Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Special requirements

A Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies requires a total of 120 credits with 30 credits in GSWS courses and at least 15 of those credits in upper-level courses. Students may choose a general interdisciplinary program or a health and science concentration.

All students must complete the general education requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in the College of Humanities and Sciences. All students also must complete core course requirements of GSWS 201 Introduction to Women’s Studies and GSWS 401 Topical Senior Seminar.

The general interdisciplinary program requires that students take either GSWS 301 Feminist Social Theory or GSWS 352/ENGL 352 Feminist Literary Theory, plus one three-credit course from each perspective area: diversity/international perspectives on gender, sexuality and women; humanities perspectives on women on gender, sexuality and women; social science perspectives on women on gender, sexuality and women; and health and science. The remaining credits in the major are electives, but must be GSWS courses or courses cross-listed with GSWS. These electives may include GSWS 391 Special Topics and GSWS 492 Independent Study. Note, however, that an independent study is permitted only after the student has an agreement with a supervising faculty member and permission from the major’s adviser.

Degree requirements for Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Learning outcomes

Upon completing this program, students will know and know how to do the following:

Be conversant in feminist epistemology
Analyze through a feminist lens the social, cultural, artistic, literary, historical, economic, political and scientific forces and accomplishments that shape the lived experiences of women and people of diverse sexualities and genders
Display a working knowledge of online databases and library resources requisite to conducting contemporary and archival research
Analyze data, refute bias and exercise informed judgment in problem-solving related to the lives of diverse people and to issues of social justice
Synthesize information and formulate clearly articulated arguments
Integrate complex thoughts into written and spoken discourse
Present clear, organized and coherent arguments as demonstrated through oral and written assignments
Be conversant in the ethical dimensions of gender, sexuality and women’s issues
Critique civic engagement from a feminist perspective
Display a working knowledge of social injustice and advocacy
Understand feminist theorizing across disciplinary and cultural contexts for both methodology and epistemology and analyze and evaluate problems and questions by applying the intersection of knowledge, gender, race, class, culture, power and knower influence
Identify and comprehend issues of social justice, and analyze their effects on gender and sexual minorities, and women and girls in the U.S. and around the world

General Education requirements (32-46 credits)	Credits
University Core Education Curriculum (minimum 21 credits)
UNIV 111 Focused Inquiry I	3
UNIV 112 Focused Inquiry II	3
UNIV 200 Writing and Rhetoric	3
Approved humanities/fine arts	3
Approved natural/physical sciences	3-4
Approved quantitative literacy	3-4
Approved social/behavioral sciences	3-4

Additional College of Humanities and Sciences requirements (11-23 credits)
HUMS 202 Choices in a Consumer Society	1
Approved H&S diverse and global communities	3
Approved H&S general education electives	6-8
Approved H&S human, social and political behavior (fulfills University Core social/behavioral sciences)
Approved H&S literature and civilization (fulfills University Core humanities/fine arts)
Approved H&S science and technology (fulfills University Core natural/physical sciences)
Experiential fine arts (course offered by the School of the Arts)	1-3
Foreign language through the 102 level (by course or placement)	0-8

Collateral requirements (10-11 credits)

BIOL and BIOZ 101 Biological Concepts and Laboratory (fulfills H&S science and technology)
STAT 208 Statistical Thinking (fulfills H&S quantitative literacy)
Natural science: 100- to 200-level chemistry or physics course, CHEM 110 Chemistry and Society or PHYS 103 Elementary Astronomy (fulfills H&S general education elective)

Major requirements (30 credits)
GSWS 201 Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies	3
GSWS 301 Feminist Social Theory or GSWS 352/ENGL 352 Feminist Literary Theory	3
GSWS diversity/international perspectives on gender, sexuality and women (200- to 400-level)	3
GSWS humanities perspectives on women on gender, sexuality and women (200- to 400-level)	3
GSWS social science perspectives on women on gender, sexuality and women (200- to 400-level)	3
GSWS health and science perspectives (300- to 400-level)	3
GSWS 401 Topical Senior Seminar (capstone)	3
GSWS electives (two of three courses must be upper-level)	9

Open electives (33-48 credits)
Open electives	33-48

Total minimum requirement	120

Perspective areas

Note: A course listed in two different areas may not be used to fulfill both area requirements for the major. Some courses may have prerequisites to meet before enrollment.

Diversity/international perspectives on gender, sexuality and women
GSWS 206/AFAM 206/SOCY 206 African American Family Relationships
GSWS 305/AFAM 305/SOCY 305 African American Family in Social Context
GSWS 318/AFAM 318/POLI 318 Politics of Race, Class and Gender
GSWS/HIST 339, 340 History of Women in Europe
GSWS/ENGL 353 Women Writers (when international writers)
GSWS/ENGL 354 Lesbian Texts/Queer Theories
GSWS 366/INTL 368/POLI 366 Women and Global Politics
GSWS/RELS 371 Islam and Women
GSWS/INTL/RELS 372 Global Women’s Spirituality
GSWS 380 Lesbian and Bisexual Women
GSWS/AFAM/HIST 390 Africa and the Americas: Slavery, Gender and Race
GSWS/FLET/INTL 391 Topics in Foreign Literature in English Translation (when the topic is women Francophone writers)

Humanities perspectives on women on gender, sexuality and women
GSWS/ENGL 236 Women in Literature
GSWS/HIST 339, 340 History of Women in Europe
GSWS/HIST 341 American Women’s History
GSWS/ENGL 352 Feminist Literary Theory
GSWS/ENGL 353 Women Writers
GSWS/ENGL 354 Lesbian Texts/Queer Theories
GSWS/RELS 371 Islam and Women
GSWS/INTL/RELS 372 Global Women’s Spirituality
GSWS/RELS 373 Women and the Bible
GSWS/AFAM/HIST 390 Africa and the Americas: Slavery, Gender and Race
GSWS 391/ENGL 410 Medieval Studies: __________ (when the topic is women)
GSWS 391/ENGL 411 Early Modern Studies: ___________ (when the topic is women)
GSWS 391/ENGL 412 18th-century Studies (when the topic is women)
GSWS 391/ENGL 491 Topics in Writing (when the topic is women)
GSWS 391/FLET 491 Topics in Foreign Literature in English Translation (when the topic women Francophone writers)
GSWS 391/PHIL 391 Topics in Philosophy (when the topic is women and science)
GSWS/ENGL/LING 452 Language and Gender
GSWS 457/ARTH 457 Women, Art and Society

Social science perspectives on women on gender, sexuality and women
GSWS/AFAM/SOCY 206 African American Family Relationships
GSWS 301 Feminist Social Theory
GSWS/ANTH/SOCY 304 The Family
GSWS/AFAM/SOCY 305 African American Family in Social Context
GSWS/POLI 316 Women and the Law
GSWS/POLI/AFAM 318 Politics of Race, Class and Gender
GSWS/POLI 319 Women and American Politics
GSWS/SOCY 333 Sociology of Sex and Gender
GSWS/SOCY 334 Sociology of Women
GSWS/PSYC 335 Psychology of Women
GSWS/SOCY 336 Violence Against Women
GSWS 366/POLI 366/INTL 368 Women and Global Politics
GSWS 380 Lesbian and Bisexual Women
GSWS/CRJS 382 Gender, Crime and Social Justice
GSWS/POLI 391 Topics in Political Science (when the topic is gender politics in popular culture)
GSWS/POLI 391 Topics in Political Science (when the topic is contemporary issues in feminist theory)
GSWS/POLI 391 Topics in Political Science (when the topic is women and health care policy)
GSWS/POLI 391 Topics in Political Science (when the topic is reproductive technologies, ethics and policies)
GSWS/AFAM 491 Topics in Women’s Studies (when the topic is anthropological and international perspectives on women and health)

Health and science
GSWS/SOCY 333 Sociology of Sex and Gender
GSWS/PSYC 335 Psychology of Women
GSWS/SOCY 336 Violence Against Women
GSWS/ENVS 391 Topics in Environmental Studies (when the topic is women, nature and the environment)
GSWS/FLET 391 Topics in Foreign Literature in Translation (when the topic is women and madness in Francophone literature)
GSWS/MASC 391 Topics in Mass Communications (when the topic is women and technology)
GSWS/PHIL 391 Topics in Philosophy (when the topic is women and science)
GSWS/POLI 391 Topics in Political Science (when the topic is women and health care policy)
GSWS/POLI 391 Topics in Political Science (when the topic is reproductive technologies, ethics and policies)
GSWS 392 Women’s Health Care Across the Life Span
GSWS 393 Feminist Research and Methods
GSWS/AFAM 491 Topics in Women’s Studies (when the topic is anthropological and international perspectives on women and health)

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