Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Program

The Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (RHRJ) certificate provides undergraduate students at the Five Colleges with an opportunity to develop a strong understanding of the social, economic, legal, and political conditions that influence reproduction in the U.S. and transnationally.

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About

Founded in 2015, the Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice (RHRJ) Certificate aims to provide undergraduates from across the Five Colleges with a strong foundation in the field of reproductive politics.  Reproductive health, rights, and justice scholarship examines the impact of reproductive policies not only on individuals, but also on communities, with particular attention to communities that have been historically marginalized. The field also includes study of the history of social movements for reproductive empowerment, including the movements for women's liberation, disability rights, racial justice, economic justice, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, and the women's health, reproductive freedom, and reproductive justice movements.  By taking six courses across a range of disciplines and completing a special final project, RHRJ certificate graduates are prepared for graduate school, as well as careers in law, science, medicine, health, politics, social work, and community organizing.

Courses

Please note that this list may not include all courses that meet the certificate requirements.  If you have questions about what courses can count toward the certificate, please contact your RHRJ certificate advisor.

foundational course has 90–100% reproductive health, rights, and justice content, as reflected in the course title and description. Foundational courses introduce students to reproductive politics, including the reproductive health, rights and justice frameworks; introduce students to thinking intersectionally about reproductive issues, for example, how gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability and nationality intersect to shape women’s experiences of reproductive oppression, and their resistance strategies; and teach students to think systemically about reproductive issues, rather than just individually, that is, about the impact of reproductive politics not only on individuals, but also on communities, and how social, economic, legal and political conditions impact reproduction. The material may be covered through any disciplinary or interdisciplinary lens, including history, sociology, legal studies, public policy, women, gender and sexuality studies, political science, journalism, religious studies, American studies, transnational studies, etc. 

transnational/global course has 25% reproductive health, rights, and justice content, as defined above, with a transnational/global (i.e. non-U.S.) focus. 

An additional course has 25% reproductive health, rights, and justice content, as defined above.

All courses used to fulfill the certificate requirements must be selected from the courses currently approved to count toward this certificate by the RHRJ steering committee.

Note that if you don't see classes from all campuses currently listed, they will appear as the campuses release their course schedules for the semester. The five campuses release their schedules on different dates. Visit this page for specific dates.

Fall 2023 RHRJ Courses: Foundational

Subject Course # Sect # Course Title Instructor(s) Institution Meeting Times
ANTHR 316EG 01 Reproductive and Genetic Tech Jacquelyne Luce Mount Holyoke College M 01:30PM-04:20PM
GNDST 333EG 01 Reproductive and Genetic Tech Jacquelyne Luce Mount Holyoke College M 01:30PM-04:20PM
POLIT 255PA 01 Politics of Abortion Cora Fernandez Anderson Mount Holyoke College MW 11:30AM-12:45PM
NURSING 325 01 Maternal-Newborn Nursing Katharine Green UMass Amherst F 8:00AM 9:55AM
NURSING 398I 01 Maternal-Newborn Nursing:Pract Katharine Green UMass Amherst 1:00AM 1:00AM
NURSING 398I 02 Maternal-Newborn Nursing:Pract Nora Lynn Holland UMass Amherst 1:00AM 1:00AM
NURSING 398I 03 Maternal-Newborn Nursing:Pract Lindsay DuBois UMass Amherst 1:00AM 1:00AM
NURSING 398I 04 Maternal-Newborn Nursing:Pract Maud Low UMass Amherst 1:00AM 1:00AM
WGSS 230 01 Politics of Reproduction Laura Briggs UMass Amherst TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM
WGSS 393M 01 S-Everything to Expect/Expctng Kirsten Leng UMass Amherst TU TH 10:00AM 11:15AM

Fall 2023 RHRJ Courses: Additional

Subject Course # Sect # Course Title Instructor(s) Institution Meeting Times
ANTH 245 01 Medical Anthropology Christopher Dole Amherst College M/W | 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
ARHA 385 01 Witch/Vampire/Monster Natasha Staller Amherst College TU/TH | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
BLST 345 01 Black Studies Workshop Olufemi Vaughan Amherst College TU | 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM
BLST 347 01 Race, Sex, US Military Khary Polk Amherst College M/W | 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
EUST 385 01 Witch/Vampire/Monster Natasha Staller Amherst College TU/TH | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
HIST 162 01 U.S.History of Sexuality Jen Manion Amherst College TU/TH | 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM
HIST 258 01 Medical Injustice Jen Manion Amherst College TU/TH | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
LJST 260 01 Feminist Legal Theory Nica Siegel Amherst College TU/TH | 10:00 AM - 11:20 AM
POSC 412 01 Quirky Citizenship Kristin Bumiller Amherst College TU | 2:30 PM - 5:15 PM
SWAG 162 01 U.S.History of Sexuality Jen Manion Amherst College TU/TH | 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM
SWAG 258 01 Medical Injustice Jen Manion Amherst College TU/TH | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
SWAG 310 01 Witch/Vampire/Monster Natasha Staller Amherst College TU/TH | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM
SWAG 347 01 Race, Sex, US Military Khary Polk Amherst College M/W | 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
CSI 0120 1 Ethics and Language Malgorzata Grebowicz Hampshire College 10:30AM-11:50AM TU;10:30AM-11:50AM TH
CSI 0208 1 Bioethics: Gender, Race,sci Jina Fast Hampshire College 01:00PM-02:20PM TU;01:00PM-02:20PM TH
CSI 0223 1 Global Insecurity Omar Dahi Hampshire College 02:30PM-03:50PM M;02:30PM-03:50PM W
ANTHR 240 01 Medical Anthropology Caroline DeVane Mount Holyoke College TTH 01:45PM-03:00PM
GNDST 101 01 Intro to Gender Studies Niamh Timmons Mount Holyoke College MW 03:15PM-04:30PM
GNDST 101 02 Intro to Gender Studies Sandra Russell Mount Holyoke College MW 11:30AM-12:45PM
GNDST 101 03 Intro to Gender Studies Sandra Russell Mount Holyoke College MW 01:45PM-03:00PM
GNDST 221QF 01 Feminist & Queer Theory Christian Gundermann Mount Holyoke College TTH 01:45PM-03:00PM
GNDST 333FM 01 Latina Feminism(s) Vanessa Rosa Mount Holyoke College W 01:30PM-04:20PM
GNDST 333GS 01 Gender/Sexual Minority Health Corey Flanders Mount Holyoke College TH 01:30PM-04:20PM
POLIT 233 01 Intro to Feminist Theory Kevin Henderson Mount Holyoke College MW 03:15PM-04:30PM
POLIT 387HE 01 Health and Inequality Kevin Henderson Mount Holyoke College TTH 03:15PM-04:30PM
BIO 351ep 01 Sem:Evolu:T-Epigenetics Laura Aline Katz Smith College M 1:40 PM - 4:20 PM
GOV 305ct 01 Sem:Amer-T-ConservativeTrad Claire Leavitt Smith College TU 1:20 PM - 4:00 PM
SWG 150 01 Intro Women & Gender Kelly P. Anderson Smith College TU TH 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM
SWG 150 02 Intro Women & Gender Kelly P. Anderson Smith College TU TH 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM
SWG 222 01 Gender, Law and Policy Carrie N. Baker Smith College M W F 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM
SWG 241 01 White Supremacy/ Age of Trump Loretta Ross Smith College TU TH 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM
SWG 300qt 01 Sem:T-Queer&TransLives Evangeline Heiliger Smith College TH 1:20 PM - 4:00 PM
WGSS 201 01 Gender&Diff: Critical Analyses Debadatta Chakraborty UMass Amherst TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM
WGSS 201 02 Gender&Diff: Critical Analyses Laura Briggs UMass Amherst TU TH 1:00PM 2:15PM
WGSS 286 01 History/Sexuality&Race/US Tiarra Cooper UMass Amherst TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM
WGSS 286 02 History/Sexuality&Race/US Derek Siegel UMass Amherst TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM
WGSS 393M 01 S-Everything to Expect/Expctng Kirsten Leng UMass Amherst TU TH 10:00AM 11:15AM
WGSS 395J 01 S- Imagining Justice Laura Ciolkowski UMass Amherst TU 1:10PM 5:00PM

Fall 2023 RHRJ Courses: Transnational/Global

Subject Course # Sect # Course Title Instructor(s) Institution Meeting Times
POSC 407 01 Contemporary Debates Amrita Basu Amherst College W | 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM
SWAG 400 01 Contemporary Debates Amrita Basu Amherst College W | 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM
ANTHR 316EG 01 Reproductive and Genetic Tech Jacquelyne Luce Mount Holyoke College M 01:30PM-04:20PM
ASIAN 215 01 AndrogynyGndr in ChineseTheat Ying Wang Mount Holyoke College W 01:30PM-04:20PM
GNDST 210JD 01 Women and Gender in Judaism Mara Benjamin Mount Holyoke College TTH 01:45PM-03:00PM
GNDST 333EG 01 Reproductive and Genetic Tech Jacquelyne Luce Mount Holyoke College M 01:30PM-04:20PM
POLIT 255PA 01 Politics of Abortion Cora Fernandez Anderson Mount Holyoke College MW 11:30AM-12:45PM
SPN 250sm 01 T-Sex&Medieval City Ibtissam Bouachrine Smith College TU TH 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM
WGSS 230 01 Politics of Reproduction Laura Briggs UMass Amherst TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM

Contact Us

Program Co-Chairs:

Cora Fernandez-AndersonAssistant Professor of Politics, Mount Holyoke

Jennifer L. Nye, Lecturer in Law and Social Justice, Department of History, UMass Amherst

Five College Staff Liaison:

April Shandor, Academic Programs Coordinator

 

 

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