Women’s, gender & sexuality studies courses draw from the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences to examine how gendered relations affect individuals and society. Students are encouraged to develop a rich and complex understanding of the range of people’s gendered experiences, underscoring differences based on race and ethnicity, class, culture, national origin, sexual identity and sexual practices, religion, ability and age.
Courses that are cross-listed with WGSS should align with the at least one of the overall learning goals of the WGSS department:
- To analyze how gender and sexuality norms intersect with evolving racial, ethnic, classed and geopolitical systems of power and marginalization.
- To recognize gender and sexuality as lenses through which to explore and explain distribution of material resources, power, authority and values.
- To understand feminism as a vibrant, multifaceted social movement, analytical frame and political identity that challenges contemporary systems of injustice creating hierarchies between and among women and men.
- To demonstrate awareness of how feminist and women’s activisms are connected to historical and contemporary social justice movements.
- To be aware of the plasticity of sexualities and genders across the cultural spectrum.
- To link theoretical abstractions to practical engagements with the campus the community, city, state and larger world.
All of our topical courses are organized around four thematics that encourage breadth of knowledge in our students, as they reflect the central pillars in contemporary WGSS. Each cross-listed course should align with one (or at most, two) of these thematics. Full descriptions can be found on the department’s website.
- Histories, Theories and Representations
- Transnational and Global Perspectives
- Sexual and Gendered Pluralities
- Intersectionalities, Institutions and Power
In addition, the sexuality studies minor requires one course on queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans approaches to an area of study. The QLGBT Perspectives thematic is used to designate this; the full description is also on the department website.
To have a course considered for cross-listing, please fill out this form, and email this form to the WGSS department chair.
