PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO:
Identify various academic approaches to the study of gender and learn skills in critical and feminist analysis of these approaches. Integrate knowledge within the minor through understanding the intersections of gender, class, age, ability, race, culture, and sexuality. Understand the activist origins of gender studies and examine initiatives for promoting gender equality. Relate academic knowledge to practice through service, internships, and practica.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will have the ability to:
- Identify major social, economic, political, psychological issues facing contemporary women and men.
- Describe gender research with respect to cultural shifts and policy transformations in Western society.
- Discern the parallels and intersections of gender discrimination with other prejudices against class, age, ability, race, culture, and sexuality.
- Discuss major topics and approaches in the history of feminist thought.
- Comprehend the development, interdisciplinary nature, and methodological approaches of gender studies.
- Compose an informed and focused research paper communicating scholarly approaches to gender analysis.
- Connect scholarly inquiry to gender justice through service, internships, and practica.
MEANS OF ASSESSMENT:
Students in Gender Studies are assessed in a variety of ways to determine their proficiencies. The faculty will use assessments such as essay exams, primary and secondary research papers, oral histories, documentaries, symposium presentations, collaborative reports, multimedia projects, art exhibits, practicum, and capstone experiences, all geared toward qualitative assessment of specified learning outcomes by means of stated criteria.
REQUIREMENTS:
Gender Studies Minor
The interdisciplinary minor in Gender Studies not only requires students to research and read, answer test questions and write papers; it requires students to challenge the status quo—including their own assumptions. While this extra level of analysis is also part of other programs, it is possible in traditional programs to graduate without substantially challenging cultural beliefs and practices around issues such as race, gender, class, or ability. Such questioning is at the heart of Gender Studies. A minor will consist of the following:
- A minimum of 33 credit hours in Gender Studies and interdisciplinary electives, 30 of which must be graded and 3 practicum credits.
- At least eighteen upper-division credits in Gender Studies and approved interdisciplinary elective courses are required. A list of these courses is available each quarter on the Gender Studies web site http://www3.eou.edu/gender/.
- A minimum of ten credits applied toward the minor must be completed at Eastern.
- A grade of "C-" or better for all courses counting toward the minor.
- A minimum G.P.A. of 2.00 for all courses counting toward the minor.
- Completion of the following required courses:
- The minor is made up of a variety of courses with a GEND prefix and a large pool of elective courses from disciplines throughout the campus. Students can find these course designations (scroll down) in three separate sections: 1) GEND prefixed courses 2) other prefixed courses that count completely, and 3) gender component courses.
- Many courses that count towards the minor are designated General Education (GE).
Please be sure to use Webster to identify in which GE category in which each can be found. Some courses are not offered every year, but alternate.
REQUIRED COURSES
GEND 301
Perspectives on Gender
Credits: 5.00
General Education
Course provides an interdisciplinary overview of gender scholarship, with emphasis on the intersections of gender with race, class, sexuality, and culture.
GEND 401
Research
Credits:1.00 -3.00
In this course each student will pursue an independent research project. It is an interdisciplinary course that focuses on visions and methods that feminist scholars use to study feminist issues within and across a range of traditional disciplines.
GEND 409
Practicum
Credits: 3.00 (S/U only)
The practicum offers a unique learning experience enabling students to obtain practical educational experience that compliments and enhances the traditional education process. It provides students with a forum for situating their work experience within a broader feminist context.
ELECTIVE COURSES
GEND 201
Gender Basics: Becoming American Women and Men
Credits: 5
General Education
Examines historical and contemporary gender relations in the United States and emphasizes the ways in which gender intersects with issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Students are introduced to gender studies as an academic discipline and have critical conversations about feminism, oppression, privilege, difference, public policy, and individual responsibility.
GEND 220
Gender, Work, and Society
Credits: 5.00
General Education
(Writing Intensive). Explores the gender implications of women's and men’s participation in business with a focus on women’s role in the emergence of American capitalism, the creation of laboring and professional classes, and the institutionalization of property ownership and law. Seeks to determine the meaning of business using gender as a category of analysis.
GEND 310 (Distance Education Only)
Women in Science
Credits: 3.00
A historical review of women's contributions to scientific advancement will be covered in the context of the traditional scientific method. Current issues facing female scientists and the "feminization" of science will be explored.
GEND 323 (Distance Education Only)
Forbidden Goddess: Gender and Literature of the Classical World
Credits: 4.00
General Education
(Writing Intensive). Selective study of Greek literature, myths, and rituals focused on dynamics of inclusion and exclusion that parallel modern definitions of gender. Goddesses, heroes, virgins, sacrificial victims, prophetesses, and martyrs play complex and contradictory roles in classical epic, Greek tragedy and excerpts from the Code of Hammurabi and the Old Testament. Provides the opportunity for students to think critically about the role of gender in our culture, particularly as it is reflected in classic literary texts and to gain new insights into sexual difference as it operates within our world.
GEND 330
US Minority Women Writers
Credits: 5.00
General Education
Examines fiction of American women writers of Native American, African, Mexican, Chinese, Jewish and Arab descent. Explores such subjects as their relation to the history of their people, conflict between their cultural values and the dominant culture, and creating and affirming an ethnic minority female identity in the United States.
GEND 340 (Distance Education Only)
History of Women and the Family in the Pre-Industrial Era
Credits: 5.00
General Education
Provides an overview of women’s history and family history in their economic, social, cultural and political contexts. Special attention is given to ideas about women’s roles inside and outside the family and how this relates to the realities of women’s experiences.
GEND 341 (Distance Education Only)
History of Women and the Women's Movement in the Modern Era
Credits: 5.00
General Education
Examines the changing concepts of women’s rights and women’s roles in the domestic and public spheres with special attention to the rise of the suffrage movements and the economic, social, and political foundations of modern feminism.
GEND 350 (Distance Education Only)
Pornography, Gender and the State
Credits: 5.00
(Writing Intensive). Examines the production, text, and consumption of pornography in a social and political context. Provides an overview of the social and political history of the anti-pornography movement, explores opposing feminist analyses of contemporary pornography, and studies the social and political effects of the use of pornography in society.
GEND 360
Gender & Power
Credits: 5.00
General Education
Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Class (es): Freshman, Sophomore
(Writing Intensive). Provides a critical analysis of privilege, power, and difference in relationships between women and men in the United States and in a global context. Perspectives on historical movements for gender equality, and consideration of issues of domestic and paid labor, reproduction, and violence. Assesses gender relationships within social institutions such as family, education, religion, and the economy.
GEND 395 (Distance Education Only)
Gender in Literature and Film
Credits: 4.00
General Education
(Writing Intensive). Provides intensive study of gender theories in relation to the production and interpretation of literary texts and/or film.
GEND 405
Reading and Conference
Credits: 1-6
Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Class(es): Freshman, Sophomore
Seeks to satisfy the needs of students interested in specialty areas of gender studies. Content varies according to the individual needs of students. Gender studies faculty and the student select specific topics.
GEND 410
Development of Gender Role
Credits: 5.00
An examination of psychological theories and research on the development of gender roles with a focus on childhood. Includes a consideration of biological influences and differential socialization influences on children’s personality and behavior.
GEND 410 (Distance Education Only)
Gender ,Art, and Society
Credits: 5.00
You will be introduced to feminist art, artists, and art theory. The course will focus on the impact of feminist social theory within the context of art's essential patriarchal paradigm. We will be looking to the many roles women have played in art, to include women as subject matter, the body politic, and female creativity.
In addition to the above requirements, courses toward the minor may be chosen from a list of courses offered as applicable to the Gender Studies Minor. A list of these courses is available through the program advisor.
2. Other Prefixed Courses That Count Completely:
Below is a list of (gender focused) courses that count fully toward GEND minor:
Courses that count completely towards the minor. Transfer students should consult with the Gender Studies Coordinator to propose courses from their previous school that might meet this requirement.
ANTH 372
Sex and Gender
ART 304
Sexual identity and visual culture
ENG 322
Historical Literature: Celtic Women
ENG 390
Multicultural Literature: Women's Literature
ENG 395
Gender in Lit./Film: Women Filmmakers
HIST 330
U.S. Women's History
PSY 231
Human Sexuality
SOC 360
Gender and Power
SOC 338
Marriage and Family
SCI 310/GEND 310 (Distance Education Only)
Women in Science
A wide variety of other courses do not treat gender as the central theme, but have a strong component dealing with gender issues. Students may count one of these courses towards the minor. Transfer students should consult with the Gender Studies coordinator to propose courses from their other school that might meet this requirement.
ANTH 101
Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 312
Native Peoples of North America
BA 101
Intro to Business and the Global Environment
BA 312
Principles of Marketing
BA 321
Principles of Management
BA 451
Human Resource Management
BA 464
Promotional Strategies
BA 465
Consumer Behavior
BA 461
Organizational Behavior
CSS 381
Age/Power/Discrimination in Agriculture
ECON 115
Economics of Social Issues
ENG 109
Contemporary World Literature
ENG 206
Applied Literary Criticism
ENG 446
Critical Theory
GERM 210 / GERM 310 / HUM 310
German Film
PHIL 102
Ethics, Politics, and Law
SOC 204
General Sociology
This list of component/focus courses that meet GEND requirements will be updated annually, as faculty offer a new electives will also count towards the minor.
Advising assistance for the Gender Studies minor will be offered by the Coordinator of the Gender Studies minor, and each student's major advisor.
No out-of-state tuition charges! -- Same rates for non-residents as for Oregon residents. Contact the Division of Distance Education for off-campus or the EOU Office of Admissions for on-campus registration information.
For more information on the Gender Studies minor at Eastern Oregon University, contact: Tonia St.Germain, J.D., Assistant Professor/Program Coordinator, Gender Studies Program, Eastern Oregon University, One University Boulevard, Ackerman Room 113, La Grande, OR 97850-2899 (541) 962-3003, E-Mail: Gender Studies.