2023-2024 University Catalog archived
Course Descriptions
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Theater |
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THTR 286 - Shakespeare in Performance: Supervised Study in Great Britain
FDR: HL Literature Distribution
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 4
Prerequisite: MRST 286. An interdisciplinary study of Shakespeare in performance in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, England. In Stratford, students attend the performances of the Royal Shakespeare Company and participate in programming and workshops with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. In London, students experience shows and workshops at the Globe Theatre, as well as other venues. Students analyze Shakespeare from both literary and theatrical perspectives, experiencing the differences in watching/hearing, reading, and performing Shakespeare’s texts.
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THTR 290 - Topics in Performing Arts
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Credits: 3-4
Prerequisite: instructor consent. Selected studies in theater, film or dance with a focus on history, criticism, performance or production. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Prerequisite may vary with topic.
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THTR 297 - Special Topics in Theater History
FDR: HL Literature Distribution
Credits: 3
This course explores selected theatre and performance traditions of a selected time-period and/or culture and/or a topical emphasis. Students will examine how theatre is created and performed and how it is used as an entertainment form as well as how it is used to advance ideas. Special emphasis is up to the professor. May be repeated for credit if the topics are different.
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THTR 336 - Lighting Design
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3
Lab fee required. A study of the practice of stage lighting, focusing on styles of production, historical methods and artistic theory. Culminates in a light design for a public theatrical production.
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THTR 337 - Scene Painting and Scenic Art
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Credits: 3
Lab fee required. This course is an exploration and application of the methods and materials used in painting and finishing scenery for the theater. The course covers both historical and current scene painting techniques, as well as the tools and paints that have been developed to support those techniques. Outside projects are required.
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THTR 338 - Costume Design
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Credits: 3
Lab fee required. A study of stage costuming with emphasis on design and construction. The course includes lecture and lab sessions.
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THTR 342 - Creating Meaning
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: instructor consent. Shakespeare is OLD and DEAD. Why do students still study his plays and theatre companies still perform them? Does he have anything left to say to us? Is his work relevant to the world we live in now? This is an acting class for the lovers and the haters, the readers and the performers. First we will explore ways to perform Shakespeare’s texts for a modern world while exploding preconceived notions about them. Then we will use contemporary devising techniques to create and perform our own new work using Shakespeare as a jumping off point.
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THTR 361 - Stage Directing 1
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: THTR 141. An introduction to directing for the stage. In this hands-on class, students learn and develop basic techniques for integrating work with scripts, performers, and designers into a cohesive stage performance. Students direct scenes from realistic modern or contemporary plays, focusing on collaboration, clarity, imagination, and analysis to create stage pictures and character relationships that tell a specific story on stage. The class culminates in invited classroom performances.
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THTR 362 - Directing Practicum
FDR: HA Fine Arts Distribution
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: THTR 361 and at least junior class standing. Students are required to direct a theater event.
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THTR 401 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Instructor consent. This course permits the student to follow a course of directed study and reading in order to widen the scope of experience and to build upon concepts covered in other courses. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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THTR 402 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 2
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Instructor consent. This course permits the student to follow a course of directed study and reading in order to widen the scope of experience and to build upon concepts covered in other courses. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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THTR 403 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 3
May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Repeatable four times for up to 12 credits. Prerequisite: instructor consent. This course permits the student to follow a course of directed study and reading in order to widen the scope of experience and to build upon concepts covered in other courses.
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THTR 421 - Directed Individual Research
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Students enrich their academic experience by pursuing advanced study in a specialized area of film and visual culture. Permission to undertake directed individual research is a privilege granted to those students who have demonstrated their ability to work with little supervision. The student wishing to undertake this class must develop a three- to five-page written proposal that includes the problem or issue to be addressed, an outline of the proposed methodology to be used in executing the research, and a statement of the intended outcome with a schedule for completion. Student must be secure approval for the research by the faculty adviser of the project. May be repeated for up to 12 credits
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THTR 422 - Directed Individual Research
Credits: 2
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Students enrich their academic experience by pursuing advanced study in a specialized area of film and visual culture. Permission to undertake directed individual research is a privilege granted to those students who have demonstrated their ability to work with little supervision. The student wishing to undertake this class must develop a three- to five-page written proposal that includes the problem or issue to be addressed, an outline of the proposed methodology to be used in executing the research, and a statement of the intended outcome with a schedule for completion. Student must be secure approval for the research by the faculty adviser of the project. May be repeated for up to 12 credits
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THTR 423 - Directed Individual Research
Credits: 3
May be repeated for up to 12 credits. Prerequisite: instructor consent. This course permits the student to follow a program of specialized applied research in order to widen the scope of experience and to build upon concepts covered in other courses.
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THTR 453 - Internship
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: instructor consent. After consultation with a theater faculty member and a representative of a departmentally approved theater or dance company, students submit a written description of a proposed summer internship with the company. Specific conditions of the internship and of required on-campus, follow-up projects must be approved by the department. Credit is awarded after completion of the required on-campus, follow-up projects.
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THTR 471 - University Theater IV: Capstone
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: instructor consent. Participation in a university theater production for a minimum of 50 hours. A journal recording the production process and a portfolio documenting the student’s productions at Washington and Lee University are required.
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THTR 493 - Honors Thesis
Credits: 3
Students must have completed advanced theater courses in their area of interest, demonstrated ability in the area of interest as evidenced by coursework, performance and/ or production experience, and completion of additional area-specific requirements. Prerequisite: instructor consent. An advanced theater course that serves as a capstone to the major. Theater majors selected by the department conduct advanced theater research and individual artistic preparation, contribute artistically to the department’s performance season, and produce a significant written thesis under the guidance of a thesis adviser.
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Writing |
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WRIT 100 - Writing Seminar for First-Years
FDR: FW Writing Foundation
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: first-year student class standing. Concentrated work in composition with readings ranging across modes, forms, and genres in the humanities, social sciences, or sciences. The sections vary in thematic focus across disciplines, but all students write at least three revised essays in addition to completing several exercises emphasizing writing as a process. All sections stress active reading, argumentation, reflection, the appropriate presentation of evidence, various methods of critical analysis, and clarity of style. No credit for students who have completed FW through exemption.
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WRIT 140 - Writing and Research
Credits: 1
The aim of this course is to improve your ability to conduct research and to express what you discover in writing. Housed in the library, this course will give you a strong background in information literacy and its role in helping you to become an engaged participant in civic and university life. Every other week, a member of the library’s staff will guide you through an aspect of research. Assignments will be based on engaging in the types of research that will be expected of you throughout your career at WLU.
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WRIT 200 - Peer Tutoring
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: WRIT 100. This course serves as an introduction to the theory and practice of tutoring writing. Students read and discuss articles designed to familiarize them with theories of writing and tutoring and stimulate thinking about the issues these theories raise. In addition to challenging students to think critically about writing and teaching, the course helps develop tutoring skills through taking part in mock conferences, observing tutors at work in the college’s Writing Center, and finally conducting tutoring sessions. As this is a WRIT course, students are expected to reflect (in the form of journal entries) on the reading and their experiences tutoring.
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Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies |
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WGSS 120 - Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
FDR: HU Humanities Distribution
Credits: 3
An interdisciplinary introduction to the academic study of women, gender, and sexuality. We read the work of scholars who are trying to make sense of the complicated ways in which gender intersects with other power structures such as race, class, sexuality, and nationality. The course first introduces several key terms in gender and queer studies including intersectionality, social constructivism, oppression, and heteronormativity. Using these terms, we then further analyze topics such as the family as a social institution, gender in the workplace, beauty norms, gendered violence, the history of feminist and queer activism, and gender and queer identity in immigration law. Assignments encourage students to analyze their other academic pursuits, as well as the non-academic environments in which they live, including thinking critically about their own experiences in contemporary society. The course provides a foundation in feminist analysis for students who wish to complete a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. It is also appropriate for students at any level who are seeking a more systematic understanding of how gendered dynamics shape the subjects of their major studies or the practices of their daily lives.
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WGSS 180 - FS: First-year Seminar
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: first-year student class standing. First-year seminar. Topics vary with term and instructor.
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WGSS 210 - Representations of Women, Gender and Sexuality in World Literature
LIT 210 FDR: HL Literature Distribution
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: completion of FDR:FW requirement. Same as WGSS 210. This course examines a plethora of literary texts chosen from across historical periods from antiquity, through early modern times, to the modern and postmodern era and across several national traditions and cultural landscapes. Its main intellectual objective is to sensitize students to the ways in which women and gender have been represented in literary texts of various genres and to help them develop specific analytic skills in order to discover and evaluate the interconnections between the treatment of women in society and their artistic reflections in works of literature.
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WGSS 220 - 21st-Century Feminism: Where Are We Now?
FDR: HU Humanities Distribution
Credits: 3
Where it used to be considered a liability, the word feminist is now proudly claimed by pop stars and emblazoned on t-shirts. What has changed, and what should we make of this popular feminism? Does it herald a new age of equal rights, or does it threaten to undermine the progress that 20th-century feminists worked so hard to secure? Looking exclusively at texts published after 2000, this course surveys a wide range of feminist issues, including intersectionality, body positivity, sexual assault, trans feminism, popular feminism, feminist “merch”, the 2016 election, and the future of feminism.
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WGSS 235 - The Second Sex: Beauvoir on the Power of Gender
PHIL 235 FDR: HU Humanities Distribution
Credits: 3
Same as PHIL 235. Sixty years after its initial publication, The Second Sex is as eye-opening and relevant as ever. Simone de Beauvoir’s masterpiece weaves together history, philosophy, economics, biology, and a host of other disciplines to analyze the Western notion of “woman” and to explore the making and the power of gender and sexuality. The Second Sex is an important philosophical and political document about inequality and enforced “otherness.” Referring to the history of philosophy, new developments in existential thought, and drawing on extensive interviews with women, Beauvoir synthesizes research about women’s bodies and psyches as well as their historic and economic roles.
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WGSS 242 - Social Inequality and Fair Opportunity
PHIL 242 FDR: HU Humanities Distribution
Credits: 3
Same as PHIL 242. An exploration of the different range of opportunities available to various social groups, including racial, ethnic and sexual minorities, women, and the poor. Topics include how to define fair equality of opportunity; the social mechanisms that play a role in expanding and limiting opportunity; legal and group-initiated strategies aimed at effecting fair equality of opportunity and the theoretical foundations of these strategies; as well as an analysis of the concepts of equality, merit and citizenship, and their value to individuals and society
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WGSS 244 - Feminist Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 244 FDR: HU Humanities Distribution
Credits: 3
Same as WGSS 244. This course critically examines the gender norms that pervade our identities, govern our everyday behavior, and organize our social life. Questions addressed may include: What is gender? In what ways does it affect the quality of people’s lives? Is gender difference natural? Is it valuable? Can it contribute to, or interfere with, human flourishing? Can a gendered society be just? What can any of us do to promote good relations among people of different genders?
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WGSS 246 - Philosophy of Sex
PHIL 246 FDR: HU Humanities Distribution
Credits: 3
This course explores questions related to contemporary conceptions of sexuality and its proper role in our lives. Questions to be addressed include: What is the purpose of sex? Are sexual practices subject to normative evaluation on grounds of morality, aesthetics, and/or capacity to promote a flourishing human life? We shall consider the relation between sex and both intimacy and pleasure, viewed from the perspectives of people with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. What are our sexual practices and attitudes toward sex? What should they be like?
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WGSS 254 - Philosophy of the Family: Beyond Tradition
(PHIL 254) FDR: HU
Credits: 3
This course considers philosophical issues raised by family as a social institution and as a legal institution. Topics addressed include the social and personal purposes served by the institution of family, the nature of relationships between family members, the various forms that family can take, the scope of family privacy or autonomy, and how family obligations, mutual support, and interdependency affect individual members of families.
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WGSS 259 - Gender and Sexuality in Latin American and Caribbean Literature and Film
LACS 259 FDR: HL Literature Distribution
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: completion of FDR:FW requirement. A multi-genre survey of representative works of literature and film from the Americas, defined as those regions that encompass Latin American and Caribbean cultures. In particular the course uses an interdisciplinary approach to have students examine, how creative artists interact with concepts from women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Selected narrative, film, and poetic works by Spanish-American and Caribbean authors and directors.
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WGSS 264 - The Body Electric: Queer Theory, Film, and Text
ENGL 264 FDR: HL Literature Distribution
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: completion of FDR:FW requirement. Queerness is inextricable from visual and textual representation as production and as reception. This
course is an introduction to the nexus of queer theory, film, and text. We will analyze and interpret select films, as well as literary works that serve as inspirations behind cinematic adaptations, through methodologies grounded in LGBTQI2+ studies. We will also situate films, texts, and theories in history and queer the visual and textual archives. Our itinerary is organized around a set of critical keywords: closet, innocence, friendship, villain, tragedian, nature, body, horror, identity, history, camp, filth, nurture, Orient, fetish, desire, wound, death, love, sex, family, meet cute, and futurity.
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WGSS 295 - Humanities Topics in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Credits: 3
A topical seminar that focuses on an interdisciplinary examination of a singular theme and/or geographic region relevant to the overall understanding of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, such as Hispanic Feminisms. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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WGSS 296 - Social Science Topics in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Depending on the topic, WGSS 120 or instructor consent. A topical seminar that focuses on an interdisciplinary examination of a singular theme and/or geographic region relevant to the overall understanding of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, such as Men and Masculinities. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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WGSS 396 - Advanced Seminar in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: WGSS 120 and at least junior class standing. This course provides an opportunity for advanced students to explore in detail some aspect of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Specific topics may vary and may be determined, in part, by student interest. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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WGSS 403 - Directed Individual Study
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: instructor consent. A course which permits the student to follow a program of directed reading or research in an area not covered in other courses. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
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WGSS 451 - Internship
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 1
Prerequisite: instructor consent. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Professional development through an external, on-site internship. Requires at least 45 hours of work over no fewer than four weeks. May be repeated for a maximum of three degree credits toward the university limit of nine credits. Students may only register for one WGSS internship per summer.
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