Interdisciplinary Gender Studies Courses

IGS717 Politics of Gender and Sexuality

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course seeks to describe and analyze how gender constructions as well as sexual practices are integral to the functioning of politics, economies, and societies. The course grounds analyses in key theories about gender and sexuality and use literature from a broad range of countries and disciplines. Through uncovering the critical functions played by gender and sexuality, students will be able to counter narratives that seek to keep hidden and uncontested understandings about gender and sexuality. The course includes significant reading as well as a variety of writing assignments. Active discussion is expected.

IGS718 Gender in Discourse

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course exposes students to an in-depth survey of gender identity/ies in discourse. Students will be dealing with the complexity of gender representation and construction in a variety of discourse modes (verbal, textual, and visual). Accordingly, this course introduces students to major theoretical and empirical approaches in (critical) discourse analysis. Within its comprehensive coverage, this course focuses on how power relations and structures have been shaping gender identity/ies in discourse contexts such as media, politics, education, law, sexuality, and the workplace.

IGS719 Gender and the Law

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course explores gender politics in law. It examines how legal systems and practices are deployed and mobilized to structure, defy and transform gender norms, identities, and roles. It considers how social relations are gendered by different kinds of law, such as employment, education, marriage, family-making and sexuality, with a particular focus on laws in the Arab region. It also considers how law regulates bodies by looking closely at transgender processes, reproduction and pregnancy.   

IGS720 Psychology of Gender

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course is a survey of the roots and implications of gender differences and similarities and the role that gender plays in understanding human behavior. It examines gender and sexuality from a variety of theoretical perspectives in Psychology. It looks into how socialization, stereotypes, body, lifespan development, personally attributes, cognitive development, mental health are associated with Gender. This course also covers the epistemological foundations of psychological research on gender.

IGS721 Economics of Gender

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course provides a theoretical and practical overview on the economics of gender. Students are encouraged to assess critically different economic theories from a gender perspective, and become versed in feminist economic theory. Students are invited to conduct research on gender differences in the labor market and family affairs. Topics include but are not limited to the economics of marriage, labor supply, employment and earnings, education, household decision-making, discrimination and social policies and retirement.

IGS722 Gender and the Media

[3–0, 3 cr.]

Course Description: The course introduces students to major theories and methods of researching gender and media. The course uses an interdisciplinary feminist media studies approach to investigate gender and media in the Arab region. The course teaches a variety of techniques used by feminist media scholars to analyze gender in relation to problems surrounding media production, content, and reception.

IGS725 Gender and Public Policy

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course introduces students to decision-making processes and contemporary legal and social debates over public policy issues and questions directly affecting gender in major spheres of public life, with a focus on the Lebanese and Arab contexts. Topics include but are not limited to citizenship, public health, political participation, employment policies and practices, and foreign domestic workers. 

IGS732 Arab and Islamic Feminisms (history and theory)

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course examines the nature, development, and articulation of Arab and Islamic feminisms and the debates around them. It highlights the intellectual work of prominent Arab/Muslim feminists, and includes an examination of Islamic feminist thought and its relation to Islamic jurisprudence, with a critical evaluation of how interpretations of the Quran and Sunnah (Prophetic Hadith/Sayings) have shaped and continue to affect the lives of women in the Arab/Muslim world.

IGS734 Theorizing Gender

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course introduces students to key theories and debates in the study of gender. It considers some of the fundamental questions they raise about the socially-constructed understandings and variations of what it means to be female or male, and the intersections between gender, race, class, sexuality, and nationality. It examines gender historically and cross-culturally, and considers the roles and practices of women and men in economic and political systems as well as in rituals and in everyday life activities. It explores how sex and gender are constructed and how gender is performed by individuals and groups in different societies. Finally, it studies the emergence of sexuality as an identity and an object of study since the late nineteenth century. 

IGS744 Topics in Women and Gender Studies

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The choice of the topic depends on current issues in women & gender studies and the interest of the concerned professor (media & gender representation; gender & sexual identities; gender & religion; etc.)

May be repeated for credit with topic or instructor change.

IGS744A Gender in Development and Humanitarian Assistance

[3–0, 3 cr.]

This course explores the integration and mainstreaming of gender issues in both development and humanitarian contexts using an academic social science framework. This course will also examine gender issues in these contexts from the perspective of policy-making and implementation, combining both theoretical and practical perspectives. It will provide students with the necessary analytical and conceptual skills needed to understand gender issues in both development and humanitarian settings, enabling them to participate effectively in gender and development-related research, policy, and practice. This course begins with fundamental ideas on gender issues in development and humanitarian assistance and includes lectures and discussions by expert practitioners in this field with extensive on-the-ground experience.

IGS745 Gender and Development

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course introduces students to the history of development, its underlying assumptions, and its range of supporters and critics. It considers the various meanings given to development by women and men, not just as aid beneficiaries and/or locals of far-flung regions but also as development and humanitarian aid workers, policy makers and government officials. In exploring how development projects and policies unfold, and how they are appropriated, experienced and contested in daily life in urban and rural areas of the developing world, with particular attention to the Arab region, the course inquires about the underlying political, economic, social, and gender dynamics that make development and humanitarian aid contentious. 

IGS761 Research Methods

[3–0, 3 cr.]

The course trains students to conceptualize, design, and assemble a methodology for a social science research project. It explores multiple and intersecting methods, including quantitative and qualitative, with a particular focus on feminist methods. The course examines the relationship of power to knowledge, ethics of representation, questions of accountability, and the relationship between disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity. Students are invited to develop knowledge of methods appropriate to their own research projects, and to complete a course-long assignment by deploying at least three different research methodologies to tackle one research question.

IGS795 Practicum

[3 cr.]

A practicum provides an opportunity for students to apply the knowledge they acquired during graduate studies in a real life situation. It will provide learning experiences that are not available in the classroom setting. Students are expected to work with a public or private institution as reflective practitioners, where they can help in addressing a gender based issue at hand.   Students are expected to spend 300 hours of work at the host institution.

IGS798 Project

[3 cr.]

The project paper should be analytical and include the application of theories, methodologies and other insights that the students gained during graduate studies to a gender based project. The project paper will as well document the hands-on, practical experience they acquired during their practicum and/or work experience.

IGS799 Thesis

[6 cr.]

A thesis is a culminating final product. It addresses a research question and generally leads to results of publishable quality. It must show student’s knowledge of the area of research and the ability to carry out independent research and analysis. Students are expected to be able to clearly describe and defend the approach, techniques, and/or methodologies used and draw sound conclusions in a scholarly manner.