Northern Illinois University

Women's Studies Program

WOMS 610, Special Topics in Women's Studies: The New Girls Studies

(W 6-8.40; Amanda Littauer)

Girls' Studies is a vibrant, interdisciplinary field that has grown dramatically since the 1990s. In this graduate seminar, we will read recent essays by scholars in a range of disciplines, including communications and media studies, history, sociology, and literature. We will also examine texts and documentary films produced by girls themselves. We will use feminist and social theory to frame our discussions of girls' agency, asking how and under what conditions girls have managed to shape their own identities, communities, and life trajectories.