The advent of the women's liberation movement in the past few years has prompted a curricular innovation at colleges and universities known as women's courses. As defined in this paper, women's courses explore the nature of women through historical, literary, biological and psychological means. The cause of the emergence of women's courses is the dissatisfaction with the way in which the role of women is portrayed or largely ignored in traditional programs of study. Proponents of women's studies say that the current status of women in contemporary course offerings reflects a viewpoint that takes male supremacy for granted, devaluing women's contributions to society. In addition, they assert women have internalized these negative views to the point where they have poor self-images that result in lower occupational and personal aspirations. Thus, the purpose of women's courses is to restore women's self-esteem and to instill a sense of motivation and personal identity. (Author/HS)