Religion, Violence and Sexuality

(Cross-listed with WGSS 142) Analysis of representative theological and ethical positions on current issues related to violence/nonviolence and sexuality in the U.S. Attention will be paid to the treatment of these issues in a variety of religious and secular traditions. Topics include responses to war, terrorism, structural oppressions (such as racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism) and sexual violence, as well as controversies around reproductive rights and same-sex marriage. WGSS 0145 Black Feminist Thought and Art. (Cross-listed as ENG 145) Introduction to the critical and theoretical approaches of black feminist thought, pairing art emergent with and responsive to the concerns of black women’s lives, labor, and social location. Artists and theorists may include Harriet Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, Belkis Ayón, Simone Leigh, and Hortense Spillers. Satisfies the post-1860 requirement for English majors. WGSS 046 20th Century Black Women's Writing. (Cross-listed as ENG 146) Examination of 20th-century black women's writing within North America, including works by Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Cade Bambara, Audre Lorde, Lucille Clifton, June Jordan, and Toni Morrison. Relevant theory and criticism, such as the writing of Hortense Spillers, Angela Davis, Barbara Christian, and bell hooks.