The Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Program within the College of Liberal Arts offers an undergraduate major, minor and certificate in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies (GSWS) as well as a minor in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies. The program offers a cohesive framework of inquiry into gender and sexuality issues in the U.S. and around the world. The curriculum for the Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies highlights the ways in which gender and sexuality relate to other social categories, such as race, class, disability, nationality and ethnicity. As an interdisciplinary field, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies takes into account social, historical, economic, political and cultural variables in its study of women's experience, the workings of gender as both an analytical category and identity, and the functioning of sexuality in social life. The field pays particular attention to inequality and discrimination based on gender, sexuality and gender identity. Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies also seeks to transform traditional fields of study by incorporating new methodologies, data, theories and frameworks developed by feminist scholars.
The Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Program offers students an interdisciplinary curriculum taught by faculty from various departments and other schools and colleges across the university. Students learn to apply the methods and theories of social scientists, historians, philosophers, film and literary critics, and legal analysts to the study of women's experiences, as well as gender, sexuality and trans identities. They explore a growing body of feminist theories that revise our understanding of gender, society and culture.
