This class explores the political and aesthetic foundations of hip hop. Students trace the musical, corporeal, visual, spoken word, and literary manifestations of hip hop over its 30 year presence in the American cultural imagery. Students also investigate specific black cultural practices that have given rise to its various idioms. Students create material culture related to each thematic section of the course. Scheduled work in performance studio helps students understand how hip hop is created and assessed.

The first wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement (also known as “feminism”) occurred during the mid to late-1800s. The main objective was votes for women. In the mid-1960’s, the second wave of feminism appeared with a goal for women to obtain a stronger role in American society.  This lesson will examine the second wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement by exploring the changes in the traditional role of women and discovering the role that The Feminine Mystique played in those societal changes. You will discover how the Women’s Movement is still pushing for equality today.StandardsCC.8.5.9-10.D Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.CC.8.6.9-10.G Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

The first wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement (also known as “feminism”) occurred during the mid to late-1800s. The main objective was votes for women. In the mid-1960’s, the second wave of feminism appeared with a goal for women to obtain a stronger role in American society.  This lesson will examine the second wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement by exploring the changes in the traditional role of women and discovering the role that The Feminine Mystique played in those societal changes. You will discover how the Women’s Movement is still pushing for equality today.StandardsCC.8.5.9-10.D Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.CC.8.6.9-10.G Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

The first wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement (also known as “feminism”) occurred during the mid to late-1800s. The main objective was votes for women. In the mid-1960’s, the second wave of feminism appeared with a goal for women to obtain a stronger role in American society.  This lesson will examine the second wave of the Women’s Liberation Movement by exploring the changes in the traditional role of women and discovering the role that The Feminine Mystique played in those societal changes. You will discover how the Women’s Movement is still pushing for equality today.StandardsCC.8.5.9-10.D Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.CC.8.6.9-10.G Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

This survey course can be used by students who are looking to take just one general overview course or by those who want to go on to more advanced study in any of the subfields that comprise the political science discipline, such as American politics, comparative politics, international politics, or political theory. The goal of this course is to introduce the student to the discipline's concepts, terminology, and methods and to explore instances of applied political science through real world examples. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Describe and evaluate the concepts of power, legitimacy, and authority; Discuss the origins and developments of the nation-state; Distinguish between traditional and behavioral approaches to the study of politics; Discuss general approaches to the study of politics, such as political philosophy, political systems theory, and political economy; Describe and discuss the political socialization process; Examine the nature of political participation from a comparative perspective; Discuss the nature of public opinion from a comparative perspective; Identify the different types of electoral systems and be able to assess the implications of those systems; Identify the role and functions of political parties; Identify the different types of party systems from a comparative perspective; Describe and evaluate the general principles of presidential and parliamentary political systems; Describe and compare the essential features of at least three governments of Western Europe; Identify and evaluate the principles of authoritarian and totalitarian governments; Discuss the concepts of political development and problems facing developing nations; Discuss and explain the origins and principles of democratic capitalism, democratic socialism, Marxist socialism, national socialism, fascism, and third world ideologies; Describe the origins, development, and principles of international law; Identify and assess the influence of major international organizations; Describe and analyze the causes of international conflict; Analyze current critical issues in international relationships. (Political Science 101)

This textbook introduces key feminist concepts and analytical frameworks used in the interdisciplinary Women, Gender, Sexualities field. It unpacks the social construction of knowledge and categories of difference, processes and structures of power and inequality, with a focus on gendered labor in the global economy, and the historical development of feminist social movements. The book emphasizes feminist sociological approaches to analyzing structures of power, drawing heavily from empirical feminist research.

Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (2023) is an eTextbook designed to provide an introduction to the fields of Women’s Studies and Gender Studies for students taking introductory courses. The textbook touches on a variety of subjects including gender theories, feminisms, intersectionality, equity, and activism. Chapters contain questions to consider and list of suggested readings by theorists and activists. This multimedia eTextbook incorporates videos and podcasts to create a rich introductory experience for students.

This course studies the interaction between law, courts, and social movements in shaping domestic and global public policy. Examines how groups mobilize to use law to affect change and why they succeed and fail. The class uses case studies to explore the interplay between law, social movements, and public policy in current areas such as gender, race, labor, trade, environment, and human rights. Finally, it introduces the theories of public policy, social movements, law and society, and transnational studies.

Mirabai stood against the conventions of her times to voice her spiritual devotion for Krishna as well-expressed in the poem ‘I Know Only Krsna’. Mirabai’s devotional poetry was only one of the most evident ways of her subversion. During the early 17th century, women were considered subordinate to men in spiritual worth and were meant to assist men in their worldly as well as religious pursuits. Women were not even considered an individual in their own right and were bound to exist only to serve men. All the other prominent Bhakti movement poets were men. Mirabai defied not only the creative canon but showed open disregard to popular contemporary customs of Rajput clans. She refused to commit Sati on the death of her husband, insisting that her true spouse was forever Krishna. 

This seminar is a space for collaborative inquiry into the relationships between social movements and the media. We’ll review these relationships through the lens of social movement theory, and function as a workshop to develop student projects. Seminar participants will work together to explore frameworks, methods, and tools for understanding networked social movements in the digital media ecology. We will engage with social movement studies as a body of theoretical and empirical work, and learn about key concepts including: resource mobilization; political process; framing; New Social Movements; collective identity; tactical media; protest cycles; movement structure; and more. We’ll explore methods of social movement investigation, examine new data sources and tools for movement analysis, and grapple with recent innovations in social movement theory and research. Assignments include short blog posts, a book review, co-facilitation of a seminar discussion, and a final research project focused on social movement media practices in comparative perspective.

This seminar is a space for collaborative inquiry into the relationships between social movements and the media. We’ll review these relationships through the lens of social movement theory, and function as a workshop to develop student projects. Seminar participants will work together to explore frameworks, methods, and tools for understanding networked social movements in the digital media ecology. We will engage with social movement studies as a body of theoretical and empirical work, and learn about key concepts including: resource mobilization; political process; framing; New Social Movements; collective identity; tactical media; protest cycles; movement structure; and more. We’ll explore methods of social movement investigation, examine new data sources and tools for movement analysis, and grapple with recent innovations in social movement theory and research. Assignments include short blog posts, a book review, co-facilitation of a seminar discussion, and a final research project focused on social movement media practices in comparative perspective.

In this class we will come to understand the vast changes in Spanish life that have taken place since Franco’s death in 1975. We will focus on the new freedom from censorship, the re-emergence of movements for regional autonomy, the new cinema, reforms in education and changes in daily life: Sex roles, work, and family that have occurred in the last decade. In so doing, we will examine myths that are often considered commonplaces when describing Spain and its people.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the New Woman ideal. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Obelisk (formerly Trivium) Art History is a free, online art history textbook designed for discovery. Meet history's greatest artists, browse artwork, and explore the timeline of human creativity. Trivium offers short, conversational essays and artist biographies and encourages exploration by artistic movements, mediums and themes.

The field of feminist studies grew from the U.S. women’s movements of the 1960s and 1970s and has continued to be deeply connected to ongoing movements for social justice. As educational institutions are increasingly seeing public scholarship and community engagement as relevant and fruitful complements to traditional academic work, feminist scholars have much to offer in demonstrating different ways to inform and interact with various communities.

By using the death of Sarah Hegazi, a queer Egyptian woman who died in exile after being imprisoned and tortured in 2017, this audio brings into question the place that queer women occupy within the heteronormative carceral state and the tension that arises when these same nation states claim to support women. Furthermore, it interrogates the limit of state feminism in Egypt and questions how gender is mobilized to further carceral logics and institutions.

A short quiz on RI.6, using an excerpt from Daniel Defoe's "The Education of Women". The Dale-Chall text difficulty level is 7-8, and the Flesch-Kincaid level is 9.4.

In this seminar we will examine various issues related to the intersection of race and gender in Asian America, starting with the nineteenth century, but focusing on contemporary issues. Topics to be covered may include racial and gender discourse, the stereotyping of Asian American women and men in the media, Asian American masculinity, Asian American feminisms and their relation to mainstream American feminism, the debate between feminism and ethnic nationalism, gay and lesbian identity, class and labor issues, domestic violence, interracial dating and marriage, and multiracial identity.

Using film and related popular media as our texts, this course will examine how screen “embodiments” of the woman visualize ideologies of discipline and desire in a culture in which her body has become a representation of the ability to control appetites, size and shape while investing personal and social capital in its rehabilitation as a project of endless reconstruction, redesign and maintenance. Throughout the course we will draw from feminist film theory, clinical psychology, as well as women’s, gender, and cultural studies, to better understand how filmic representations of the woman’s body first emerge from contemporary psychosocial contexts and then in turn shape the body ideals and internalizations, as well as the behavioral practices of the film spectator.
The Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies (GCWS)
This course is part of the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies. The GCWS at MIT brings together scholars and teachers at nine degree-granting institutions in the Boston area who are devoted to graduate teaching and research in Women’s Studies and to advancing interdisciplinary Women’s Studies scholarship. Learn more about the GCWS.

This course offers an introduction to the history of gender, sex, and sexuality in the modern United States, from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first. It begins with an overview of historical approaches to the field, emphasizing the changing nature of sexual and gender identities over time. The remainder of the course flows chronologically, tracing the expanding and contracting nature of attempts to control, construct, and contain sexual and gender identities, as well as the efforts of those who worked to resist, reject, and reform institutionalized heterosexuality and mainstream configurations of gendered power.