Courses

Jeff Brown | 6W1 5/18/2026 - 6/26/2026 | ONLINE

Description: In this course we will investigate contemporary feminist thought from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and theoretical orientations. We will focus on key issues in feminist theory such as the sex/gender debate, the politics of location, trans and queer theories, black-feminist theories, global south feminisms, data feminism, implications of AI for gender, intersectionality and multicultural feminism among others. This course also aims to think through the ways in which these issues intersect with race, class, caste, colonialism, and the nation. We will discuss why we study “theory”, consider and debate if there is a “canon” of feminist theory that has developed over the last several decades and explore the relation between feminist theory and political economy of gender/sexuality. Required for the Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate.

Radhika Gajjala | 6W1 5/18/2026 - 6/26/2026 | ONLINE

Description: This graduate level seminar will glance back briefly at second-wave feminism and then move forward to more recent feminist theory and its applications in fields ranging from, but not necessarily limited to, language, literature, film, religion, philosophy, history, psychoanalysis, psychology, health, and politics. We will work to establish a clear understanding of contemporary feminist methodologies and theoretical approaches, and we will pay close attention to the ways in which feminist thinkers have critiqued and changed traditional academic disciplines, as well as the new bodies of thought (e.g., queer theory, feminist disability studies, affect studies, etc.) that have emerged from these critiques. Our primary focus will be on feminist thought since the 1990s, with a particular emphasis on work published in the last decade. Required for the Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate.