There are 15 departments as well as faculty with primary appointments in Women’s Studies that contribute courses to the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Delaware.  The Women’s Studies Program faculty recognizes the value of a capstone experience to enable students to integrate the diversity of learning experiences associated with our interdisciplinary program.  Consequently, the Capstone Course in Women’s Studies, WOMS 410 (1 credit), Critical Issues in Feminist Scholarship, is required for all Women’s Studies senior majors.

 

All students registered in WOMS 410 must pursue one of the following options:  a 400-level (3 credit) seminar course cross-listed with Women’s Studies; a Women’s Studies internship (WOMS 498, 3 credits); a study abroad program with a Women’s Studies component during the senior year; or a Women’s Studies thesis (WOMS 411) which may consist of an extensive research paper, an art portfolio or a performance piece based on some aspect of feminist scholarship.

 

WOMS 410 will consist of a weekly seminar in which members of the class will evaluate and analyze the issues raised by the individual research projects of their fellow students.  Students enrolled in the course will spend time outside class researching and developing some aspect of feminist scholarship.  At the end of the semester the students will each have completed an extensive project addressing a critical issue.  These projects will take various forms according to the interests of the student and the nature of the material explored by them.  

 

WOMS 410 will culminate in a conference that will be attended by all senior majors, faculty advisors to the students’ final projects, and core faculty members in Women’s Studies.  At this conference the students will present the results of their capstone projects.  Their grades in WOMS 410 will be based upon classroom participation and several short evaluative essays.  The course instructor will provide the necessary analytical frameworks to meld feminist theories with the students’ individual projects.