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Syllabi on Women and Politics

As a resource for faculty who already teach or would like to develop new women and politics courses, CAWP has collected syllabi for courses on women and politics and feminist theory.

The syllabi are organized in the following categories:

General
U.S. Politics
Law and Public Policy
Comparative and International Politics
Political Theory and Feminist Theory
Other Undergraduate
Graduate Courses in Women and Politics and Feminist Theory

We have posted these materials as they were submitted to us; CAWP is not responsible for their contents. If you have questions about a specific syllabus, please contact the instructor directly.

Add Your Syllabus

If you would like to add a syllabus to our collection, please send it as an attachment in Acrobat (pdf), Word or WordPerfect to liphilli@rci.rutgers.edu. (Sorry, we cannot accept hard copies.) In the body of the email message,please include the following:

name of the instructor
name of the course
institution
most recent term in which the course has been or will be taught
level and category (see above) that best describe the course, e.g. undergraduate American politics.

We screen the syllabi for topical appropriateness, but otherwise post them as they are received.

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General

Gender and Politics
Professor V. Spike Peterson
University of Arizona - Fall 2001
Examination of politics through the lens of gender hierarchy. Emphasis on how constructions of masculinity and femininity shape and are shaped by interacting economic, political, and ideological practices.

Women and Political Leadership
Sarah E. Brewer
American University - Fall 2006
   This class will explore differences between women and men in leadership positions. We will first explore historically why there have been so few women political leaders and reasons why women in the have still not reached parity in politics. Next we will discuss women leaders in several areas of politics: non-profit organizations, political parties, legislatures, the courts and executive office.

Women in Politics
Rachel VanSickle-Ward
Pitzer College - Fall 2012
   The course treats the role of gender in politics and policy-making in the United States and is divided into four sections: women's movements and developments in women's rights; women's political behavior; women as political officeholders; and the presentation of student term paper research. The course explores themes such as the relationship (or lack thereof) between substantive and descriptive representation, the intersections between gender politics and racial and ethnic politics, and the status of women under law (de jure) and in practice (de facto).

Women and Politics
Mirya R. Holman
Florida Atlantic University - Spring 2012
  This course is an exploration of the role gender and sex play in politics, including voting, party activism, leadership, candidacy, holding office, and law-making. Special attention will be paid to the relationship between gender and political behavior, including political socialization, political attitudes, and public policy creation. Time will be spent on understanding what gender and sex mean in American politics, as well as the effect that disparate power has on political behavior.

Women and Politics
Mary Still
American University - Fall 2005
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with a broad range of issues involving gender and politics – the political participation of women; the history of women’s movements; voting differences; political divisions amongst women, and what we mean when we refer to “women’s issues.”

Women and Politics
Kimberly S. Adams, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania Lock Haven - Spring 2005
This course examines the ongoing development of women’s participation in government and explores the varied roles attained and denied women both in the U.S. and abroad.

Women and Politics
Dr. Nikki R. Van Hightower
Texas A&M University - Spring 2000
The goal of the course is to create an understanding of women as emerging political players in society -- their history as outsiders, strategies for gaining political power, the evolution of public policies that affect the lives and opportunities of women, and the present political status of women in the U.S. and globally.

Women, Politics and Public Policy
Maya Rockeymoore
American University - Spring 2006
This course will explore issues of gender as it pertains to politics and public policy in the United States and internationally.

U.S. Politics

Gender and Poltical Communication
Dr. Janis L. Edwards
University of Alabama - Spring 2003
The goal of this course is to engage students in a discussion of the variety of ways gender issues intersect with American politics, in terms of leaders, voters, and the symbolic roles of women. We will study these issues as rhetorical constructions that emerge from candidate and politician behavior, media representation, and public perceptions.

Seminar on First Ladies
Margaret E. Scranton
University of Arkansas - Fall 2010, Fall 2013
This seminar surveys US first ladies as actors in the context of their times and in terms of the evolution of the office of the first lady as an entity within the Executive Branch. Thus this class is about the first ladies as individuals as well as the office they occupy and, by extension, about the presidency.

Sex and Gender Matters in U.S. Politics
Professor Georgia Duerst-Lahti
Beloit College - Spring 2002
Compared to many other fields, political science has been slow to embrace research on gender. While a fair number of attitudinal and behavioral studies have investigated sex differences, and many subfields have established a healthy body of scholarship on women and politics, gender and politics research has received only modest attention thus far. (We will read several such recent works.)
Sex matters for politics, mostly because it sets important patterns for gender and politics. Too often gender has been equated with sex or with women. However, gender analysis dictates that males, men, masculinity, and the ideology of masculinism be studied as well as females, women, femininity or feminality, and the ideology of feminality. Of course, feminism provides a lens for this study. The premise of this course is that no understanding of politics can be complete without accounting for gender.

The Politics of Difference - Ethnicity/Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality
Professor V. Spike Peterson
University of Arizona - Fall 2001
This course will examine the politics (understood broadly as differential access to and control over material and symbolic resources) of difference (understood as institutionalized social hierarchies that oppress individuals). Due to time constraints, however, this course focuses on the construction of ethnicity/race, class, gender, and sexuality--and their interaction--as experienced and analyzed in the United States.

Women and American Politics
Professor Susan Carroll
Rutgers University - Spring 2003
This seminar will analyze the participation of women in American political life. The first section of the course will examine women's public roles and the effects of feminism in altering women's public roles in both historical and contemporary contexts. The second section will focus on women's participation in electoral politics as citizens, as party activists, and as candidates for elective office. The third section will analyze women's behavior and influence as officials within governing institutions.

Women and Political Leadership
Professor Eloise Buker
Denison University - Fall 2001
This course will examine basic political questions about authority, the appropriate use of power, community building, ethics, and responsibility for self and others. The course will involve introducing students to the logic of empirical inquiry to conduct social scientific interviews of leaders. Students will use a variety of material to examine leadership in concrete situations in order to develop critical analyses of race, gender and politics.

Women and Politics
Professor Kay Schlozman
Boston College - Spring 2000
  In this course we probe the role of women in American politics and the efforts that have been made in the past -- and are being made today -- on behalf of the collective political interests of women. We begin by considering women and men in their roles as citizens and as political elites.
   Then, we investigate the different, and often contradictory, ways in which feminist and New Right women define what is in their best interests as women and analyze the processes by which they organize to act in concert in pursuit of public policies that serve those interests.
   Finally, in the second half of the course we consider the politics of a number of public policies having a special impact on women--among them, employment discrimination and other workplace issues, equal opportunity in education, pornography, and surrogate motherhood.

Women and Politics
Dr. Wendy G. Smooth
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Spring 2002
This course is designed to provide students with a critical examination of women as political actors. In examining women as political actors we will look at various forms of women's political participation. We will focus on women's participation in the traditional spheres of what is considered politics -- women as voters and politicians and we will also focus on more "non-traditional" spheres of political activism where women's political participation has always been apparent though we have failed to recognize these spheres as political.
Throughout the course, we will examine how women are galvanized into politics. We will focus keenly on the differences among women in their political activism in an effort to understand how the intersection of gender, race, class, sexuality, age and ability influence women's political participation and activism.

Women and Politics
Dr. Elizabeth G. Williams
James Madison University - Fall 2002
This class uses gender as a category for political analysis to focus on changing societal and political roles, political participation and political activism in the United States. It provides a theoretical and practical framework for critical public policy analysis to examine ways political issues and public policies differently affect men, women and their families in American culture in the twenty-first century.

Women and Politics: Electoral Influence and Policymaking
Dr. Sue Thomas
University of California, Santa Cruz - Spring 2008
This course focuses on the impact women have on the political process into United States. The units of the course consist of women's mass-level political participation with a focus on the gender gap; women as candidates, women officeholders and their impact; and expectations for the future.

Women and Public Policy
Professor Janet K. Boles
Marquette University - Fall 2003
Public policy is gendered in that men and women are affected differently by policies. Men and women also participate differentially in the policy-making process. We will examine how political science has treated the study of “gender” historically and feminist critiques of political science and public policy analyses. The relationship between women’s political activities in social movements, interest groups, political parties, and elections and the formation of public policies of interest to women will be a focus. We will also look at the impact of female office-holders upon these policies. We will further examine these differences by looking at particular policy areas, including constitutional equality, educational equity, workplace and family issues, reproductive rights, and violence against women.

Women as Political Actors
Professor Jill Greenlee
Brandeis University - Fall 2011
This course provides an overview of women's role in the American political system as activists, citizens, and elected officials. Throughout the semester, we will consider the important historical efforts of women in the political world, learn about the political behavior and attitudes of more contemporary female citizens, and contemplate the role of women as political leaders and policy makers

Women in American Politics
Professor Janet K. Boles
Marquette University - Fall 1999
The first part of the course consists of an examination of the role of women in all areas of the American political system as: voter, party activist, candidate, and public official. Female political socialization will be considered, as will be the political attitudes and public policy opinions of women. The second part of the course is devoted to the current feminist movement, its goals and participants, and its impact upon the direction of public policies on the status of women. Some attention will also be given to the current status of the women's rights movement and the rise of an anti-feminist movement.

Women in Politics
Professor Gail Garbrandt
University of Akron (Ohio) - Spring 2003
Although this course will focus directly upon the study of women in politics, some attention will be given to matters related to political office. This includes activities and institutions relevant to, but separate from government itself. At terms end, it is to be expected that those students who have completed the course successfully will have developed not only an enhanced understanding of the representation by women in the United States political system at all three levels, but a glimpse of women as national leaders.

Women in U.S. Politics
Dr. Jim Twombly
Elmira College (NY) - Winter 2011
In this course we will examine the role of women in contemporary American Politics. Certainly, no such examination can take place without first taking a look at a brief history of the women's movement and the winning of the right to vote, in particular. Political scientists have noted major differences in many behaviors between men and women (e.g., party affiliation, voter turnout, decisions to seek office, and so forth) and we will attempt to review them.
In addition, we will examine what issues are of salience to women and how women from different ideological and partisan perspectives view those issues. We will attempt to answer key questions about the role of women in recent campaigns and look to the implications of recent elections for the role of women in politics. In particular, we will examine the treatment of women in politics by the news media.

Law and Public Policy

Women and the Law
Professor Judith Baer
Texas A&M University - Spring 2002
A study of the legal status of American women from the adoption of the Constitution to the present, through cases, statutes and other legal materials.

Women and the Law
Professor Deirdre M. Condit
Virginia Commonwealth University - Fall 2002
This course examines the idea of "woman" as it is constructed within, by and outside of the law. The work of feminist legal theorists will frame our examinations of the historical, current and future development of case law relating to women and gender in American legal culture.

Comparative and International Politics

Gender and Politics: Women's Empowerment, Policy, and Democratic Development in Comparative Perspective
Dr. Amy G. Mazur
Washington State University - Spring 2001
The goal of this course is to introduce upper division students to a relatively new area of study in Political Science -- Gender and Politics. It focuses on gender and politics issues in a comparative perspective through systematic study across a wide variety of national settings. While some women's studies courses may be oriented toward discussions of personal politics and life situations, this class seeks to teach about empirical issues in the study of comparative gender and politics.

International Feminist Thinking
Professor Cynthia Enloe
Clark University - Fall 2001
In this seminar we will explore and compare women as feminists, both develop and debate ideas about 1) what is the character of women's conditions and 2) what are the causes of those conditions – in their own societies and more generally across societies.
We will concentrate on feminist thinkers in three countries: India, Japan and Egypt.

Political Science/Women's Studies
Francine J. D'Amico, PhD
Syracuse University - Fall 2002
In this course we examine how social constructions of "race" and "gender" intersect in and shape world politics (aka international relations or "IR") through an examination of issues in international conflict and international political economy, including globalization and democratization. We will investigate a range of topics, including the recent World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), racial/ethnic violence, human rights vs. cultural relativism, rape as an international war crime, sex tourism, femicide, maquiladoras and free trade zones, and debt and structural adjustment programs. We will consider how national and transnational social movements by racial-ethnic and indigenous groups, women, and workers are urging national governments, multinational corporations, and international organizations to respond to these issues.

The Comparative Politics of Race, Ethnicity and Gender
Professor Cynthia Enloe
Clark University - Fall 2001
In this course we will explore how men and women come to see themselves – and come to be seen by others – as belonging to particular ethnic groups and racialized groups. We will try to figure out when and why people come into conflict with each other in the name of ethnic loyalties and racialized interests.
Women's and men's experiences of identities are often quite dissimilar – why? With what consequences? The use of public power and authority – politics – sometimes cause ethnic and/or racialized conflict – while other times they help stave off violence and help create new bases for community and cooperation. Why?
This semester we will delve into these crucial questions by looking closely at three cases:
- Rwanda
- Yugloslavia/Kosovo
- The U.S. politics of domestic workers (esp. in LA and Boston)

Women and Global Politics
Professor Deirdre M. Condit
Virginia Commonwealth University - Spring 2002
This class will address a number of issues pertinent to the study of women and global politics, including the influence and response of feminist thought to the traditional discipline of international relations; a comparative examination of the political, legal and economic status of the world’s women; women as global "citizens"; women as national and world leaders; the politics of the 1995 Beijing World Conference On Women, other means of voicing political concerns and taking political action advocated by women’s organizations; and the increasingly pressing conundrum of differing demands for both cultural diversity and development of a global feminist vision.

Women and Politics
Professor S. Bashevkin
University of Toronto - Fall 2001
This course addresses the state/society nexus with particular reference to relationships between policy-makers and social movements. What does comparative and Canadian research tell us about the impact of feminist movement claims on urban agendas? Has social movement mobilization been effective with respect to voice, representation and influence in cities including Toronto?
Focussing on West European and North American materials, this course examines questions of women's political involvement and the impact of feminist organizing on public policy; it introduces students to systematic case study analysis as a tool for research in this field.

Women and the United Nations
Stephanie Foster and Joan Libby Hawk
American University - Fall 2010
This course is an overview of the United Nations (UN) and its organizing conferences, programs and funds that address issues relevant to women and families. Throughout its history, the UN has played an important role as an international convener on these issues and has established numerous organizational structures focused upon them.

Women's Movements in Comparative Perspective
Professor Karen Beckwith
The College of Wooster - Spring 2002
This is a special topics course in comparative politics that draws on the burgeoning scholarship on women's movements not only in Europe and North America but increasingly in Latin America, south central Asia, and elsewhere around the globe. Located primarily but not exclusively in states, women's movements encompass both feminist and nonfeminist organizing and activism, and are distinguished by their specificity regarding women and their gender identity in terms of movement content, leadership, development, issues and goals.

Political Theory and Feminist Theory

Advanced Feminist Theory
Professor Carolyn DiPalma
University of South Florida - Spring 2002
This course will highlight debates that currently serve as points of tension and potential growth in feminist theories. Since feminist theory is, or should be, integrally related to feminist politics, these theoretical debates have real implications for feminism in general. The course will demonstrate these connections, thereby helping you learn to apply the theoretical tools and perspectives we will study.

Contemporary Feminist Theories
Professor Timothy Kaufman-Osborn
Whitman College - Fall 2001
  In this seminar, we will explore various concerns of contemporary feminist theory. The course is introductory in the sense that it covers a large number of topics without exploring any with sufficient care. At the same time, however, the course is advanced in the sense that much of the assigned reading is theoretically sophisticated and so demands very close attention.
  In our opening session, we will discuss several questions about the forms of pedagogy appropriate to a course on feminist theories. Following that, we will look at representative texts from five different approaches to this enterprise. This overview is intended to offer you a sample of the forms feminist theory presently assumes; it is not an all-inclusive set.
  We will then turn to more specific issues of feminism and gender relations. Somewhat arbitrarily, I have organized this section of the course in a way such that we begin with issues that lean toward the personal (e.g., embodiment) and gradually approach those that lean more toward the explicitly political (e.g., the state).

Feminist Theory
Karen Shelby
University of California, San Diego - Fall 2002
In this course we will explore some of the issues with which feminist theorists have been wrestling, both historically and in a more contemporary moment. There is no unitary feminist theory. As we will see, there are marked differences among the approaches that feminists have taken in their pursuit of social change, and with the goal of establishing a more just social order. As we work through the course, we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches we encounter. We will also see recurrent themes of subjectivity, belonging, becoming and participating in and contesting one’s communities.

Feminist Theory: Gender Justice
Dr. Eloise Buker
Denison University - Spring 2002
This course examines various ways of understanding gender by looking at a variety of theories and philosophical perspectives within feminist thought, especially as it is formed by political philosophy. The course is divided into three sections. The first section introduces students to feminist theorizing by studying the connection between theory and political action in terms of the formation of public policies and practices. This section focuses on major theories in feminism and the intersection of theories of race, class, and gender.
The second part of the course examines the application of theories to social analysis and political action. This is done by focusing on four basic issues: (1) justice and feminist legal discussions, (2) truth and feminist scientific discussions, (3) ethics and everyday practices, and (4) narrative and cultural analyses.
The third part of the course is an examination and application of the major theories employed by feminists in American public life and international politics.

Other Undergraduate

No syllabi received in this category.

Graduate Courses in Women and Politics
and Feminist Theory

Abortion, the 2000 Elections and Beyond
Professor Karen O'Connor
American University - Fall 2000
Understanding the effect of the abortion issue on the 2000 elections, the U.S. Supreme Court and beyond.

Feminist Theory
Professor Judith Grant
University of Southern California - Spring 2001
This course is the only required class for the Gender Studies graduate certificate. Course goals are:
1. To outline the history and substance of contemporary feminist theory.
2. To acquaint the student with some major debates in feminist theory.
3. To evaluate feminist political and social theories.

Gender and Mass Politics
Professor Susan Carroll
Rutgers University - Spring 1999
This seminar explores the complex relationship between gender and mass political behavior in the United States. We will examine the effects of gender on political attitudes and participation in both historical and contemporary contexts and assess the contributions which feminist scholars have made to our understanding of political behavior. Throughout the semester we will adopt a critical, research-oriented approach, focusing on ways to think more imaginatively and to conduct significant, yet feasible, research which brings a feminist lens to the study of mass politics.

Gender and Political Theory/ Advanced Topics in Feminist Theory: What Remains of Freedom and Equality in an Age of Globalization and Development?
Professor Drucilla Cornell
Rutgers University - Spring 2002
This graduate seminar will explore the ever-widening field of theoretical antagonisms between contemporary feminist theory and liberal political philosophy. We will consider freedom and equality not as unambiguous liberal and economic categories, but rather as transnational ideals and growing problems that inform much of the work done by feminist theorists, organizers, and anti-development activists.

Gender Politics and Power
Professor Diane Singerman
American University - Spring 2002
This course explores the ways in which the social, political and cultural construction of sexual difference influences the nature and practice of political life. It will examine both theoretically and empirically the ways in which power is gendered and how gender has served as a basis for political organization, the distribution of power, and the boundaries of public life.

Organizing for Right: Gay and Lesbian Politics
Professor Michele Zavos
American University - Spring 2001
This short course will provide a broad overview of the current state of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender rights in the United States, and organizing to achieve those rights. We will focus on legal rights particularly, and will use videos, outside speakers, lecture, and discussion to guide our investigation.

Proseminar: Women and Politics
Professor Susan Carroll
Rutgers University - Fall 2001
This seminar examines a variety of issues and debates within the field of Women's Studies that are important to the study of Women and Politics. Drawing on materials written by scholars from several disciplines, the course provides an introduction to feminist theory, explores the nature of feminist inquiry both in interdisciplinary perspective and within the discipline of political science, examines several of the major areas of feminist scholarship that have relevance for political scientists, and considers the potential for feminist scholarship to transform the discipline of political science.

The Politics of Reproductive Rights and Dignity
Professor Barbara Palmer
American University - Fall 2002
Graduate course in the politics of reproductive rights.

The Politics of Violence Against Women
Professor Karen O'Connor
American University - Spring 2002
The purpose of this course is to acquaint the student with the pervasive problem of violence against women. In this class, we will discuss sociological reasons for violence against women, and governmental and group responses to ameliorate the problem. Class with consist of thought provoking films, guest speakers involved in the issue in a variety of ways from law enforcement to lobbying for additional federal legislation, and hands on class exercises.

Women and the 2002 Campaign: Another Year of the Woman?
Professor Karen O'Connor
American University - Spring 2002
While this is not a presidential year, the stakes for women in this year's races are high. The House may be up for grabs and the Democrat have a working majority of one in the Senate.
2002 is also the first year after the new census. Districts have been redrawn and several open seats exist providing access to political newcomers who are otherwise at tremendous a disadvantage when running against incumbents.

Women and the 2006 Campaign
Sarah E. Brewer
American University - Spring 2006
This class explores the historic evolution of women as voters, activists, and candidates in national elections. It focuses on the emerging dynamics of gender in the 2006 congressional elections. The class will look at the gender gap in voting and the relationship between political parties and women candidates.

Women in American Politics and Policymaking
Professor Carol Hardy Fanta
University of Massachusetts Boston - Spring 2009
In this course, students will be active participants in exploring the many dimensions of politics in the US, including a close look at gender and race/ethnicity in the 2008 presidential election; how women have organized to have a greater role in politics; and the skills women need to fully participate in politics and policymaking.

Women, the Law, and Litigating for Social Change I
Profesor Karen O'Connor
American University - Spring 2003
This class is an intensive women and the law class. In addition to focusing on the development of women's rights in the areas of constitutional law, we also will examine how women's rights have been expanded through judicial interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX.

Women, the Law, and Litigating for Social Change II
Professor Karen O'Connor
American University - Spring 2002
This class will provide an in depth analysis of the law in two areas: reproductive rights and family law as it affects women. Through reading and discussing case law, and hearing from experts in the field, this class will provide you with a thorough understanding of the state of the lay and how the courts have come to interpret state and federal laws as they pertain to sexual interaction within the family.

The Politics of Women and National Security Policy
Lt. General Claudia Kennedy
American University - Fall 2002
This class is designed to provide students with an overview of the national security system: the elements of national power, what comprises the national security system, how the various elements of the government and of civil life contribute to national security. All elements of national power (political, economic and military) are brought to bear in support of national security objectives. The role of women in the State, Defense and Commerce Departments has grown in the last third of the 20th century. We will explore the myriad elements of the national security system and the many ways (some new) that women increasingly participate.

Title IX: The Politics of Gender Equity
Professor Leslie Annexstein
American University - Fall 2002
This course will examine Title IX, the political issues surrounding it, and their implications. Depending upon who's doing the talking, this law has been a great benefit to women or signified the beginning of gender wars in which boys are the casualties. Proponents of Title IX advance the arguments that gender equity in education has not yet been achieved and that Title IX is necessary to open up the doors to equal opportunities for all students. Opponents of Title IX believe it has been the death knell for men's sports, with one writer proclaiming "a train wreck called Title IX."

Women and Politics
Professor Maryann Barakso
American University - Fall 2002
Although it might seem that women's involvement in politics is a contemporary phenomenon, in fact women's activism and women's issues are evident throughout the historical and political development of the United States. We will trace American politics from the time of abolition, asking how women's issues are reflected in the politics of each era under consideration. We will describe women's social, political and economic status over time and explore how women sought to gain policy concessions and access to political institutions.
Women in the political party system will be a particular focus of the course. However, much of the women's political activity has - and still does - take place in interest group and social movement organizations rather than within the formal party system, so these groups will also be important in our discussions. We end by addressing a set of important contemporary issues involving motherhood and the political economy.

Feminist Political Theory
Professor Lisa Pace Vetter
American University - Fall 2002
This course seeks to trace the evolution of major themes and issues in feminist political theory from their classical ("malestream") roots. While it is undeniable that feminist political theory has made original and path-breaking discoveries on its own, it is equally true that feminist political theory has been largely shaped both by and against the political theories that preceded or coincided with it. Tracing the genealogy of major debates within feminist political theory will not only show the shortcomings of classical political theory (i.e., the silences or spaces from which feminist political theory emerges) but also the unexplored possibilities in classical political theory that may allow for a reconciliation of sorts with feminism.

Women and Political Leadership
Professor Maryann Barakso
American University - Spring 2002
The first half of this course focuses on three major questions: Do women have an identifiably different way of leading? How does this leadership manifest itself? Why does women's political leadership matter? To address these questions we analyze theories pertaining to the nature of gender differences, literature discussing the historical differences in the kinds of political participation women have engaged in, and the barriers women face on the road to political leadership. The second part of the course examines five cases studies of women who became political leaders under very different socio-political circumstances. The course takes a comparative perspective on women's leadership, taking into account the different political opportunities and constraints available to women both domestically and internationally.

Women and Prison
Professor Robert Johnson
American University - Summer 2002
The number of women sent to prison in America and much of the western world is growing at a high rate -- higher than that of men -- but comparatively little attention is paid to this public policy choice. This course explores the nature of the prison experience for women, and the ways the prison experience affects them, their loved ones, and society at large.

Women and the 2000 Campaign
Professor Karen O'Connor
American University - Spring 2000
So far in this election cycle the only woman competing for the presidential nomination has bowed out of the race. In addition, abortion, an issue of concern to most women, has again become an important issue as the major presidential candidates from both parties attempt to define their positions. In the 1992 elections women were recognized as a major political force and if past elections are any indication, women voters will be key to the outcome of many electoral contests in this election cycle.

Women as Objects: Supermodels and Sex Workers
Professor Margaret Huang
American University - Fall 2001
This course will look at a range of issues regarding women's roles in the sex industry from a human rights perspective. We will start by looking at the U.S. domestic arena, and the class discussion will address issues of pornography, legalization of prostitution, and first amendment rights. On the second day, we will turn to the international level, examining the global sex trafficking industry and international human rights law.

Women's Health Policy
Susan F. Wood, Ph.D.
American University - Fall 2004
This course will provide a background on women's health policy and politics in the United States, focusing primarily at the federal level. Women's health spans a variety of topics from specific health concerns such as reproductive health and breast cancer, to health issues that affect women differently, such as heart disease and HIV/AIDS.

Women, Politics, and the Media
Eleanor Clift
American University - Spring 2002
This class is designed to acquaint students with important issues dealing with women, politics, and the media. Study after study reports that women not only are not well represented as journalists, the media coverage of women also reveals that stories about women, women candidates or elected officials, and women's issues often fail to generate much media coverage. This class will discuss these issues, hear from leading journalists, press secretaries and communications directors, and view videos to highlight the problems that women continue to face in getting their fair share.

State-by-State Information