Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Majoring in WGSS

The Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies major requires 30 credit hours:

Required Courses (15 hours)

• WGS 250: Intro to Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
• WGS 270: Intro to LGBTQI studies
• WGS 333: Postcolonial/Transnational Feminisms
  • Or WGS 334: Latin American and Latinx Feminist and Queer Thought
• WGS 350: Intro to Feminist Theory
• WGS 490: Senior Capstone Course in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Electives (15 hours)

Includes any 15 hours of approved WGSS courses. These may involve internship and independent study credits.

Possible electives:
(these courses will count toward the degree when they carry the WGSS marker. Please verify with banner each semester)

BLS 348, BLS 386, CED 474, ELC 381, ENG 331, ENG 332, ENG 376, HDF 112, HDF 407, HIS 328,  PCS 205, PCS 305, PCS 309, PHI 301, PSC 336, PSY 346, WGS 280, WGS 329, WGS 400, WGS 419, WGS 450. Special topics courses or sections with central focus on women and gender may be approved for elective credit by the adviser.

*Only two Independent Studies equivalent to six credit hours may be taken toward the WGSS major.

WGSS Majors will learn:

• To explain how gender is produced within social institutions and how these institutions affect individual lives.
• To discuss histories of feminism as a social movement and feminist theories of social transformation.
• To explain theories of embodiment, such as how bodies are constituted within social and biological discourses, or the relationship between embodiment and subjectivity, consciousness, and agency.
• To critique how hegemonic feminism includes and/or excludes different theoretical perspectives, such as theories of racial formation and theories of sexuality.
• To analyze the mutual constitution of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, and religion.
• To explain gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, and religion from the perspective of postcolonial and transnational frameworks of analysis.
• To identify how feminist theories are constructed and enacted both inside and outside of the classroom.
• To identify the intellectual paradigms and political perspectives of different modes of knowledge production or interdisciplinary methodologies.
• To analyze scholarship and a variety of media in order to create original arguments in writing.
• To apply different modes of feminist praxis, such as fieldwork, performance, or research.

Double Majoring

A double major in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and a disciplinary area of study is easy to accomplish and carries lots of advantages for students with interests in particular departmental majors and gender issues. What follows are descriptions of some popular double majors and a blueprint for completing both majors in eight semesters. The possibilities for double majors are not limited to these options. Talk to your departmental adviser and to your Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies adviser about designing a program to fit your needs.

A word of advice: many of the courses for the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies major and minor also carry general education credit. With some planning, you will find it easy to major or double major and prepare for a career or graduate school.