Women’s and Gender Studies Minor

Vicky MacLean, Director

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program offers the Women’s and Gender Studies minor to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of gender issues and the position of women in society. The program encourages a historically grounded comparative, global feminist perspective. All courses are informed by theories of the social construction of gender and address issues of diversity including race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, nationality, age, and/or ability. The program emphasizes an interactive learning process and promotes scholarly research.

Upon selecting the Women’s and Gender Studies minor, students may contact the program director for advising.

General Requirements

The minor in Women’s and Gender Studies requires 18 credits. All students choosing a WGST minor are required to take WGST 2100 , which can be taken as part of General Education requirements. Students are also required to take WGST 4500 (completion of WGST 2100 and junior/senior standing required for this class), as well as one course focused either on sexuality (WGST 3010 or WGST 3030 ) or on multicultural/global diversity (WGST 3400 or WGST 3900 ). While students are required to take one course in either sexuality or multicultural/global diversity, they are encouraged to take a course in each area and could choose to take multiple courses in each area with the additional courses counting as electives. Students choose three elective courses. Electives may be drawn from WGST courses (no limit) as well as approved departmental courses (no more than two courses per department outside of WGST).

Requirements (9 hours)

WGST 2100 - Introduction to Women’s Studies 3 credit hours
WGST 4500 - Feminist Theory 3 credit hours
WGST 3010 - Sexuality Studies 3 credit hours OR
WGST 3030 - Topics in Sexuality 3 credit hours OR
WGST 3400 - Multicultural Women’s Voices 3 credit hours OR
WGST 3900 - Women and Globalism 3 credit hours

Electives (9 hours)

Any WGST course or departmental electives from at least two departments

Departmental Courses

Not all sections of a given course will earn Women’s and Gender Studies credit; see online schedule for each term’s approved offerings. Course must be taught by WGST faculty.

ADV 3060 - Issues in Advertising: Sexuality and Gender 3 credit hours
ANTH 3710 - Topics in Anthropology 1 to 6 credit hours (approved topics only)
ANTH 3750 - Race, Class, and Gender 3 credit hours
ANTH 3752 - Cultural Images of Gender 3 credit hours
ANTH 4400 - Sex Trafficking 3 credit hours
CDFS 4140 - Violence in the Family 3 credit hours
CDFS 4340 - The Contemporary Family 3 credit hours
CJA 3700 - Women, Crime, and Justice Administration 3 credit hours
COMM 3225 - Gender Communication 3 credit hours
COMM 3245 - Women, Leadership, and Communication 3 credit hours
COMM 3810 - Topics in Culture and Social Influence 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
COMM 4400 - Sexual Communication 3 credit hours
COMM 4800 - Topics in Communication 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
DANC 4200 - Women in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Dance 3 credit hours
EMC 4800 - Seminar in Media Issues 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
EMC 4820 - Race, Gender, and Class in Media 3 credit hours
ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
ENGL 3720 - Early Women Writers 3 credit hours
ENGL 3725 - Nineteenth-Century Women Writers 3 credit hours
ENGL 3730 - Twentieth-Century Women Writers 3 credit hours
ENGL 3735 - Black Women as Writers 3 credit hours
ENGL 3770 - LGBTQIA+ Literature and Culture 3 credit hours
ENGL 3885 - Topics in Gender and Film 3 credit hours
ENGL 4350 - American Popular Literature of the 19th Century 3 credit hours
ENGL 4670 - Special Topics in Writing 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
ENGL 4900 - Selected Topics in Literature and Language 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
ENGL 4950 - Selected Topics in Contemporary Literature 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
GEOG 4270 - Special Problems and Topics in Cultural Geography 3 or 6 credit hours (approved topics only)
HIST 1020 - Survey Western Civilization II 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
HIST 3030 - Topics in African American History 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
HIST 3070 - Topics in World History 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
HIST 4550 - Women and Politics in Modern Africa 3 credit hours
HIST 4775 - U.S. Women’s History 3 credit hours
HIST 4790 - Women and Gender in Modern Europe 3 credit hours
HLTH 4390 - Women’s Health 3 credit hours
HUM 2610 - World Literatures 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
HUM 4000 - Women of the Middle East: Representations and Perceptions 3 credit hours
JOUR 4800 - Seminar in Media Issues 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
JOUR 4820 - Race, Gender, and Class in Media 3 credit hours
MUHL 4810 - Women In Music 3 credit hours
PHIL 4250 - Philosophy of Gender 3 credit hours
PHIL 4800 - Readings in Philosophy 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
PS 3010 - Women’s Rights in American Law 3 credit hours
PS 4260 - Women and Public Policy 3 credit hours
PSY 4620 - Psychology of Women 3 credit hours
RS 4201 - Women and Religion 3 credit hours
SOC 3152 - Sociology of Sex/ualities 3 credit hours
SOC 3400 - Gender and Society 3 credit hours
SOC 4140 - Violence in the Family 3 credit hours
SOC 4150 - Topics in Sociology 3 credit hours (approved topics only)
SOC 4361 - Contemporary Issues in Women’s Health 3 credit hours
SOC 4400 - Sex Trafficking 3 credit hours
SW 3050 - Women and Poverty 3 credit hours

Women’s and Gender Studies Courses

WGST 2020 - WGST Issues 3 credit hours
WGST 2500 - Women and Leadership 3 credit hours
WGST 3010 - Sexuality Studies 3 credit hours
WGST 3020 - WGST Topics 3 credit hours
WGST 3030 - Topics in Sexuality 3 credit hours
WGST 3400 - Multicultural Women’s Voices 3 credit hours
WGST 3500 - Women in the Media 3 credit hours
WGST 3900 - Women and Globalism 3 credit hours
WGST 4020 - WGST Symposium 3 credit hours
WGST 4201 - Symposium in Women’s Studies: Women and Religion 3 credit hours
WGST 4206 - Symposium in Women’s Studies: Women and the Holocaust 3 credit hours
WGST 4900 - Independent Study 3 credit hours