WMST 2601 - Introduction to Women's Studies
Fall 2026 Syllabus, Section 03, CRN 42596,
Credit hours: 3
Course Meeting Times
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Instructor
Christopher Bryant, Ph.D.
Email: ccbryant02@ysu.edu
Course Description
2601. Introduction to Women's Studies. Introduces key concepts, theoretical frameworks, and interdisciplinary research drawn from current scholarship about women. Concentrates on major issues relevant to the status and roles of contemporary women, including examination of effects of sexism, racism, ethnicity, and class distinction. 3 s.h.
Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Gendered Voices Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Eighth Edition | Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee | 10. 019092487X |
| Optional | Is Everyone Really Equal? (Chapter 1) | Sensoy, Özlem, and Robin DiAngelo | |
| Optional | Everyday Bias. (Chapter 1) | Ross, Howard | |
| Optional | Gender: A Graphic Guide | Barker, Meg-John, and Julia Scheele | |
| Optional | Queer: A Graphic History | Barker, Meg-John, and Julia Scheele | |
| Optional | Introducing the New Sexuality Studies, 2nd Edition | Seidman, Steven and Fischer, Nancy | 0415781264 |
| Optional | Intersectionality | Crenshaw, Kimberlé | |
| Optional | Understanding Patriarchy | hooks, bell | |
| Optional | Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender Variant Individuals | Galupo, Stuart, and Siegel | |
| Optional | Gender, Pronouns, and Thought. | Everett | |
| Optional | Women and Body Hair: Social Perceptions and Attitudes. | Basow and Braman | |
| Optional | Human Nature: On Fat Sexual Identity and Agency | Pause | |
| Optional | The Human Rights of Intersex People: Addressing Harmful Practices and Rhetoric of Change | Carper | |
| Optional | Are We Having Sex Now or What? | Christina | |
| Optional | This Practice from BDSM Should Be Part of Everyone’s Sex Lives—No Matter How You Play! | Brown-James | |
| Optional | Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Polyamory & Poly Relationship Styles | Brown-James | |
| Optional | Why We Love | Fisher, Helen | |
| Optional | Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray | Fisher, Helen | |
| Optional | A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Romantic Love | Jankowiak and Fisher | |
| Optional | Demographic Trends in the United States: A Review of Research in the 2000s. | Cherlin, Andrew | |
| Public and Private Families | Cherlin, Andrew | ||
| Optional | Exiles from Kinship | Weston | |
| Optional | Gender and Sexual Politics: American Gay Rights and Feminist Movements | Murphy | |
| Optional | The U.S. Supreme Court and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Rights | Maddox |
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Week of | Reading(s) | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/24 | Chapter 1 — Women’s and Gender Studies: Perspectives and Practices | Course Introduction What Is Women’s & Gender Studies? |
Discussion Post #1: Welcome & Introductions Syllabus Quiz |
| 8/31 | Avoiding Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism Guide Purdue OWL resources Sensoy and DiAngelo, Is Everyone Equal? Chapter 1 Ross, Everyday Bias Chapter 1 |
Academic Discourse & Inquiry | Discussion Post #2: Building an Academic Conversation Online Assignment #1: Source Check |
| 9/7 | Chapter 3 — Learning Gender Seidman & Fischer, Introducing the New Sexuality Studies — Theoretical Perspectives |
Constructing Gender & Sexuality | Discussion Post #3: Learning and “Doing” Gender Online Assignment #2: Media Check-In |
| 9/14 | Chapter 2 — Systems of Privilege and Inequality Crenshaw — Intersectionality bell hooks — Understanding Patriarchy |
Theoretical Perspectives: Systems of Privilege & Inequality | Discussion Post #4: Seeing Intersectionality Online Assignment #3: The Mythical Norm & Social Institutions |
| 9/21 | Chapter 3 — Learning Gender | Masculinity, Femininity & Gender Roles | Discussion Post #5: The Rules of Masculinity & Femininity Critical Reflection Portfolio 1 |
| 9/28 | Chapter 3 — Learning Gender Galupo, Stuart, & Siegel — Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender Variant Individuals Everett — Gender, Pronouns, and Thought |
Beyond the Binary: Gender Diversity & Trans Experiences | Discussion Post #6: Beyond the Binary Online Assignment #4: Trans Visibility Profile |
| 10/5 | Chapter 4 — Inscribing Gender on the Body Basow & Braman — Women and Body Hair: Social Perceptions and Attitudes Pause — Human Nature: On Fat Sexual Identity and Agency Carper — The Human Rights of Intersex People |
Social Construction of Bodies | Discussion Post #7: Who Defines a “Normal” Body? Online Assignment #5: Body Norms in Everyday Life |
| 10/12 | Chapter 5 — Media and Culture | Representation, Media & Popular Culture | Post #8: Popular Culture & Media Representation Online Assignment #6: Representation Reimagined |
| 10/19 | Chapter 6 — Sex, Power, and Intimacy Christina — Are We Having Sex Now or What? |
Sexuality & Intimacy | Discussion Post #9: Who Defines Sex? Critical Reflection Portfolio 2 |
| 10/26 | Chapter 6 — Sex, Power, and Intimacy Brown-James — This Practice from BDSM Should Be Part of Everyone’s Sex Lives—No Matter How You Play! Brown-James — Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Polyamory & Poly Relationship Styles Listen: All My Relations — “Decolonizing Sex” |
Exploring Monogamy, Non-Monogamy & Relationship Diversity | Discussion Post #10: What Makes a Relationship “Legitimate”? nline Assignment #7: Decolonizing Sex & Relationship Diversity |
| 11/2 | Fisher, Anatomy of Love, Chapter 9 Fisher, Why We Love, Chapter 3 Watch: Dawn Maslar — How Your Brain Falls in Love |
The Experience of Love: Attachment & Neurobiology | Discussion Post #11: What Shapes Love? Online Assignment #8: Love & Neuroscience |
| 11/9 | Chapter 8 — Family Systems, Family Lives Cherlin — Demographic Trends in the United States Weston — Exiles from Kinship, pp. 21–41 |
Families, Relationships & Care Across the Lifespan | Discussion Post #12: What Counts as Family? Draft Feminist Cultural Analysis Project: Analysis |
| 11/16 | Chapter 11 — State, Law, and Social Policy Murphy — Gender and Sexual Politics Maddox — The U.S. Supreme Court and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Rights |
Gender, Law & Public Policy | Discussion Post #13: The History & Politics of Marriage Online Assignment #9: Reproductive Politics Check-In |
| 11/23 | Chapter 12 — Religion and Spirituality | Gender, Religion & Culture: Institutions, Identity & Global Perspectives | Discussion Post #14: Religion — Constraint, Empowerment, or Both? Online Assignment #10: Gender Across Contexts |
| 11/30 | Chapter 13 — Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures | Where Do We Go From Here? Feminism, Gender & the Future | Discussion Post #15: Imagining Gender Futures Critical Reflection Portfolio 3 |
| 12/7 | Final Course Application | Final Feminist Cultural Analysis Project |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.