WMST Course Schedule

100 Level Courses

WMST 100: Global Representations of Women. 3 credits.
Explores ways women are portrayed around the world in advertising, film, TV, cartoons, and news media; literature and religious texts; as well as photography, and the visual and performing arts. Through interdisciplinary study, students evaluate the powerful effects these representations have on the political, economic, and social lives of women throughout the world. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core (All), Global Contexts, Global Understanding
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

200 Level Courses

WMST 200: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies. 3 credits.
Interdisciplinary introduction to women’s, gender and sexuality studies, encompassing key concepts in the field, history of women’s movements and women’s studies in America, cross-cultural constructions of gender, and a thematic emphasis on the diversity of women’s experience across class, race, and cultural lines. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core (All), Social/Behavioral Sciences
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 208: Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies. 3 credits.
Explores major events in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and queer culture and history in the United States to understand how identities, experiences, and movements have been socially constructed and have changed in different times and places, often as a result of race, class, and gender inequities. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core (All), Just Societies, Social/Behavioral Sciences
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

300 Level Courses

WMST 300: Current Issues in Women and Gender Studies. 1-6 credits.
Study of selected topics central to contemporary women and gender studies. Topics vary but include subjects such as women and violence, women and international development, women's myth and ritual, LGBTQ topics, the history and politics of sexuality, psychoanalysis, and religion. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: WMST 200 or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 307: Women and Work. 3 credits.
Historical and contemporary accounts of women's participation in paid and unpaid labor. Analyzes the nature of women's work through the divisions in the labor market due to gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, and class. Provides a detailed look at occupational sex segregation, sexual harassment, the glass ceiling, and the role of religion, culture, and education in determining women's opportunities and their value as workers and as family providers. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: 30 credits.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 309: Black Social Movements: Gendering of Violence and Activism. 3 credits.
Examines racialized gendered conceptions of popular culture, violence, and the legal system and their role in structuring systems of segregation, discrimination and exclusion. Looks at the gendered strategies and conflicts of organizations that arose to combat racial violence and overturn legal and social barriers to equal opportunity and citizenship rights. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 315: Women During the Enslavement Era. 3 credits.
Examines the general experiences of enslaved women and nominally free women. Includes the lives of female reformers involved in the public arena as orators, writers, preachers, abolitionists and women's rights activists. Explores the effect of gender, class, and race on the development of ideologies concerning abolition, colonization, women's rights, and enslavement. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 317: Women's Activism: From Jim Crow to Black Power. 3 credits.
Provides an intersectional study of women's historical struggles to fight race, gender and class oppression. Demonstrates legal influence on reproduction of race and gender inequalities. Documents the major movements of the period from Jim Crow segregation to Black Power. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 319: Gender, Health, and Culture in the United States. 3 credits.
Examines issues related to gender, culture, and health in the United States from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Encompasses racial and ethnic identification, geographic region, sexual orientation, gender identity, generational status. Will be framed to emphasize the interplay between cultural, social, economic, environmental, and political factors associated with health, and methodological issues in research on health status and health behaviors. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 320: Violence, Gender, and Sexuality. 3 credits.
Using nonfiction, documentaries, oral histories, case studies, literature, and feature films examines the dynamics of violence through different cultural lenses as they relate to gender identity, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to INTS 310.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 330: Feminist Theories of Gender, Sexuality, and Race. 3 credits.
Introduces students to theoretical work in feminism, women’s and gender studies, and queer theory. Examines the history of feminist and queer theories, key concepts and thinkers, and the intersection of feminist and queer theories with other areas of social analysis such as race and class. Explores social inequalities and forms of resistance. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: WMST 200 or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 375: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and TV. 3 credits.
Focuses on constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary and classic television. Examines television through genres, consumption, and social justice issues. Topics can be specific to certain decades of TV, specific identities in representation, and/or specific genres. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to INTS 374.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 390: Study Abroad. 1-3 credits.
Study abroad under supervision of George Mason University faculty. Course topics, content and locations vary. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 399: Current Topics in LGBTQ Studies. 3 credits.
Examines contemporary issues and policies within LGBTQ issues. Explores the intersections of race, gender, age, class, disability, and national identity in relation to LGBTQ identities. May be repeated for credit when the topic is different. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

400 Level Courses

WMST 400: Internship in Women and Gender Studies. 1-3 credits.
Community- or campus-based service or experiential learning related to women's or gender issues. Independent course in which students develop, in consultation with a faculty member, individual contracts defining the learning and competencies they plan to gain from the experience. Includes a paper and/or portfolio component. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Recommended Prerequisite: Completion of 60 hours, WMST 200 or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Internship
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 401: Experiential Learning in Women and Gender Studies. 1-3 credits.
Community- or campus-based service or experiential learning as it relates to a specific WMST course, taken at the same time. Students develop, in consultation with faculty member, individual contracts defining learning and competencies they plan to gain from the experience. Notes: Only 3 credits of WMST 400 or 401 may be applied toward the women and gender studies interdisciplinary minor. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Recommended Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in women and gender studies course and approval of advisor and instructor.
Schedule Type: Internship
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 402: Queer Theory. 3 credits.
Challenges rigid categories and definitions in order to create a space for marginalized voices. Examines the inconsistencies and erasures that often characterize notions of sex, gender, sexuality, and sexual desire. Explores categories that intersect with sexualized identities such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, location, and age. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: WMST 208 or WMST 200
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 404: Gender, Sexuality, and Disability. 3 credits.
Examines the social construction of disability as it pertains to questions of gender, sexuality, race, and class; representations of disability in literature and film; disability, embodiment, and reproductive rights; queerness and disability; the concept of “passing” and invisible disabilities: asexuality and disability; and rhetorics of disability in the U.S. academy. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 407: Transnational Sexualities. 3 credits.
Explore the globalization of sexual identities, cultures, and social movements from a transnational perspective. Engaging with literature from across the social sciences and humanities, we will consider how sexual rights discourse get defined and utilized in relation to theories of desire and the body; sexual health and reproductive rights; sex work; travel and tourism; border-crossing and migration; and neoliberalism and development. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 408: Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights. 3 credits.
Explores the globalization of women’s and LGBTQ human rights discourses from transnational and global perspectives. Issues include: women’s human rights and the war on terrorism; rape and sexual violence; HIV/AIDS; sex work and sex trafficking; girls’ human rights; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights; and disability rights for women and sexual minorities. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Mason Impact.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 409: Sexuality, Race, and Immigration. 3 credits.
Explores how race and sexuality structure contemporary processes of immigration and border-crossing in Europe and the U.S.. Addresses the history of U.S. immigration controls in relation to questions of race, class, gender and sexuality; women’s and LGBTQ claims for political asylum in Europe and the United States; child migration; sex work, trafficking and migration; and feminist and queer anti-deportation activism. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 410: Feminist Research Methods. 3 credits.
Introduces feminist approaches to research for advanced undergraduate students. Focuses on the techniques for collecting, analyzing, and writing-up research and examines central methodological issues raised by feminist scholars. Emphasizes a learning-by-doing approach to conducting research. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Mason Impact.
Recommended Prerequisite: 60 credits, including 9 credits of WMST courses, or permission of instructor
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 412: Race, Class, and LGBTQ Communities. 3 credits.
Explores the other systemic oppressions that exist within the LGBTQ community such as racism, classism, and others through historical and contemporary debates and texts. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 413: LGBTQ Issues in Education. 3 credits.
Provides an overview of contemporary issues and concepts related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer persons and communities as they relate to systems, structures, and experiences within educational contexts, such as schools, museums, and community organizations. Focuses on theories, methods, and practices to support learners and educators in settings inclusive of all sexual identities and orientations. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: WMST 208
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 416: Policing Black Bodies. 3 credits.
Interrogates the myriad ways in which Black Bodies are formally and informally policed. Special focus is given to the ways in which Black women’s bodies are policed not only by the criminal justice system, but also informally through sexual and intimate partner violence, forced sterilization and contraception. Course utilizes the theoretical lenses of intersectionality and of color blind racism. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. Limited to three attempts. Equivalent to INTS 441.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 450: Current Topics in Women and Gender Studies. 1-3 credits.
Studies selected topics central to contemporary women and gender studies. Includes topics such as women and violence, women and international development, women's myth and ritual, LGBTQ topics, the history and politics of sexuality, disability, transnational issues and religion. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Specialized Designation: Mason Impact., Topic Varies
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
WMST 490: Independent Study in Women and Gender Studies. 1-3 credits.
Reading or research on a specific topic related to women and/or gender issues, under the direction of a faculty member. May involve a combination of reading assignments, tutorials, papers, presentations, or off-campus activities. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Recommended Prerequisite: WMST 200 or Permission of Instructor.
Schedule Type: Independent Study
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

500 Level Courses

WMST 504: Gender, Sexuality, and Disability. 3 credits.
Examines the social construction of disability as it pertains to questions of gender, sexuality, race, and class; representations of disability in literature and film; disability, embodiment, and reproductive rights; queerness and disability; the concept of “passing” and invisible disabilities: asexuality and disability; and rhetorics of disability in the U.S. academy. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 507: Transnational Sexualities. 3 credits.
Explore the globalization of sexual identities, cultures, and social movements from a transnational perspective. Engaging with literature from across the social sciences and humanities, we will consider how sexual rights discourse get defined and utilized in relation to theories of desire and the body; sexual health and reproductive rights; sex work; travel and tourism; border-crossing and migration; and neoliberalism and development. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 509: Sexuality, Race, and Immigration. 3 credits.
Explores how race and sexuality structure contemporary processes of immigration and border-crossing in Europe and the U.S.. Addresses the history of U.S. immigration controls in relation to questions of race, class, gender and sexuality; women’s and LGBTQ claims for political asylum in Europe and the United States; child migration; sex work, trafficking and migration; and feminist and queer anti-deportation activism. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 516: Policing Black Bodies. 3 credits.
Interrogates the myriad ways in which Black Bodies are formally and informally policed. Special focus is given to the ways in which Black women’s bodies are policed not only by the criminal justice system, but also informally through sexual and intimate partner violence, forced sterilization and contraception. Course utilizes the theoretical lenses of intersectionality and of color blind racism. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 550: Current Topics in Women and Gender Studies. 1-3 credits.
Studies selected topics central to contemporary women and gender studies. Includes topics such as women and violence, women and international development, women's myth and ritual, LGBTQ topics, the history and politics of sexuality, disability, disability, transnational issues and religion. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.

600 Level Courses

WMST 600: Special Topics. 3 credits.
Study of selected topics central to contemporary women and gender studies. Topics vary but include representation and images, violence, public policy, international development, transmigration of labor, myth and ritual, history and politics of sexuality, psychoanalysis, and religion. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 602: Queer Theory. 3 credits.
Challenges rigid categories and definitions in order to create a space for marginalized voices. Examines the inconsistencies and erasures that often characterize notions of sex, gender, sexuality, and sexual desire. Explores categories that intersect with sexualized identities such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, location, and age. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 608: Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights. 3 credits.
Explores the globalization of women’s and LGBTQ human rights discourses from transnational and global perspectives. Issues include: women’s human rights and the war on terrorism; rape and sexual violence; HIV/AIDS; sex work and sex trafficking; girls’ human rights; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights; and disability rights for women and sexual minorities. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 610: Feminist Research Methods. 3 credits.
Introduces feminist approaches to research. Focuses on the techniques for collecting, analyzing, and writing-up research and examines central methodological issues raised by feminist scholars. Emphasizes a learning-by-doing approach to conducting research. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Recommended Prerequisite: 3 credits of 600-level WMST courses, or permission of instructor.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 630: Feminist Theories. 3 credits.
Multidisciplinary course examines the central issues of feminist theory and explores the various strategies of feminist theorists. Analyzes the ways in which feminist theories have challenged established disciplinary boundaries and contested the traditional assumptions of the humanities, the social sciences, and the sciences. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 640: Transnational Issues of Gender and Race. 3 credits.
Multidisciplinary course explores the complex and intersectional issues women face in different regions of the world. Addresses women's diverse and shared transnational and global concerns and provides students with the tools to analyze and understand women in a global context. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 690: Directed Readings and Research in Women and Gender Studies. 1-3 credits.
Advanced individualized study of gender through readings, discussion, research, and/or projects under the direction and supervision of a member of the women's studies faculty. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program in woman's studies and permission of director.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Research
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 695: Internship. 3 credits.
Community or campus-based service or experiential learning related to women's or gender issues. Students develop, in consultation with a faculty member, individual contracts defining the learning and competencies they plan to gain from the experience. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Recommended Prerequisite: Completion of 15 graduate credits in Interdisciplinary Studies, including 9 credits in Women and Gender Studies or permission of instructor.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Internship
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
WMST 699: Capstone Portfolio. 0 credits.
Prior to graduation and in consultation with their advisor, students will reflect on and synthesize their work in the women and gender studies certificate program by selecting three items taken from their work in the program and discussing these items in a 7-10 page essay. Work selected may include course papers, videos of their performances, exhibit photos, music recordings, and other items as agreed upon by student and advisor. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May not be repeated for credit.
Recommended Prerequisite: Students must have completed their course work for women and gender studies certificate or be in the last semester of their course work.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy, Graduate, Junior Plus, Non-Degree or Senior Plus.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate, Non-Degree or Undergraduate level students.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Independent Study
Grading:
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.

800 Level Courses

WMST 890: Advanced Topics in Feminist Research and Scholarship. 1-6 credits.
Specialized inquiry of topics of contemporary feminist research and scholarship. Content varies. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. Offered by Women & Gender Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy or Graduate.

Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.