AY 2026-27 GSRS Course Offerings

GSRS 301: Theories of Gender, Sexuality and Race

This course explores theories of gender, sexuality, and race from global and intersectional perspectives. Students will also examine the interdisciplinary applications of such theories as well as their relevance to social justice movements and activist work. Prerequisites: GSRS 201, major/minor status, or permission of instructor; required for GSRS majors and minors. (4)

Instructor: Jen Smith

HIST 305: Slavery in the Americas (ES, GE)

The comparative history of how slavery (and freedom) were constituted over time and in different parts of the Americas. Topics covered include: Atlantic slave trade, Native slavery, development of slavery and racism, rise of antislavery thought, plantation society, slave resistance and revolts, and the reconstruction of society after emancipation. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of instructor. (4)

Instructor: Rebekah Mergenthal

PSYC 339: Race, Anti-Racism, and Child Development

This course explores issues of race and racism as they relate to development in infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Topics include: the development of racial and ethnic identity, the development of racial biases, the effects of racial discrimination on development, and antiracist parenting and policy practices. Prerequisites: PSYC 101. (4)

Instructor: Laura Shneidman

RELI 396: Health, Healing, and Religious and Cultural Diversity (RL, VW, GE)

An exploration of diverse religious and cultural traditions and their role in health and healing. This course explores how religious traditions shape one’s understanding of the origins of illness and the path toward healing. Emphasis is placed on how a better awareness of religious and cultural diversity can inform medical practice and work in caring professions such as social work, education, and nursing. (4)

In this course, you will study how a wide range of Americans draw from religious and spiritual resources to find healing and meaning in the face of illness. Traditions discussed include the Black Church, Buddhism, Curanderismo, and Native American traditions. Four books are required for this course, see the PLU bookstore for details.

Instructor: Erik Hammerstrom

SOCW 290: Anti-Racism, Diversity, & Equity in SW Practice

In this course, human diversity is broadly explored and defined to include race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and ability. The course content looks critically at privilege and ways in which a society’s cultural practices and structure may oppress, marginalize, and alienate some while enhancing power and privilege of others. (4)

Study of representations and narratives that attempt to engage and make sense of the Holocaust and other genocides. Texts may include a variety of literature written in multiple genres (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, life writing) and media (film, television, plays, photography, blogs) from a range of historical periods and national/global contexts. Course content varies. Course is repeatable once with different topic. (4)

TOPIC: Sex, Gender, and Holocaust Literature.

This course explores the intersections of gender and sexuality in the Holocaust by engaging recent historical and theoretical scholarship and reading primary texts – both canonical and newly recovered ones that focus on LGBT+ victims and survivors — through the lens of feminist, queer, and trans theoretical approaches to Holocaust Studies. This is a reading and writing intensive course that serves the English Department Literature major, the Holocaust and Genocide Studies minor, the Gender, Sexuality, and Race Studies program’s GS requirement, and it fulfills LT, A, IT, & GE Gen-Ed requirements.
Students will explore the intersection of gender and sexuality in the Holocaust, by
o Studying historical scholarship grounded in thinking intersectionally about gender, sex, and the Holocaust
o Reading feminist, queer, and trans theoretical approaches to Holocaust Studies
o Considering why Holocaust Studies was so late to take gender and sexuality into account as a legitimate subject of inquiry
o Applying these scholarly and theoretical lenses to primary texts by victims and survivors, including those newly recovered by historians focused on queer and trans Holocaust studies
o Analyzing systems of privilege and oppression in the context of Nazi Germany, by analyzing accounts by victims and survivors, including Jews, and LGBT+ individuals
o Assessing the intersectional relationship between knowledge production, identities, and power during the Holocaust, by studying
first-person accounts of victims and survivors from various backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender expressions
o Exploring texts and view films by those in the postgeneration working to recover silenced histories and stories
o Practicing community-engaged scholarship by developing an archive of Holocaust stories told through a lens attentive to sex and gender

Instructor: Lisa Marcus

HISP 433: LGBTQIA+ Lit & Film of the Southern Cone (IT, GE)

An opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of a specific topic, genre, or time period in Latin American literary and cultural productions. Topics may include: Memory, trauma, and testimonio in the Southern Cone; Caribbean and Central American migration and diaspora studies. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Prerequisite: HISP 321, 322, or 325, or permission of instructor. (4)

Topic: Literatura y Cine LGBTQ+

An opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of recent cultural production from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay related to authors and filmmakers identifying as part of LGBTQ+ communities in those countries. The course focuses mainly on narrative and film but also explores other genres and artistic modalities such as poetry, installations, and performances of diverse nature. In studying this varied set of primary sources, the course also looks closely at their conditions of emergence, namely the socio-political and economic contexts for each country.

Instructor: Giovanna Urdangarain

SOCI 210: Gender and Society (ES)

An examination of gender as a social construction and a system of stratification. Focus is on the structural aspects of gender and upon the intersection of gender with other social categories, such as race, class, and sexuality. (4)

Blended/hybrid course. Tuesdays are online and asynchronous; Thursdays are in person and on campus.

Instructor: Galen Cisell

PSYC 335: Cultural Psychology

The study of the relation between culture and human behavior. Topics include cognition, language, intelligence, emotion, development, social behavior, and mental health. Prerequisite: PSYC 101. (4)

RELI 236: Native American Religious Traditions (RL, VW, GE)

Introduction to a variety of Native American religious traditions, emphasizing the ways sacred traditions construct identity, promote individual and collective well-being, and respond to colonialism. Emphasis is also placed on notions of Indigenous religious traditions as expressions of a people’s relationship with place, traditional ecological knowledge, and Indigenous ecological ethics. (4)

Instructor: Suzanne Crawford-O’Brien

RELI 397: Indigenous Religions and Cultures of the Pacific Northwest (RL, VW, GE)

This course explores the religious and cultural diversity of Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest, from Alaska to northern California, and east to northern Idaho. Emphasis is placed on the history and impacts of colonialism; the relationship between Indigenous people and place as reflected in food systems, ceremonies, visual arts, and oral traditions; and the relevance of traditional ecological knowledge in addressing environmental concerns. (4)

Instructor: Suzanne Crawford-O’Brien

SOCI 332: Race and Racism (ES)

A critical examination of race and racism in the United States. The course will explore the social construction of race and how racism shapes social institutions, such as the economy, education, and criminal justice. Prerequisite: SOCI 101, CRIM 102, or consent of instructor. (4)

Instructor: Galen Cisell

SOCI 410: Social Stratification

An examination of the cultural and structural causes of social stratification and its consequence, social inequality. The course focuses on stratification and inequality on the basis of race, class, and gender, exploring what social forces shape individuals’ differentiated access to society’s valued resources. Prerequisite: SOCI 101, CRIM 102, or consent of instructor. (4)

Instructor: Laura McCloud

ARTD 490: Gender and Art

Studies the effects of race and class on the construction of femininity and masculinity in art and visual culture in the United States and in Europe, with an emphasis on 19th and 20th century modernism. May not be repeated for credit. (4)

HIST 218: Women and Gender in World History

This course uses a comparative and historical approach to understand gender ideologies and particularly women’s roles in modern world history (1500 – present). The course examines gender constructs for both men and women within specific historical and geographical contexts. It covers major areas of the world including India, Western and Eastern Europe, and parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America to understand historical and global trends in the cultural construction of gender. (4)

IHON 253: Gender, Sexuality and Culture

Uses multicultural, international, and feminist perspectives to examine issues such as socialization and stereotypes, relationships and sexuality, interpersonal and institutional violence, revolution and social change in the U.S. and in other selected international contexts. (4)

Can be taken for GS elective credit or as a substitute for GSRS 201.

Instructor: Jen Smith

PSYC 375: Psychology of Women

Exploration of psychological issues pertinent to women. Includes such topics as sex differences; psychological ramifications of menarche, child bearing, menopause, sexual harassment, and rape; women’s experiences with work and achievement, love and sexuality, and psychological disorders. Prerequisite: PSYC 101. (4)

Instructor: Michelle Ceynar

SOCI 393: Gender and Violence

An examination of gendered violence in American society. Focal topics will vary by semester and may include sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, or masculinity and violence. The course will address how violence is gendered, theoretical explanations of gendered violence, and the response of the criminal justice system. Prerequisites: SOCI 101, CRIM 102, GSRS 201, or consent of instructor. (4)

Instructor: Kate Luther