Courses

FALL 2021 Courses

Core Courses (Effective Fall 2014)

GS 201 Introduction to Interdisciplinary Methods in Gender Studies
(4 units)
In this weekly pro-seminar, members of the core, joint, and affiliated faculty will be invited to present approaches to interdisciplinary studies and discuss their own research (the roster can change each year). A core faculty member will coordinate participants with an eye toward including a wide range of faculty whose research and teaching balances disciplinary and theoretical approaches with interdisciplinary approaches to gender. The aim of the pro-seminar is to demystify methods, particularly of the interdisciplinary sort, to introduce students to a wide range of faculty research, and to incorporate questions of ethics. Rather than being gender additive, this class will focus on interdisciplinary gender research that intervenes in knowledge production. The coordinating faculty member will be in charge of organizing the pro-seminar, moderating all meetings, compiling and assigning readings, and grading the final papers.  Particular issues will include:  Approaches to interdisciplinary methods of research; Introduction to feminist intersectional and queer theories; Effective use of reflexivity and positionality in research and writing; Investigation into the relationship between methodology and theory; Incorporating ethics into research design, conduct, and teaching.  May be repeated once for credit with a different instructor.

GS 202 Key Theories and Concepts in Gender Studies
(4 units)
This course relates debates in the field to key intellectual and social movements (such as Marxism, post-structuralism, critical race studies, queer studies, indigenous studies, and postcolonial and transnational studies) that have elicited feminist critiques and contributed to development in feminist thought.  Particular issues will include: Analysis of central theoretical works in the field and survey of key methodologies; Examination of key concepts and debates in gender studies; Identification of debates that have generated key analytics in feminist analysis and gender studies scholarship.  May be repeated once for credit with a different instructor.

GS 203 Epistemologies of Gender
(4 units)
Epistemologies of Gender. This course focuses on debates and interventions concerning methods of inquiry in gender and sexuality studies, and explores the intersections of feminist studies, masculinity studies, and queer studies. The debates and interventions to be considered concern interdisciplinary, intersectional feminist methods and the changing boundaries of the field over time.  The goal is to provide students with critical tools to utilize and interrogate existing methodologies. What counts as authoritative knowledge? What defines effective, ethical, and accountable research? What is the role of the social in the constitution of knowledge? This course should ideally provide a theoretical bridge and/or explore the intersections of feminist studies, masculinity studies, and queer studies.  Particular issues will include: Examination of how feminisms have shaped and been shaped by the processes of knowledge-production within and across disciplinary boundaries, cultures, and paradigms; Importance of intersectional, standpoint, and queer theory as critical research tools and as responses to issues of power, domination, oppression and other loci of identities and difference.  May be repeated once for credit with a different instructor.

GS 204 Research Design and Professional Development
(4 units)
This class is mandatory for third-year students and open to those outside of Gender Studies, including concentrators. The class should be taken after all other coursework is complete, as it is primarily geared toward proposal-writing for the dissertation as well as outside grants. The main objective of this class is to demystify the process of constructing a dissertation proposal by providing a structured process with incremental steps. In addition to writing the dissertation proposal draft, the course also will assist students with professional development as they prepare to enter academia or other professions. This course will help students prepare for the fall grant-writing season, for example, in order to apply for funding for fieldwork or to conduct archival research. Students will be provided with an opportunity to polish their CVs, explore the job/interview process, develop materials to assist them in teaching, and analyze various job markets, including alternative tracks to the tenure-track model.  May be repeated once for credit with a different instructor.

GS 205 Subfields in Gender Studies
(4 units)
A departmental topics course offering an in-depth aspect of the field.  The topic will be up to discretion of the instructor and will count toward elective credit.

GS 495 Feminist Pedagogies
(2 units)
This course is required in spring for first year students who will TA in year two.  Seminar, two hours. Preparation for appointment as teaching assistant in department. Introduction to feminist methods of teaching, with emphasis on reciprocity and dialogue and de-emphasis on hierarchy. Required of students while serving as teaching assistants (first time only) in undergraduate gender studies courses. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading.

Elective Courses

See the UCLA General Catalog for a complete list of Gender Studies Elective Courses:
http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/catalog/

Independent Study (500-Level Courses)

GS 596 Directed Individual Study or Research.
(2 to 12 units)
Tutorial to be arranged. Requisites: courses 201, 202, 210; or permission of the Chair. Directed individual research and study in area related to Gender studies/gender studies, arranged individually by student with instructor. May be repeated for credit. S/U or letter grading.

GS 597 Preparation for Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations.
(2 to 12 units)
Tutorial, eight hours.  Limited to graduate Gender studies students. Reading and preparation for written M.A. comprehensive examination or Ph.D. qualifying field examinations. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 units. S/U grading.

GS 599 Research for Ph.D. Dissertation.
(2 to 12 units)
Tutorial, to be arranged. Preparation: advancement to Ph.D. candidacy. Research for and writing of Ph.D. dissertation under direction of dissertation committee chair. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading.