Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science - Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Concentration

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on research and teaching in three overlapping fields of inquiry. Scholarship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies integrates knowledge and methodologies from many disciplines to analyze the various historical and political circumstances, social and economic forces, and cultural representations that shape gendered lives. It emphasizes the fundamental intersection of gender and sexuality with other crucial categories of human identity and experience, including race, ethnicity, and class. It explores the connections between the individual and institutional systems of power in local, national, and transnational contexts. It draws on the insights of feminist theory and practice and develops new modes of critical thought and new models for activism. The Program offers a number of interdisciplinary courses, including introductory courses and special topics courses open to all undergraduates; in addition, it brings together a wide range of courses taught in different departments and programs, each contributing a unique approach to specific topics and materials within the broad and diverse study of women, gender, and sexuality. Learning Objectives for the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Students graduating with a major in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies will be able to: 1.Understand and use fundamental concepts in feminist scholarship, including Social construction: how historical, political, economic and/or cultural forces shape individual experience of gender identity and/or sexuality Intersectionality: how the dynamics of gender, sexuality, class, race, and ethnicity interact in local and global contexts Interdisciplinary: how multiple disciplinary perspectives must be engaged and synthesized in formulating research questions Critical epistemology: how the standpoint or situation of the researcher impacts the generation of knowledge 2.Explain and evaluate the significant intellectual and cultural contributions of women and/or LGBTQ individuals to human history and experience nnect theory to practice through scholarship, civic engagement, social justice activism, or creative expression. 4.Design and carry out an independent research project, which includes Formulating original questions for investigation Providing a theoretical and/or methodological framework relevant to those questions Analyzing scholarship pertinent to the topic under investigation Presenting research results in an appropriate critical or creative format Communicating research results in oral summary both to academic mentors & to wider audience at a public forum