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This archived information is dated to the 2008-09 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

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Undergraduate Programs in Feminist Studies

The major in Feminist Studies 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 by 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 presents the student's selected focus and outlines a course of study to support that focus. 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. See the Feminist Studies web site to see which courses 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. Courses that fulfill this requirement can be found among courses listed under Anthropology, Communication, Education, History, Human Biology, Law, Medicine, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.
  6. One Feminist Studies or cognate course in the humanities. Courses that fulfill this requirement can be found among courses listed in English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Religious Studies, the arts, and languages.

THE FOCUS

Every student designs a thematic focus consisting of at least five courses. 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 of common foci, but students are also encouraged to develop new ones:

    Chicana Feminisms

    Cross Cultural Perspectives on Gender

    Feminist Perspectives on Science, Technologies, and Health

    Gender and Education

    Gender and Popular Culture

    Gender in Literature and Language

    Gender, Race, and Nation

    Gender Rights and Human Rights

    Masculinities

    Medieval Gender Studies

    Queer Studies

    Race, Class, and Gender

    Transnational Feminisms

    Women, Creativity, and the Arts

    Women's Health

    Women's Literature

    Women and Religion

WRITING IN THE MAJOR (WIM)

Majors in Feminist Studies must satisfy the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement in 2008-09 by taking FEMST 253, Women and the Creative Imagination, in Spring Quarter. Honors students satisfy the WIM requirement through their honors work.

PRACTICUM

A practicum is required in order to bring 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 in the program 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 thesis of superior academic quality. 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. 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, and one unit of directed research with the director of the program (Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters for a total of 3 units), which is granted for satisfactory progress and attendance at meetings conducted by the honors tutor throughout the year.
  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 of high intellectual caliber are eligible if they contain a section of scholarly 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 will 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, and 1 unit of directed research with the director of the program (Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters for a total of 3 units), which is granted for satisfactory progress and attendance at meetings conducted by the honors tutor throughout the year.
  2. Throughout the senior year, students work with faculty advisers and the honors tutor. The final thesis must be submitted by May 30, and must be of acceptable quality to the student's faculty advisers. Creative projects of high intellectual caliber are eligible if they contain a section of scholarly 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.

AMSTUD 183. Border Crossings and American Identities

ANTHRO 151. Women, Fertility, and Work

ANTHRO 180. Science, Technology, and Gender

ANTHRO 180A. Biological and Evolutionary Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality

ANTHRO 186. Kinship and Gender in South Asia

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 165A. Chicana/o History

CLASSGEN 117. Gender, Violence, and the Body in Ancient Religion

CLASSGEN 119. Gender and Power in Ancient Rome

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

DRAMA 110. Identity, Diversity, and Aesthetics: The Institute for Diversity in the Arts

DRAMA 160. Performance, Dance, and History

DRAMA 163. Performance and America

DRAMA 177. Playwriting

DRAMA 179F. Flor y Canto: Poetry Workshop

DRAMA 189Q. Mapping and Wrapping the Body

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 112A. Wicked Witches of the West: Dangerous Women in Greek and Shakespearean Tragedy

ENGLISH 122. Jane Austen into Film

ENGLISH 137A. Oscar Wilde

ENGLISH 150D. Women Poets

FILMSTUD 220. Being John Wayne

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

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 234A. Marie Antoinette on Trial

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

HPS 156. History of Women and Medicine in the United States

HUMBIO 125. Current Controversies in Women's Health

HUMBIO 129. Critical Issues in International Women's Health

INDE 245. Women and Health Care

LAW 307. Gender, Law, and Public Policy

LINGUIST 156. Language and Gender

RELIGST 120. Women in Contemporary Islam

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

SOC 123. Sex and Love in Modern Society

SOC 142. Sociology of Gender

SPANLIT 193. The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar

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