Undergraduate Program
Undergraduate Program
Undergraduate Director:Dr. Yana Rodgers
Sr. Department Administrator: Monique Gregory
The Women's & Gender Studies undergraduate program, founded in the early seventies, is one of the oldest in the nation. Currently, the program has over 200 majors and minors and serves over 1900 students annually in a wide array of core and cross-listed courses. The major, approved in 1984, introduces students to significant issues and debates in feminist scholarship, theory, and activism.
“Women’s & Gender Studies seek to enrich traditional disciplinary approaches not simply by including women but by transforming the categories, through which knowledge is produced and disseminated.”
All courses are interdisciplinary and each considers the complex dynamics among race, ethnicity, locality, class, gender, and sexuality. The readings and discussions in each class represent a wide variety of women's perspectives concerning issues such as: the conceptualization of difference, the production and recreation of femininity and masculinity, language and gender, the division of labor, women and poverty, sexual violence, reproductive rights, gay and lesbian theory, gender and popular theory, and contemporary feminist politics. Ultimately, we strive to ground both research and theory in the everyday realities of feminist activism around the globe. Women’s & Gender Studies program faculty, students and staff are active members and leaders of academic and community women’s organizations.
The WGS alumnae pursue their professional career in various fields. One-fifth of our graduates continue their education in graduate programs in different fields (political science, English, law) around the country. Many alumnae also engage in work in the area of health and pharmacy (about one fourth). Others choose law (one-fifth of the alumnae), education (one fourth) media or computer studies. Many WGS graduates continue their activist work in non-governmental organizations that engage with women and work, international politics and women’s leadership.
01:888:321 Queer Contexts: Same-Sex Desire, Culture, and Representation (3)
Cultural construction and representation of same-sex desire in Western societies. Debates about identity, subjectivity, and the uses of experience included.
01:888:291 Francophilia: Literature and Sexuality in Modern France (3)
Explores cultural representations of non-conforming sexualities in France from the late-19th century to the present. Approach combines writing exercises with close reading and analytical discussion of literature, theory, and film within evolving historical context. Taught in English.
01:888:285 Lesbians and Gay Men and Society (3)
Introduction to various disciplines' contributions to understanding the relationship of homosexuality, particularly lesbianism, to society. Includes a section on the political organization and recent theory coming out of the gay movement.
01:888:215 Introduction to Transgender Studies (3)
Survey of key themes in transgender studies. Explores the category across medicine, history, anthropology, and women's and gender studies; transgender practices as embedded in race, class, sexuality, nationality, and ability.
01:988:499 Capstone in Gender and Media (3)
Development, discussion, production, and critique of a project related to gender, media, and technology. Written and oral project presentation, and options to also create an in-depth multimedia component to the project, complete an internship, or complete a service-learning experience.
01:988:497-498 Honors Research in Women's and Gender Studies (3,3)
Individual research project to be written as honors thesis. Open only to seniors who are candidates for honors in women's and gender studies. Permission of undergraduate director required. Both semesters required.
01:988:493,494 Independent Study (3,3)
Independent study project under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Permission of associate director required.
01:988:492 Seminar: Special Topics in Women's and Gender Studies (3)
Selected interdisciplinary topics in women's and gender studies. Past topics included sexuality, popular culture, women and religion, and women and the arts. Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.
01:988:491 Seminar in Women's and Gender Studies (3)
Advanced course on a selected topic in women's and gender studies. Paper is required. Pre-requisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.
01:988:490 Seminar: Women and Contemporary Issues (3)
Intensive reading and discussion; designed for graduating seniors. Topic changes annually. Pre-requisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.