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This archived information is dated to the 2009-10 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Bachelor of Arts in Feminist Studies

The major in Feminist Studies requires 63 units and may be taken as a single major, as one of multiple majors, or as a secondary major. If taken as one of multiple majors, none of the 63 units counted toward the major in Feminist Studies may overlap with units counted toward the major in another department or program. If taken as a secondary major, up to 30 of the units counted toward the Feminist Studies major may also be counted as fulfilling the major requirements in another department or program if that department or program consents. A maximum of 10 of the 63 units for the major may be taken on a credit/no credit or satisfactory/no credit basis; a maximum of 10 may be taken as independent study or directed reading. FEMST core courses must be taken for a letter grade.

The major should be declared before the beginning of the junior year. Students declare the major by developing a proposal with the help of the program mentor and a faculty adviser from the list of resource faculty. The proposal describes the student's thematic focus and outlines a course of study. The proposal must be approved by the student's adviser and the Program Director.

CURRICULUM

The major in Feminist Studies includes a total of at least 12 courses at the 100 level or above for 63 units. The courses are divided among the core, the focus, and electives to reach the total course requirement.

THE CORE

  1. FEMST 101. Introduction to Feminist Studies. This course must be taken before 103.
  2. Designated feminist theory course. The Feminist Studies web site lists courses that fulfill the theory requirement this year.
  3. FEMST 103. Feminist Theories and Methods
  4. FEMST 104A,B. Practicum
  5. One Feminist Studies or cognate course in the social sciences. (e.g. Anthropology, Communication, Education, History, Human Biology, Law, Medicine, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology).
  6. One Feminist Studies or cognate course in the humanities (e.g. English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Religious Studies, the arts, and languages).

THE FOCUS

Every student designs a thematic focus consisting of at least five courses in addition to the core. These foci are not declared on Axess; they do not appear on the transcript or diploma.

  1. At least three of the focus courses should be Feminist Studies or cognate courses.
  2. At least one course should be a major survey, methodology, or theory course offered by a department or interdepartmental program as an initiation into the practice of study in the field.
  3. At least one course within the thematic focus should address crosscultural issues.
  4. The focus should be designed in consultation with the student's advisers. The following are examples, and students are encouraged to develop new ones:

    Chicana Feminisms

    Cross Cultural Perspectives on Gender

    Feminist Perspectives on Science and Technologies

    Gender and Education

    Gender, Race and Nation/Transnational Feminisms

    Gender Justice and Human Rights

    Masculinities

    Queer/LGBT Studies

    Race, Class and Gender

    Women, Creativity, and the Arts

    Gender, Health and Medicine

    Gender, Spirituality and Religion

WRITING IN THE MAJOR (WIM)

Majors in Feminist Studies may satisfy the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement by taking FEMST 153, Women and the Creative Imagination, or discuss alternate WIM courses with the Program Mentor. Honors students satisfy the WIM requirement through their honors work.

PRACTICUM

The practicum (FEMST 104 A, B) brings together theory and practical experience. The practicum should involve field research, community service, or other relevant experience such as a public service internship. Students plan their practicum during Winter Quarter of the junior year in FEMST 104A, Junior Seminar and Practicum (1 unit). The practicum is normally done over the summer between junior and senior year, and may be taken for additional units. It is followed by FEMST 104B, Senior Seminar and Practicum (2 units), in Autumn Quarter of the senior year.

ELECTIVES

Students are encouraged to take electives that provide intellectual breadth and contribute to the 63-unit requirement.

HONORS CERTIFICATION

FEMINIST STUDIES MAJORS/MINORS

Admission—The honors program offers an opportunity to do independent research for a senior thesis. It is open to students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or better in course work in Feminist Studies. Students must begin the application process for honors certification by meeting with the program mentor by May 1 of their junior year, but are encouraged to apply earlier. During the application process, students will design a project in consultation with their proposed thesis adviser and the Feminist Studies program mentor. A proposal describing the project and the number of units to be awarded must be submitted to the director of the program for final approval. All projects must have a primary focus on gender or sexuality. See the Feminist Studies web site for details.

Requirements—

  1. In addition to the normal requirements for the major, students enroll in FEMST 105 for 10-15 units towards the preparation of the honors thesis.
  2. Throughout the senior year, students work with faculty advisers and the honors tutor. The final thesis must be submitted by May 30 and be of acceptable quality to the student's faculty adviser. Creative projects must include a section of critical analysis. For more information, see http//feminist.stanford.edu.

MAJORS IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS

Honors certification in Feminist Studies for majors in other departments or programs, as distinguished from honors for students pursuing a major in Feminist Studies, is intended to complement study in any major.

Admission—Honors certification is open to students majoring in any field with a GPA of 3.3 or better.

As a prerequisite, students must complete the following courses with a grade of (B+) or better:

  1. FEMST 101 and a designated feminist theory course
  2. or three Feminist Studies courses related to the topic of their proposed honors research.

Students must begin the application process for honors by meeting with the program mentor by May 1st of their junior year, but are encouraged to begin earlier. During the application process, students outline a plan for course work and design an honors project in consultation with their proposed thesis adviser and the program mentor. The final proposal describing the project and the number of units to be awarded must be submitted to the director of the program for final approval. See the Feminist Studies web site for more details.

Requirements—

  1. Students enroll in FEMST 105 for 10-15 units towards the preparation of the honors thesis.
  2. Throughout the senior year, students work with faculty advisers and the honors tutor. The final thesis must be submitted by May 30 and be of acceptable quality to the student's faculty adviser. Creative projects must include a section of critical analysis. For more information, see http//feminist.stanford.edu.

COGNATE COURSES

The following is a partial list of cognate courses for Feminist Studies. Please refer to the program web site for updated lists throughout the year. See respective department listings for course descriptions and General Education Requirements (GER) information. See degree requirements above or the program mentor for applicability of these courses to a major or minor program.

AFRICAAM 144. African Women Writers

AFRICAAM 255. Racial Identity in the American Imagination

AMSTUD 156H. History of Women and Medicine in the United States

ANTHRO 111. Archaeology of Sex, Sexuality, and Gender

ANTHRO 151.Women, Fertility, and Work

ANTHRO 180. Science, Technology, and Gender

ANTHRO 218. Literature, Politics, and Gender in Africa

ANTHRO 346A. Sexuality Studies in Anthropology

BIO 185. Evolution of Reproductive Social Behavior

CHICANST 122. Introduction to Latina Literature

CHICANST 160N. Salt of the Earth: Docudrama in (Latino) America

CHICANST 165A. Chicana/o History

CHICANST 197. The Rite to Remember: Performance and Chicana Indigenous Thought

CHINGEN 235. Chinese Bodies, Chinese Selves

CLASSGEN 119. Gender and Power in Ancient Rome

COMPLIT 141. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean

CSRE 145A. Poetics and Politics of Caribbean Women's Literature

CSRE 177. Writing for Performance: The Fundamentals

CSRE 183. Border Crossings and American Identities

DANCE 160. Performance, Dance, and History: The Ballerina

DRAMA 150T. Racial Erotics

DRAMA 163. Performance and America

DRAMA 177. Writing for Performance: The Fundamentals

DRAMA 189Q. Mapping and Wrapping the Body

ECON 144. Family Economics

EDUC 113X. Gender and Sexuality in Schools

EDUC 197. Education, Gender, and Development

EDUC 201. History of Education in the United States

EDUC 201B. Education for Liberation

EDUC 273. Gender and Higher Education: National and International Perspectives

ENGLISH 139B. American Women Writers, 1850-1920

ENGLISH 145. Another Way to be: Writings by Women of Color

FRENLIT 133. Literature and Society in Africa and the Caribbean

HISTORY 134A. The European Witch Hunts

HISTORY 161. U.S. Women's History, 1890s-1990s

HISTORY 208. Private Lives, Public Stories: Autobiography in Women's History

HISTORY 208B. Women Activists' Response to War

HISTORY 221B. The Woman Question in Modern Russia

HISTORY 227. East European Women and War in the 20th Century

HISTORY 233B. Early Modern Sexualities

HISTORY 244C. The History of the Body in Science, Medicine, and Culture

HISTORY 255D. Racial Identity in the American Imagination

HISTORY 258. History of Sexuality in the U.S.

HISTORY 261. Race, Gender, and Class in Jim Crow America

HISTORY 293B. Homosexuality in Historical and Comparative Perspective

HISTORY 295J. Chinese Women's History

HUMBIO 125. Current Controversies in Women's Health

HUMBIO 129. Critical Issues in International Women's Health

ILAC 117N. Film, Nation, Latinidad

ILAC 193. The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar

ILAC 272E. Clarice Lispector: the Style of Ecstasy

ILAC 280. Latina/o Literature

ILAC 326. Philosophies of Otherness: Aesthetics of Difference

ILAC 380E. Critical Concepts in Chicana/o Literature

ILAC 389E. Race, Gender and Sexuality in Cultural Representations

INDE 245. Women and Health Care

LINGUIST 156. Language and Gender

MED 108Q. Human Rights and Health

MED 240. Sex Differences in Human Physiology and Disease

OBGYN 240. Sex Differences in Human Physiology and Disease

OBGYN 256. Current Controversies in Women's Health

POLISCI 141. The Global Politics of Human Rights

RELIGST 112. Handmaids and Harlots: Biblical Women in Jewish and Christian Traditions

RELIGST 156. Goddesses and Gender in Hinduism

RELIGST 172. Sex, Body, and Gender in Medieval Religion

RELIGST 263. Judaism and the Body

SOC 123. Sex and Love in Modern Society

SOC 134. Education, Gender, and Development

SOC 142. Sociology of Gender

SOC 273. Gender and Higher Education: National and International Perspectives

SOC 323. Sociology of the Family

SOC 339. Gender Meanings and Processes

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