An introduction to Women's Studies, to its perspectives, and to its interdisciplinary nature. Using several disciplines, the class will examine women's positions in Western culture and will explore the genesis, the development, and the impact of our culture's assumptions about women's nature and women's roles. Students will be expected to read and discuss a wide range of nature and feminist writers, keep a journal, and compose a series of essays.
Women have a rich and varied tradition as composers and performers.
Although this tradition has been ignored in the past, it has recently become the focus of much research and scholarship throughout the world. Class sessions will include listening to a wide variety of music, both recorded and live. The course will examine the experiences of Maine women veterans during World War II and the Korean War. Through readings, lectures, and field work in oral history, students will gain an understanding of the contributions made by the thousands of Maine women who served in the military during the 1940s and 1950s. Studying their immigration from France to New France, Canada, and across the border into the U. S., class participants will learn about the historical and cultural implications of immigration for these women and the definition they imparted to the culture.