FEMGEN 100X. Grassroots Community Organizing: Building Power for Collective Liberation. 3-5 Units.
Taught by long-time community organizer, Beatriz Herrera. This course explores the theory, practice and history of grassroots community organizing as a method for developing community power to promoting social justice. We will develop skills for 1-on-1 relational meetings, media messaging, fundraising strategies, power structure analysis, and strategies organizing across racial/ethnic difference. And we will contextualize these through the theories and practices developed in the racial, gender, queer, environmental, immigrant, housing and economic justice movements to better understand how organizing has been used to engage communities in the process of social change. Through this class, students will gain the hard skills and analytical tools needed to successfully organize campaigns and movements that work to address complex systems of power, privilege, and oppression. As a Community-Engaged Learning course, students will work directly with community organizations on campaigns to address community needs, deepen their knowledge of theory and history through hands-on practice, and develop a critical analysis of inequality at the structural and interpersonal levels. Placements with community organizations are limited. Enrollment will be determined on the first day through a simple application process. Students will have the option to continue the course for a second quarter in the Winter, where they will execute a campaign either on campus or in collaboration with their community partner.
Same as: AFRICAAM 100, CSRE 100, URBANST 108
FEMGEN 101. Introduction to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 4-5 Units.
Introduction to interdisciplinary approaches to gender, sexuality, queer, trans and feminist studies. Topics include the emergence of sexuality studies in the academy, social justice and new subjects, science and technology, art and activism, history, film and memory, the documentation and performance of difference, and relevant socio-economic and political formations such as work and the family. Students learn to think critically about race, gender, and sexuality from local and global perspectives.
Same as: AMSTUD 107, CSRE 108, TAPS 108
FEMGEN 102. Art and Social Criticism. 5 Units.
Visual artists have long been in the forefront of social criticism in America. Since the 1960s, various visual strategies have helped emergent progressive political movements articulate and represent complex social issues. Which artists and particular art works/projects have become key anchors for discourses on racism, sexism, economic and social inequality, immigrant rights and climate change? We will learn about a spectrum of political art designed to raise social awareness, spark social change and rouse protest. The Art Workers Coalition's agit-prop opposing the Vietnam War and ACT-UP's emblematic signs and symbols during the AIDS/HIV crisis of the 1980s galvanized a generation into action. Works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party (1979), Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum (1992), and Glenn Ligon's paintings appropriating fragments from African-American literature all raised awareness by excavating historical evidence of the long legacy resisting marginalization. For three decades feminist artists Adrian Piper, Barbara Kruger and the Guerilla Girls have combined institutional critique and direct address into a provocative form of criticality. Recent art for social justice is reaching ever broadening publics by redrawing the role of artist and audience exemplified by the democratization of poster making and internet campaigns of Occupy and the Movement for Black Lives. We will also consider the collective aesthetic activisms in the Post-Occupy era including Global Ultra Luxury Faction, Climate Justice art projects, and the visual culture of Trump era mass protests. Why are each of these examples successful as influential and enduring markers of social criticism? What have these socially responsive practices contributed to our understanding of American history?.
Same as: AFRICAAM 102B, AMSTUD 102, ARTHIST 162B, CSRE 102A
FEMGEN 103. Feminist and Queer Theories and Methods Across the Disciplines. 2-5 Units.
(Graduate Students register for PHIL 279A or FEMGEN 203) This course is an opportunity to explore the difference feminist and queer perspectives make in creative arts, humanities, and social science research.nPrerequisites: Feminist Studies 101 or equivalent with consent of instructor.nNOTE: This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for WAYS credit. The 2 unit option is for graduate students only.
Same as: FEMGEN 203, PHIL 179A, PHIL 279A
FEMGEN 103S. Gender in Native American Societies. 5 Units.
Seminar examines the impact of colonialism on gender roles & gender relations in American Indian communities beginning with the 17th century to the present. Topics include demographic changes; social, political & economic transformations associated with biological & spiritual assaults; the dynamism & diversity of native societies. Sources include history, ethnography, biography, autobiography, the novel & film.
Same as: CSRE 103S, NATIVEAM 103S
FEMGEN 104A. Junior Seminar and Practicum. 1 Unit.
Preference to and required of Feminist Studies majors; others require consent of instuctor. Feminist experiential learning projects related to critical studies in gender and sexuality. Identifying goals, grant proposal writing, and negotiating ethical issues in feminist praxis. Developing the relationship between potential projects and their academic focus in the major.
FEMGEN 104B. Senior Seminar and Practicum. 2 Units.
Required for Feminist Studies majors. Non-majors enrolled with consent of instructor. Students develop oral reports on their practicum and its relationship to their academic work, submit a report draft and revised written analysis of the practicum, and discuss applications of feminist scholarship. May be repeated once for credit.
FEMGEN 105. Honors Work. 1-15 Unit.
(Staff).
FEMGEN 105C. Human Trafficking: Historical, Legal, and Medical Perspectives. 5 Units.
(Same as HISTORY 5C. History majors and others taking 5 units, enroll in 105C.) Interdisciplinary approach to understanding the extent and complexity of the global phenomenon of human trafficking, especially for forced prostitution, labor exploitation, and organ trade, focusing on human rights violations and remedies. Provides a historical context for the development and spread of human trafficking. Analyzes the current international and domestic legal and policy frameworks to combat trafficking and evaluates their practical implementation. Examines the medical, psychological, and public health issues involved. Uses problem-based learning. Required weekly 50-min. discussion section, time TBD. Students interested in service learning should consult with the instructor and will enroll in an additional course.
Same as: CSRE 105C, HISTORY 105C, HUMRTS 112, INTNLREL 105C
FEMGEN 105P. FGSS Honors Preparation Seminar. 1 Unit.
This 2 unit course will provide students the opportunity to explore possible honors topics, project design, advisor options, and university resources including grants, libraries, and faculty. nOver the 10 weeks, students will review related research, potential methodologies, explore creative genres, and consider summer research and preparation. Students will use their findings to write a proposal to submit to the honors program as well as a proposal to submit to UAR for undergraduate funding. After completing the proposal, students will have more clear next steps for their honors projects, including summer research needs, spring course selection as it relates to their topic, and building advisor relationships.
FEMGEN 106Q. Gender and Media. 3-4 Units.
From childhood, individuals are presented with texts and images about what it means to be female, what it means to be male, but rarely what it means to question that binary. These images and texts also present what it means to be in relationship with one another, and what it means to reject established gender roles. In this course, students will examine and research how lessons learned from popular culture impact the treatment and expectations of people individually as well as in relationship with each other. Specifically, we will analyze the ways in which news articles, movie clips, magazine advertisements, television commercials as well as other texts present gender identities as binary as well as gender roles of those binary structures. How are the roles and bodies of all genders presented as objects open to scrutiny, critique, exploitation, abuse, and awe? After examining rhetorical strategies and devices, we¿ll read excerpts from texts by social critics such as Susan Bordo who analyze culture and it¿s presentation of bodies. Through case studies of films and campaign ads, visits to spaces on campus that construct gender binaries, and field trips to off campus sites, we will explore how representations of gender challenge or reinforce messages in popular media.
FEMGEN 107A. Ripped from the Headlines: Current Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Issues and Questions. 1-2 Unit.
Discussion of current issues and questions related to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
FEMGEN 107C. You're Majoring in What?! Why Feminism is Still Relevant. 1-2 Unit.
Stanford Feminist Study alum and community activists will join this weekly seminar to share how studying feminism has helped them professionally. Together speakers and students will explore answers to questions such as: ¿Why study feminism, sexuality, or gender studies?¿ ¿Why is feminism still relevant?¿.
FEMGEN 107G. Sisterhood, Brotherhood, & Gender Identity: The Histories, Stories, and Constructs of Greek Life. 1 Unit.
In this course, we will explore the history, the development, the critiques and praise of sororities and fraternities. We¿ll pay particular attention to how gender and sexuality are framed in those discussions¿ones by outsiders as well as ones by insiders. How do Greek organizations present their activities and goals? What values and roles do they highlight during recruitment? Who joins them? What expectations are there for participants? What are the perceived benefits that come with joining? What does it mean to be a ¿fraternity brother¿ or a ¿sorority sister¿ in modern Greek organizations? How are sorority women and fraternity men discussed by outsiders? How do the stereotypes of Greek life impact perceptions of individuals as well as particular sororities and fraternities? To consider these questions, we¿ll look at historical documents and analyze how groups described themselves as they were establishing; we¿ll also analyze recent documents (websites, books, etc.) to consider current ways organizations describe themselves, their activities, and their values. We¿ll use both to consider how the messages created by and about Greek organizations shape public perceptions as well as individuals¿ experiences of gender and sexuality identity.
FEMGEN 107M. College Culture & Masculinity. 1-2 Unit.
Students in this course will interrogate masculinity and its impacts on culture broadly, with a focus on college campuses. Some questions considered will include: How do structures and expectations of masculinity impact sexual assault and response to sexual assault? Where on campus do we see pressure to perform masculinity? What expectations do some campus communities, such as athletics and Greek life, have of their members to perform and maintain masculinity? How are male identifying individuals expected to behave in communities shaped by masculinity? What spaces are there for gender non-conforming folks in communities shaped by masculinity? How do structures of masculinity impact expectations of femininity and femme in these spaces and others?.
FEMGEN 107P. Momcore, Me Too, and Hook-Ups: Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Politics and Practice. 1-2 Unit.
Students bring widely varying experiences of relationships, whether romantic, familial, platonic, sexual, or professional. This course provides students an opportunity to explore how power functions in these relationships. Relying on feminist critiques of power, students will examine how constructions of gender and sexuality impact our daily lives as well as how we relate to others in those relationships while negotiating power. Activities, readings, and discussions will prompt students to reflect on ways society constructs sex, gender, and intimacy via media and politics. We will explore the following themes through an intersectional lens: codes of masculinity, concepts and practicalities of affirmative consent in straight and LGBTQIA contexts, sexual harassment and sexual empowerment, and the lived experience of dating, romance, and relationships.
FEMGEN 107S. Barbie Girls vs Sea Monsters: Gender, Sexuality, & Identity in American Culture. 1-2 Unit.
Incoming students bring widely varying experiences of intimate relationships, whether romantic, familial, platonic, or sexual. This course provides students an opportunity to examine sexuality as a broad concept encompassing a dimension of our humanity and its surrounding cultural systems, impacting how we relate with one another: our experience of sex, gender, intimacy, and worldview. Activities, readings, and discussions will prompt students to reflect on society constructs sex, gender, and intimacy. Themes will include intersectional feminism and codes of masculinity, concepts and practicalities of affirmative consent in straight and LGBTQIA contexts, gender and sexual identity spectrums, and the lived experience of dating, romance, and relationships.
FEMGEN 108. Internship in Feminist Studies. 1-5 Unit.
Supervised field, community, or lab experience in law offices, medical research and labs, social service agencies, legislative and other public offices, or local and national organizations that address issues related to gender and/or sexuality. One unit represents approximately three hours work per week. Required paper. May be repeated for credit. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center). Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Majors may not receive 108 credit for their required practicum, as they are to sign up for FEMGEN 104 A & B instead. Prerequisites: Course work in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, written proposal and application form submitted for approval by program office, written consent of faculty sponsor. Course may be taken 3 times total, for a max of 15 units.
FEMGEN 108A. Enacting Community Liberation: Women's Community Center. 1 Unit.
Campus internships are crucial forms of community-building that provide students hands-on experience with organizing, outreach, and community care. Moving from theory to praxis, the FGSS department in partnership with the Women's Community Center offers the ¿Enacting Community Liberation¿ internship.nnIn accordance with the mission of the WCC, this internship will focus on addressing issues of gender, identity, equity, and justice through a lens of intersectionality. The WCC strives to center the most marginalized, and create programming, projects, and services that serve said populations - understanding that when the needs of the most marginalized are met, everyone will be cared for.nnThis is a year-long internship, with the ability to receive one unit of course credit per quarter for up to 3 quarters of the academic year.
FEMGEN 108B. Gender in the Arab and Middle Eastern City. 5 Units.
What are the components of gendered experience in the city, and how are these shaped by history and culture? How do meanings attributed to Islam and the Middle East obscure the specificity of women¿s and men¿s lives in Muslim-majority cities? This course explores gender norms and gendered experience in the major cities of Arab-majority countries, Iran and Turkey. Assigned historical and sociological readings contextualize feminism in these countries. Established and recent anthropological publications address modernity, mobility, reproduction, consumption, and social movements within urban contexts. Students will engage with some of the key figures shaping debates about gender, class, and Islam in countries of the region typically referenced as North Africa and the Middle East (MENA). They will also evaluate regional media addressing concerns about gender in light of the historical content of the course and related political concepts.
Same as: ANTHRO 108B, URBANST 108B
FEMGEN 109. Looking Back, Moving Forward: Raising Critical Awareness in Gender and Sports. 3 Units.
In 1972, Title IX legislation opened up a vast range of opportunities for women in sports. Since then, women's sports have continued to grow yet the fight for recognition and equality persists. Simply put, men's sports are more popular than women's--so much so, in fact, that people often make the hierarchical distinction between "sports" and "women's sports." But what would it take to get more women's sports featured on ESPN or more female athletes on the cover of Sports Illustrated? And, given the well-documented corruption at the highest levels of men's sports, should such an ascent in popularity be the goal for women's sports? This course will map out and respond to the multifaceted issues that emerge when women enter the sports world. Throughout the quarter, we will explore the fight for gender equality in sports through historical, cultural, and rhetorical lenses. NOTE: Class will meet in Old Union, Room 302.
Same as: FEMGEN 209
FEMGEN 109E. Global Women Leaders: Past and Present. 3-4 Units.
This course will introduce students to global women's history, and focus on the emergence of women political leaders in the 20th century. We will begin by looking at the history of patriarchy around the world, and then consider the growth of feminist politics. We will look at movements for women's self-determination in the 19th and 20th centuries, and women's emergence as national political leaders in the 20th century. We then focus on a series of global women leaders, primarily heads of state, and explore their biographies and historical contributions. What conditions have permitted women to emerge as heads of state in the 20th century? Have women made a distinctive contribution as heads of state and political activists? In addition to lectures and discussions, class meetings include viewing several films.
FEMGEN 109S. Gender & Sports: Beyond Equality Speaker Series. 1 Unit.
To be taken in conjunction with attendance at the Winter Quarter Gender & Sports Speaker Series. This discussion group will meet 2-3 times during the quarter. Course times will be determined at the start of Winter Quarter. For questions, email rmeisels@stanford.edu. Repeatable for credit.
FEMGEN 10A. BAY AREA DOMESTIC WORKERS: RIGHTS: A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE. 1 Unit.
In this Alternative Spring Break course and trip, we will examine how ournsociety and institutions allow for and perpetuate the exploitation andnoppression of domestic workers. Historically, domestic workers have largelynbeen excluded from basic labor protections. We cannot think criticallynabout the issues domestic workers face without considering the rolesngender, race and ethnicity, immigration status, and language play in thenindustry. We will use a conceptual framework based on citizenship andnreproductive labor theory to address themes in the context of Bay Areanmigrant women of color who are vehemently campaigning for equal labornrights. Through collaborations with domestic worker organizations based innSan Francisco and Oakland, ASB participants will learn how this movementnseeks to transform the domestic work industry through multilingual andnmulticultural alliances.
FEMGEN 110J. Romance, Desire, and Sexuality in Modern Japanese Literature. 3-4 Units.
This class is structured around three motifs: love suicide (as a romantic ideal), female desire, and same-sex sexuality. Over the course of the quarter we will look at how these motifs are treated in the art and entertainment from three different moments of Japanese history: the Edo period (1615-1868), the modern period (1920-65), and the contemporary period (1965-present). We will start by focusing on the most traditional representations of these topics. Subsequently, we will consider how later artists and entertainers revisited the conventional treatments of these motifs, informing them with new meanings and social significance. We will devote particular attention to how this material comments upon issues of gender, sexuality, and human relationships in the context of Japan. Informing our perspective will be feminist and queer theories of reading and interpretation.
Same as: FEMGEN 210J, JAPAN 110, JAPAN 210
FEMGEN 111. Reproductive Politics in the United States and Abroad. 3-5 Units.
Course description: This course examines the issues and debates surrounding women's reproduction in the United States and beyond. It pays special attention to how knowledge and technology travel across national/cultural borders and how women's reproductive functions are deeply connected to international politics and events abroad. Topics include: birth control, population control, abortion, sex education, sex trafficking, genetic counseling, assisted reproductive technologies, midwifery, breastfeeding, menstruation, and reproductive hazards.
Same as: AMSTUD 111
FEMGEN 112. "When We Dead Awaken": Breakthroughs in Conceptions of the Gendered Self in Literature and the Arts. 4-5 Units.
Remarkable breakthroughs In conceptions of the gendered self are everywhere evident in literature and the arts, beginning primarily with the Early Modern world and continuing into today. Many of these works inhere in innovations in literary and artistic forms in order to capture and even evoke the strong cognitive, or psychological, dimension of such ¿awakenings.¿ The reader, or viewer, is often challenged to adapt her or his mind to new forms of thought, such as John Donne¿s seventeenth century creation of the Dramatic Monologue, a form popular with modern writers, which requires the reader¿s cognitive ¿presence¿ in order to fill out the dramatic scene. In so doing, the reader often supplies the presence of the female voice and thereby enters into her self-consciousness and inner thoughts. Adrienne Rich, for example, specifically ¿rewrites¿ one of Donne¿s major poems from the female perspective. This can be, in Rich¿s words, an ¿awakening¿ for the active reader, as he or she assumes that often-unspoken female perspective. The course will also explore male conceptions of the self and how such conceptions are often grounded in cultural attitudes imposed on male subjects, which can contribute to gender-bias toward women, a subject often neglected in exploring gendered attitudes, but which is now gaining more study, for example, in Shakespeare¿s ¿Othello.¿ Readings from recent developments in the neurosciences and cognitive studies will be included in our study of artistic forms and how such forms can activate particular mindsets. Writers and artists will include Shakespeare, Michelangelo, John Donne, Virginia Woolf, Adrienne Rich, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, June Wayne, and Edward Albee¿s 1960¿s play, ¿Who¿s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?¿.
Same as: ENGLISH 182J, FEMGEN 212
FEMGEN 113. Transgender Studies. 3-4 Units.
Transgender and gender-expansive identities are the subject of growing attention and (often sensationalist) interest in the media as well as in the healthcare field, yet there exists a dearth of legitimate academic courses, research and writing that reflect and explore gender identity and expression as a fluid spectrum rather than a fixed binary. This course will address transgender and gender expansive identities from historical, medical, literary, developmental and sociopolitical perspectives.
Same as: FEMGEN 213
FEMGEN 113X. Feminist Poetry in the U.S., 1973-2017. 3-5 Units.
Traces the development of feminist poetry in the United States from second wave feminists like Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, and Alicia Ostriker to contemporary poetry of Anne Boyer, Steph Burt, and Eileen Myles, among others. We will think broadly about the relationship between politics and poetry, and focus specifically on the influences of second- and third- wave feminism on poetry produced by women in the U.S. from the 1970s until today.Note: To be eligible for WAYS credit, you must take the course for a Letter Grade.
FEMGEN 114. Sexual Diversity and Health. 1 Unit.
Explores multiple aspects of sexual diversity and health, including: kink/BDSM, polyamory, trans* sexuality, asexuality, high-risk sex, inter-sex-tionality, questioning gender and sexual binaries, and more. The format includes a one-day conference featuring a variety of expert speakers covering different aspects of sexual diversity and health, followed by a debriefing and discussion session to integrate what has been heard and learned.
Same as: FEMGEN 214
FEMGEN 115A. The Queer 20th Century: German LGBTQ Literature and Film. 3-5 Units.
What was it like to be queer in 20th-century Germany? This course examines the rich and sometimes surprising LGBTQ culture of 20th-century Germany, featuring stories that are often left out of traditional seminars. Through literature and film, we will learn about pioneering gay rights activists, persecution under National Socialism, emancipation movements under capitalism and socialism, and debates that are shaping queer life in contemporary Germany. Taught in English; students of all backgrounds are very welcome. Remote synchronous, with plenty of opportunities for breakout rooms, student discussion, Zoom breaks, and off-screen work.
Same as: FEMGEN 215A, GERMAN 115, GERMAN 215
FEMGEN 116. Narrating Queer Trauma. 4-5 Units.
Psychiatrist Dori Laub has argued that the process of narrating trauma is essential to the healing process. Not only is telling the story important, but it is also crucial to have someone else bear witness to the narrative. But how do people even begin to narrate stories of violence and pain, and how do we become good listeners? How are these stories told and heard in the specific context of queer world making? This course will explore narratives of trauma in queer lives through literature, film, media, and performance in conjunction with trauma theory and psychoanalysis. We will pay specific attention to questions of community, healing, violence, and affect at the intersections of queerness and race, sex, disability, class, gender, and nationality.
Same as: FEMGEN 216X
FEMGEN 117. Expanding Engineering Limits: Culture, Diversity, and Equity. 3 Units.
This course investigates how culture and diversity shape who becomes an engineer, what problems get solved, and the quality of designs, technology, and products. As a course community, we consider how cultural beliefs about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, abilities, socioeconomic status, and other intersectional aspects of identity interact with beliefs about engineering, influence diversity in the field, and affect equity in engineering education and practice. We also explore how engineering cultures and environments respond to and change with individual and institutional agency. The course involves weekly presentations by scholars and engineers, readings, short writing assignments, small-group discussion, and hands-on, student-driven projects. Students can enroll in the course for 1 unit (lectures only), or 3 units (lectures+discussion+project). For 1 unit, students should sign up for Section 1 and Credit/No Credit grading, and for 3 units students should sign up for Section 2 and either the C/NC or Grade option.
Same as: CSRE 117, CSRE 217, ENGR 117, ENGR 217, FEMGEN 217
FEMGEN 117F. Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film. 4-5 Units.
This course introduces students to the theoretical and analytical frameworks necessary to critically understand constructions of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American film. Through a sustained engagement with a range of independent and Hollywood films produced since 2000, students analyze the ways that cinematic representations have both reflected and constructed dominant notions of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Utilizing an intersectional framework that sees race, gender, and sexuality as always defined by one another, the course examines the ways that dominant notions of difference have been maintained and contested through film in the United States. Readings include work by Michael Omi & Howard Winant, Patricia Hill Collins, Jodi Melamed, Stuart Hall, Lisa Duggan and bell hooks. Films to be discussed include Moonlight, Mosquita y Mari, Kumu Hina, Hustlers, and Crazy Rich Asians. To enroll in the course, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/RKqURW6niyB1LRyEA.
Same as: AFRICAAM 117J, AMSTUD 117, ASNAMST 117D, CSRE 117D
FEMGEN 117Q. Queer Arts: Remembering and Imagining Social Change. 4-5 Units.
This interdisciplinary fine arts course is designed to examine the nature of artistic imagination, sources of creativity and the way this work helps shape social change. We will consider the relationship among muses, mentors and models for queer artists engaged in such fields as visual art, music, theatre, film, creative writing and dance. Exploring various cultures, lands and times, we will study the relationship between memory and vision in serious art. We will ask questions about the role of the artist in the academy and the broader social responsibility of the artist. We will locate some of the similarities and differences among artists, engage with different disciplines, and discover what we can learn from one another. This seminar requires the strong voices of all participants. To encourage students to take their ideas and questions beyond the classroom, we will be attending art events (performances, exhibits, readings) individually and in groups.nnThe learning goals include a serious exploration of individual students¿ creativity, a more nuanced appreciation of diverse arts and a stronger understanding of the multifaceted nature of gender, race and class. Students will develop their abilities to write well-argued papers. They will stretch their imaginations in the written and oral assignments. And they will grow more confident as public speakers and seminar participants.
Same as: CSRE 117Q
FEMGEN 118. Transgender Cultural Studies. 4-5 Units.
In the United States, we seem to be in a ¿transgender moment,¿ or we¿ve reached what Time magazine has called the ¿transgender tipping point.¿ In this course, we will explore what this cultural moment means for the representation of transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people. We will look historically and globally at differences in representation in order to better understand our current cultural moment. We will explore multiple genres, formats, and authorial points of view to critically think through how and by whom trans stories are told. How do interlocking systems of oppression continue to dictate and drive trans representation and narrative; how do trans authors and artists push back against these systems to (re)construct their own narrative and image? Through a critical engagement with film, memoir, graphic narrative, poetry, and fiction created by and/or about trans* people, this course will engage students with an instersectional approach to trans identity and representation in concert with racial identity, sexuality, disability, socio-economic status, age, gender, and citizenship.
FEMGEN 119. Archaeology of Gender and Sexuality. 5 Units.
How archaeologists study sex, sexuality, and gender through the material remains left behind by past cultures and communities. Theoretical and methodological issues; case studies from prehistoric and historic archaeology.
Same as: ANTHRO 111, ARCHLGY 129
FEMGEN 11SI. Protecting your Bubble: Self Defense Strategies for College Students. 1 Unit.
This course will offer self defense training for students, with a focus on mental and physical defense, primarily against sexual assault. The course will focus on an "empowerment" method of self defense, seeking to provide tools and build confidence in students for a variety of situations. Students will participate in group discussions on the topic of sexual assault on college campuses, as well as physical and mental self defense tactics both to build confidence in any situation, prevent assault, and to employ in dangerous situations.
FEMGEN 121. Intro to Queer Studies. 4-5 Units.
This course provides an interdisciplinary grounding in historical and theoretical foundations of queer culture and theory. A critical interrogation of sex, gender, sexuality, pleasure, and embodiment will provide students with a framework for producing their own queer cultural critique. We will explore LGBTQ history alongside contemporary queer issues in popular culture, health, science, government policy, and politics. This course will also address the intersections of sexuality and gender with race, class, ability, age, nationality, and religion. Students will engage with multiple disciplinary approaches that have both shaped queer studies and have been shaped by queer methodology.
FEMGEN 122. Reality Television and All Things Basic. 3-5 Units.
In ¿Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema¿ (1975), feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey argues that ¿the cinema poses questions of the ways the unconscious (formed by the dominant order) structures ways of seeing and pleasure in looking,¿ (804-805), conceptualizing what has become ubiquitously known as ¿the male gaze.¿ Mulvey's theory of the male gaze in film centers on two processes, the pleasures produced through objectification and those produced through identification. Feminists of color who study the politics of popular media have critiqued as well as expanded on Mulvey's notion of the male gaze, including bell hook's articulation of an oppositional gaze¿a critical gaze¿a possible site of resistance for colonized black people.nnWithin the last two decades, reality television has become a staple of popular culture in the U.S., a key component of the representational politics of audiovisual media. Thinking the processes of objectification and identification more expansively and privileging bell hook¿s formulation of critical spectatorship, what types of pleasures are produced through the addition of the category ¿reality?¿ How does this relate to our understandings of racialized gender in the U.S.? Is reality television ¿this generation¿s¿ soap opera, a feminized genre of (melo)drama? And does this form of reality simply reproduce the heteronormative order, or can this form of media ever subvert normative prescriptions regarding gender, age, race, class, and sex(uality)?.
Same as: CSRE 122B
FEMGEN 123. Sex and Love in Modern U.S. Society. 3 Units.
Social influences on private intimate relations involving romantic love and sexuality. Topics include the sexual revolution, contraception, dating, hook-ups, cohabitation, sexual orientation, and changing cultural meanings of marriage, gender, and romantic love.
Same as: SOC 123, SOC 223
FEMGEN 124. Challenging Sex and Gender Dichotomies in Medicine. 1 Unit.
Explores and challenges the traditional physiological bases for distinguishing human males from females, as well as the psychosocial factors that play a role in experiencing and expressing gender and sexuality. Topics include the influence of sociocultural (gender) norms and behaviors on human biology, the interactions of sex and gender on medical outcomes, the importance of understanding the spectrum of sex, gender, and sexuality in clinical practice.
Same as: FEMGEN 224
FEMGEN 125V. Virginia Woolf in the Age of #MeToo. 3-5 Units.
How does a groundbreaking first wave feminist theorist and novelistic innovator speak intergenerationally? Everything about #MeToo can be found in Virginia Woolf's works, from gender oppression, to the politics of women's entry into the public sphere, to the struggle of women to be heard and believed. We begin with A Room of One's Own (1929) and Three Guineas (1938), tying them to media coverage of #MeToo, then turn to the identity politics of her fiction and to broader histories of feminism and feminist theory.
FEMGEN 126D. Victorian Sex. 5 Units.
How can we make sense of a culture of extraordinary sexual repression that nevertheless seemed fully preoccupied with sex? Examination of the depictions of sex in Victorian literary and cultural texts. Authors include: Collins, Braddon, the Brownings, Swinburne, Stoker and Wilde.
FEMGEN 127. Human in a Time of War. 3-5 Units.
It has often been said that the post-9/11 era has been one of never-ending war for the United States. Privatization and the increasing proliferation of ever more removed technologies of killing have raised questions regarding the disposability of racialized populations targeted for submission or containment. The global, ubiquitous nature of the U.S. military industrial complex has made war synonymous with impunity.nnHowever, racialized populations have arguably been under siege and positioned as disposable since the colonization of the Americas. This course draws upon Alexander Weheliye¿s (2014) challenge to move beyond the particular, querying how racialized, gendered experiences condition more expansive notions of the human. Following Jodi Kim¿s notion of the protracted afterlife of the Cold War as epistemological structure, this course traces the continuities and transformations in constructions of populations as more or less human, from settler colonial conquest to the post-9/11 era. How has racial and gendered violence functioned to determine not only which bodies matter but which lives are legible and which subjects granted the full range of human complexity? Recognizing the ¿layered interconnectedness of political violence, racialization, and the human,¿ this course also engages ¿the existence of alternative modes of life alongside the violence, subjection, exploitation, and racialization that define the modern human¿ (Weheliye, 1-2).
Same as: CSRE 127C
FEMGEN 128. Black Feminist and Trans Theories of the Human. 3 Units.
This course provides an introduction to Black feminist and trans theories¿ interventions into the modern Western category of the Human and its violent exclusions. For the past several decades, Black feminist theory has been engaged in a project of delineating and problematizing the authority of racialized gender. This is a project that the more recent project of Black trans theory has taken up and expanded. Together, Black and trans theories bring attention to the violence of what Sylvia Wynter has called our ¿genres of the human,¿ and in so doing, lay bear the very epistemological preoccupations that condemn the non-white, non-cisgender being to sub-Human status and death in the material and discursive economies of racial capitalism. Students will develop broad knowledge of Black feminist and trans theories¿ provocations regarding the intersecting identity categories that organize our world, and will be encouraged to develop their own critical approaches that are attentive to the hegemony of racialized gender and its attendant deathly violences.
FEMGEN 129A. Body Text. 4-5 Units.
Written on the body is a secret code only visible in certain lights; the accumulations of a lifetime gather there. In places the palimpsest is so heavily worked that the letters feel like braille. I like to keep my body rolled up away from prying eyes. Never unfold too much, tell the whole story. Jeanette Winterson, Written on the BodynThis course asks when and where flesh becomes text. Through an eclectic mix of short stories, novels, film, nonfiction, and critical theory, we will think through how text becomes a metaphor for, substitute for, and/or extension of the body. What exactly do we talk about when we talk about The Body How are bodies written into and out of existence? Topics will include the virtual body, the eating-disordered body, the choreographed body, the medicalized trans body, and the black body in the carceral state. Throughout the course, we will draw out the theoretical in the literary and the literary in the theoretical, and will pay special attention to the relationship between embodied practice and (traditionally) disembodied thought.
FEMGEN 12SI. Beyond the Athlete: Intersection of Diversity, Storytelling, and Athletics. 1-2 Unit.
This course explores the interaction of one's identities within the context of athletics. With an emphasis on the importance of self-awareness and storytelling, we will navigate how all identities intersect and affect the privilege we receive within current society. We will specifically look at how race, ethnicity, sexual orientations, religion, socioeconomic status, mental health, and disabilities interact with the sphere of athletics. "Beyond the Athlete: Intersection of Storytelling, Diversity, and Athletics" will help students find their voice and use it for positive social change within their communities.
FEMGEN 13. Stanford Anti-Violence Educator Training. 2 Units.
The Stanford Anti-Violence Educators (SAVE) Program seeks to cultivate a more resilient, supportive, and safe Stanford culture by engaging students in peer-to-peer dialogues about sexuality and consent, equipping them with skills to better relate with others. In this class, you will develop the knowledge and skill to facilitate peer education workshops with a variety of groups on campus throughout the year, including the required frosh curriculum. We will engage in conversations about sexuality, gender, identity, boundaries, and communication. We will examine social discourses, campus norms, systems of oppression, as well as explore new ways for the community to engage itself on these topics. The class will offer the structure and guidance to 1) gain in-depth knowledge of SAVE curricula content, 2) facilitate with presence, authenticity, and connection, and 3) increase self-efficacy as a leader for cultural change.
FEMGEN 130. Sex and Gender in Judaism and Christianity. 3 Units.
What role do Jewish and Christian traditions play in shaping understandings of gender differences? Is gender always imagined as dual, male and female? This course explores the variety of ways in which Jewish and Christian traditions - often in conversation with and against each other - have shaped gender identities and sexual politics. We will explore the central role that issues around marriage and reproduction played in this conversation. Perhaps surprisingly, early Jews and Christian also espoused deep interest in writing about 'eunuchs' and 'androgynes,' as they thought about Jewish and Christian ways of being a man or a woman. We will examine the variety of these early conversations, and the contemporary Jewish and Christian discussions of feminist, queer, trans- and intersex based on them.
Same as: JEWISHST 120, RELIGST 130
FEMGEN 130S. Sex and the Novel. 5 Units.
How do novels represent sexual life? This course reads texts from the eighteenth century to the present day, and considers how novelists represent the discombobulating effects of desire in fictional prose. Authors may include: S. Richardson, N. Hawthorne, J. Austen, E. Brontë, G. Gissing, H. James, D.H. Lawrence, J. Joyce, V. Nabokov, J. Baldwin, A. Hollinghurst and Z. Smith.
FEMGEN 131. Introduction to Queer Theory. 3-5 Units.
What can Queer Theory help us do and undo? Emerging at the intersections of feminist theory, queer activism, and critical race studies in the 1990's, Queer Theory has become a dynamic interdisciplinary field that informs a wide range of cultural and artistic practices. This course will introduce students to the development of queer theory as well as core concepts and controversies in the field. While considering theoretical frames for thinking gender, sexuality, and sex, we will explore the possibilities--and limitations--of queer theory with a focus on doing and undoing identity, knowledge, and power.
FEMGEN 132. Intersectional Feminism. 4 Units.
This course is focused on the feminist concept of intersectionality. As a mode of Black feminist thought, lived activist practice, and interdisciplinary research methodology, intersectionality allows us to think about overlapping forms of identity and the interlocking power structures that produce systematic oppression and discrimination. We will examine the origins and development of intersectional feminism and consider its far-reaching impact in social justice work and contemporary activist movements. As we learn the language, methods, and critiques of intersectionality, we will cover issues related to rights, ethics, privilege, and globalization while discussing social difference on micro- and macro-levels.
FEMGEN 133. Transgender Performance and Performativity. 4 Units.
This course examines theater, performance art, dance, and embodied practice by transgender artists. Students will learn the history and politics of transgender performance while considering the creative processes and formal aesthetics trans artists use to make art. We will analyze creative work in conversation with critical and theoretical texts from the fields of performance studies, art history, and queer studies.
Same as: TAPS 133T
FEMGEN 133M. Masculinity: Technologies and Cultures of Gender. 4 Units.
What is masculinity? How are masculinities invested with power and meaning in cultural contexts? How is anthropological attention to them informed by and extending inquiry across the academy in spheres such as culture studies, political theory, gender studies, history, and science and technology studies? Limited enrollment.
Same as: ANTHRO 133, ANTHRO 233
FEMGEN 133T. Transatlantic Female Modernists. 3-5 Units.
How did American and British women writers express their experiences of modernity? A major critical lens on modernism interrogates questions of gender and sexuality, including how women expressed the experiences of `writing as a woman during these years (1910-1940). But distinctions of race, class, culture, nation, and literary inheritance were powerful determinants on how individual writers gave voice to their creative aspirations. This course explores what binds and what differentiates various forms of aesthetic, political, and cultural representation in the works of pioneering transatlantic innovators: Virginia Woolf; Charlotte Perkins Gilman; Zora Neale Hurston; Djuna Barnes; Katherine Mansfield; Nella Larson; Amy Lowell; H.D.; Jessie Fauset; Nancy Cunard.
FEMGEN 134. The Marriage Plot. 5 Units.
The centrality of the marriage plot in the development of the British novel beginning in the 18th century with Samuel Richardson's Pamela and ending with Woolf's modernist novel Mrs. Dalloway. The relationship between novelistic plotting and the development of female characters into marriageable women. What is the relationship between the novel and feminine subjectivity? What aspects of marriage make it work as a plotting device? What kinds of marriages do marriage plots allow? Is the development of women's political agency related to their prominence in the novel form?.
FEMGEN 134D. Sex, Courtship, and Marriage in America. 3 Units.
How people meet, who they date, and when they settle down have all changed dramatically in recent decades. This course will provide students with a thorough overview of demographic, sociological, and historical perspectives on sex, relationships, and family in the United States. Students will become familiar with the empirical patterns and trends, political and cultural debates, and policy issues concerning historical and modern romantic and sexual relationships, as well as the major theories and research methods used in the sociological study of relationships. Throughout the course, we will explore how changes in modern relationships may affect broader patterns of social inequality and family structure. Additionally, we will examine how the mate selection process intersects with various aspects of gender, sexuality, class, race, and technology.
Same as: SOC 134D
FEMGEN 135. Body Politics. 1-2 Unit.
This weekly course facilitates conversations on issues of the body across a wide spectrum of contemporary experiences, controversies, and contexts. Informed by gender studies, critical race theory, and feminist theory, we will explore current events related to racialized violence, size liberation, reproductive rights, HIV criminalization, rape culture, disability, transgender rights, and health and fitness.
FEMGEN 136. Transnational Sexualities. 3-5 Units.
This course considers the impact of globalization on sexual identities and cultures from a transnational perspective. We will consider how shifting geographical discourses and practices have redefined gender and sexuality across cultures, across borders. With a dual goal of destabilizing the assumptions in liberal human rights agendas and the heterosexual/homosexual binary, we will examine the politics of migration and diaspora; queer nationalisms and homonationalisms; queer transnational labor flows; urban-rural divides and difference; neoliberalism and queer gentrification, among other current debates across postcolonial, feminist, queer, legal, and transnational sexuality studies.
FEMGEN 137. Beauty and Power. 1-2 Unit.
Beauty functions as a form of currency that can grant access, privilege, and possibility. How do European beauty standards collude with patriarchal power to justify social inequalities? This class facilitates weekly discussions that focus on the social construction of beauty and its socio-political impact on people of all genders. We will chart the intersections of beauty and power in order to consider the colonial construction of racial and sexual hierarchies, the $445 billion beauty industry, and daily practices that subvert, queer, or decolonize beauty. With the goal of expanding our sense of what beauty is and does, we will mine feminist theory and popular culture for surprising commentary on topics including objectification, aging, celebrity, self-fashioning, and the politics of counter-aesthetics.
FEMGEN 138. Men's Violence Against Women in Literature: A Critical and Social Analysis. 3-5 Units.
Literature, as a social and cultural product of its time, can inform and deepen our understanding of oppression. Using literature as a vehicle, this course will explore the impact of and responses to men's violence against women. Students will critically assess how the author has portrayed the topic of sexual assault and relationship abuse, how the characters and/or author exhibits victim blaming, and, if the characters were living today, would current policies adequately hold the perpetrator responsible, provide safety and justice for the survivor, and challenge rape culture. In dialogue with theoretical texts, we will analyze the literary representations of patriarchy that inform societal acceptance of gender-based violence, identify the historical prevalence of victim blaming and impunity in these works, and assess the implications on policy making at the individual, community and political level. Students will critically examine literature including Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Louise Erdrich's The Round House and Joyce Carol Oates' We Were the Mulvaneys. There is an optional service-learning component.
Same as: FEMGEN 238
FEMGEN 138A. How College Works: An Introduction to the Sociology of Higher Education. 3-5 Units.
This course is designed for students who want to better understand the elite 4-year college system and how inequalities are both perpetuated and ameliorated by its structure and practices (focusing on gender, race, and first generation college students). This course will prepare students for their own undergraduate study at Stanford, using research and reflection. Focusing on the sociology of higher education, the course draws from research in education, sociology and gender studies. This course is designed for undergraduates, with a notable utility for first-year students, but anyone is welcome!.
Same as: EDUC 138
FEMGEN 139. Rereading Judaism in Light of Feminism. 4 Units.
During the past three decades, Jewish feminists have asked new questions of traditional rabbinic texts, Jewish law, history, and religious life and thought. Analysis of the legal and narrative texts, rituals, theology, and community to better understand contemporary Jewish life as influenced by feminism.
Same as: JEWISHST 139
FEMGEN 139B. American Women Writers, 1850-1920. 3-5 Units.
This course traces the ways in which female writers negotiated a series of literary, social, and intellectual movements, from abolitionism and sentimentalism in the nineteenth century to Progressivism and avant-garde modernism in the twentieth. Authors include Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Rebecca Harding Davis, Emily Dickinson, Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Same as: AMSTUD 139B, ENGLISH 139B
FEMGEN 13N. Women Making Music. 3 Units.
Preference to freshmen. Women's musical activities across times and cultures; how ideas about gender influence the creation, performance, and perception of music.
Same as: MUSIC 14N
FEMGEN 140A. Destroying Dichotomies: Exploring Multiple Sex, Gender, and Sexual Identities. 3-5 Units.
This course is designed to broaden the student's awareness of the human experience by introducing scholarly debates about sex, gender and sexual identities and expressions. We will consider the socially constructed nature of sex, gender and sexuality and examine the history and community of those who identify as intersexual, transgender, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, pansexual and/or queer through texts, discussion, films, and class presentations.
FEMGEN 140D. LGBTQ History of the United States. 4-5 Units.
An introductory course that explores LGBT/Queer social, cultural, and political history in the United States. By analyzing primary documents that range from personal accounts (private letters, autobiography, early LGBT magazines, and oral history interviews) to popular culture (postcards, art, political posters, lesbian pulp fiction, and film) to medical, military, and legal papers, students will understand how the categories of gender and sexuality have changed over the past 150 years. This class investigates the relationship among queer, straight and transgender identities. Seminar discussions will question how the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality influenced the construction of these categories.
Same as: FEMGEN 240D, HISTORY 257C
FEMGEN 141. Activism and Intersectionality. 3-4 Units.
How are contemporary U.S. social movements shaped by the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality? This course explores the emergence, dynamics, tactics, and targets of social movements. Readings include empirical and theoretical social movement texts, including deep dives into Black, White, and Chicana feminisms; the KKK; and queer/LGBT movements. We will explore how social movement emergence and persistence is related to participants¿ identities and experiences with inequality; how the dynamics, targets, and tactics of mobilized participants are shaped by race, class, gender, and/or sexuality; and how social movement scholars have addressed the intersectional nature of inequality, identity, and community.
Same as: AFRICAAM 141X, CSRE 141X, SOC 153
FEMGEN 142. Sociology of Gender. 3 Units.
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the sociological conceptualization of gender. Through the sociological lens, gender is not an individual attribute or a role, but rather a system of social practices that constructs two different categories of people men and women and organizes social interaction and inequality around this difference. First we will explore what ¿gender¿ is according to sociologists and the current state of gender inequality in the labor market, at home, and at school. We will then investigate how gender structures our everyday lives through the individual, interactional, and institutional levels. Finally, we will discuss avenues for reducing gender inequality. Throughout the course, we will prioritize reading, evaluating, and questioning sociological theory and research on gender.".
Same as: FEMGEN 242, SOC 142, SOC 242
FEMGEN 143. One in Five: The Law, Politics, and Policy of Campus Sexual Assault. 3-5 Units.
TRIGGER WARNING: Over the past several years the issue of campus sexual assault and harassment has exploded into the public discourse. Multiple studies have reinforced the finding that between 20-25% of college women (and a similar proportion of students identifying as transgender and gender-nonconforming, as well as approximately 10% of male students) experience sexual assault carried out through force or while the victim was incapacitated during their time in college. Fraternities have been found to be associated with an increased risk of female sexual assault on campus. Vulnerable students and those from marginalized groups are often found to be at increased risk. This is also a significant problem in k12 education. Sexual harassment rates are even higher. Survivors have come forward across the country with harrowing stories of assault followed by what they describe as an insensitive or indifferent response from college administrators. These survivors have launched one of the most successful, and surprising, social movements in recent memory. As a result, the federal government under President Obama stepped up its civil rights enforcement in this area, with over 300 colleges and universities under investigation for allegedly mishandling student sexual assault complaints as of the end of that administration. At the same time, the Obama administration's heightened response led to a series of high-profile lawsuits by accused students who assert that they were falsely accused or subjected to mishandled investigations that lacked sufficient due process protections. The one thing that survivors and accused students appear to agree on is that colleges are not handling these matters appropriately and appeared to be more concerned with protection the institutional brand than with stopping rape or protecting student rights. Colleges have meanwhile complained of being whipsawed between survivors, accused students, interest groups, and enforcement authorities. In an about-face that many found shocking, the Trump Administration rescinded all of the Obama-era guidance on the subject of sexual harassment and has promulgated new proposed regulations that would offer significantly greater protection to accused students and to institutions and commensurately less protection to survivors. An increasingly partisan Congress has been unable to pass legislation addressing the issue. It is unclear whether or to what extent the incoming Biden Administration will move to withdraw or amend the DeVos regulations. Meanwhile in schools have moved toward adopting an uneven patchwork of policies in which some schools cover conduct (for example, off campus conduct) that DeVos excluded from the purview of Title IX under the ambit of "supplemental" conduct policies and procedures setting up policy confusion and inequalities for students of different schools.This course focuses on the legal, policy, and political issues surrounding sexual assault and harassment on college campuses. Each week we will read, dissect, compare and critique a set of readings that include social science, history, literature, legal, policy, journalism, and narrative explorations of the topic of campus sexual assault. We will explore the history of gender-based violence and the efforts to implement legal protections for survivors in the educational context. We will also study the basic legal frameworks governing campus assault, focusing on the relevant federal laws such as Title IX and the Clery Act. We will critically explore the ways that responses to this violence have varied by the race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics of parties and institutions. We will hear from guest speakers who are actively involved in shaping policy and advocating in this area, including lawyers, activists, journalists, and policymakers. This year we will also host special guest speaker Chanel Miller, author of the bestselling memoir Know My Name. The subject matter of this course is sensitive, and students are expected to treat the material with maturity. Much of the reading and subject matter may be upsetting and/or triggering for students who identify as survivors. There is no therapeutic component for this course, although supportive campus resources and Title IX staff are available for those who need them.Elements used in grading: Grades will be based on class attendance, class participation, and a research paper or project and class presentation Enrollment is by INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION. Access the consent form here https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20-21-Spr-LAW-7065-FEMGEN-143-SOC-188-One-in-Five-The-Law-Politics-and-Policy-of-Campus-Sexual-Assault-Michele-Landis-Dauber-Emma-Tsurkov-Consent-Form.docx or email etsurkov@stanford.edu to request a form via email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the class is full. Demand for the class is high and participation is capped at 18. The class usually fills quickly, so make sure to apply early. Cross-listed with the Law School ( LAW 7065 and with Sociology ( SOC 188).
Same as: SOC 188
FEMGEN 144. Sex, Gender, and Intersectional Analysis in Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Environment. 5 Units.
(HISTORY 44 is offered for 3 units; HISTORY 144 is offered for 5 units.) Explores "Gendered Innovations" or how sex, gender, and intersectional analysis in research sparks discovery and innovation. Section 1 focuses on the history of women in science. Section 2 looks at transforming research institutions. Section 3 explores Gendered Innovations. Topics include historical background, basic concepts, social robots, sustainability, medicine & public health, facial recognition, inclusive crash test dummies, and more. Stanford University is engaged in a multi-year collaboration with the European Commission and the U.S. National Science Foundation project on Gendered Innovations in Science, Health & Medicine, Engineering, and Environment, and this class will contribute that project. The operative questions is: how can sex, gender, and intersectional analysis lead to discovery and enhance social equalities?.
Same as: HISTORY 144
FEMGEN 144X. Transforming Self and Systems: Crossing Borders of Race, Nation, Gender, Sexuality, and Class. 5 Units.
Exploration of crossing borders within ourselves, and between us and them, based on a belief that understanding the self leads to understanding others. How personal identity struggles have meaning beyond the individual, how self healing can lead to community healing, how the personal is political, and how artistic self expression based in self understanding can address social issues. The tensions of victimization and agency, contemplation and action, humanities and science, embracing knowledge that comes from the heart as well as the mind. Studies are founded in synergistic consciousness as movement toward meaning, balance, connectedness, and wholeness. Engaging these questions through group process, journaling, reading, drama, creative writing, and storytelling. Study is academic and self-reflective, with an emphasis on developing and presenting creative works in various media that express identity development across borders.
Same as: ASNAMST 144, CSRE 144, LIFE 144
FEMGEN 145. Culture Wars: Art and Social Conflict in the USA, 1890-1950. 4 Units.
This course examines social conflicts and political controversies in American culture through the lens of visual art and photography. We consider how visual images both reflect and participate in the social and political life of the nation and how the terms of citizenship have been represented¿and, at times, contested¿by artists throughout the first half of the 20th century. The class explores the relation between American art and the body politic by focusing on issues of poverty, war, censorship, consumerism, class identity, and racial division.
Same as: AMSTUD 145M, ARTHIST 145, ARTHIST 345
FEMGEN 146. The Politics of Epidemics. 4-5 Units.
When it comes to healthcare, whose bodies matter, who deserves care? How do scholars, activists, and patients confront and combat widespread healthcare disparities? This course explores prevailing epidemics of our moment (including HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, opioid addiction, and Lyme disease) in order to consider how infectious disease, moral panic, and national identity interplay across public health platforms, scientific research, and popular rhetoric. We will utilize intersectional frameworks to consider the histories, politics, and broader context of current epidemiological data and larger questions about doctor bias, the gender gap in pain, and cultural fears related to illness and the body. How do treatment, media coverage, policy, and access to care change according to population, location, and technology?.
Same as: PUBLPOL 166
FEMGEN 149. Gender Violence: Critical Race, Feminist, and Queer Perspectives. 5 Units.
This course examines the problem of domestic violence, sexual violence, and other forms of gender violence using critical race, legal, feminist, and queer theory. Readings reflect an interdisciplinary approach to understanding gender violence as it is understood in U.S. law, history, culture, and politics. We will explore foundational theories for why gender violence persists as well as its relationship to structural power along axes of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nation. This course will also consider feminist anti-violence social movements and debates within legal and philosophical approaches to gender violence.
FEMGEN 150. Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China. 3-5 Units.
Investigates how sex, gender, and power are entwined in the Chinese experience of modernity. Topics include anti-footbinding campaigns, free love/free sex, women's mobilization in revolution and war, the new Marriage Law of 1950, Mao's iron girls, postsocialist celebrations of sensuality, and emergent queer politics. Readings range from feminist theory to China-focused historiography, ethnography, memoir, biography, fiction, essay, and film. All course materials are in English.
Same as: CHINA 115, CHINA 215, FEMGEN 250
FEMGEN 150G. Performing Race, Gender, and Sexuality. 4 Units.
In this theory and practice-based course, students will examine performances by and scholarly texts about artists who critically and mindfully engage race, gender, and sexuality. Students will cultivate their skills as artist-scholars through written assignments and the creation of performances in response to the assigned material. Attendance and written reflection about a live performance event on campus are required. Students will also learn various meditation practices as tools for making and critiquing performance, in both our seminar discussions and performance workshops. We will approach mindfulness as method and theory in our own practice, as well as in relation to the works studied. We will also consider the ethics and current debates concerning the mindfulness industry. Examples of artists studied include James Luna, Nao Bustamante, Renee Cox, William Pope.L, Cassils, boychild, Curious, Adrian Piper, Xandra Ibarra, Valérie Reding, Guillermo Gomez-Peña, and Ana Mendieta.
Same as: ARTSINST 150G, CSRE 150G, CSRE 350G, LIFE 150G, TAPS 150G
FEMGEN 151. Feminist Life-Writing. 4-5 Units.
This course explores life-writing as a form of feminist praxis. Feminist life-writing is an art form grounded in truth-telling, activism, and self-making that emerges from the long tradition of women writing private lives. Beginning with the politicized practices of second wave feminists up through contemporary trends in memoir and autofiction, we will confront an array of intersectional autobiographies that connect personal experience to broader movements, power structures, and oppressions. How has life-writing contributed to the articulation of feminist consciousness? How has feminism impacted the methods marginalized authors use to create forms for belonging and self-determination? As we think about the politics of life-writing, we will also consider feminist rhetorical and aesthetic strategies for confronting issues like trauma, disability, incarceration, motherhood, and friendship. Each student will conduct a large-scale research project focused on an author, genre, or theme of their choice. As we research the critical historical contexts for feminist memoir, we will simultaneously conduct our own creative experiments in life-writing.
Same as: LIFE 151
FEMGEN 152. 'Tis all in pieces: Space and Gender on the Threshold of the Modern World. 5 Units.
These dramatic words, spoken by the British poet John Donne, signal the onset of the Early Modern world and the profound reconfigurations of space and related structures of thought, including conceptions of the self and the encoding of gender roles. We will explore the vibrant Early Modern world in the context of space and representations of gender, sexuality, and race as manifest in unprecedented literary and artistic forms, such as Shakespeare¿s ¿Othello,¿ Marlowe¿s ¿Doctor Faustus,,¿ the poetry of John Donne, the art of Michelangelo and Caravaggio as well as key historical and cultural texts. And we will visit the Cantor Arts Center (on campus) for a guided tour and lecture on art and perspective. We also will read and discuss selected texts from the modern world, such as Samuel Beckett¿s ¿Waiting for Godot¿ and poetry and commentary by Adrienne Rich, to study both changes and continuities with the Early Modern period. We will consider the vital cognitive role of the reader or viewer in the formation of particular instances of artistic form, including recent---and highly thought-provoking---material from the neurosciences and cognitive studies.nnNote: Instructor will consider changes in meeting times/days to accommodate student schedules if feasible. Please send request to: hbrooks@stanford.edu.
Same as: FEMGEN 252
FEMGEN 153. Warhol's World. 5 Units.
Andy Warhol's art has never before been more widely exhibited, published, or licensed for commercial use, product design, and publication than it is today. For all Warhol's promiscuous visibility and global cachet at the current moment, there is much we have yet to learn about his work and the conditions of its making. This course considers the wide world of Warhol's art and life, including his commercial work of the 1950s, Pop art and films of the 1960s, and celebrity portraiture of the 1970s and 80s. Of particular interest throughout will be Warhol's photography as it reflects his interest in wealth and celebrity on the one hand and on the everyday life of everyday people on the other. The course will include multiple visits to Contact Warhol: Photography without End, an exhibition co-curated by Prof. Meyer on view throughout the quarter at the Cantor Arts Center.
Same as: AMSTUD 153, ARTHIST 153, ARTHIST 353, TAPS 153W, TAPS 353W
FEMGEN 153Q. Reading and Writing the Gendered Story. 4-5 Units.
Exploration of novels, stories, memoirs and micro-narratives in which gender plays a major role. The texts are by writers of varied genders and sexual orientations as well as varied class, racial and national backgrounds. Written assignments present a mixture of academic and creative options.
Same as: CSRE 153Q
FEMGEN 154. Black Feminist Theory. 5 Units.
This course will examine black feminist theoretical traditions, marking black women's analytic interventions into sexual and pleasure politics, reproduction, citizenship, power, violence, agency, art, representation, and questions of the body. Exploring concepts like intersectionality, matrices of violence, the politics of respectability, womanism, and other contours of a black feminist liberation politic, we will look to black feminist scholars, activists, and artists from the 19th century to today.
Same as: AFRICAAM 154
FEMGEN 154E. Black Feminist Epistemology and Analytics. 5 Units.
Building from the foundational canon of black feminist theory and praxis, this seminar will explore more recent advances in black feminist epistemologies and modes of analysis. Students will engage black feminist conceptions of the human and the self; love and relationality in precarious conditions; speculative queer, sexual, and body politics; aesthetics and cultural theory; and contemporary proposals for radical freedom and social transformation. We will consider how black feminist theory not only engages, builds on, critiques, and transforms other schools of thought, but also produces its own systems of reason and interpretation.
Same as: AFRICAAM 139
FEMGEN 154G. Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures. 3-4 Units.
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. The slogan offered a contemporary iteration of an historical alignment: namely, the concept of "magic" with both Black people as well as "blackness." This course explores the legacy of Black magic--and black magic--through performance texts including plays, poetry, films, and novels. We will investigate the creation of magical worlds, the discursive alignment of magic with blackness, and the contemporary manifestation of a historical phenomenon. We will cover, through lecture and discussion, the history of black magic representation as well as the relationship between magic and religion. Our goal will be to understand the impact and history of discursive alignments: what relationship does "black magic" have to and for "black bodies"? How do we understand a history of performance practice as being caught up in complicated legacies of suspicion, celebration, self-definition? The course will give participants a grounding in black performance texts, plays, and theoretical writings. *This course will also satisfy the TAPS department WIM requirement.*.
Same as: AFRICAAM 154G, CSRE 154D, TAPS 154G
FEMGEN 155. The Changing American Family. 4 Units.
Family change from historical, social, demographic, and legal perspectives. Extramarital cohabitation, divorce, later marriage, interracial marriage, and same-sex cohabitation. The emergence of same-sex marriage as a political issue. Are recent changes in the American family really as dramatic as they seem? Theories about what causes family systems to change.
Same as: FEMGEN 255, SOC 155, SOC 255
FEMGEN 156H. Women and Medicine in US History: Women as Patients, Healers and Doctors. 5 Units.
This course explores ideas about women's bodies in sickness and health, as well as women's encounters with lay and professional healers in the United States from the eighteenth century to the present. We begin with healthy women and explore ideas about women's life cycle in the past, including women's sexuality, the history of birth control, abortion, childbirth, and aging. We then turn to the history of women healers including midwives, lay physicians, professional physicians and nurses. Finally, we examine women's illnesses and their treatment as well as the lives of women with disabilities in the past. We will examine differences in women's experience with medicine on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexuality and class. We will relate this history to issues in contemporary medicine, and consider the efforts of women to gain control of their bodies and health care throughout US history.
Same as: AMSTUD 156H
FEMGEN 156X. Language, Gender, & Sexuality. 4 Units.
The role of language in the construction of gender, the maintenance of the gender order, and social change. Field projects explore hypotheses about the interaction of language and gender. No knowledge of linguistics required.
Same as: LINGUIST 156
FEMGEN 157. Language as Political Tool: Feminist and LGBTQ Movements and Impacts. 3-5 Units.
How does a social or political movement gain traction? For example, how did 20th-century movements of the disenfranchised, such as the Civil Rights movement, LGBTQ movements, or feminist movements, gain a voice and eventually enact change? In the mediascape of today, where everyone with access to a computer could have a voice, how does a movement change the national conversation? How do written and verbal choices of the movements impact their success and outreach to supporters? In this course, students will write and revise their own arguments in order to best understand the rhetorical potential in these movements¿ choices and to consider how those rhetorical moves are incorporated into political discourse. We'll examine the role of rhetoric, the use of argument to persuade, in social movements working toward social justice, party platforms, and public policy.
Same as: AMSTUD 157X, FEMGEN 257
FEMGEN 157P. Solidarity and Racial Justice. 4-5 Units.
Is multiracial solidarity necessary to overcome oppression that disproportionately affects certain communities of color? What is frontline leadership and what role should people play if they are not part of frontline communities? In this course we will critically examine practices of solidarity and allyship in movements for collective liberation. Through analysis of historical and contemporary movements, as well as participation in movement work, we will see how movements have built multiracial solidarity to address issues that are important to the liberation of all. We will also see how racial justice intersects with other identities and issues. This course is for students that want to learn how to practice solidarity, whether to be better allies or to work more effectively with allies. There will be a community engaged learning option for this course. Students who choose to participate in this option will either work with Stanford's DGen Office or a community organization that is explicitly devoted to multiracial movement-building.
Same as: AFRICAAM 157P, AMSTUD 157P, CSRE 157P
FEMGEN 158. Black Queer Theory. 5 Units.
This course takes a multifaceted approach to black queer theory, not only taking up black theories of gender and queer sexuality, but queer theoretical interrogations of blackness and race. The course will also examine some of the important ways that black queer theory reads and is intersected with issues like affect, epistemology, space and geography, power and subjectivity, religion, economy, the body, and the law, asking questions like: How have scholars critiqued the very language of queer and the ways it works as a signifier of white marginality? What are the different spaces we can find queer black relationality, eroticism, and kinship? How do we negotiate issues like trans*misogyny or tensions around gender and sexuality in the context of race? Throughout the course, students will become versed in foundational and emerging black queer theory as we engage scholars like Sharon Holland, Cathy Cohen, Hortense Spillers, Marlon B. Ross, Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman, Barbara Smith, Roderick Ferguson, Robert Reid-Pharr, E. Patrick Johnson, and many others. Students will also gain practice applying black queer theory as an interpretive lens for contemporary social issues and cultural production including film, music, art, and performance.
Same as: AFRICAAM 158
FEMGEN 159. James Baldwin & Twentieth Century Literature. 5 Units.
Black, gay and gifted, Baldwin was hailed as a "spokesman for the race", although he personally, and controversially, eschewed titles and classifications of all kinds. This course examines his classic novels and essays as well his exciting work across many lesser-examined domains - poetry, music, theatre, sermon, photo-text, children's literature, public media, comedy and artistic collaboration. Placing his work in context with other writers of the 20C (Faulkner, Wright,Morrison) and capitalizing on a resurgence of interest in the writer (NYC just dedicated a year of celebration of Baldwin and there are 2 new journals dedicated to study of Baldwin), the course seeks to capture the power and influence of Baldwin's work during the Civil Rights era as well as his relevance in the "post-race" transnational 21st century, when his prescient questioning of the boundaries of race, sex, love, leadership and country assume new urgency.nNOTE: Enrollment by department consent. To apply, please email Prof. Elam (melam@stanford.edu) with your name, year, major, and one sentence about why you would like to take this class.
Same as: AFRICAAM 159, ENGLISH 159
FEMGEN 160. Performance and History: Rethinking the Ballerina. 4 Units.
The ballerina occupies a unique place in popular imagination as an object of over-determined femininity as well as an emblem of extreme physical accomplishment for the female dancer. This seminar is designed as an investigation into histories of the ballerina as an iconographic symbol and cultural reference point for challenges to political and gender ideals. Through readings, videos, discussions and viewings of live performances this class investigates pivotal works, artists and eras in the global histories of ballet from its origins as a symbol of patronage and power in the 15th century through to its radical experiments as a site of cultural obedience and disobedience in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Same as: TAPS 160, TAPS 260
FEMGEN 160M. Introduction to Representations of the Middle East in Dance, Performance, & Popular Culture. 3-4 Units.
This course will introduce students to the ways in which the Middle East has been represented and performed by/in the 'West' through dance, performance, and popular culture in both historical and contemporary contexts. A brief look through today's media sources exposes a wide range of racialized and gendered representations of the Middle East that shape the way the world imagines the Middle East to be. As postcolonial theorist Edward Said explains, the framework we call Orientalism establishes the ontological character of the Orient and the Oriental as inherently `Other'. Starting with 19th century colonialism and continuing into the post-9/11 era, this course will trace the Western production, circulation, and consumption of representations of the Middle East as 'Other' in relation to global geopolitics. We will further examine dance forms produced in mid-twentieth century Iran and Egypt, with particular attention to nation-state building and constructions of gender. Finally, we will examine artistic productions and practices from the Middle East and Middle Eastern diasporic communities that respond to colonialism, war, displacement, secularism, and Euro-American Empire. Using dance studies, postcolonial feminist, and critical race theoretical frameworks, we will consider the gender, racial, political, and cultural implications of selected performance works and practices in order to analyze how bodies produce meaning in dance, performance art, theater, film, photography, and new media. Students will engage in multiple modes of learning; the course will include lectures, engaged group discussions, viewing of live and recorded performance, embodied participation in dance practice, student oral presentations, and a variety of writing exercises. Course assignments will culminate in a final research project related to class themes and methods.
Same as: CSRE 160M, DANCE 160M, TAPS 160M
FEMGEN 161. The Politics of Sex: Work, Family, and Citizenship in Modern American Women's History. 3-5 Units.
This course explores the transition from Victorian to modern American womanhood by asking how Native, European, African, Mexican, and Asian American women navigated the changing sexual, economic, and political landscapes of the twentieth century. Through secondary readings, primary sources, films, music, and literature we explore the opportunities and boundaries on groups of women in the context of historical events that included immigration, urbanization, wartime, depression, the Cold War, as well as recurrent feminist and conservative political movements.
Same as: AMSTUD 161, CSRE 162, HISTORY 61, HISTORY 161
FEMGEN 161D. Introduction to Dance Studies: Dancing Across Stages, Clubs, Screens, and Borders. 3-4 Units.
This introduction to dance studies course explores dance practice and performance as means for producing cultural meaning. Through theoretical and historical texts and viewing live and recorded dance, we will develop tools for analyzing dance and understanding its place in social, cultural, and political structures. This uses dance and choreography as a lens to more deeply understand a wide range of identity and cultural formations, such as gender, race, sexuality, (dis)ability, (trans)nationality, and empire. We will analyze dancing bodies that move across stages, dance clubs, film screens, and border zones. We will examine dance from diverse locales and time periods including ballet, modern and contemporary dance, contact improvisation, folkloric dance, burlesque, street dance, queer club dance, drag performance, music videos, TV dance competitions, and intermedia/new media performance. In addition to providing theoretical and methodological grounding in dance studies, this course develops performance analysis skills and hones the ability to write critically and skillfully about dance. No previous experience in dance is necessary to successfully complete the course.
Same as: CSRE 61, DANCE 161D, TAPS 161D
FEMGEN 163. Queer America. 4 Units.
This class explores queer art, photography and politics in the United States since 1930. Our approach will be grounded in close attention to the history and visual representation of sexual minorities in particular historical moments and social contexts. We will consider the cultural and political effects of World War II, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, psychedelics, hippie culture and sexual liberation, lesbian separatism, the AIDS crisis, and marriage equality.
Same as: AMSTUD 163, ARTHIST 163
FEMGEN 166. The Divine Feminine in India. 4 Units.
What happens when God is a woman? Is the Goddess a feminist? The Goddess, in her numerous incarnations, is foundational to much of Indian religiosity, whether Hindu, Buddhist, or even Jain¿and in turn, without her story, much of the theology and practice of these religions remains incomprehensible. This course examines the principal expressions of the theology and ritual worship of the Goddess in Indian history, from the Vedas to the Hindu Epics, to Indian philosophy, tantric ritual practice and modern global and new age movements in order to understand how the gendering of divinity affects theological speculation, religious experience, and embodied religious identity.
Same as: RELIGST 166
FEMGEN 169. Introduction to Intersectionality. 4 Units.
"Intersectionality" is so popular, it's almost impossible to avoid: it was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2017, it was painted on signs at the Women's Marches, and it guides modern day social movement organizers. But what does intersectionality mean? What can intersectionality offer And what does it mean for research and social movements to be truly intersectional? The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the concept of intersectionality. First, we will delve into the works (chiefly from Black feminist scholars) that provide the foundation for today's concept of intersectionality. We will then explore, compare, and critique sociological research that applies (or fails to apply) an intersectional lens to its objects of study. Finally, we will investigate the use of intersectionality in social movements and outside academia. Throughout the course, we will prioritize reading, evaluating, and questioning sociological theory and research.
Same as: AFRICAAM 169B, SOC 169
FEMGEN 17. Gender and Power in Ancient Greece. 4 Units.
(Formerly CLASSGEN 17.) Introduction to the sex-gender system of ancient Greece, with comparative material from modern America. How myths, religious rituals, athletics, politics and theater reinforced gender stereotypes and sometimes undermined them. Skills: finding clues, identifying patterns and making connections amongst the components of a strange and beautiful culture very different from our own. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required.
FEMGEN 173. Gender and Higher Education: National and International Perspectives. 3-4 Units.
This course examines the ways in which higher education structures and policies interact with gender, gender identity, and other characteristics in the United States, around the world, and over time. Attention is paid to how changes in those structures and policies relate to access to, experiences in, and outcomes of higher education by gender. Students can expect to gain an understanding of theories and perspectives from the social sciences relevant to an understanding of the role of higher education in relation to structures of gender differentiation and hierarchy. Topics include undergraduate and graduate education; identity and sexuality; gender and science; gender and faculty; and feminist scholarship and pedagogy.
Same as: EDUC 173, EDUC 273, SOC 173, SOC 273
FEMGEN 173R. Introduction to Feminist Philosophy. 4 Units.
If feminism is a political practice aimed at ending patriarchy, what is the point of feminist philosophy? This course provides an introduction to feminist philosophy by exploring how important theoretical questions around sex and gender bear on practical ethical and political debates. The first part of the course will examine some of the broader theoretical questions in feminist philosophy, including: the metaphysics of gender, the demands of intersectionality, and feminist critiques of capitalism and liberalism. Questions will include: How should we understand the category `woman¿? How does gender intersect with other axes of oppression? Is capitalism inherently patriarchal? The second part of the course will address more applied topics of ethical and political debate, such as: objectification, pornography, consent, markets in women¿s sexual and reproductive labor, and the institution of marriage.
Same as: ETHICSOC 173, PHIL 90R
FEMGEN 180. Gender Relations in Islam. 4 Units.
This course investigates the ways in which gender identities and relationships between men and women have been articulated, constructed, and refashioned throughout the Muslim world. Starting with problematizing the fixed notions of gender and sexuality, we map the attitudes toward these notions through visiting a diverse array of sources from the Qur¿an, Sunna, and legal documents to historical and anthropological case studies, literature, and film from South East Asia to Europe and North America. We examine the notions of femininity and masculinity in the Qur¿an, family laws, and attitudes toward homosexuality and transgendered populations. We read examples of ambiguous use of language with regards to gender and sexuality in Persian poetry and mystical traditions. We study the dynamic relationship between Islam and Feminism in the Muslim world. Finally, we witness the implications of these attitudes in our case studies and stories, from a divorce court in Iran to a wedding in Sudan.
Same as: RELIGST 180
FEMGEN 183. Re- Imagining American Borders. 5 Units.
In this third volatile and violent year of the Trump presidency, American borders of all kinds seem to be dangerously tight. This is seen in the literal horror of immigrant detention centers filled with hungry, sick children taken from parents, ongoing mass incarceration and police attacks on young black and brown men and gendered violence targeting trans Americans and pro-choice movements. Additionally urban and rural antagonisms and constant social media anger with a kind of newly brutal linguistic framing are all underscoring a vision of an America of intractable difference. The hopeful transformation from the 2018 elections, which is having enormous reverberations in the present 2020 presidential campaigns, is interestingly also based in a discourse of difference. This course investigates sources of these borderlines and most crucially how novelists, filmmakers, poets, visual artists and essayists perceive racial, ethnic, gender, religious, sexual orientation and class borders in this country as they may re-imagine difference possibly via Vijay Prashad's polyculturalism or Gloria Anzaldùa's borderlands. Texts include those of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Boots Riley, Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Nelly Rosario, Janice Lobo Sapigao, Layli Long Soldier, Naomi Shihab Nye, Edwidge Danticat, Sherman Alexie, Shailja Patel, Kara Walker, and the podcast Ear Hustle, narratives created and produced from inside San Quentin, along with Shane Bauer's undercover expose of an American prison. Course guests will include actors and writers from the acclaimed web series, The North Pole, showing parts of the new second season of biting, humorous stories of gentrification, racism and immigration issues in West Oakland. And the Bay Area founder of the only women-run, inclusive mosque in the US, Rabi¿a Keeble, will speak with us about an American Islam with a Muslim community that embraces difference. Course work includes active discussion, journal entries, one comparative analytical essay and a creative final project/with analytical paper examining personal or community identities.
Same as: AMSTUD 183, CSRE 183
FEMGEN 183A. Sex, Money, and Power: An Approach Through Feminist Anthropology. 3 Units.
What are the sexual politics of labor and capital? How is the global economy shaped by sex, love, and intimacy? This course will examine intimacy--gender, sexuality, kinship, and care-- as a lense for understanding and interrogating socio-political and economic systems from an anthropological perspective. By refusing the categorical separation of the private or domestic realm from the realm of politics, this course will critically interrogate the naturalization of particular intimate configurations (like the family, romantic couple, and domestic labor) in global contexts of colonialism, (neo)liberalism, and global capitalism. It will explore how domains of seemingly ¿private¿ sentiment and personal relations are connected to liberal and illiberal forms of power, inequality, exploitation and control, as well as to processes of incorporation, citizenship, and care. Finally, through selected ethnographic texts, this course will also look at the intimate as staging ground for social resistance, political refusal, economic ingenuity, and creativity.
Same as: ANTHRO 183A
FEMGEN 187C. The Evolution of the Feminist First-Person Essay, 2000-present. 3-5 Units.
The internet age has coincided with the rise of new and reinvented modes of nonfiction writing by women online. The feminist first-person essay (what simply goes by ¿personal essay¿ in the business) has transformed internet writing formally, politically, and economically. The explosion innpopularity and shareability of this nonfiction subgenre has generated a host of new media and catapulted a new coterie of women writers into prominence. Which authors have exerted the most influence upon this new subgenre, how does the emergence of the first-person essay by women signify a mainstreaming of feminist dialectic, and how has this emergence been received by both a popular readership and the media establishment?nThis discussion-based course will investigate how the growth of the feminist first-person essay has promoted new publications and modes of publication. It will trace the genesis of the online personal essay genre from public journals like LiveJournal, Blogspot, and Tumblr, via its codification in online publications like The Toast, The Rumpus, Gawker, Jezebel, Guernica, The Hairpin, The Awl, and xoJane, to its eventual breakthrough into established newspapers, magazines, and traditionally published memoirs and essay collections.nWe will investigate questions like: How can the rendering of one individual's story benefit the political mandate of the collective? What is the first person¿s effect, and affect, in interspersing an author¿s personal experience, and what feminist potential does it contain? How does the myth of journalistic ¿objectivity¿ conflict with the presentation of the first person, and how has this objectivity myth descended from patriarchal tropes of legitimation? What do the terms ¿confessional¿ and ¿silence-breaking¿ connote? How has social media simultaneously empowered these new modes of public feminist dialogue and also exposed feminist public intellectuals to alarming levels of harassment and abuse? How successfully has the personal essay subgenre acted in de-centering hegemonic identity structures including whiteness, class privilege, and heterosexuality? What role has the feminist first-person essay played in the emergence of heavily digitized political movements including Black Lives Matter and #MeToo? What is ¿trauma porn¿, and how does it interface with the capitalistic structures of the first-person essay economy; what problems arise when capitalism and confessionalism intersect?.
Same as: ENGLISH 187C
FEMGEN 187X. Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today. 1-5 Unit.
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Same as: FEMGEN 287X, FEMGEN 387X, FRENCH 187, FRENCH 287, FRENCH 387
FEMGEN 188Q. Imagining Women: Writers in Print and in Person. 4-5 Units.
Gender roles, gender relations and sexual identity explored in contemporary literature and conversation with guest authors. Weekly meetings designated for book discussion and meeting with authors. Interest in writing and a curiosity about diverse women's lives would be helpful to students. Students will use such tools as close reading, research, analysis and imagination. Seminar requires strong voice of all participants. Oral presentations, discussion papers, final projects.
Same as: CSRE 188Q
FEMGEN 190W. Contemporary Women Writers. 3-5 Units.
"Every word a woman writes changes the story of the world, revises the official version¿¿is this what sets contemporary women writers apart? How can we understand the relation between the radically unprecedented material such writers explore and ¿the official version¿? What do we find compelling in their challenging of structure, style, chronology, character? Our reading- and writing-intensive seminar will dig into the ways women writers confront, appropriate, subvert, or re-imagine convention, investigating, for example, current debate about the value of ¿dislikable¿ or ¿angry¿ women characters and their impact on readers. While pursuing such issues, you'll write a variety of both essayistic and fictional responses, each of which is designed to complicate and enlarge your creative and critical responsiveness and to spark ideas for your final project. By affirming risk-taking and originality throughout our quarter, seminar conversation will support gains in your close-reading practice and in articulating your views, including respectful dissent, in lively discourse¿in short, skills highly useful in a writer¿s existence. Our texts will come from various genres, including short stories, novels, essays, blog posts, reviews, memoir.
Same as: ENGLISH 190W
FEMGEN 191Q. Writing Women's Lives. 2 Units.
Creative writing through dialogue focusing on prose about the lives of women in different cultures and generations. Novels, short stories, and micro-narrative including fiction and memoir. Students produce work using research, memory, imagination, and metaphor.
FEMGEN 192. Women in French Cinema: 1958-. 3-5 Units.
Women as objects and subjects of the voyeuristic gaze inherent to cinema. The myth of the feminine idol in French films in historical and cultural context since the New Wave until now. The mythology of stars as the imaginary vehicle that helped France to change from traditional society to modern, culturally mixed nation. The evolution of female characters, roles, actresses, directors in the film industry. Filmmakers include Vadim, Buñuel, Truffaut, Varda, Chabrol, Colline Serreau, Tonie Marshall. Discussion in English; films in French with English subtitles.
Same as: FILMSTUD 112, FRENCH 192
FEMGEN 193G. Psychological Well-Being on Campus: A Focus on Gender and Sexual Identities. 1 Unit.
This course examines mental health and psychological well-being across the spectrum of gender and sexual identities. It addresses the unique challenges that face LGBTQ-identified students, and provides tools for supporting peers as they navigate these challenges. Discussion topics include current conceptualizations of gender identity and sexual orientation, including sexual and gender fluidity; the intersection of queer identities with multiple identities such as ethnic/racial identify and faith/spirituality; unpacking stereotypes; queer relationships and sexuality, coming out and disclosure, and mental health issues.
Same as: EDUC 193G
FEMGEN 195. Directed Reading. 1-15 Unit.
May be repeated for credit. (Staff).
FEMGEN 195X. Research in Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. 1-5 Unit.
Independent research conducted under faculty or graduate student supervision. May be taken for a maximum of 3 quarters of credit.
FEMGEN 199A. Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Workshop. 2-3 Units.
Required of seniors in the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies honors program. Participants share ongoing work on their honors theses. Prerequisite: consent of Instructor.
FEMGEN 199B. Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Workshop. 2-3 Units.
Required of seniors in the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies honors program. Particippants share ongoing work on their honors theses. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
FEMGEN 199C. Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Workshop. 2-3 Units.
Required of seniors in the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies honors program. Particippants share ongoing work on their honors theses. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
FEMGEN 199X. Preparation for Senior Thesis. 2-3 Units.
This course is designed for juniors (majors, minors, and those seeking Interdisciplinary Honors in CSRE or FGSS) who intend to write a senior thesis in one of the CSRE Family of Programs or FGSS Interdisciplinary Honors. The course offers resources and strategies for putting together a significant and original senior thesis. Topics to be covered include: getting funding; finding an advisor; navigating the institutional review board; formulating an appropriate question; and finding the right data/medium/texts.
Same as: AFRICAAM 199X, ANTHRO 189X, CSRE 199
FEMGEN 203. Feminist and Queer Theories and Methods Across the Disciplines. 2-5 Units.
(Graduate Students register for PHIL 279A or FEMGEN 203) This course is an opportunity to explore the difference feminist and queer perspectives make in creative arts, humanities, and social science research.nPrerequisites: Feminist Studies 101 or equivalent with consent of instructor.nNOTE: This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for WAYS credit. The 2 unit option is for graduate students only.
Same as: FEMGEN 103, PHIL 179A, PHIL 279A
FEMGEN 205. Songs of Love and War: Gender, Crusade, Politics. 3-5 Units.
Analysis of medieval love, satirical and Crusade lyrics of the trouabdours. Study of deictic address, corporeal subjectivity, the female voice, love debates, and the body as a figure of political conflict. Course readings include medieval treatises on lyric and modern translations of the troubadour tradition. Works by Ovid, Bernart de Ventadorn, Bertran de Born, La Comtessa de Dia, Thibaut de Champagne, Raimon Vidal, Dante, and Pound. Taught in English. Course includes a lab component for creation of multi-media translation projects: trobar. stanford.edu.
Same as: FRENCH 205
FEMGEN 206. Global Medical Issues Affecting Women. 1-2 Unit.
This course discusses a number of key medical issues affecting women (and girls) around the world. Through primarily guest lectures, students will become acquainted with many critical challenges to women¿s health globally, and how these may be addressed efficiently, cost-effectively, and sustainably. The aim is to cultivate a nuanced appreciation of women¿s unique needs, roles, and challenges in the contemporary global health landscape.
Same as: SOMGEN 206
FEMGEN 207D. Transhistory Colloquium. 4-5 Units.
Colloquium on the history of transgender practices and identities. Readings will include scholarly texts from the emerging historical field of transhistory as well as adjacent fields within gender history. Colloquium will investigate avenues for deepening transhistory through further historical inquiry.
Same as: FEMGEN 307D, HISTORY 207D, HISTORY 307D
FEMGEN 209. Looking Back, Moving Forward: Raising Critical Awareness in Gender and Sports. 3 Units.
In 1972, Title IX legislation opened up a vast range of opportunities for women in sports. Since then, women's sports have continued to grow yet the fight for recognition and equality persists. Simply put, men's sports are more popular than women's--so much so, in fact, that people often make the hierarchical distinction between "sports" and "women's sports." But what would it take to get more women's sports featured on ESPN or more female athletes on the cover of Sports Illustrated? And, given the well-documented corruption at the highest levels of men's sports, should such an ascent in popularity be the goal for women's sports? This course will map out and respond to the multifaceted issues that emerge when women enter the sports world. Throughout the quarter, we will explore the fight for gender equality in sports through historical, cultural, and rhetorical lenses. NOTE: Class will meet in Old Union, Room 302.
Same as: FEMGEN 109
FEMGEN 20Q. Making of the Modern Woman: Robots, Aliens, & the Feminine in Science Fiction. 3 Units.
What does the genre of science fiction have to say about gender identity? How are women in science fiction represented by themselves and by others? Who are women? What is gender and how is it constructed and performed? What is the relationship between man and machine? Between woman and machine? How is gender represented through narratives of literal alien otherness? What does it mean to be a woman online or in gamer culture? Material will include feminist analysis of gender in popular science fiction literature and visual media from 19th through 21st centuries. Texts range from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Alex Garland¿s Ex Machina.nnThis course will be reading and writing intensive but should also offer opportunities for spirited discussion. We will be engaging with sensitive subjects such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Assignments include weekly short essays, discussion leadership, individual presentations, and a final research paper.
FEMGEN 210J. Romance, Desire, and Sexuality in Modern Japanese Literature. 3-4 Units.
This class is structured around three motifs: love suicide (as a romantic ideal), female desire, and same-sex sexuality. Over the course of the quarter we will look at how these motifs are treated in the art and entertainment from three different moments of Japanese history: the Edo period (1615-1868), the modern period (1920-65), and the contemporary period (1965-present). We will start by focusing on the most traditional representations of these topics. Subsequently, we will consider how later artists and entertainers revisited the conventional treatments of these motifs, informing them with new meanings and social significance. We will devote particular attention to how this material comments upon issues of gender, sexuality, and human relationships in the context of Japan. Informing our perspective will be feminist and queer theories of reading and interpretation.
Same as: FEMGEN 110J, JAPAN 110, JAPAN 210
FEMGEN 212. "When We Dead Awaken": Breakthroughs in Conceptions of the Gendered Self in Literature and the Arts. 4-5 Units.
Remarkable breakthroughs In conceptions of the gendered self are everywhere evident in literature and the arts, beginning primarily with the Early Modern world and continuing into today. Many of these works inhere in innovations in literary and artistic forms in order to capture and even evoke the strong cognitive, or psychological, dimension of such ¿awakenings.¿ The reader, or viewer, is often challenged to adapt her or his mind to new forms of thought, such as John Donne¿s seventeenth century creation of the Dramatic Monologue, a form popular with modern writers, which requires the reader¿s cognitive ¿presence¿ in order to fill out the dramatic scene. In so doing, the reader often supplies the presence of the female voice and thereby enters into her self-consciousness and inner thoughts. Adrienne Rich, for example, specifically ¿rewrites¿ one of Donne¿s major poems from the female perspective. This can be, in Rich¿s words, an ¿awakening¿ for the active reader, as he or she assumes that often-unspoken female perspective. The course will also explore male conceptions of the self and how such conceptions are often grounded in cultural attitudes imposed on male subjects, which can contribute to gender-bias toward women, a subject often neglected in exploring gendered attitudes, but which is now gaining more study, for example, in Shakespeare¿s ¿Othello.¿ Readings from recent developments in the neurosciences and cognitive studies will be included in our study of artistic forms and how such forms can activate particular mindsets. Writers and artists will include Shakespeare, Michelangelo, John Donne, Virginia Woolf, Adrienne Rich, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, June Wayne, and Edward Albee¿s 1960¿s play, ¿Who¿s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?¿.
Same as: ENGLISH 182J, FEMGEN 112
FEMGEN 213. Transgender Studies. 3-4 Units.
Transgender and gender-expansive identities are the subject of growing attention and (often sensationalist) interest in the media as well as in the healthcare field, yet there exists a dearth of legitimate academic courses, research and writing that reflect and explore gender identity and expression as a fluid spectrum rather than a fixed binary. This course will address transgender and gender expansive identities from historical, medical, literary, developmental and sociopolitical perspectives.
Same as: FEMGEN 113
FEMGEN 214. Sexual Diversity and Health. 1 Unit.
Explores multiple aspects of sexual diversity and health, including: kink/BDSM, polyamory, trans* sexuality, asexuality, high-risk sex, inter-sex-tionality, questioning gender and sexual binaries, and more. The format includes a one-day conference featuring a variety of expert speakers covering different aspects of sexual diversity and health, followed by a debriefing and discussion session to integrate what has been heard and learned.
Same as: FEMGEN 114
FEMGEN 215A. The Queer 20th Century: German LGBTQ Literature and Film. 3-5 Units.
What was it like to be queer in 20th-century Germany? This course examines the rich and sometimes surprising LGBTQ culture of 20th-century Germany, featuring stories that are often left out of traditional seminars. Through literature and film, we will learn about pioneering gay rights activists, persecution under National Socialism, emancipation movements under capitalism and socialism, and debates that are shaping queer life in contemporary Germany. Taught in English; students of all backgrounds are very welcome. Remote synchronous, with plenty of opportunities for breakout rooms, student discussion, Zoom breaks, and off-screen work.
Same as: FEMGEN 115A, GERMAN 115, GERMAN 215
FEMGEN 216X. Narrating Queer Trauma. 4-5 Units.
Psychiatrist Dori Laub has argued that the process of narrating trauma is essential to the healing process. Not only is telling the story important, but it is also crucial to have someone else bear witness to the narrative. But how do people even begin to narrate stories of violence and pain, and how do we become good listeners? How are these stories told and heard in the specific context of queer world making? This course will explore narratives of trauma in queer lives through literature, film, media, and performance in conjunction with trauma theory and psychoanalysis. We will pay specific attention to questions of community, healing, violence, and affect at the intersections of queerness and race, sex, disability, class, gender, and nationality.
Same as: FEMGEN 116
FEMGEN 217. Expanding Engineering Limits: Culture, Diversity, and Equity. 3 Units.
This course investigates how culture and diversity shape who becomes an engineer, what problems get solved, and the quality of designs, technology, and products. As a course community, we consider how cultural beliefs about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, abilities, socioeconomic status, and other intersectional aspects of identity interact with beliefs about engineering, influence diversity in the field, and affect equity in engineering education and practice. We also explore how engineering cultures and environments respond to and change with individual and institutional agency. The course involves weekly presentations by scholars and engineers, readings, short writing assignments, small-group discussion, and hands-on, student-driven projects. Students can enroll in the course for 1 unit (lectures only), or 3 units (lectures+discussion+project). For 1 unit, students should sign up for Section 1 and Credit/No Credit grading, and for 3 units students should sign up for Section 2 and either the C/NC or Grade option.
Same as: CSRE 117, CSRE 217, ENGR 117, ENGR 217, FEMGEN 117
FEMGEN 21R. StoryCraft: Athlete Relationships. 2 Units.
What is intimacy like as an athlete? What are the stereotypes and the realities? In this class, athletic-identifying students will learn about relationships from the inside out: through an examination and telling of their lived experiences. We will explore various perspectives on intimacy and relationships that illuminate different aspects of our lives and then dive into our own stories to discover the many facets of intimacy. Due to the personal nature of the topic, we will emphasize safety, trust, and confidentiality throughout. The class offers the structure and guidance to 1) mine your life for stories, 2) craft the structure and shape of your stories, and 3) perform with presence, authenticity, and connection. nPlease fill out this short application where we will determine the best day+time to hold this class given the changing schedules for athletes during COVID: bit.ly/Winter2021StoryCraft.
Same as: TAPS 21AR
FEMGEN 21S. StoryCraft: On Relationships. 2 Units.
Do we need love? And if so, what does it look like? In this class, students will learn about relationships from the inside out: through an examination and telling of their lived experiences. We will explore various perspectives on intimacy and relationships that illuminate different aspects of our lives, and then dive into our own stories to discover the many facets of intimacy. Due to the personal nature of the topic, we will emphasize safety, trust, and confidentiality throughout. The class offers the structure and guidance to 1) mine your life for stories, 2) craft the structure and shape of your stories, and 3) perform with presence, authenticity, and connection. Please fill out this short application for enrollment: bit.ly/Fall2020StoryCraft.
Same as: TAPS 21S
FEMGEN 21T. StoryCraft: Sexuality, Intimacy & Relationships. 2 Units.
What are the roles of sexuality, intimacy, and relationships in my life? How do I tell a compelling story? In this class, students will learn about these topics from the inside out. We will explore various perspectives on sexuality, intimacy, and relationships and then dive into our own stories to discover the richness and vibrancy of this part of our lives. Due to the personal nature of the topic, we will emphasize safety, trust, and confidentiality throughout. The class offers the structure and guidance to 1) mine your life for stories, 2) craft the structure and shape of your stories, and 3) perform with presence, authenticity, and connection. Students will be selected from this class to tell their stories in Beyond Sex Ed Part 1 during NSO 2020. Please fill out this short application for enrollment: bit.ly/Spring2020StoryCraft. Class will be held in KINGSCOTE Gardens 140.
Same as: TAPS 21T
FEMGEN 224. Challenging Sex and Gender Dichotomies in Medicine. 1 Unit.
Explores and challenges the traditional physiological bases for distinguishing human males from females, as well as the psychosocial factors that play a role in experiencing and expressing gender and sexuality. Topics include the influence of sociocultural (gender) norms and behaviors on human biology, the interactions of sex and gender on medical outcomes, the importance of understanding the spectrum of sex, gender, and sexuality in clinical practice.
Same as: FEMGEN 124
FEMGEN 230. Sexual Function and Diversity in Medical Disciplines. 2-3 Units.
This course is a coordinated seminar series that presents evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention guidelines by clinical and translational research and population health science faculty of clinical departments other than Medicine (the focus of CHPR 260) of the Stanford School of Medicine, including; Anesthesiology & Perioperative, & Pain Medicine, Cardiothoracic gy, Emergency Medicine, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Surgery and Urology. CHPR master's program students must enroll in CHPR 230 for a letter grade and priority for enrollment will be given to current CHPR students. For third unit, graduate students attend INDE 215 Queer Health & Medicine and complete assignments for that section. For third unit and WAYs, undergrads enroll in SOMGEN 130. Prerequisites: CHPR 201 or HUMBIO 126/CHPR 226 or equivalent or consent of instructor.
Same as: CHPR 230, SOMGEN 230
FEMGEN 236. Literature and Transgression. 3-5 Units.
Close reading and analysis of erotic-sexual and aesthetic-stylistic transgression in selected works by such authors as Baudelaire, Wilde, Flaubert, Rachilde, Schnitzler, Kafka, Joyce, Barnes, Eliot, Bataille, Burroughs, Thomas Mann, Kathy Acker, as well as in recent digital literature and online communities. Along with understanding the changing cultural, social, and political contexts of what constitutes "transgression" or censorship, students will gain knowledge of influential theories of transgression and conceptual limits by Foucault, Blanchot, and contemporary queer and feminist writers.
Same as: COMPLIT 236
FEMGEN 237. Health Impact of Sexual Assault and Relationship Abuse across the Lifecourse. 1-3 Unit.
(Human Biology students must enroll in HUMBIO 28 or AFRICAAM 28. Med/Grad students should enroll in SOMGEN 237 for 1-3 units.) An overview of the acute and chronic physical and psychological health impact of sexual abuse through the perspective of survivors of childhood, adolescent, young and middle adult, and elder abuse, including special populations such as pregnant women, military and veterans, prison inmates, individuals with mental or physical impairments. Also addresses: race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other demographic and societal factors, including issues specific to college culture. Professionals with expertise in sexual assault present behavioral and prevention efforts such as bystander intervention training, medical screening, counseling and other interventions to manage the emotional trauma of abuse. Undergraduates must enroll for 3 units.To receive a letter grade in any listing, students must enroll for 3 units. This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit.
Same as: AFRICAAM 28, HUMBIO 28, SOMGEN 237
FEMGEN 238. Men's Violence Against Women in Literature: A Critical and Social Analysis. 3-5 Units.
Literature, as a social and cultural product of its time, can inform and deepen our understanding of oppression. Using literature as a vehicle, this course will explore the impact of and responses to men's violence against women. Students will critically assess how the author has portrayed the topic of sexual assault and relationship abuse, how the characters and/or author exhibits victim blaming, and, if the characters were living today, would current policies adequately hold the perpetrator responsible, provide safety and justice for the survivor, and challenge rape culture. In dialogue with theoretical texts, we will analyze the literary representations of patriarchy that inform societal acceptance of gender-based violence, identify the historical prevalence of victim blaming and impunity in these works, and assess the implications on policy making at the individual, community and political level. Students will critically examine literature including Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Louise Erdrich's The Round House and Joyce Carol Oates' We Were the Mulvaneys. There is an optional service-learning component.
Same as: FEMGEN 138
FEMGEN 239. Queer Theory. 3-5 Units.
Do we really need a theory in order to be queer? Queer Theory emerged in response to feminist thought, and the study of the history of sexuality, building on their insights, but also uncovering their blind spots. Without Queer Theory, few of the discourses around desire, power and gender identity that we take for granted on college campuses today would exist. Yet there is also a real risk that reality has left the theory behind. In this course, we will try to answer the question: What do we need queer theory for? Do we still need it? And if so, of what kind? The course is designed to introduce students to core texts of queer theory, and to connect them to current debates, be this around trans rights, the representation of homosexuality or the fight against campus sexual assault.
Same as: COMPLIT 239, GERMAN 239
FEMGEN 240D. LGBTQ History of the United States. 4-5 Units.
An introductory course that explores LGBT/Queer social, cultural, and political history in the United States. By analyzing primary documents that range from personal accounts (private letters, autobiography, early LGBT magazines, and oral history interviews) to popular culture (postcards, art, political posters, lesbian pulp fiction, and film) to medical, military, and legal papers, students will understand how the categories of gender and sexuality have changed over the past 150 years. This class investigates the relationship among queer, straight and transgender identities. Seminar discussions will question how the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality influenced the construction of these categories.
Same as: FEMGEN 140D, HISTORY 257C
FEMGEN 241. Sex and Gender in Human Physiology and Disease. 2-3 Units.
(HUMBIO students must enroll in HUMBIO 140. PhD minor in FGSS must enroll in FEMGEN 241. Med students must enroll in MED 240.) Chromosomal, hormonal and environmental influences that lead to male and female and intersex reproductive anatomy and physiology and neuroendocrine regulation. Masculinizing and feminizing effects of endogenous and exogenous sex hormones and sociocultural factors, in particular gender identity, (social) gender norms and relationships, on the musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, immunological and other systems and tissues, e.g. adipose, skin, etc. over the lifecourse, from conception to puberty, through reproductive phases (including changes during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy up to and beyond menopause in women, and with aging in both sexes). Transgender health issues. Guest lecturers. Enrollment limited to students with sophomore academic standing or above. Prerequisites: Human Biology Core or Biology Foundations or equivalent, or consent of instructor.
Same as: HUMBIO 140, MED 240
FEMGEN 242. Sociology of Gender. 3 Units.
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the sociological conceptualization of gender. Through the sociological lens, gender is not an individual attribute or a role, but rather a system of social practices that constructs two different categories of people men and women and organizes social interaction and inequality around this difference. First we will explore what ¿gender¿ is according to sociologists and the current state of gender inequality in the labor market, at home, and at school. We will then investigate how gender structures our everyday lives through the individual, interactional, and institutional levels. Finally, we will discuss avenues for reducing gender inequality. Throughout the course, we will prioritize reading, evaluating, and questioning sociological theory and research on gender.".
Same as: FEMGEN 142, SOC 142, SOC 242
FEMGEN 24N. Sappho: Erotic Poetess of Lesbos. 3 Units.
Preference to freshmen. Sappho's surviving fragments in English; traditions referring to or fantasizing about her disputed life. How her poetry and legend inspired women authors and male poets such as Swinburne, Baudelaire, and Pound. Paintings inspired by Sappho in ancient and modern times, and composers who put her poetry to music.
Same as: CLASSICS 16N
FEMGEN 250. Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China. 3-5 Units.
Investigates how sex, gender, and power are entwined in the Chinese experience of modernity. Topics include anti-footbinding campaigns, free love/free sex, women's mobilization in revolution and war, the new Marriage Law of 1950, Mao's iron girls, postsocialist celebrations of sensuality, and emergent queer politics. Readings range from feminist theory to China-focused historiography, ethnography, memoir, biography, fiction, essay, and film. All course materials are in English.
Same as: CHINA 115, CHINA 215, FEMGEN 150
FEMGEN 250J. Baldwin and Hansberry: The Myriad Meanings of Love. 4 Units.
This course looks at major dramatic works by James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. Both of these queer black writers had prophetic things to say about the world-historical significance of major dramas on the 20th Century including civil rights, revolution, gender, colonialism, racism, sexism, war, nationalism and as well as aesthetics and politics.
Same as: AFRICAAM 250J, AMSTUD 250J, CSRE 250J, TAPS 250J
FEMGEN 252. 'Tis all in pieces: Space and Gender on the Threshold of the Modern World. 5 Units.
These dramatic words, spoken by the British poet John Donne, signal the onset of the Early Modern world and the profound reconfigurations of space and related structures of thought, including conceptions of the self and the encoding of gender roles. We will explore the vibrant Early Modern world in the context of space and representations of gender, sexuality, and race as manifest in unprecedented literary and artistic forms, such as Shakespeare¿s ¿Othello,¿ Marlowe¿s ¿Doctor Faustus,,¿ the poetry of John Donne, the art of Michelangelo and Caravaggio as well as key historical and cultural texts. And we will visit the Cantor Arts Center (on campus) for a guided tour and lecture on art and perspective. We also will read and discuss selected texts from the modern world, such as Samuel Beckett¿s ¿Waiting for Godot¿ and poetry and commentary by Adrienne Rich, to study both changes and continuities with the Early Modern period. We will consider the vital cognitive role of the reader or viewer in the formation of particular instances of artistic form, including recent---and highly thought-provoking---material from the neurosciences and cognitive studies.nnNote: Instructor will consider changes in meeting times/days to accommodate student schedules if feasible. Please send request to: hbrooks@stanford.edu.
Same as: FEMGEN 152
FEMGEN 253L. Caring Labor in the United States. 3-5 Units.
Who cares for America's children, elderly, and infirm? How is the structure of these labor forces influenced by ideologies of race, gender, and class? Beginning with theories of reproductive and caring labor, we examine the history of coerced and enslaved care and then caring as free labor. We will look at housework, child care, nursing, and elder care, among others, and will also examine how activists, policy makers, and workers have imagined new ways of performing and valuing care.
Same as: AFRICAAM 253, HISTORY 253L
FEMGEN 255. The Changing American Family. 4 Units.
Family change from historical, social, demographic, and legal perspectives. Extramarital cohabitation, divorce, later marriage, interracial marriage, and same-sex cohabitation. The emergence of same-sex marriage as a political issue. Are recent changes in the American family really as dramatic as they seem? Theories about what causes family systems to change.
Same as: FEMGEN 155, SOC 155, SOC 255
FEMGEN 255B. Contested Masculinities in Modern America. 5 Units.
This course examines masculinity in the twentieth-century United States across academic disciplines. Suspending the idea that manhood is biologically fixed or innate, this course presents masculinity as socially constructed and in a state of ongoing contest and crisis. Students will explore what it has meant (and means) to be a man in America, how masculinity has related to femininity and feminism, and masculinity's intersection with other identities like race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. Assigned materials include an array of readings in History, African and African American Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, Art History, and American Studies, along with documentary and fictional films.
Same as: HISTORY 255B
FEMGEN 256. Current Topics and Controversies in Women's Health. 2-3 Units.
(HUMBIO students must enroll in HUMBIO 125. PhD minor in FGSS must enroll in FEMGEN 256. Med students must enroll in OBGYN 256.) Interdisciplinary. Focus is primarily on the U.S., with selected global women's health topics. Topics include: leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the life course; reproductive (e.g. gynecologic & obstetric) health issues; sexual function; importance of lifestyle (e.g. diet, exercise, weight control), including eating disorders; mental health; sexual and relationship abuse; issues for special populations. In-class Student Debates on key controversies in women's health. Guest lecturers. Undergraduates must enroll for 3 units. PhD minor in FGSS should enroll for 2 - 3 units. Med students should enroll for 2 units. To receive a letter grade in any listing, students must enroll for 3 units. This course must be taken for a letter grade and a minimum of 3 units to be eligible for Ways credit. Enrollment limited to students with sophomore academic standing or above. Undergraduate prerequisite: Human Biology Core or Biology Foundations or equivalent or consent of instructor.
Same as: HUMBIO 125, OBGYN 256
FEMGEN 257. Language as Political Tool: Feminist and LGBTQ Movements and Impacts. 3-5 Units.
How does a social or political movement gain traction? For example, how did 20th-century movements of the disenfranchised, such as the Civil Rights movement, LGBTQ movements, or feminist movements, gain a voice and eventually enact change? In the mediascape of today, where everyone with access to a computer could have a voice, how does a movement change the national conversation? How do written and verbal choices of the movements impact their success and outreach to supporters? In this course, students will write and revise their own arguments in order to best understand the rhetorical potential in these movements¿ choices and to consider how those rhetorical moves are incorporated into political discourse. We'll examine the role of rhetoric, the use of argument to persuade, in social movements working toward social justice, party platforms, and public policy.
Same as: AMSTUD 157X, FEMGEN 157
FEMGEN 257X. Simone Weil, Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, and Adriana Cavarero. 3-5 Units.
What does it mean to say the personal is the political, or, in the case of Arendt, that the personal is not political, especially if you are a woman? This course explores how Weil, De Beauvoir, Arendt, and Caverero contend with the question of personhood, in its variegated social, political, ethical, and gendered dimensions. Particular attention will be given to a philosophy of social change and personal transformation, and to the enduring relevance of these women's thought to issues of our day. Texts include selections from "Gravity and Grace," "The Second Sex," "The Ethics of Ambiguity," "The Human Condition," "Between Past and Future," "Stately Bodies," and "Relating Narratives.".
Same as: COMPLIT 257, COMPLIT 357A, FEMGEN 357X, FRENCH 257, FRENCH 357, ITALIAN 257, ITALIAN 357
FEMGEN 258. History of Sexual Violence in America. 4-5 Units.
This undergraduate/graduate colloquium explores the history of sexual violence in America, with particular attention to the intersections of gender and race in the construction of rape. We discuss the changing definitions of sexual violence in law and in cultural representations from early settlement through the late-twentieth century, including slavery, wartime and prison rape, the history of lynching and anti-lynching movements, and feminist responses to sexual violence. In addition to introducing students to the literature on sexual violence, the course attempts to teach critical skills in the analysis of secondary and primary historical texts. Students write short weekly reading responses and a final paper; no final exam; fifth unit research or CEL options.nnLimited enrollment, permission of instructor required. Submit application form and indicate interest in CEL option. Priority admission to History, FGSS, CSRE, AFRICAAM, and AMSTUD declared majors and minors. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center).
Same as: AFRICAAM 192, AMSTUD 258, CSRE 192E, FEMGEN 358, HISTORY 258, HISTORY 358
FEMGEN 258X. Black Feminist Theater and Theory. 4 Units.
From the rave reviews garnered by Angelina Weld Grimke's lynching play, Rachel to recent work by Lynn Nottage on Rwanda, black women playwrights have addressed key issues in modern culture and politics. We will analyze and perform work written by black women in the U.S., Britain and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include: sexuality, surrealism, colonialism, freedom, violence, colorism, love, history, community and more. Playwrights include: Angelina Grimke, Lorriane Hansberry, Winsome Pinnock, Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan- Lori Parks, Ntzoke Shange, Pearl Cleage, Sarah Jones, Anna DeVeare Smith, Alice Childress, Lydia Diamond and Zora Neale Hurston.).
Same as: AFRICAAM 258, CSRE 258, TAPS 258
FEMGEN 260. Disability, Gender, and Identity: Women's Personal Experiences. 5 Units.
This course explores visible and invisible disabilities, focusing on issues of gender and identity in the personal experiences of women. The course emphasizes psychological as well as physical health, the diversity of disability experiences, self-labeling, caretaking, stigma and passing, and social and political aspects. Disabilities covered include blindness, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, emotional and learning disabilities, and conditions requiring wheelchairs and other forms of assistance. The readings draw from the disability studies literature and emphasize women's personal narratives in sociological perspective. Note: Instructor Consent Required.
Same as: AMSTUD 260, FEMGEN 360
FEMGEN 261. Personal Narratives in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 4-5 Units.
This course explores the contribution of personal narratives to knowledge in the field of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. Each week, students do extensive readings of exemplary personal narratives that have contributed in substance and method to the field and that have opened up new areas of inquiry. These narratives deal especially with issues of individual and group identity; gender, sexuality, racial and ethnic diversity; and disability. Students select a topic of special interest to them to focus their readings and guide individual research during the quarter. The approach of the course is feminist, ethnographic, and welcoming of a variety of approaches to personal narrative. Instructor consent required; students apply at the first class meeting.
Same as: AMSTUD 261, FEMGEN 361
FEMGEN 262. Sex and the Early Church. 4 Units.
Sex and the Early Church examines the ways first- through sixth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. We will read a Roman gynecological manual, an ancient dating guide, the world's first harlequin romance novels, ancient pornography, early Christian martyrdom accounts, stories of female and male saints, instructions for how to best battle demons, visionary accounts, and monastic rules. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in classics, early Christian studies, gender studies, queer studies, and the history of sexuality. The purpose of our exploration is not simply to better understand ancient views of gender and sexuality. Rather, this investigation of a society whose sexual system often seems so surprising aims to denaturalize many of our own assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. In the process, we will also examine the ways these first centuries of what eventually became the world's largest religious tradition has profoundly affected the sexual norms of our own time. The seminar assumes no prior knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, the bible, or ancient history.
Same as: CLASSICS 262, RELIGST 262, RELIGST 362
FEMGEN 287X. Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today. 1-5 Unit.
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Same as: FEMGEN 187X, FEMGEN 387X, FRENCH 187, FRENCH 287, FRENCH 387
FEMGEN 292. Gender in Modern South Asia. 5 Units.
Gender is crucial to understanding the political, cultural, and economic trajectories of communities in colonial and postcolonial South Asia. Throughout this course, we will ask a series of questions: How does gender structure conceptions of home, community, and homeland in South Asia? How do gender and religion become represented in movements for nation-states? How does women's participation in anticolonial politics and fights for equal representation in postcolonial nation-states affect our understanding of gender in South Asia today? Readings examine the creation and impact of religious personal law under British colonial rule, the role of masculinity in the British-Indian army, perspectives on religion and clothing, the interplay of rights movements and anti-colonialism, and the status of women in postcolonial India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Students will also explore a range of primary sources, including political treatises, short stories, didactic manuals, autobiographies, and travelogues.
Same as: HISTORY 292C
FEMGEN 297. Gender and Education in Global and Comparative Perspectives. 3-4 Units.
This course introduces students to theories and perspectives from the social sciences relevant to an understanding of the role of education in relation to structures of gender differentiation, hierarchy, and power. It familiarizes students with and enables them to critically evaluate research on the status of children, adolescents, and young adults around the world and their participation patterns in various sectors of society, particularly in education. Students have the opportunity to gain research skills by designing research proposals or to develop action plans on topics of their choosing related to gender and education from global and/or comparative perspectives.
Same as: EDUC 197, SOC 134
FEMGEN 298C. Race, Gender, & Sexuality in Chinese History. 5 Units.
This course examines the diverse ways in which identities--particularly race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality have been understood and experienced in Chinese societies, broadly defined, from the imperial period to the present day. Topics include changes in women's lives and status, racial and ethnic categorizations, homosexuality, prostitution, masculinity, and gender-crossing.
Same as: ASNAMST 298, CSRE 298G, HISTORY 298C, HISTORY 398C
FEMGEN 299. Graduate Workshop: Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 1-3 Unit.
Theory, methods, and research in feminist, gender, and sexuality studies, through presentations of ongoing work by students, faculty, and guest speakers, and discussion of recent literature and controversies, feminist pedagogy and career development issues. Restricted to doctoral students. Repeatable for credit. Required for PhD Minors in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 quarters min.).
FEMGEN 307D. Transhistory Colloquium. 4-5 Units.
Colloquium on the history of transgender practices and identities. Readings will include scholarly texts from the emerging historical field of transhistory as well as adjacent fields within gender history. Colloquium will investigate avenues for deepening transhistory through further historical inquiry.
Same as: FEMGEN 207D, HISTORY 207D, HISTORY 307D
FEMGEN 312F. Pitching and Publishing in Popular Media. 1 Unit.
Most of the time, writing a pitch for a popular outlet just means writing an email. So why be intimidated? This course will outline the procedure for pitching essays and articles to popular media: how to convince an editor, agent, or anyone else that your idea is compelling, relevant, and deliverable. We'll take a holistic approach to self-presentation that includes presenting yourself with confidence, optimizing your social media and web platform, networking effectively, writing excellent queries and pitches, avoiding the slush pile, and perhaps most importantly, persevering through the inevitable self-doubt and rejection.We will focus on distinguishing the language, topics and hooks of popular media writing from those of academic writing, learn how to target and query editors on shortform pieces (personal essays, news stories, etc.), and explore how humanists can effectively self-advocate and get paid for their work.
Same as: DLCL 312, ENGLISH 318
FEMGEN 312G. Advanced Workshop in Pitching and Publishing for Popular Media. 1 Unit.
Graduate students may self-determine a popular media project¿such as an essay, column/series of essays, podcast, agent query, or book proposal¿to be completed, with consent, under the mentorship of the Graduate Humanities Public Writing Project. Prerequisite: Pitching and Publishing in Popular Media (DLCL 312/ENG 318/FEMGEN 312F), approved project proposal. Students will determine their individual meeting schedule with the instructor, and will also convene for at least one group meeting.
Same as: ENGLISH 318A
FEMGEN 313. Performance and Performativity. 5 Units.
Performance theory through topics including: affect/trauma, embodiment, empathy, theatricality/performativity, specularity/visibility, liveness/disappearance, belonging/abjection, and utopias and dystopias. Readings from Schechner, Phelan, Austin, Butler, Conquergood, Roach, Schneider, Silverman, Caruth, Fanon, Moten, Anzaldúa, Agamben, Freud, and Lacan. May be repeated for credit.
Same as: ENGLISH 313, TAPS 313
FEMGEN 314. Performing Identities. 4 Units.
This course examines claims and counter-claims of identity, a heated political and cultural concept over the past few decades. We will consider the ways in which theories of performance have offered generative discursive frameworks for the study of identities, variously shaped by vectors of race, gender, sexuality, religion, class, nation, ethnicity, among others. How is identity as a social category different from identity as a unique and personal attribute of selfhood? Throughout the course we will focus on the inter-locking ways in which certain dimensions of identity become salient at particular historical conjunctures. In addition, we will consider the complex discourses of identity within transnational and historical frameworks. Readings include Robin Bernstein, Ann Pellegrini, Tavia Nyong¿o, Jose Munoz, Michael Taussig, Wendy Brown, Talal Asad, Jasbir Puar, among others.
Same as: TAPS 314
FEMGEN 344F. Intersectional Design: Innovations and Inclusive Design in Tech. 4-5 Units.
This d-school class prototypes concepts and methods for "inclusive" design. Examples of products (including objects, services, and systems) gone awry will serve as prompts for design activities, challenges, and discussions on the challenges designers face when addressing the different needs of consumers. These include, but are not limited to: gender, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, age, geographic location, sustainability, and other "intersectional" factors. Class sessions mix use case explorations with design methodology, design thinking abilities, and guest speakers from technology, design, and academia. Students will be asked to work in interdisciplinary teams on several design challenges, culminating in the development of a toolkit for inclusive design. Methods will interact in crucial ways to create "intersectional thinking," i.e., to consider how intersectional factors work together to require new solutions in design. Topics include: algorithms, media, virtual assistants, crash test dummies, robotics, health technologies, assistive technologies, tech for developing worlds, urban/rural design, software development.
Same as: HISTORY 244F, HISTORY 344F
FEMGEN 357X. Simone Weil, Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, and Adriana Cavarero. 3-5 Units.
What does it mean to say the personal is the political, or, in the case of Arendt, that the personal is not political, especially if you are a woman? This course explores how Weil, De Beauvoir, Arendt, and Caverero contend with the question of personhood, in its variegated social, political, ethical, and gendered dimensions. Particular attention will be given to a philosophy of social change and personal transformation, and to the enduring relevance of these women's thought to issues of our day. Texts include selections from "Gravity and Grace," "The Second Sex," "The Ethics of Ambiguity," "The Human Condition," "Between Past and Future," "Stately Bodies," and "Relating Narratives.".
Same as: COMPLIT 257, COMPLIT 357A, FEMGEN 257X, FRENCH 257, FRENCH 357, ITALIAN 257, ITALIAN 357
FEMGEN 358. History of Sexual Violence in America. 4-5 Units.
This undergraduate/graduate colloquium explores the history of sexual violence in America, with particular attention to the intersections of gender and race in the construction of rape. We discuss the changing definitions of sexual violence in law and in cultural representations from early settlement through the late-twentieth century, including slavery, wartime and prison rape, the history of lynching and anti-lynching movements, and feminist responses to sexual violence. In addition to introducing students to the literature on sexual violence, the course attempts to teach critical skills in the analysis of secondary and primary historical texts. Students write short weekly reading responses and a final paper; no final exam; fifth unit research or CEL options.nnLimited enrollment, permission of instructor required. Submit application form and indicate interest in CEL option. Priority admission to History, FGSS, CSRE, AFRICAAM, and AMSTUD declared majors and minors. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center).
Same as: AFRICAAM 192, AMSTUD 258, CSRE 192E, FEMGEN 258, HISTORY 258, HISTORY 358
FEMGEN 360. Disability, Gender, and Identity: Women's Personal Experiences. 5 Units.
This course explores visible and invisible disabilities, focusing on issues of gender and identity in the personal experiences of women. The course emphasizes psychological as well as physical health, the diversity of disability experiences, self-labeling, caretaking, stigma and passing, and social and political aspects. Disabilities covered include blindness, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, emotional and learning disabilities, and conditions requiring wheelchairs and other forms of assistance. The readings draw from the disability studies literature and emphasize women's personal narratives in sociological perspective. Note: Instructor Consent Required.
Same as: AMSTUD 260, FEMGEN 260
FEMGEN 361. Personal Narratives in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 4-5 Units.
This course explores the contribution of personal narratives to knowledge in the field of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. Each week, students do extensive readings of exemplary personal narratives that have contributed in substance and method to the field and that have opened up new areas of inquiry. These narratives deal especially with issues of individual and group identity; gender, sexuality, racial and ethnic diversity; and disability. Students select a topic of special interest to them to focus their readings and guide individual research during the quarter. The approach of the course is feminist, ethnographic, and welcoming of a variety of approaches to personal narrative. Instructor consent required; students apply at the first class meeting.
Same as: AMSTUD 261, FEMGEN 261
FEMGEN 363D. Feminist Theory: Thinking Through/With/About the Gendered Body. 5 Units.
Organized around a series of case studies, this graduate feminist theory course will consider issues related to the complex relationship between sex, gender, sexuality, biological reproduction, violence, and social power. It is a core course for the PhD minor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Enrollment is limited to PhD-level students.
FEMGEN 36N. Gay Autobiography. 4 Units.
Preference to freshmen. Gender, identity, and solidarity as represented in nine autobiographies: Isherwood, Ackerley, Duberman, Monette, Louganis, Barbin, Cammermeyer, Gingrich, and Lorde. To what degree do these writers view sexual orientation as a defining feature of their selves? Is there a difference between the way men and women view identity? What politics follow from these writers' experiences?.
Same as: HISTORY 36N
FEMGEN 385N. Transfeminism. 2-4 Units.
This graduate seminar explores the metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology of transness, using sources from the 1970s to the present, primarily focused on the US, the UK, and Canada. Among the questions we¿ll investigate are: How can we theorize about gender in a way that acknowledges the breadth and diversity of embodied human experience? How should we understand trans femininity, trans masculinity, and genderqueerness? What is the relationship between a person¿s internal sense of their own gender, and the gendered expectations of the broader society where they live?2 unit option only for Phil PhDs beyond the second year.
Same as: PHIL 385N
FEMGEN 387X. Sex, Gender, and Violence: French Women Writers Today. 1-5 Unit.
Long before the 2017 #Metoo campaign, French women writers have explored through powerful fictions and autobiographies the different shades of economic, social, psychological, physical, or sexual violence that is exerted against, but also by and between, women. How does literature - the power of words - address, deconstruct or comfort power dynamics (during sex and between the sexes) that are usually silenced, taboo or unspeakable? Themes explored: sex and gender, sex and power, rape culture, sexual and moral taboos (incest, abortion, pornography, infanticide, lesbianism), the body as social stigma or source of meaning. Special attention given to narrative and descriptive strategies designed to avert, expose, deconstruct or account for specifically feminine experiences (rape, orgasm, pregnancy). Authors include Marie Darrieusecq, Christine Angot, Annie Ernaux, Marie NDiaye, Virginie Despentes, Leila Slimani, Ivan Jablonka along with feminist theory. Taught in French.
Same as: FEMGEN 187X, FEMGEN 287X, FRENCH 187, FRENCH 287, FRENCH 387
FEMGEN 39. Long Live Our 4Bil. Year Old Mother: Black Feminist Praxis, Indigenous Resistance, Queer Possibility. 1-4 Unit.
How can art facilitate a culture that values women, mothers, transfolks, caregivers, girls? How can black, indigenous, and people of color frameworks help us reckon with oppressive systems that threaten safety and survival for marginalized people and the lands that sustain us? How can these questions reveal the brilliant and inventive forms of survival that precede and transcend harmful systems toward a world of possibility? Each week, this course will call on artists, scholars, and organizers of color who clarify the urgency and interconnection of issues from patriarchal violence to environmental degradation; criminalization to legacies of settler colonialism. These same thinkers will also speak to the imaginative, everyday knowledge and creative healing practices that our forebears have used for millennia to give vision and rise to true transformation.
Same as: AFRICAAM 39, CSRE 39, NATIVEAM 39
FEMGEN 395. Graduate Independent Study. 1-15 Unit.
Students pursue a special subject of investigation under supervision of an affiliated faculty member. May be repeated for credit.
FEMGEN 395J. Gender and Sexuality in Chinese History. 4-5 Units.
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Same as: CHINA 395, HISTORY 395J
FEMGEN 3E. Michelle Obama in American Culture. 1 Unit.
Never before has the United States had a First Lady like Michelle Obama. During her eight years in the White House, Michelle Obama transformed traditional meanings of womanhood, marriage, motherhood, and style and created new possibilities for what it means to be strong and what it means to be beautiful. No First Lady has ever been so scrutinized but also so beloved: from her J. Crew dresses to her Let's Move campaign, from her vegetable gardens to her chiseled arms, and from her powerful speeches to her casual and always authentic personality. This class examines the impact on American culture of the most popular First Lady in American history.
Same as: AFRICAAM 3E, AMSTUD 3E, CSRE 3E, HISTORY 3E
FEMGEN 41Q. Madwomen and Madmen: Gender and the History of Mental Illness in the U.S.. 3 Units.
This seminar explores the ways that gender and historical context shaped the experience and treatment of mental illness in U.S. history. What is the relationship between historically constructed ideas of femininity and masculinity and madness? Why have women been the witches and hysterics of the past, while men experienced neurasthenia and schizoid conditions? Why have there historically been more women than men among the mentally ill? How has the emotional and psychological suffering of women differed from that of men, and how has it changed over time? Among the sources we use to explore these questions are memoirs and films such as The Three Faces of Eve and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. By contrasting the changing ways women and men experienced mental illness and were treated in the past, this seminar will elucidate the historically embedded nature of medical ideas, diagnoses and treatments.
Same as: AMSTUD 41Q
FEMGEN 444. Graduate Research Seminar: Gender in Science, Medicine, and Engineering. 5 Units.
Theory and practice of gender in STEM. 1. "Fix the Numbers of Women" focuses on increasing women's participation; 2. "Fix the Institutions" promotes gender equality in careers through structural change in research organizations; 3. "Fix the Knowledge" or "gendered innovations" stimulates excellence in science and technology by integrating gender analysis into research. Seminar explores harnessing the creative power of gender analysis to enhance knowledge and spark innovation.
Same as: HISTORY 444
FEMGEN 44Q. Gendered Innovations in Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Environment. 4-5 Units.
Explores ¿Gendered Innovations¿ or how sex, gender, and intersectional analysis in research sparks discovery and innovation. Section 1 focuses on the history of women in science. Section 2 looks at transforming research institutions. Section 3 explores ¿Gendered Innovations.¿ Topics include historical background, basic concepts, social robots, sustainability, medicine & public health, facial recognition, inclusive crash test dummies, and more. Stanford University is engaged in a multi-year collaboration with the European Commission and the U.S. National Science Foundation project on Gendered Innovations in Science, Health & Medicine, Engineering, and Environment, and this class will contribute that project. This course fulfills the second level Writing and Rhetoric Requirement (WRITE 2) and emphasizes oral, multimedia presentation, and writing skills. Each student will develop a case study illustrating how sex, gender, and intersectional analysis can lead to innovation and enhance social equalities.
Same as: HISTORY 44Q
FEMGEN 466. Queer America. 5 Units.
This class explores queer art, photography and politics in the United States since 1930. Our approach will be grounded in close attention to the history and visual representation of sexual minorities in particular historical moments and social contexts. We will consider the cultural and political effects of World War II, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, psychedelics, hippie culture and sexual liberation, lesbian separatism, the AIDS crisis, and marriage equality.
Same as: ARTHIST 466
FEMGEN 50Q. Life and Death of Words. 4 Units.
In this course, we explore the world of words: their creation, evolution, borrowing, change, and death. Words are the key to understanding the culture and ideas of a people, and by tracing the biographies of words we are able to discern how the world was, is, and might be perceived and described. We trace how words are formed, and how they change in pronunciation, spelling, meaning, and usage over time. How does a word get into the dictionary? What do words reveal about status, class, region, and race? How is the language of men and women critiqued differently within our society? How does slang evolve? How do languages become endangered or die, and what is lost when they do? We will visit the Facebook Content Strategy Team and learn more about the role words play in shaping our online experiences. Together, the class will collect Stanford language and redesign the digital dictionary of the future. Trigger Warning: Some of the subject matter of this course is sensitive and may cause offense. Please consider this prior to enrolling in the course.
Same as: CSRE 50Q, ENGLISH 50Q, NATIVEAM 50Q
FEMGEN 52N. Spoken Sexuality: Language and the Social Construction of Sexuality. 3 Units.
The many ways language is used in the construction of sexuality and sexual identity. How language is used as a resource for performing and perceiving sexual identity. Drawing on linguistic analyses of pronunciation, word choice, and grammar, questions such as: Is there a gay accent? Why isn't there a lesbian accent? How do transgendered people modify their linguistic behavior when transitioning? How are unmarked (heterosexual) identities linguistically constructed? Sexuality as an issue of identity, as well as of desire. Iconic relations between elements of language such as breathy voice quality and high pitch, and aspects of desire such as arousal and excitement. How language encodes ideologies about sexuality; how language is used to talk about sexuality in public discourses about gay marriage and bullying, as well as in personal narratives of coming out. How language encodes dominant ideologies about sexuality, evident in labels for sexual minorities as well as terminology for sex acts. Discussions of readings, explorations of how sexuality is portrayed in popular media, and analyses of primary data. Final research paper on a topic of student choice.
Same as: LINGUIST 52N
FEMGEN 54Q. African American Women's Lives. 3-4 Units.
Preference to sophomores. African American women have been placed on the periphery of many historical documents. This course will encourage students to think critically about historical sources and to use creative and rigorous historical methods to recover African American women¿s experiences. Drawing largely on primary sources such as letters, personal journals, literature and film, this course explores the everyday lives of African American women in 19th- and 20th-century America. We will begin in our present moment with a discussion of Michelle Obama and then we will look back on the lives and times of a wide range of African American women including: Charlotte Forten Grimké, a 19th-century reformer and teacher; Nella Larsen, a Harlem Renaissance novelist; Josephine Baker, the expatriate entertainer and singer; and Ida B. Wells and Ella Baker, two luminaries of civil rights activism. We will examine the struggles of African American women to define their own lives and improve the social, economic, political and cultural conditions of black communities. Topics will include women¿s enslavement and freedom, kinship and family relations, institution and community building, violence, labor and leisure, changing gender roles, consumer and beauty culture, social activism, and the politics of sexuality.
Same as: AFRICAAM 54Q, AMSTUD 54Q, HISTORY 54Q
FEMGEN 5C. Human Trafficking: Historical, Legal, and Medical Perspectives. 3 Units.
(Same as HISTORY 105C. History majors and others taking 5 units, enroll in 105C.) Interdisciplinary approach to understanding the extent and complexity of the global phenomenon of human trafficking, especially for forced prostitution, labor exploitation, and organ trade, focusing on human rights violations and remedies. Provides a historical context for the development and spread of human trafficking. Analyzes the current international and domestic legal and policy frameworks to combat trafficking and evaluates their practical implementation. Examines the medical, psychological, and public health issues involved. Uses problem-based learning. Required weekly 50-min. discussion section, time TBD. Students interested in service learning should consult with the instructor and will enroll in an additional course.
Same as: CSRE 5C, HISTORY 5C, INTNLREL 5C
FEMGEN 5S. Comparative Partitions: Religion, Identity, and the Nation-State. 5 Units.
This course looks at demands for representation made by religious minority communities, specifically by Indian Muslim and European Jewish intellectuals, in the twentieth century. We will explore what national belonging means from the perspective of minorities against the backdrop of global discussions of anticolonialism, national self determination, and equal representation. Through primary sources, namely political tracts and speeches, oral histories, literary sources, and historical maps, we question how authors from different backgrounds constructed religious communities as nations in need of states.
Same as: HISTORY 5S
FEMGEN 62S. From Runaway Wives to Dancing Girls: Urban Women in the Long Nineteenth Century. 5 Units.
This course explores the ways in which women - white and black, immigrant and native born, free and enslaved - lived and labored in American cities during the long nineteenth century. Together we will examine a variety of primary sources including diaries, municipal and institutional records, newspapers, memoirs, oral histories, and visual culture. We will also consider whose stories are told and explore how historians make sense of times very different from our own. Priority given to History majors and minors.
Same as: HISTORY 62S
FEMGEN 63N. The Feminist Critique: The History and Politics of Gender Equality. 3-4 Units.
This course explores the long history of ideas about gender and equality. Each week we read, dissect, compare, and critique a set of primary historical documents (political and literary) from around the world, moving from the 15th century to the present. We tease out changing arguments about education, the body, sexuality, violence, labor, politics, and the very meaning of gender, and we place feminist critics within national and global political contexts.
Same as: AMSTUD 63N, CSRE 63N, HISTORY 63N
FEMGEN 6W. Community-Engaged Learning Workshop on Human Trafficking - Part I. 3 Units.
Considers purpose, practice, and ethics of service learning. Provides training for students' work in community. Examines current scope of human trafficking in Bay Area, pressing concerns, capacity and obstacles to effectively address them. Students work with community partners dedicated to confronting human trafficking and problems it entails on a daily basis. Must currently be enrolled in or have previously taken HISTORY 5C/105C (FEMGEN 5C/105C, HumBio 178H, IR 105C, CSRE 5C/105C). (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center).
Same as: HISTORY 6W, HUMRTS 6W
FEMGEN 7W. Community-Engaged Learning Workshop on Human Trafficking - Part II. 3 Units.
Prerequisite: HISTORY6W (FEMGEN 6W). Continuation of HISTORY 6W (FEMGEN 6W). Students will continue working on their projects with their community partners. Several class meetings and small group consultations throughout the quarter. (Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center).
Same as: HISTORY 7W, HUMRTS 7W
FEMGEN 90M. Queer Stories. 5 Units.
Like other 90 and 91-level courses, 90M will explore basic elements of fiction and nonfiction writing. Students will read a wide variety of stories and essays in order to develop a language for working through the themes, forms, and concerns of the queer prose canon. Students will complete and workshop a piece of writing that in some way draws upon the aesthetics or sensibilities of the work we have read, culled from exercises completed throughout the quarter. This final piece may be a short story, a personal essay, a chapter from a novel or memoir, or a piece that, in the spirit of queerness, blurs or interrogates standard demarcations of genre. The course is open to any and all students, regardless of how they define their gender or sexuality. NOTE: First priority to undergrads. Students must attend the first class meeting to retain their roster spot.
Same as: ENGLISH 90M
FEMGEN 94Q. The Future is Feminine. 3 Units.
Gender is one of the great social issues of our time. What does it mean to be female or feminine? How has femininity been defined, performed, punished, or celebrated? Writers are some of our most serious and eloquent investigators of these questions, and in this class we'll read many of our greatest writers on the subject of femininity, as embodied by both men and women, children and adults, protagonists and antagonists. From Virginia Woolf to Ernest Hemingway, from Beloved to Gone Girl (and even "RuPaul's Drag Race"), we'll ask how the feminine is rendered and contested. We'll do so in order to develop a history and a vocabulary of femininity so that we may, in this important time, write our own way in to the conversation. This is first and foremost a creative writing class, and our goals will be to consider in our own work the importance of the feminine across the entire spectrum of gender, sex, and identity. We will also study how we write about femininity, using other writers as models and inspiration. As we engage with these other writers, we will think broadly and bravely, and explore the expressive opportunities inherent in writing. We will explore our own creative practices through readings, prompted exercises, improv, games, collaboration, workshop, and revision, all with an eye toward writing the feminine future.
Same as: ENGLISH 94Q
FEMGEN 97. Bow Down: Queer Hip-Hop Pedagogy. 3 Units.
Although Hip-Hop is frequently associated with homophobia, violence, sexism, and misogyny it continues to resonate with people the world over. By going beyond a surface level critique of Hip-Hop culture, this course explores the ways that queerness operates in and in conjunction with Hip-Hop culture. Topics covered include Hip-Hop and feminism, tensions between Hip-Hop and queerness, the role of commercialization of Hip-Hop in queer representation and inclusion with the culture, and how the intersections of Hip-Hop and queer theory can speak to issues of identity, power and privilege.
FEMGEN 98. Queer Music. 1-2 Unit.
This course explores the cultural and historical overlap of two marginal categories¿the queer, the musical¿with a focus on what these critical concepts can teach us much about identity, identification, and belonging. We will discuss genres including classical, musical theater, rap, pop, country, and punk as well as queer socialities formed in and through these musical scenes. We will think critically about the subtleties of musical language and queer affect, the circulation of gay rumors, and the diva as an object of queer obsession while asking how race, gender, and class as well as elitism, status, and taste inform such inquiries.
FEMGEN 99. Seeds of Change. 1 Unit.
This course is a required training for student leaders of the Seeds of Change initiative. This initiative takes an interdisciplinary approach to STEM education, infusing students' technical training with leadership training through a lens of gender inequality - bringing together key components of feminist pedagogy, service-learning, and experiential education to create a transformational learning experience. In this three-quarter course (Fall, Winter, Spring), student leaders will: learn the core content featured in the Seeds of Change curriculum, reflect on their experiences as both learners and teachers of this content, hone their own leadership and group facilitation skills, and engage as researchers in the initiative's evaluation efforts. NOTE: Instructor Consent Required. Please email kpedersen@stanford.edu *Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center. See syllabus for adjusted course schedule and times.
FEMGEN 9SI. A Road to Diversity inclusion: Learning to Embrace the Intersection of Identities within Athletics. 1 Unit.
This course explores the interaction of one¿s identities within the context of athletics. With an emphasis on the importance of self-awareness and story telling, we will navigate how all identities intersect and affect the privilege we receive within current society. We will specifically look at how race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, mental health, and disabilities interact with our identity as athletes. ¿A Road to Diversity Inclusion: Learning to Embrace the Intersection of Identities within Athletics¿ will help athletes find their voice and use it for positive social change within their communities.
