Biology of Women

• Generally available once a year
• Three credit hours…two hours of lecture + two hours of lab per week
• The Biology of Women is not just for women!
• This lecture/lab offering explores the scientific basis of gender, both the similarities and the differences
• Are women and men really different? In what ways? Are these differences due to cultural factors or to genetic factors? Is gender identity learned or inherited?
• The lecture topics survey the fascinating and sometimes controversial issues of gender and public policy, health, and social attitudes
• The lab projects include experimental designs in gender-based psychological inquiries, measurement of body size and proportions, perceptions and attitudes about the male and female body, the chromosomal basis of gender determination, the roles of hormones in gender, and much, much more

Biology of Women Links:

• National Institutes of Health, Women’s Health Initiative (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi)
• National Institutes of Health, MedicinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/womenshealth.html)
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 4Women.gov…Men’s Health (http://www.4woman.gov/mens/index.htm)

Biology of Women News:

• BBC reports on the health of men and women…May 2005 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/health)
• National Public Radio reports on women’s health…July 2002 (http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/features/2002/aug/health)