Womens Studies

MORE INFORMATION
Lauren Smith, Chair
Womens Studies Department
White 202
(262) 472-1042
smithlb@uww.edu
Web site

Admissions Office
UW-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI 53190
(262) 472-1440
Fax:
(262) 472-1515
uwwadmit@uww.edu
Web site

Women's studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores knowledge about women, their experiences, roles and achievements, and investigates issues related to their lives. Students in women's studies classes learn about current research and theories about women and gain practical knowledge to help them in their lives and careers.

Women's studies courses analyze social conditions and promote constructive change. The women's studies major or minor offers a strong liberal arts background for female and male students. The Women's Studies Department offers a 33-credit major, a 21-credit minor and a 15-credit certificate. A number of students choose a double major that includes a major in women's studies and one in another department or area such as social work or public relations.

The College of Letters and Sciences is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

Women's studies prepares students to work in a number of settings, including counseling, business, communication, public and community service and public health and law. These careers may include:

• Domestic violence advocate
• Public relations for non-profit organizations
• Resident counselor
• Sexual assault counselor
• Researcher
• Administrator
• Welfare rights advocate
• Newsletter writer/editor
• AIDS/health educator

All members of the Women's Studies faculty hold doctorates. No teaching assistants teach classes. The faculty are authors of numerous books, articles and conference papers and have received many grants and fellowships.

A strong, balanced high school program is the best preparation for pursuing a women's studies degree.

The department's excellent faculty have received frequent recognition for their teaching, research and service. Faculty have won University Research Awards, the prestigious W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award, several Saunders Teaching Awards, the Letters and Sciences Teaching Award and the Letters and Sciences Service Award.

Women's studies students are strongly encouraged to make internships part of their regular course work. Students may be involved with internships part time during the school year or during the summer. Among the organizations that have accepted women's studies interns are:

• National Organization for Women
• Women and Poverty Initiative
• Planned Parenthood
• People Against Domestic Abuse
• Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
• YWCA Alternatives of Janesville

Many women's studies graduates find employment in public and community organizations that deal with women's issues. Those with a double major find work in fields where an expertise in women's issues is important, such as social work and business.

Surveys of graduates show that women's studies courses help students gain confidence and realize their full potential in careers such as law and university teaching, which require advanced degrees. Of students surveyed, most have either found positions or continued on to graduate school.

Women's studies graduates work as researchers, teachers, administrative staff, program managers, marketers, respite care workers and resident counselors. A partial list of employers of recent graduates includes:

• Dane County Neighborhood Intervention Center
• Violence Intervention Center
• Marion College of Fond du Lac
• Riverland Girl Scout Council of LaCrosse
• ROWEL Organization for Missouri
• Offshore Group Home
• Boise Cascade
• Janesville YMCA
• Gulf Coast Community Care

Women's studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores knowledge about women, their experiences, roles and achievements, and investigates issues related to their lives. Students in women's studies classes learn about current research and theories about women and gain practical knowledge to help them in their lives and careers.

Student coordinators and volunteers in the Women's Center have organized presentations around issues such as nutrition and fitness, assertiveness and international women's concerns. The center contains books, articles and pamphlets on women's issues and offers students a place to study and to meet others with similar interests. The Women's Center has been active in Take Back the Night which addresses women's safety issues.

The Women's Studies Department curriculum consists of 14 interdisciplinary women's studies courses and 20 courses focused on women or gender issues offered by other departments. Majors and minors plan their own course of study with an advisor.

REQUIRED WOMEN'S STUDIES COURSES
Introduction to Women's Studies
Feminist Theories
Advanced Seminar in Women's Studies

ELECTIVE WOMEN'S STUDIES COURSES
Women and Work
Women in American Culture
Women's Voices/Women's Lives
Lesbian Studies
Stages and Transitions in Women's Lives
Gender and the Law
Women, Science and Society
Women, Race and Ethnicity
Women and Violence
Internship in Women's Studies
Women in International Relations
Gender and Geography
Women and the Shaping of Latin American Culture
Women and Men in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Women in Music
Issues and Topics in Women's and Gender Studies 

APPROVED COURSES IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS
History of Women in Art
Communication and Gender
Women in Literature: A Feminist Re-Evaluation
American Minority Women Writers
Twentieth-Century Women Writers
Nineteenth-Century Women Writers
History of Contemporary Women from 1800
Feminist Philosophy
Women in American Politics
Psychology of Women
Sexuality for Professional Growth
Sociology of Gender
Sociology of Health and Illness
Women in American History 1600-1875
Women in American History 1875-present
Women in International Relations
Women and Religion
Women and Crime
From Goddesses to Witches
History of Sexuality