Stefanie Schmidt

Core Collection Project-Academic Library

About UIUC
University of Illinois, in Champaign, Illinois, was established in 1867. The university is one of the
original 37 public land-grant institutions established, after President Abraham Lincoln signed
the Morrill Act in 1862. Currently, UIUC is ranked 41 out of 100 for best Universities in the
United States. To get a better feel for our campus and community here are some facts to
consider:
Academics
More than 150 undergraduate and more than 100 graduate and professional studies
Currently there are 44,520 students:
o 32,381 undergraduate
o 12,239 graduate and professional studies
Students
55% men
45% women
5.0% African-American
7.0% Latino/a
24.0% Asian-American
2% Multiracial
14% International
Faculty and Staff
2,548 faculty members
3,665 academic profession staff
Facilities
320 Main campus buildings
About the library
The University Library was founded in 1867. The library was actually around before the
University was established. The library became a part of the school in 1868, with roughly 1,000
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

volumes. The University President at the time, Edmund J. James, proposed in 1912 to create a
research library. He felt it was necessary to accumulate at least a million books as fast as
possible, and to spend a million dollars to build a new building for the new collection. In 1926,
the library moved into its new building, which today is the current main library building.
About the Collection
The library at University of Illinois, in Urbana-Champaign, holds more than thirteen million
volumes and 24 million items and materials in all formats, for languages and subjects. In these
materials, there are 9 million microforms, 120,000 serials, 148,000 audio-recordings, over
930,000 audiovisual materials, over 280,000 electronic books, 12,000 films, and 650,000 maps.
The library relies heavily on I-Share, which is shared with 76 other libraries. There are 20
libraries on campus; some of the libraries pertain to certain degrees, for example: Veterinary
Medicine, Law, Literature and Languages, and Undergraduate, to name a few. The
Undergraduate library has over 200,000 volumes and provides more reference resources for
undergraduate instruction than any other undergraduate college library in the country.
With that being said, UIUC is very pleased to announce that a minor in Women Studies will be
added to the undergraduate curriculum, starting the in the fall of 2014. The undergraduate
library has recently created a collection for this minor.
Women Studies Minor
To obtain a Minor in Women Studies, students are required to take 18 credit hours of Women
Study classes. Of the 18 credit hours, two (3 credit hour) classes are required, which are WS 190
and WS 355. The other 12 credit hours are electives.
Required Coursework:
WS 190 Introduction to Womens Studies (3)
WS 355 Introduction to Feminist Theory (3)
Electives:
WS 301 Women and Literature (3)
WS 303 Women in Religion (3)
WS 317 Women in American History (3)
WS 320 Women and Crime (3)
WS 370 Women in Popular Culture (3)
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

WS 415 Politics of Reproduction (3)
Collection
These materials can be found at our undergraduate library:
WS 190:
Girls, Guerrilla. Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers. Penguin, 2002. ISBN 9780142001011.
Whatever lead roles women have, they always have a stereotype to follow, like trophy wife,
biker chicks, and housewife. The Guerrilla Girls explore the history of stereotypes and sexual
slurs made toward women. This will give students the beginning realization that Women
Studies classes are important to take, because many people look over sexual slurs and gender
stereotypes made toward women.
Pande, Rekha. A Journey into Womens Studies: Crossing Interdisciplinary Boundaries.
Palgrace, 2014. ISBN 9781137395733.
Scholars discuss the journey to Women Studies and boundaries feminist had to make to get
where they are today. The textbook gives an in depth discussion of research that has been done
on women from past to present, and how they have been perceived in society. This text will
provide insight on how women have been treated in the past to now, and it will give a better
understanding as to how much hasnt changed in this patriarchy world.
Shaw, Susan. Womens Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Reading Edition 5.
McGraw-Hill, 2011. ISBN 9780073512327
A reflection of womens experiences throughout the world, and what it feels like to be a
woman living in a patriarchy world. This will give students a better understating what it feels
like to live in a patriarchy world, through the eyes of women who are personally going through
it.
WS 355:
Kolmar, Wendy. Feminist Theory: A Reader Edition 3. McGraw-Hill, 2009. ISBN
9780073512266.
Through the organization of five historical periods, readers get an idea of feminist theory and
feminist thoughts during each time period. Readers will also be able to understand what its like
to be a woman of a different race living in a patriarchy world. This will give students a better
understanding on what feminist theory really is, and how women of different color are treated
differently in a patriarchy world.
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

WS 301:
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale. Knopf, 1998. ISBN 9780385390818.
Taking place in the future, women are only valued for their ovaries. Women have lost
everything they used to know, their independence, a husband and family, and even having their
own job. This gives insight that even though this is taking place in the future, it does portray
some important qualities, such as can women today be portrayed as only being valued because
of their ovaries?
Copin, Kate. The Awakening. CreateSpace, 2013. ISBN 9781497441910
Kate Chopin, the first American woman to write about womens roles as wives and mothers,
writes about a woman who is unhappy with the life she has, because she is a wife and a
mother, and cant keep up with the social pressures. This classic will give students the chance to
not only critically analyze classic literature, but to also discuss women during this time era and
what society expected of them.
Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. Picador, 2007. ISBN 9780312427290.
This is about the story of Dinah, who is brushed upon in the Book of Genesis. Dinah tells her
stories of her four mothers, growing up in the red tent, and sisterhood. This will help students
not only understand the importance of sisterhood, but also how women in the biblical era
actually lived in red tents and the significance of the tents. It is fictional, but it will teach readers
some very important information about women in the B.C. era.
Kerman, Piper. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Womens Prison. Random House, 2011.
ISBN 9780385523394.
During Pipers college days she was known for smuggling drugs to make some extra cash. Well,
ten years later she is convicted and sent to prison. This is her story, about smuggling drugs, life
before prison, and life in a womans prison. This autobiography is an important text, because it
will give students a firsthand look at what it is like to be in a womans prison.
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. HarperCollins, 2013. ISBN 9780061148514
Esther Greenwood is trying to juggle strained relationships with her mother and boyfriend,
while trying to stay afloat with her career. Esther starts falling deeper and deeper into
depression, to the point of a breakdown. It will not only give students the experience to read a
classic, but another reminder as to how much was expected of women to the point of mental
breakdowns.
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780425232200.
Skeeter, a woman who has just graduated college, wants to write a novel about what it is like to
be a black maid for white Southern families. She gets together with two maids, Aibillen and
Minnie, to write a brutally truthful story about being a black woman in the South. This will give
readers a better understanding of not just white women, but poor black women who served as
maids for white women. Readers will get an idea of how different life was for a white woman
versus a black woman.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Houghton, 2003. ISBN 9780156028356.
This is a story about Celie, a poor Southern black woman, who overcomes struggle after
struggle that men inflict on her. The story is told mostly through Celies letters that are
addressed to God. Readers will get a better understanding of what life possibly was like for
poor black women, with the discussion of rape and physical abusive, it will leave readers with a
better understanding of how some men believed women were the weaker sex.
WS 303:
Gross, Rita M. A Garland of Feminist Reflections: Forty Years of Religious Exploration.
University of California Press, 2009. ISBN 9780520255869.
Gross looks at how feminism affects religion, specifically the discipline of religion. Readers will
get the answer to what Gross found about religion and feminism. This will be an eye opener for
many students, it will teach them how much religion and feminism clash and how much
patriarchy has influenced religion.
Keddie, Nikki R. Women in the Middle East: Past and Present. Princeton, 2012. ISBN
978400845057.
This is a concise and comprehensive history of Middle Eastern women. It explains womens lives
in the Middle East from the past and present, and explains how religion has impacted women in
this culture. This is a very important text to cover, because it talks about the struggle and a very
controversial religion among many. Students will get a better understanding of what it is like to
be a Middle Eastern woman.
Sharma, Arvind. Fundamentalism and Women in World Religions. Bloomsbury Academic,
2008. ISBN 9780567027498
This is a collection of essays by women scholars who explore fundamentalism as a method of
limiting womens religious roles. Religions that are covered are: Hinduism, Buddhism,
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. This is an important text to have, because it
covers a wide variety of religions and what it is like to be a woman in each of those religions.
WS 317:
DuBois, Ellen Carol. Through Womens Eyes, Combined Volume: An American History with
Documents. Bedford, 2012. ISBN 9780312676032.
This texts main focus is women of ethnicities, classes, religions, and regions from the past to
present. Its gives students the understanding of how women are an important part of U.S.
history. To really understand the history of women and how far women have come, students
will be able to explore the very beginning to see how much determination goes into make
society a better and easier place for women.
Buhle, Mari Jo. U.S. Womens History. Pearson, 2008. ISBN 9780131839168.
This text examines relationships between men and women, as well as how women who were
central to the making of Americas History. Students will realize the importance of HIStory
and how this may not necessarily be the case, rather much of Americas history was also made
because of women.
Kerber, Linda K. Womens America: Refocusing the Past. Oxford, 2010. ISBN 9780195388329.
With sixty articles, this textbook demonstrates why gender has become an important topic to
study. It takes you back to the role women had as reformers in the nineteenth century and
women in the military. Many students have conformed to the patriarchy society they live in,
but this text will teach students why gender and gender stereotypes throughout history is an
important topic to examine.
WS 320:
Bryan, Patricia L. Midnight Assassin. University of Iowa Press, 2007. ISBN 9781587296055.
This non-fiction text is about John Hossack, an Iowa farmer, in 1900 was attacked and killed
while he slept at home next to his wife. Margaret Hossack, his wife, was found guilty and
sentenced to life in prison. A year later she was released on bail to await trial, but the trial could
not decide who murdered John. Margaret died in 1916, leaving the mystery of who killed John
unsolved. Students will get an understanding and own personal experience trying to decide
who they think murdered John. But the bigger message is examining why the jury of men were
so quick to agree that Margaret was the one to murder John, when they didnt even have hard
evidence of it.
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

Mallicoat, Stacy L. Women and Crime: A Text/Reader. SAGE, 2011. ISBN 9781412987509.
The majority of this text covers the history and theories of women committing crimes, women
in prison, sentencing of female offenders, and race and diversity. This is an important text for
students to understand why women commit crimes and who are more likely to commit them.
Welch, Claire. Crimes of the Century: Women Killers. Motorbooks, 2014. ISBN
9780857336675.
Welch takes a look in the minds of the worlds most infamous women serial murderers. This will
give students an idea of how major life experiences as a child, teen, or adult has made women
become murderers. Welch explores the ideas of an absentee father, abusive parent, abusive
spouse, and the pressure to be the stereotypical role that society throws on women, to see if
these could be factors as to why these women snapped. This text gives students the facts about
why women kill, and how gender stereotypes put a lot of pressure on women.
WS 370:
Dines, Gail. Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader. SAGE, 2010. ISBN
9781412974417.
This text focuses on the gender issues and roles that are played out in the most famous TV
shows and movies. Most obvious roles are sexy and airhead women, or the strong, masculine
man who wears the pants in his family. This text will encourage students to critically analyze
media in todays society.
Ross, Karen. Gendered Media: Women, Men, and Identity Politics. Rowman & Littlefield,
2009. ISBN 9781442201040.
This text not only reflects on how women are portrayed in the media, but also masculinity/ies,
and gay and lesbians. With so much emphasis on women in Women Studies, sometimes its
easy to over look the gay, lesbian, and also masculinity aspects. So this text will give better
insight on the societys portrayal on all these roles.
WS 415:
Daniels, Cynthia. Exposing Men: The Science and Politics of Male Reproduction. Oxford, 2006.
ISBN 9780195148411.
Daniels discusses how it was once taboo to talk about mens sexual and reproductive abilities,
which now isnt the case. Daniels also looks at how men today are more reluctant to seek help
for health related problems, because men feel they have to live up to the gender stereotype of
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

being manly. This is an important text for students, because it also shows that men also have
these stereotypical roles placed on themselves as well, and it is important that students analyze
how society influences not only women, but men as well.
Roberts, Dorothy. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty.
Knopf, 1998. ISBN 9780679758693.
This text looks specifically on social policy, welfare, and reproduction rights for poor black
women. Through a historical lens, readers will see how poor black women were treated in the
past and how they are treated now, by seeing what similarities have been carried over through
the generations. Its important for students to acknowledge these situations and keep in mind
how women, still to this day, do not have complete freedom of their body.
Woliver, Laura R. The Political Geographies of Pregnancy. University of Illinois Press, 2008.
ISBN 9780252075971.
Woliver looks at the politics and how they have tried to control womens rights of having
complete control over their bodies. And exploring the idea of why have politics become so
involved in womens reproductive rights? Students need to better familiarize themselves with
this topic, because it is something that will most likely be talked about in politics for a long time.
By having a general idea of what is going on in this aspect of politics, students will then be able
to analyze politics and their involvement with everything reproductive.
General Sources:
EBSCO Host- Womens Studies International
This database contains the latest scholarship in feminist research; it gives information across a
wide area, some topics being: sociology, history, political science, international relations, arts
and humanities, business and education. With this variety, there are journals, newspapers,
books, reports, dissertations, websites, and more. Students will find this a very reliable source
when conducting research for class, with the wide variety of documents that are offered,
students will find this very useful.
Everyday Life of Women in America, c.1800-1920 Database
This database contains sources from Sallie Bingham Center for Womens History, Duke
University and The New York Public Library. It contains images, periodicals, pamphlets on the
19
th
and 20
th
century of social and gender issues, religion, race, education, and marriage
employments. This will give students the access to focus on women specifically during this time
and get very good insight on the daily lives of women, as well as men.
Stefanie Schmidt
Core Collection Project-Academic Library

InteLex Past Masters: Women Writers Database
This database contains scholarly editions, published and unpublished works, articles and essays,
and reviews of the important women writers in the English Language. This will help students
who are taking Women in Literature to get more insight about popular writers from the past,
and learn more about their works for potential research projects.
Selection Criteria:
While making decisions on the selection a few questions came into consideration:
1. Will this material benefit students?
2. Is this material appropriate for that certain class?
3. Is the price reasonable/affordable?
4. Is it relatively up to date with the information provided?
5. Will students find this useful?
These were the main factors that came into play when deciding what material to choose from.
Teachers teaching this subject were asked what textbooks would benefit their classes and their
students. Before deciding what books to select, reviews and outside sources of what people
thought of the textbook were taken into consideration. The core collection was well thought
over and its main purpose for this collection is to help students succeed in this education, with
the help of the carefully selected collection.
Review Sources:
Book Index with Reviews
JSTOR
Barnes and Noble