Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Minor

As a women, gender, and sexuality studies (WGSS) minor, you will examine how gender affects many aspects of the world in which we live, such as literature, art, history, political structures, social relations, and economic institutions. You will explore women’s and men’s experiences, concerns, and perspectives and see how these vary among different social groups and at different points in time.

sample courses:

Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

This course will provide an introduction examination of major topics and concepts in the interdisciplinary field of women, gender and sexuality. We will examine the meanings attached to terms such as "man," "woman," "gay," and "sex." Topics discussed may include the history of feminist movements, masculinity, biological frameworks for understanding gender, intimate violence, sexual identities, and intersectionality.

On Love and Intimacy: Theorizing Kinship

Love and Intimacy are terms that have a lot of cultural cache. In this course, we will analyze the ways in which intimacy has been embedded within certain discourses of privacy, rights, and individuality. In addition to the couple form, we will examine friendship, celibacy, therapy and relationships people form with pets and with objects to flesh out intimacy's multiplicities to see how these forces impact these affective tides. This course will bring together history, critical theory, and film to think through various expressions of intimacy and what it means to relate to the other.