WFQS 241 - Topics in the Constructions of Gender

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2022/2023b: Women of Color in the U.S.: Public and Private Cultures. This course explores cultural production and consumption by “women of color” in the U.S., with a focus on the way various groups have negotiated the presumed gap between private experience and public or political form. Historical, social, and cultural connections and disjunctions between African American, Arab American, Asian American, Native American, Latina, and other women are examined, especially in the context of feminism, cultural nationalism, and the scholarly discipline and practice of critical legal feminism and critical race studies. We explore the varied ways in which family, labor, and leisure practices can place women of color in social positions which blur the distinction between private and public culture, and which call for a reconsideration of the notion of “experience,” itself. Theorists and artists studied include Chela Sandoval, Chandra Mohanty, Claudia Rankine, Cherríe Moraga, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Kristin Sanchez Carter.

May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS