12-week Summer Session –
June 28
WSTD-414-940
FAMILY TIES: FUNCTION AND IDEOLOGY
R 6:00-9:10 Rabberman (rabberm@sas.upenn.edu
)
In this course, we will explore some central debates and issues in the history
of the family by focusing on case studies from the United States, England,
France, and Germany from the medieval through the modern periods. How were
families created and dissolved over time, and how did changes in these practices
come about? How did people make the decision to get married, and how important
were emotional ties and material considerations in this process? How did past
societies treat their children, and did love for children increase over time?
Which people, inside and outside families, exerted power over family members?
How did political and economic developments influence families? structure,
function, and ideology? What do the changing structure and purpose of families
in the West tell us about changes in the role of the individual and the
relationship between public and private in the West? What do recent family
histories tell us about the relationship between the past and the present,
between individuals and their ancestors, at the end of the 20th century? Class
assignments will include short response papers, and a 15-20 page paper based on
primary source research. If students choose, they can conduct research into
their own family histories.
WSTD-290-910 WOMEN ON THE EDGE
T R 2-5 Rosenfeld (rosenfej@dept.english)
Cross-listed: ENGL/COML 290
Fulfills Arts and Letters Requirement
This course will explore the role of women on the boundaries of literature--from
medieval women persecuted for their religious beliefs to the women “scribblers”
of the nineteenth century to contemporary writers and filmmakers who continue
to challenge artistic conventions and the canon. We will not only take a long
view by asking how the exclusion of women from the scene of writing has changed
over the centuries, but will take a broad view by asking how exclusion on
account of gender differs from or interacts with exclusion on the basis of race
or religion. We will also consider questions of whether writing by women is
necessarily different than writing by men and why this concern about sameness
or difference is such a troubling and difficult issue to resolve.
Authors/Directors may include: Marguerite Porete, Aphra Behn, Eliza Haywood,
Emily Bronte, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, Jane Campion,
Kimberly Peirce.
WSTD-581-910 ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN
TR 10:30-1:00 Stanley
A critical analysis of psychological theories about women and sex differences, and a thorough examination of "psychology of women" research articles, and class-initiated research. Among the issues to be covered are: sex role socialization; class, race and gender connections; women and work; employment discrimination, assertiveness training; women's responses to injustice: domestic violence, rape, discrimination; the family and the "new right"; perceptions of women; sexuality, disability and objectification; reproductive rights, sex roles, androgyny and new role prescriptions; mental health and aging.
WSTD-006-920 ORALITY AND LITERACY
MTWR 10:40-12:15 Harzewski
Cross-listed ENGL-006
Fulfills The College Writing Requirement
WSTD-008-920 HUMAN REPRODUCTION AND SEX DIFFERENCES
MW 4:30-7:40 Sporer
Cross-listed: BIOL-008
This course will discuss human reproduction, including anatomy, physiology, hormonal control, genetics, development, infertility, contraception, sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, and relevant basic molecular and cellular biology. In addition, this course will discuss sex differences and similarities in health and mortality, including relevant basic biology of the cardiovascular system and cancer.
WSTD-109-920 WOMEN AND RELIGION
TR 6-9:10 Quraishi
Cross Listed: FOLK-029, RELS-005
General Requirement I: Society
This course will investigate women's religious practices and beliefs in a number of established religions. We will pay attention to such topics as theological explanations of women's roles in creation, the relationship between women and evil, the position of women in religious hierarchies, and the impact of social change on women's roles in established religions. Traditional religions considered will include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Issues raised will include the impact of the women's movement and feminist thought on women and religion, and the development of contemporary women-oriented spiritual movements and religious practices.