Subject: WGST

Term: Spring 2026

WGST 201: Introduction to Gender Studies (100/11130)

TR 10:00-11:15 AM Jan 12-Apr 27

Freeman, K; Milko, Z

This course introduces women and men students to the methods and concepts of gender studies and feminist theory. An interdisciplinary course, it covers approaches used in literary criticism, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, film studies, cultural studies, art history, and religion. It is the required introductory course for students taking the women's and gender studies major. Offered as ENGL 270, HSTY 270, PHIL 270, RLGN 270, SOCI 201, and WGST 201.

WGST 243: Bollywood, Social Justice, Gender and Sexuality: Contemporary Bollywood Movies with a Social Message (100/11224)

TR 11:30-12:45 PM Jan 12-Apr 27

Sarma, D

India, where over-the-top, melodramatic films dominate, produces more than 1,000 films a year. With lavish action sequences punctuated by periodic songs in picturesque locales, these films, popularly referred to as Bollywood, traditionally have been known for depicting imaginary worlds, very far from reality. Among these are movies that are deeply immersed in issues of religion, religious conflict, caste, and social injustice and that connect with gender and sexuality, and sexual orientation. This class will be looking at a number of Bollywood films with focal points of matters pertaining to social justice. Students will learn about the foundations of these inequalities and intolerances so that they can more completely understand the themes addressed in the movies. The class will thus focus on the religion(s) of cultures outside the United States. It will address in a substantive way ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, or other cultural practices outside the United States, so as to provide students with fresh perspectives on their own cultural assumptions, traditions, and experiences. Offered as ETHS 243 and RLGN 243 and WGST 243.

WGST 257: Women's Histories in South Asia (100/6242)

MW 12:45-02:00 PM Jan 12-Apr 27

Dasgupta, A

This course traces the history of women in South Asia from pre-colonial times to the present. Themes explored in the course will include (but not be limited to): the historical transformations of institutions shaping women's lives such as state, family, religious and legal traditions; the impact of colonialism, nationalism, and decolonization on women, as well as the history of women's movements in various parts of South Asia. As we acquaint ourselves with the vibrant historiography on women in South Asia, we will also examine the theoretical and methodological challenges involved in writing histories using the analytical lens of gender. While a significant portion of the readings will focus on South Asia, we will occasionally bring in insights from histories of women in other parts of the world to help develop comparative perspectives and evaluate the South Asian cases and examples within the broader field of women's history. Offered as HSTY 157 and WGST 257.

WGST 280: The Politics of Beauty and Literature (100/10180)

MW 12:45-02:00 PM Jan 12-Apr 27

Jewell, M

Does having a tattoo hurt your chances of receiving your dream job? Does wearing lipstick make you look less intelligent? Why is it so important to have a good hair day? These are some questions taken up by the authors we are reading in this course -- and the answers to which require a complex consideration of one's social position in terms of gender, race, social class, sexual identity, and ability. In this communication-intensive course, we will examine how literary authors engage with the politics of beauty and appearance in their works in order to call attention to important issues of equality and access to opportunity. We will read the works of poets, short story writers, and novelists, alongside those of cultural critics, philosophers, and filmmakers who call attention to the specifically-political nature of body size, hair, skin tone, modes of dress, and other body issues. Our ultimate goal is to uncover and analyze the complex, intersectional power relations involved in past and present beauty standards. Offered as ENGL 280 and WGST 280.

WGST 308: Immigration and the Paris Experience (100/7121)

Sanpere, C

This study-abroad intensive course is an immersion learning experience studying and living in Paris. The focus of the course is immigration in France: students will learn about the culture, literature and the arts of the African, Arab and Asian communities of Paris. Language proficiency in French is not required. Students who have studied French will have the opportunity to develop their language skills through experience learning. The two essential course components are the cultural and linguistic immersion and the first hand understanding of the interaction between different cultures. There will be five class meetings during the semester to present the content of the course and to prepare for the trip. The dates and time of these meetings will be decided during the first week of the semester to accommodate students' schedule.

WGST 326: Gender, Inequality, and Globalization (100/9924)

TR 01:00-02:15 PM Jan 12-Apr 27

Hinze, S

Using a sociological perspective, this course examines how major societal institutions, including the economy, polity, medicine, religion, education and family, are structured to reproduce gendered inequalities across the globe. Attention is given to the intersections of race/ethnicity, social class, gender and sexuality in social systems of power and privilege. Of critical importance is how gender figures in the relationship between Economic North and Economic South countries. We will elucidate how gender norms vary by culture and exert profound influence on the daily, lived experiences of women and men. The course will be informed by recent scholarship on feminism, women's movements, and globalization. Offered as SOCI 326 and WGST 326.

WGST 349: The Arab World Experience (100/6667)

Islambouli, R

The Arab World Experience is a spring semester course with a May study abroad component in Morocco supplemented by course meetings before travel. The course focuses on topics such as history, politics, culture, and gender relations within the Moroccan society. Workload and learning outcomes are commensurate with a semester-long three credit hour course. Guest lectures in the host country are an important component of the course as they bring a fresh, authentic perspective to the topics discussed. There will be four two-hour meetings prior to travel, required reading. In the host country, students will spend seven days (five-eight hours per day) in site visits. Student grades are determined based on participation, attendance, a daily experiential learning journal, interviews with guest speakers, and a final paper. Morocco is at the center of global, Islamic, Pan-Arab and Western influences and serves as an important engine for reginal political and cultural discussions. It is a fascinating place to visit. This course will provide you with a powerful academic and experiential learning opportunity that will bring you as close as can be to the core of Islamic and Arab realities. By going inside the multicultural, multilingual and multifold nature of Arab-Islamic communities, you will learn about the tolerance and openness that exists among people, examine the finest forms of art, and gain new understanding of the literature, philosophy, political and economic thinking, scientific achievements, and technological expressions which have characterized the rise and fall of Islamic and Arab communities throughout history. You will connect with local Moroccans on many levels and acquire an insider's viewpoint on life in present-day Morocco. The class will meet 4 times during the semester (times and days TBD) and we will explore different aspects of Moroccan life and culture. There will be assigned readings and discussions during class meetings. %25 of the grade is for attending the class meetings. %50 of the grade is to do all the required activities during our trip to Morocco and %25 is to write a final reflection about your trip to Morocco. We will travel as soon as everyone in the class finishes their final and be back the Saturday before graduation. Estimated Cost: TBA includes lodging, meals, ground transportation, site visits and other activities. Tuition and airfare extra. Contact: ramez.islambouli@case.edu for information.

WGST 380: Thinking Sex: Theorizing the Intersections of Religion, Gender, Sexuality, and Power (100/10577)

TR 04:00-05:15 PM Jan 12-Apr 27

Clites, B

In both the ancient and modern worlds, religion has been entwined with specific cultural understandings of gender, sexuality, and power. Gayle Rubin's seminal essay "Thinking Sex" (1984) demonstrated that there are not only intellectual but also moral and ethical reasons to scrutinize the religious and cultural underpinnings of gender, sex, and power. The next generation of scholars robustly answered Rubin's call by interrogating the diverse ways that humans have, in particular times and places, engaged religious understandings of gender and sexuality. Even more recently, scholars have applied queer theory "on the ground," testing and refining political and philosophical ideas about gender, sex and power through historical, anthropological, and sociological case studies. Much of this course focuses on these recent case studies, illustrating how religious conceptualizations of gender, sex, and power are enmeshed in everyday practices - including not only the ways that people pray, but especially the ways that we dress, eat, study, date, shack up, parent, and work. This methodology of interrogating assumptions has highlighted the sometimes-uncomfortable fact that various religious contexts have produced vastly different answers to seemingly basic questions about sex, including: - What is sex? Which activities constitute sexual acts? What sex acts are sacred / normal? Which sex acts are evil / pathologized? - What is gender? Is gender intrinsic at birth or culturally produced? How do gender identities shape social and behavioral expectations for particular individuals and groups? Are challenges to these expectations accommodated or taboo? - How are the boundaries of gender and sexuality patrolled? What power relations structure this policing? Who is included and uplifted by these norms? Who is excluded or harmed? Offered as RLGN 380 and WGST 380.

WGST 381: Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Culture in Israel (100/9990)

TR 11:30-12:45 PM Jan 12-Apr 27

Linial, N

How do people talk about sex in Israeli culture? How have Israeli authors, artists, and filmmakers approached gender and sexuality? How do the categories of gender, sexuality, and identity map onto questions of collective memory, religion and nationalism? Since its revival at the end of the nineteenth century, issues of gender and sexuality have stood at the forefront of Hebrew literature and culture. In this course, we discuss literary texts (short stories, novels and poems), visual art (photos, artwork and sculpture), and film that foreground the role of gender in the Israeli project of nation-building and identity construction. We track how attitudes towards gender, sex, and sexuality shifted from an implicit, coded approach to more explicit forms of expression. This shift took place across a century of Jewish immigration to Palestine/Israel and establishment in the country, and the focus on gender and sexuality allows us to discuss this history from a cultural perspective. The course also focuses on the LGBTQ+ community in Israel and its struggle for same-sex rights and gender equality, exploring the tensions between this struggle for equality and Israel's self-identity as a democratic and Jewish state. Offered as JWST 81, WGST 381, and WLIT 381.