Program Overview

Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program focuses on explaining how gender is produced within social institutions and how these institutions affect individual lives. The program analyzes the mutual constitution of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, and religion, addressing issues of neglect, omission, and bias in curricula while honing critical thinking skills vital to a liberal education.

Program Courses

• WGS 150: Gender, Race, and Sexuality
  • This course addresses the complex historical and contemporary relationships among gender, race, and sexuality as important and interdependent aspects of social life.
• WGS 224: Philosophy of Race and Gender
  • This course provides historical background for understanding racial inequalities, focuses on the concepts of race and gender, and explores the concept of intersectionality.
• WGS 250: An Introduction to Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • An interdisciplinary introduction to frameworks and approaches in the field of women's, gender, and sexuality studies.
• WGS 260: Writing in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • Focuses on the development of writing skills for the discipline of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, fostering information literacy and strong research practices.
  • Prerequisites: WGS 250 or WGS 270
• WGS 270: Introduction to LGBTQI Studies
  • An introduction to the academic study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex histories, experiences, and cultures.
• WGS 280: Women's Health and Bodies
  • Examines how politics and culture shape ideas about diverse women's health and bodies, including topics such as gender, race, sexuality, disability, reproduction, disease, violence, and the health care system.
• WGS 310: Christianity and the Construction of Gender
  • Study of the role of categories of male and female in the creation and maintenance of Christian notions of holiness, authority, and hierarchy in historical perspective.
• WGS 311: Gender and Violence
  • An exploration of gender-based violence in contemporary culture and social life, including topics such as assault, stalking, intimate partner violence, and media portraits of gender violence.
• WGS 329: Sociological Perspectives on Gender
  • Inquiry into the status of genders in society, emphasizing structural and institutional relationships, socialization, and the continuities and discontinuities in gendered displays across the life cycle.
• WGS 333: Postcolonial and Transnational Feminisms
  • Examines histories of, and critical feminist responses to, western colonialism and imperialism, exploring the construction of race, gender, class, and sexuality within imperial projects and anti-imperial movements.
  • Prerequisites: WGS 250 or WGS 270
• WGS 334: Latin American and Latinx Feminist and Queer Thought
  • Invites students to learn about Latin American Feminist and Queer thought, its social impact, and related transnational networks from the 17th century until today.
• WGS 350: Introduction to Feminist Theories
  • Explores and evaluates feminist theories in a socio-historical context, raising questions about their implications for different methods of inquiry and about the nature of knowledge and rational thought.
  • Prerequisites: WGS 250 or WGS 270
• WGS 374: Ecofeminism
  • Study of Ecofeminism as a philosophy and social movement that focuses on interconnections between feminism and environmentalism, analyzing paradigms and inequalities that devalue and oppress both 'women' and 'nature'.
• WGS 375: Topics in Native American and Indigenous Studies
  • Exploration of the literatures, cultural productions, histories, and politics of indigenous peoples, with topics varying depending on the section.
• WGS 400: Independent Study
  • Intensive independent study of specialized topics, with prerequisites including permission of the sponsoring instructor.
• WGS 419: Gender, Crime, and Deviance
  • Examines key questions in scholarly literature on gender, crime, and deviance, including how gender socialization, gender roles, and institutions affect males' and females' offending, deviant behavior, and victimization.
• WGS 430: Critical Sexuality Studies and Queer Theory
  • Examines sexuality as an identity and an object of knowledge in connection to race, class, and gender, including an exploration of the history of, and new developments in, queer theory.
  • Prerequisites: WGS 350 or permission of instructor
• WGS 450: Topics Seminar in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • An in-depth study of a selected topic or topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, involving directed reading and research.
• WGS 460: Internship in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • Practical experience in a variety of professional settings, including biweekly seminars with the internship coordinator, requiring at least 7-10 hours a week at internship sites.
  • Prerequisites: WGS 250, plus 6 additional hours in WGS, and 6 hours in core courses in the major if other than WGS.
• WGS 490: Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Senior Capstone Course
  • Senior-level work on a major theme in the field of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, where each student designs and completes a culminating research project.
  • Prerequisites: Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Major
• WGS 493: Honors Work
  • Prerequisite: Permission of instructor, 3.30 GPA in the major, 12 s.h. in the major, with the possibility of repeating for credit if the topic of study changes.