This course serves as an introduction to Gender Studies; yet it is titled "Gender and Feminist Studies" – why the additional term? What is gender? And what, if any, is its relation to feminism? We will spend the semester addressing precisely these questions, but some explanation is required up front. On the one hand, "gender" is a benign term, a grammatical marker (he, she, it). But that is not the sense in which we will use it here; we will be using "gender" in its other meaning: femininity and masculinity or male and female identity. This understanding of gender owes much to the development of feminism (as a political and activist movement that came to fruition in the 20^th century with the struggles to gain women the vote) and Women’s Studies (as an academic discipline that emerged in the 1960s). Thus, Gender Studies, even as it has come to replace Women’s Studies as more encompassing, has never severed its ties and intellectual debt to feminist and Women’s Studies. Our course title and content reflects this genealogy.

Our focus will be on documenting, illuminating, and analyzing the lives and struggles of those who have been under-represented because they do not fit existing gender norms. To this end we will begin with a brief overview of terms and concepts and then examine a few issues from a variety of gendered perspectives. The plural in the last word is crucial – Gender Studies is a rich and invigorating field, but there is no one gendered perspective. The discipline is animated and remains pertinent to everyday lives as a result of the continuing debates amongst scholars and practitioners, activists and individuals about the shifting meanings of identities and ideas. This diversity is what makes the field rich and our task will be to simultaneously listen, learn, and participate. (Note: A good deal of what we read will challenge "common sense" assumptions or things we think we "know" about the world. The best skills you can bring to this class is a willingness to listen and learn without forfeiting your obligation to engage).