GSS 101 - Introduction to Women’s Studies

3 credit hours - Three hours weekly; one term.
This course meets the Arts & Humanities General Education Requirement. This course meets the Social and Behavioral Sciences General Education Requirement. This course meets the Diversity Requirement.

Explore issues in the lives of American women. Examine women’s experiences in gender-defining social institutions including the arts, education, the labor force, law and politics, marriage and family life and religion. Analyze, from a multicultural perspective, how issues of gender, power and equity affect women’s lives. Especially recommended for students who plan to transfer into a women’s studies major, minor or certificate program at a four-year institution.

Prerequisite(s): Eligibility for ENG 101 /ENG 101A .

Note: Typically offered at MC and OL; all terms.

Course Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Explain the role that sex and gender play in interpersonal relationships, institutions, and social groups.
Explain the ways in which sex and gender intersect with other variables of difference like race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, dis/ability, religion, age and nation to affect access to power and privilege in different social and historical contexts.
Explain the ideological assumptions underlying social institutions and the causes and effects of structured inequality.
Analyze the ways in which cultural representations reflect, perpetuate, and challenge social inequality and help construct identity.
Explain women’s contributions to politics, the economy, culture, and family life.
Apply theoretical and methodological approaches from multiple disciplinary frameworks to the study of sex and gender.