1 - 8 of 8 results for: FEMGEN

Since at least World War II, the San Francisco Bay Area has served as a center for LGBTQ life in the United States. It emerged early as a place where queer people could congregate and interact more freely, but it also was frequently at the vanguard when it came to organizing around issues of gender and sexuality. At the same time, as some queer communities of the Bay Area have done extremely well, others have continued to have to struggle for their rights, their place and their say. This course explores the genesis and legacy of different queer communities and explores their impact on Bay Area culture. Topics discussed will include the Beats, lesbian separatism, the response to AIDS, the relationship between different LGBTQ communities and the police, trans activism, prostitution and sex worker rights. The course combines literature, art and poetry of seven decades with historical documents, as well as local visits and walking tours. The last third of the course allows students to pursue archival or oral history research projects, as students unearth their own stories of queer San Francisco.

Gender is one of the great social issues of our time. What does it mean to be female or feminine? How has femininity been defined, performed, punished, or celebrated? Writers are some of our most serious and eloquent investigators of these questions, and in this class we'll read many of our greatest writers on the subject of femininity, as embodied by both men and women, children and adults, protagonists and antagonists. From Virginia Woolf to Ernest Hemingway, from Beloved to Gone Girl (and even "RuPaul's Drag Race"), we'll ask how the feminine is rendered and contested. We'll do so in order to develop a history and a vocabulary of femininity so that we may, in this important time, write our own way in to the conversation. This is first and foremost a creative writing class, and our goals will be to consider in our own work the importance of the feminine across the entire spectrum of gender, sex, and identity. We will also study how we write about femininity, using other writers as models and inspiration. As we engage with these other writers, we will think broadly and bravely, and explore the expressive opportunities inherent in writing. We will explore our own creative practices through readings, prompted exercises, improv, games, collaboration, workshop, and revision, all with an eye toward writing the feminine future.

For honors students who are doing independent work with faculty advisors.

Supervised field, community, or lab experience in law offices, medical research and labs, social service agencies, legislative and other public offices, or local and national organizations that address issues related to gender and/or sexuality. One unit represents approximately three hours work per week. Required paper. May be repeated for credit. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center). Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Majors may not receive 108 credit for their required practicum, as they are to sign up for FEMGEN 104 A & B instead. Prerequisites: Course work in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, written proposal and application form submitted for approval by program office, written consent of faculty sponsor. Course may be taken 3 times total, for a max of 15 units.

May be repeated for credit. (Staff)