As a research center rather than an academic department, the Gender Institute itself does not offer courses, but we promote curricular innovation and academic courses related to women, gender, and sexuality offered by departments and schools throughout the University at Buffalo. The courses featured here highlight just a few of UB's outstanding gender-related courses.
Information about UB's BA, MA, and PhD programs in Global Gender and Sexuality Studies can be found at https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/global-gender-sexuality.html.
If you would like to have your course included below, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/gUmjFoVPet8May8r8
This list of courses showcases a sampling of UB's gender-related curriculum. For more information please contact the instructor.
Department of Africana and American Studies
African-American Studies
AAS 460SEM, HIS 468 and GGS 460- Black Women In Us History
Thursday's , 4:10 PM - 6:50 PM
Clemen 1004
Instructor: Mopelolade Ogunbowale
Examines the history of black women in the United States from the slave era through the reform movements that occurred after World War II. Focuses on the range of demands placed on black women during the Gilded and Progressive eras - the founding of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896...
, their participation in the women's suffrage movement, black struggles for liberation in the United States and in the African Diaspora, cultural movement, war, labor force participation, and health. Also explores black women's interaction with male-dominated groups and feminists from other racial and ethnic groups. Students will analyze black women as leaders, their leadership styles and the impact that they have made on constituents. This course is the same as HIS 468 and GGS 460, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
American Studies
AMS 335LEC, ENG 387 & GGS 335- Women Writers
T & R , 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM
Fronczak454
Instructor: Sharon Beckford-Foster
This course studies writing by women across a variety of periods and genres, with focus on the historical and cultural context of women's lives. A: "Twentieth-Century Women Writers Study" treats writing of twentieth-century women, attending to its differences from and connections to earlier periods and mainstream traditions. B: "U.S. Women Writers" explores U.S. women's writing as it participates in mainstream literary and rhetorical traditions and creates its own counter-traditions. The course may include women's autobiographies, speeches, essays, letters, captivity and slave narratives, poetry, fiction and drama from a variety of periods. This course is the same as AMS 335 and GGS 335 and course repeat rules will apply.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Art
Art History
AHI 380LEC - Image And Gender
T & R, 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
Academ 355
Instructor: Lauren Pilcher
Considers the representation of gender (femininity and masculinity) in pictures, and the impact of gender on making and looking at art and media. Discusses works from several historical periods, concentrating on nineteenth- and twentieth-century art and media. Topics and issues considered are the professionalization of the artist and myths of genius; artists and models; the problems of a feminine aesthetic; the nude; and the gendered spectator. This course is the same as GGS 308, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Media Studies
DMS 448SEM - Games, Gender And Culture
T & R , 10:00 AM - 11:40 AM
CFA 112
Instructor: Cody Mejeur
Comprehensive investigation of the emerging field of Games Studies, the critical analysis of games and interactive environments made possible by the computer. Addresses different theoretical perspectives that view games and gaming as historical, social, cultural. aesthetic, technical, performative, and ...
cognitive phenomenon. Examines how video games encompass an increasingly diverse set of practices, populations, and locations from fantasy football to multi-player medieval fantasy, from simulations of real life to alternate realities, from fanatics to activists, from nightclubs to competitive arenas to public streets to the classroom; from consoles to mobile phones, to large screen projections. Analyses not only popular games but interactive installations, pervasive games, mixed and virtual reality environments. Discusses the interdisciplinary nature of a cultural practice which depends on art, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, etc.
Credits: 4
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Environmental Design
END 408SEM - Race, Class, Gender & The City
Tuesdays , 1:00 PM - 3:40 PM
Hayes 217
Instructor: Dr. Henry L Taylor
Explores the intersectionality of race, class, gender & the city in the knowledge economy-based urban environment. Reviews how the shift from an industrial to knowledge-based economy reshaped and recreated the central city and its surrounding suburban region. In the new knowledge-based ...
central city and suburban region [the urban metropolis], the interplay among race, class, gender, and income shapes urban structure, environmental design, and social interaction. The new urban metropolis is characterized by uneven neighborhood development, gentrification, and exclusive residential development. Examines the dynamics of race, along with social and gender inequality, and considers ways to reimagine underdeveloped neighborhoods. Discusses strategies to build "the just city," where equity and inclusive neighborhoods of choice dominate the urban landscape. This course is dual listed with URP 508
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Educational Leadership and Policy
ELP 200SEM - Foundations of Education Policy and Leadership for Social Justice
Asynchronous
Instructor: Melinda Lemke
Complex twenty-first century issues facing students, parents, local communities, and school personnel underscore the importance of knowledge about educational equity and justice. Thoughtfully developed leadership and policy skills are integral to this knowledge base. This course is designed to introduce undergraduate students to what leading educational scholars who work across the leadership-policy spectrum have to say about ethical and socially just-oriented educational practice. Students will work individually and collaboratively to research how diversity issues intersect with leadership practice and respective policy. They also will explore the ways their positionality and views of leadership matter to fostering positive work climates, and in this case, school milieus. Course activities, discussions, presentations, and written assignments are designed to provide students with opportunities to develop critical, meaningful, and relevant sense-making about leadership for social justice in a way that also empowers them to consider how they can become advocates on specific issues. Course readings will draw primarily from educational research, but also will direct students to relevant interdisciplinary resources from the social sciences.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of English
ENG 323LEC - Sex & Gender In The 19th Century
T & R , 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM
Clemen 17
Instructor: Stacy C. Hubbard PhD
This course examines the central role played by gender and sexuality in the history, culture, and literature within various locations, including potentially Britain, America, or Asia. Students will discover the cultural underpinnings of historical and contemporary conceptions of gender, sexuality, and love. In as much as we play out our gender roles our social life, this course will also serve to introduce students to the ways in which performance is imbedded in the public culture.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Exercise Science
ES 251LEC - Women, Gender & Sport
TBA
Remote
Instructor: Erin K Macdiarmid PhD Candidate
Women's impact on sport has so often been overshadowed by the accomplishments and fame of male athletes. Women have not been acknowledged for their athletic accomplishments, accomplishments that helped to change the frame for how women are viewed in society. This course will examine the role women have in sports, and how "on the court" performances and accomplishments have influenced the participation, opportunities and administration of women's sports. This impact can be demonstrated through the many facets of the female athlete experience from the rules of women's sports, the uniforms, salary, travel and the media coverage to name a few. At the conclusion of this course you will have a better understanding of the impactful women in sport, both at the amateur and professional levels. You will understand the changing role of the female sport administrators, head coaches, uniforms, media coverage, and competitions' rules and regulations.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
Information about UB's BA, MA, and PhD programs in Global Gender and Sexuality Studies can be found at https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/global-gender-sexuality.html.
For a course list in the Global Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, click here.
GGS 101LEC Introduction to Gender and Women's Studies
M W F , 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
Cooke 114
Instructor: TBA
Introduces students to basic concepts in women's studies. Covers the history of the women's movement and its relation to the rise of women's studies as a discipline. Examines and discusses a multiplicity of 'recurring themes' affecting differing women's lives; including the social construction of gender, the impact of ...
race, sexuality, reproduction, work, education, media, material condition (class), and women's agency. Discusses current controversies among feminists, and the broader political arena. Discovers how studying women's history challenges traditional notions of women and traditional notions of history.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 103LEC Women's Bodies, Women's Health
M 3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.; W 6:30 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.; R 4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. OR F 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m Various Locations**
Instructor: Kelsey Lewis, PhD
This course provides an innovative and interdisciplinary introduction to women's bodies and health. The course starts from a foundational belief in the importance of studying women's experiences of their bodies and health. The main objective is to about how gender ideologies impact scientific research and ...
practices around women's bodies, shaping women's abilities to learn about their bodies and their access to healthcare. This class is explicitly designed to both ground students in the best practices of scientific inquiry and to draw from work in the humanities and social sciences to understand how science is shaped by broader social beliefs and practices. Students will be able to use this perspective in discussions and activities that explore the role of gender, race, class, religion, and sexuality in shaping the study of women's bodies and health. The class will cover topics such as: women's health and disease, the anatomy of the female body; pregnancy and maternal health; and the need for a focus on the diversity of women's bodies and access to healthcare. This course also encourages students to examine what improvements can be made to scientific research and access to medical knowledge when it comes to women's health and care.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 109LEC - Intro To Sexuality Studies
T R , 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM
Park 145
Instructor: TBA
What is sexuality? How is sex related to gender? Are sexuality and gender `natural' expressions or ones created by culture? This class will explore these questions and more. While we tend to think of men/women and homosexuality/heterosexuality as opposites, the reality is far more nuanced: a spectrum of genders and sexualities, rather than two opposing poles, which reflects a variety of cultural and historically specific meanings. This course will introduce students to a survey of those meanings (and the labels we attach to them), and to the social, cultural, religious, and legal practices that affect how they are created, understood, and policed. Beginning with the historical emergence of sexuality, we will examine the creation of the hetero/homo binary and the associated hierarchization based on sexual identity that results from the creation of these categories. We will examine the history and practices of the gay and lesbian liberation movements, the push for equality, and the impact of the AIDS crisis. Finally, students will apply the vocabulary and critical skills they have learned to an analysis of the expressions of sexuality in popular culture including literature, music, television and film.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 205LEC - Women In The Global System
M W F , 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
Clemen 109
Instructor: TBA
Explores how the current expansion of the world market is overturning the seclusion of women in traditional societies and looks at the consequences of globalization on the lives of women throughout the world. Women in developing countries share common patterns of location and differentiation within ...
the international division of labor. Examines how women are struggling to represent their identities in the midst of rapid changes in their societies. Examines why more and more women are becoming active in the international human rights movement. Looks at how women are attempting to shape the discourse of development in different regions of the world economy. Intended to develop a multidisciplinary approach to gender and more specifically, to understand how gender is constructed by political, economic, and cultural discourses in industrialized and industrializing societies, and to understand the differences between the lived experiences of women in these societies, the heterogeneous nature of women based on class, race, religion, and nationality, and how women's lives are changing in the context of the global economy.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 228SEM - Intro To Feminist Theory
T & R , 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM
Clemen 21
Instructor: Devonya N Havis
Introduces to the complexity of feminist thought and theorizing through a discussion of many of the major schools of feminist thought and past and present debates within feminist theorizing as it has developed both within the United States, and abroad. A solid grasp of the core theories, their fundamental approaches, ...
their insights into social phenomenon and the key criticisms of each, will allow the student to enter into and participate in the ongoing conversations that characterizes feminist thought. Feminist theory has always developed in tandem with feminist movements and activism. Thus, throughout the course, students will not only learn about feminist theories, but also apply the tenets of different theories to current issues and modern problems. Theories are not meant to be passive ideas unrelated to our everyday reality, but are meant to be used as tools to analyze the world around us. As a critical theory, feminist theory aims not only to produce knowledge, but also to provide a base for action. Feminist theories ask us to rethink what we mean by sex and gender, how we understand our sexuality, the roles, status, and ideals assigned to men and women in our societies and how we reward and punish individuals that question, challenge or deviate from these roles. Feminist theory engages with issues of social inequality, oppression, and sexism, and invites us to imagine strategies for creating a world where there is more equality and liberation.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 325SEM - Violence In Gender World
T & R , 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM
Park 440
Instructor: Dr. Kari J Winter
Gendered violence emerges from cultural ideologies that intersect with other cultural formations, including economics, race, religion, law, nationalism, militarism, environmental destruction and so on. Our readings and discussions will focus on three areas: 1. ideologies of gender that rationalize and encourage...
violence against women & LGBTQ persons; cultural spectacles glorifying gendered violence 2. forms of gendered violence, including domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, child marriage, female genital mutilation; slavery, human trafficking, labor exploitation, and the feminization of poverty and hunger; murder, including serial murders, honor killings, and genocide 3. women & LGBTQ persons as survivors, warriors, and resistors against violence as well as perpetrators of violence. This course is the same as AAS 225 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 347SEM Women in Latin America
M W F 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m
Park 145
Instructor: TBA
Women's political mobilization and its effects in Latin American countries. Explores how women in Latin America and the Caribbean have participated in the national movements, revolutions, rebellions, and social movements that have dominated Latin America's political, social, and economic development. ...
Readings cover the incredible variety of women's participation by examining women's activism across time, space and political position. Women's struggles to improve the quality of their lives and the lives of others are a central component of the course. However, to avoid romanticizing women's activism, the course also discusses women's actions on behalf of political projects designed to uphold the interests of the elite and the status quo. Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, as elsewhere, live complicated lives, have complicated political goals and commitments, and have different access to political, social, and economic power depending upon their position within the class, racial, ethnic, religious, age, and gender hierarchies of their societies. Over the semester, we will analyze why women have been involved in political movements, the effects of women's activism on women's position within these societies, the changing relationship between men and women, contested understandings of gender relations, and the overall impact of these struggles on the Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
GGS 379SEM - Sex: Gender & Pop Culture
M W , 5:00 PM - 6:20 PM
Capen 109
Instructor: TBA
The advent of television in 1950s America, coupled with technological advances in filmmaking popularized visual culture as a primary means of both naming and interrogating the ways in which we understand the social constructions of race, sex, gender, and sexuality. Feminist perspectives are ways ofexamining how these social constructions (and expectations) are shaped by popular culture, mainly television programming and films; and thus shape our ideas about ourselves and others as "feminine" and "masculine" and "sexual" beings. We discuss texts on and view episodes of popular television shows such as "Sex and the City," "The L Word," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Will and Grace." We also view several short films (as time permits). We consider a number of questions including (1) how does "entertainment" act as a substitute for the transmission of social knowledge?; (2) what are the advantages and disadvantages of popular culture in the construction of contemporary American life?; (3) how does popular culture define "racialized" bodies?; and (4) how does popular culture impact the consumption of American socio-cultural values, globally? Students will demonstrate knowledge of a broader understanding of the terms "popular culture," "entertainment," "women's television," and "mediated lives." Students who successfully complete this course should be able to articulate verbal and written alternative critiques to contemporary popular culture.
GGS 439SEM & HIS 439SEM- Gender And The Cold War
M , 9:00 AM - 11:40 AM
Park 532
Instructor: Victoria W Wolcott
This course will examine how the cold war's politics and culture, including its foreign policy, shaped gender relations and sexuality in the United States. In addition to readings, we will analyze various forms of popular culture and social policy. Students will also discuss the significance of gender and the cold war for understanding contemporary American politics and culture. This course is the same as HIS 439 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
For more information on the undergrauate classes the Department Global Gender and Sexuality Studies is offering spring, click here.
Department of Indigenous Studies
IDS 306SEM - Indigenous Feminisms
T & R , 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
Cooke 114
Instructor: Mia R. Mckie
Examines theoretical framework of Indigenous feminisms and associated debates within Indigenous communities, activist camps, and academia. Engages with nation-specific, place-based histories, philosophies, peoples, and futures emerging from rooted Indigenous feminisms. Focuses on nation-specific expressions of Indigenous feminist thinking and action.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Sociology
SOC 314LEC - Sociology Of Gender
M W F , 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
Baldy 101
Instructor: Sara DiPasquale PhD Candidate
This course explores the social and cultural construction of gender, focusing on the ways that femininities and masculinities are constructed from infancy through adulthood in the United States. Includes how gender shapes--and is shaped by--major social institutions such as media, sports, and work, as well as other characteristics such as social class, race/ethnicity, and sexuality. This course is the same as SSC 316, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Music
MUS 311LEC - Women And Music
T & R , 3:00 PM - 4:20 PM
Baird 327
Instructor: Stephanie Vander Wel
This course will explore the musical activities of women from Christian mysticism in the Middle Ages to women in popular music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In unraveling the historical complexities of women in music, we will take into account the cultural values and historical conditions that have surrounded women as composers, teachers, performers, listeners, and patrons. We will also consider how male composers have depicted womanhood in art and popular music. To contribute to our understanding, we will analyze specific musical works and performances and read scholarship in music criticism that addresses how music has shaped notions of womanhood. Our aim is to gain practical experience in interpreting how music has represented, reinforced, questioned, or challenged gender ideology within particular historical moments.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
Department of Philosphy
PHI 347LEC - Feminist Philosophy
M W F , 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
Cooke 127B
Instructor: Sarah K Vincent
Examines the degree to which fundamental concepts that lead philosophical investigation are affected by gender prejudice, and perhaps also by other cultural blinders such as those related to race or nationality.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
School of Public Health and Health Professions
PUB 400SEM - Special Topics Public Health-Sexual Health Education
M W , 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM
Parker 104
Instructor: Elizabeth Bartelt
This course serves as an introduction to the field of sexual health education from a public health lens, focusing on the importance of addressing sexual health disparities, understanding sexual health education strategies, and learning about management of sexual health education programs. Course content will include a focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and similar identities; sexually transmitted infections; teenage pregnancy; and sexual assault. Students will explore additional tasks specific to sexual health education including advocacy and public health communication.
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
Spanish
SPA 449LEC - Fear of Women in the Middle Ages
T , 4:00 PM - 6:40 PM
Clemen 930
Instructor: Henry S Berlin
Topics in Early Literature: Fear of Women in the Middle Ages Medieval Iberian texts routinely portrayed women as deceitful, fickle, loudmouthed, vain, and lustful– all stereotypes that persist today, in many cultures. These misogynist treatises, story collections, and poems drew on religious, medical, and mythical discourses, serving as both satirical entertainment and as instruction manuals for controlling women by seeing through their deceptions. In this course, we will cast a critical eye on medieval misogynist discourses, studying them both in their historical context and in comparison with modern
discourses whose roots may be deeper than we typically imagine. The course will be conducted in Spanish; texts may include the Sendebar o Libro de los engaños y de los ensañamientos de las mujeres, Alfonso Martínez de Toledo's Corbacho, Jaume Roig's Espill, and Diego de San Pedro's Cárcel de amor.
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
For the full Undergraduate Course Catalog, click here.
Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
GGS 545SEM Cultures Of Bio, Medicine and Gender
W , 2:00 PM - 4:40 PM
Clemen 117
Instructor: TBA
Stay tuned for more information.
GGS 561SEM - Special Topics: Queer And Feminist Diasporas
M , 4:00 PM - 6:40 PM
Clemen 1004
Instructor: Jasmina Tumbas PhD
This seminar is designed to provide students with a transnational perspective on queer and feminist centered cultural production from within various types of diasporas since 1945 in the territory of "West" (most broadly: Europe and the United States). Focusing on art, film, and activism, we will critically engage with the concepts of diaspora, immigration/migration, nationalism, and colonialism, along with other attendant forms of oppression (racism, gentrification, sexism, the supremacy of citizenship etc.). The class will work with case studies of cultural productions that shed light on the experience of diasporic identity and struggles from feminist and queer perspectives. While we consider diaspora through the lens of national identity, we will also question the limits of such classifications by expanding the definition beyond the boundaries of nationhood.
Department of Learning and Instruction
LAI 620 Intersectionality and Education Seminar
Asynchronous
Instructor: Dr. Sarah A. Robert
Intersectionality, Inequality, and Education is an introduction to a subfield of education research. The first goal of the course is to provide you with an understanding of the subfield's key concepts: intersectionality, socio-cultural production and practice, identity, difference, positionality, power, (in)equality, and equity. We will foreground gender (and sexuality, feminisms, masculinities, femininities) and attend to intersections with multiple dimensions of inequality including but not limited to race, ethnicity, indigeneity, religious identity, citizenship, able-ism, refugee, migrant. The second goal of the course is to examine how the key concepts can be used to analyze curriculum, instruction, learning, and education policy. A last goal of the course is to apply this knowledge as a student, an educator, counselor, librarian, activist, administrator, parent, or education researcher. Questions we will ponder throughout the semester are: What is intersectionality? What does it have to do with education? What do theories and methodologies of intersectionality reveal to us about teaching, learning, assessment, knowledge/curriculum, school administration, or policy? How might we use this knowledge to transform education and society?
Department of Urban and Regional Planning
URP 508SEM- Race, Class, Gender & The City
Tuesdays , 1:00 PM - 3:40 PM
Hayes 217
Instructor: Dr. Henry L Taylor
Explores the intersectionality of race, class, gender & the city in the knowledge economy-based urban environment. Reviews how the shift from an industrial to knowledge-based economy reshaped and recreated the central city and its surrounding suburban region. In the new knowledge-based ...
central city and suburban region [the urban metropolis], the interplay among race, class, gender, and income shapes urban structure, environmental design, and social interaction. The new urban metropolis is characterized by uneven neighborhood development, gentrification, and exclusive residential development. Examines the dynamics of race, along with social and gender inequality, and considers ways to reimagine underdeveloped neighborhoods. Discusses strategies to build "the just city," where equity and inclusive neighborhoods of choice dominate the urban landscape. This course is dual listed with URP 508
Credits: 3
Grading: Graded (GRD)
