Gender & Women's Studies

Undergraduate Courses

See Topnet for Class Meeting Schedule

 

Spring 2026

Core Courses:

GWS 200 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies
Required for the minor
Drawing on historical perspectives and cultural analysis, this course examines such topics as women and work, violence against women, family, and the social construction of gender, sexuality, race, and class. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code E-SB | SB

GWS 400 Western Feminist Thought
GWS minors graduating in May 2026, enroll in this course. Required for the minor.
This course presents the fundamental concepts embodied in Western feminist thought as it has developed from the eighteenth century to the present. It emphasizes a close analysis of individual works and critical evaluations of the assumptions and central concepts that inform the works under consideration.

 

Approved Electives:

Approved Electives:
CRIM 446 Gender Crime and Justice
Explores how gender shapes reactions toward victims, offenders, and professionals working in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Restriction(s): Students with a semester level of Academy Junior, Academy Senior, Freshman or Sophomore may not enroll.

DANC 360 Dance In Culture        
Honors section available    
Survey of world dance forms, emphasizing social, cultural and aesthetic principles defining these forms. Gender, racial, political and religious orientations shaping dance history are examined. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC Students should complete 21 hours of Foundations & Explorations coursework or have junior status before enrolling in a Connections course.

ENG 104 Introduction to Linguistics
A general introduction to language study with emphasis on units of sound, units of meaning, sentence structure, dialects, and other cultural aspects of language. Focus is on the English language.

ENG 295 Popular Culture and Gender: Signs and Narratives  
Online • A few seats are reserved for minors
Through the study of signs and narrative structures, this course investigates contemporary Western popular culture's concepts of gender. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC
Prerequisite(s): 21 hours of Foundations and Explorations Courses, or junior status

ENG 468 Early Modern Literature Intimacies and Sexualities in Early Modern English Lit 
(focus on Shakespeare) • (DW appeal needed) 
A study of selected literary works from sixteenth-and seventeenth-century England, with attention to the historical, theoretical, and aesthetic conditions that shaped the imaginative development of English literature.  Prerequisite(s): (Foundations Literary Studies or ENG 200 or MLNG 200 or RELS 200 or ENG FAH-L or ENG B1-L)

ENG 488 Victorian Literature and Culture 
Honors section available
Studies in Victorian poets and novelists, emphasizing the rise and fall of the British Empire and the birth of mass media.

ENG 490 American Novel
Study of the American novel as a genre. Topic will vary by semester.
Prerequisite(s): (Foundations Literary Studies or ENG 200 or MLNG 200 or RELS 200 or ENG FAH-L or ENG B1-L)

FACS 311 Family Relations (Web Course)
Study of issues affecting individual and family well-being. Interpersonal relationships and communication skills necessary to achieve quality of life are
addressed. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code SB

FILM 369 Intro to World Cinema
Examines cinema in several regions including China, India, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Viewing of representative films accompanied by background readings on history/culture. Note: Permission of instructor

FLK 388-703 Foodways (Web Course -K. Hudepohl’s course only)   
DW exception appeal needed
Exploration of the relationship between food and culture. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-LG

FLK 373 Folklore and the Media (Web Course)
Variety and characteristics of folklore in the media including newspapers, television, magazines, comics, movies, photographs, cartoons, and advertisements. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-LG
Prerequisite(s): 21 hours of Foundations and Explorations Courses, or junior status

HIST 335 20th Century Europe
A survey of Europe during the twentieth century that covers developments in social, cultural, political, intellectual, and gender history. Note: Permission of instructor.

HIST 420 History of Sexuality
Survey of how past societies and cultures have interpreted human sexual behavior and identities. Note: Permission of instructor. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

HIST 446 American Legal History Since 1865
Honors section available
A survey of the development of American law and its relationship to political, economic, and social trends in modern American society.

PH 365 Human Sexuality (Web Course)
Examines sociological, physiological, and psychological aspects of human sexuality in relation to family life, courtship, marriage, reproduction, education, and aging. Includes information on sexual assault, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and
HIV/AIDS. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

PSY 355 Cross-Cultural Psychology
Examines the impact of culture on major principles, theories, and applications of psychology, including social behavior, gender, communication, development and abnormal psychology. Involves interacting with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

PSYS 350 Social Psychology
A general introduction to social psychology for majors and non-majors in psychology. The psychology of how people think about and relate to others. Topics include love, altruism, aggression, conformity, behavior in groups, leadership, intergroup conflict, prejudice, and persuasion. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC | SB

PSYS/PSY 453 Psychology of Women
This is a bi-term course - see course dates.
Delivered synchronously to Owensboro, Glasgow, Etown / Scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of girls and women. Topics include gender differences and similarities, inclusion of females in psychological research, psychological development of girls and women, sexuality, and mental health issues. Note: Six hours in psychology are required in addition to the prerequisites or permission of instructor. Prerequisite(s): (PSYS 100 or PSY 100) Restriction(s): Students with a semester level of Academy Junior, Academy Senior, Freshman or Sophomore may not enroll.

PSYS/PSY 453 Psychology of Women  / Online course available as well as the above bi-term

RELS 333 Women and Religion  (honors section available)
The examination of ideas and roles of women in local and global religious traditions, societies and cultures. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC

RELS 335 Islam, Sexuality, and Gender 
DW exception appeal needed • Honors section available
This course examines sexuality and gender in Islamic theology, history, and contemporary societies. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-LG
Prerequisite(s): RELS 102 with a minimum grade of C and 21 hours of Foundations and Explorations Courses, or junior status

SMC 310 Media Diversity
Explores journalistic coverage of diversity in terms of race, culture, gender, and sexual orientation in a number of mass media areas including newspaper, radio, television, film, video games, digital media, advertising, and public relations. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC 
Prerequisite(s): 21 hours of Foundations and Explorations Courses, or junior status

SOCL 220 Marriage/Family (Web Course)
Analysis of the family institution, its structure and function and the dynamics of social change in family interaction and organization. Note: Consent of
instructor. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC | SB

SOCL 250 Systems of Social Inequality
DW exception appeal needed
Web Course bi-term  & On Demand
In this course students will explore how social structures and systems produce inequalities, especially those related to race, gender, sex, sexuality, class, disability, and national identity. Students will learn: 1) about the historical roots of contemporary inequalities and how they produced systems of stratification, 2) the processes that sustain and reproduce these systems of inequalities over time, and 3) how to identify themselves and others within these systems of stratification and oppression in their everyday lives. Students will also learn about the work of contemporary and historical social movements which have defined and advocated alternative forms of social organization as a way to reduce the harm from these inequalities. While this course will focus on systems of oppression primarily within a U.S. context, students will explore how these inequalities connect to global systems of stratification.
Prerequisite(s):SOCL 100

SOCL 359 Sexuality and Society (On Demand Course)
Sociological examination of issues, debates, and research on pornography, prostitution, sexual orientation, and sex and the law.

SOCL 435 Family Violence (On Demand Course)
A sociological perspective on family violence in the United States, emphasizing child abuse and intimate partner violence. Research, theory, laws, treatment and prevention are analyzed.

THEA 341 Culture and Performance
An exploration of how dramatic works reflect, challenge and influence cultural norms and how performance can identify and address social problems. Colonnade/Statewide General Education Code K-SC
Prerequisite(s): 21 hours of Foundations and Explorations Courses, or junior status