic in Early Modern Germany
HIST 246 Medieval Heretics and Heresies
HIST 258 Topics in Women’s and Gender History
HIST 279 Topics in the History of Science and Medicine: Women in Science and Technology
HIST 279 Topics in the History of Science and Medicine: Women, Health, and Medicine
HIST 330 The Right to Bear Arms in Historical Context
HIST 351 Women’s and Gender History: Women and Modern Europe

HUMN 320 History of Sexuality
HUMN 330 Studies in Autobiography

POLS 229 Women and Politics
POLS 254 Sex and Social Order

PSYC 232 Psychology of Women
PSYC 306 Advanced Abnormal Psychology: Psychology of Trauma
PSYC 373 Psychology of Race and Gender

RELI 211 Women in Judaism: Matriarchs, Daughters, and Wives
RELI 234 Issues of Religion and Culture

SOCI 213 Race in Historical and Comparative Perspectives
SOCI 280 Twentieth-century Afro-Caribbean and African American Thought
SOCI 290 The Sociology of Caribbean Sociology
SOCI 434 Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Identity

SPAN 295 Escritoras Hispanoamericanas
SPAN 324 Cuentistas Latinoamericanas
SPAN 324 El Género en la Literatura Hispanoamericana del siglo

WMST 140 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
WMST 150 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
WMST 220 Introduction to Feminist Thought
WMST 232 Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
WMST 251 Women and Development
WMST 270 Special Topics
WMST 271 Dance and Culture
WMST 273 Women Writing Culture
WMST 319 Independent Study – Women’s and Gender Studies
WMST 320 Independent Study – Women’s and Gender Studies
WMST 370 Special Topics
WMST 390 Honors in Women’s and Gender Studies
WMST 475 Topics in Feminist Theory


140. Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (I or II; 3, 0)
Interdisciplinary introduction to the major theories, themes, methodologies, and issues of women's and gender studies. Emphasis in the humanities. Not open to students who have taken WMST 150.

150. Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (I or II; 3, 0)
Interdisciplinary introduction to the major theories, themes, methodologies, and issues of women’s and gender studies. Emphasis on the social sciences. Not open to students who have taken WMST 140.

220. Introduction to Feminist Thought (I or II; 3, 0)
Explore the broad range of work that lays the intellectual and theoretical groundwork for contemporary feminist theory and politics.

232. Gender and Sexuality in South Asia (I or II; 3, 0)
Explores issues of gender and sexuality in South Asia, primarily India and Sri Lanka. Topics include marriage, family, life cycle, religion, and nationalism. Crosslisted as ANTH 232.

251. Women and Development (I or II; 3, 0)
This course examines the relationship between women and development, as an ideological economic, political, and social enterprise. Crosslisted as ANTH 251.

270. Special Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies (I or II; R; 3, 0)
A course on special topics of interest to faculty members, offered occasionally. Subject varies.

271. Dance and Culture (I or II; 3, 0)
An exploration of dance as a cultural practice. Topics include: the body and movement; gender and sexuality; race and ethnicity; colonialism and nationalism; aesthetics; ritual and healing; globalization; representation. Crosslisted as ANTH 271.

273. Women Writing Culture (I or II; 3, 0)
This course explores the genre of ethnography as it has been used to examine women’s lives and issues of gender around the world. Crosslisted as ANTH 273.

319 and 320. Independent Studies (I and II; 3, 0)
Independent study supervised by a women’s and gender studies faculty member. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

370. Special Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies (I or II; R; 3, 0)
Advanced course on special topics of interest to faculty members, offered occasionally. Subject varies.

390. Honors in Women’s and Gender Studies (I or II; 3, 0)
Individual, special projects supervised by instructor, culminating in honors thesis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

475. Topics in Feminist Theory (I or II; 3, 0)
Advanced seminar designed to model the process of interdisciplinary feminist study and engage students in critical theoretical debate on central questions in women’s studies. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as SOCI 475.