About this program
Gender Studies offers students an interdisciplinary examination of the role of gender across the spectrum of human experience. The program investigates how gender functions and shapes the lives and experiences of women and men, including the institutional, social, and scientific forces that create meaning around gender; the struggles and achievements of women across cultures and time; and the study of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) identity and communities.
Courses in the Gender Studies Program invite students to explore topics such as:
- the social construction of femininity and masculinity from both historical and contemporary perspectives;
- the intersections of gender with race, class, religion, nationality, age, sexual orientation, and other social categories
- gender and the body;
- gender and sexual identity as organizing factors in social institutions and creative production;
- gender within international contexts; and
- feminist theory.
The Gender Studies Program consists of a core set of courses taught by faculty from a variety of disciplines as well as electives from across the university. Students in the program build their understanding of gender through academic study as well as community-based learning and action. The curriculum as a whole enables students to develop the analytic and communication skills crucial to professional success, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the history and contemporary dynamics of gender.
Student outcomes
Proficiency in:
- Foundational Concepts - The student’s work demonstrates understanding of foundational Gender Studies terminology, concepts, and social categories.
- Analysis - The student’s work demonstrates the ability to independently analyze methods, scholarship, and/or cultural artifacts.
- Gender Studies Theory - The student’s work shows understanding of disciplinary theory, critical concepts, and methods.
- Application - The student’s work demonstrates the ability to connect the academic study of gender to practical career applications.
- Ethics -The student’s work shows evidence of ethical and critical thinking about gender in the public realm beyond academic study.