Women's Studies Program

Information

Women's Studies is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. It is based on feminist scholarship both within traditional disciplines and outside the framework of any single discipline. Whether examining women vis-à-vis such disciplines as biology, philosophy, political science, or business, or considering such topics as sexuality, sex-role stereotypes, or women and violence, women's studies recognizes gender as a significant category of analysis. Key, too, is analyzing the intersections of gender with other social institutions, such as class, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Women's Studies helps students discover, explore, and validate the diverse realities of women's lives, while also striving to understand the impact of cultural attitudes and social structures on both women's and men's experiences.

The minor consists of 20 semester hours, including WS:100 Introduction to Women's Studies and WS:500 Research/Practicum in Women's Studies (2-4 SH), with the remaining semester hours coming from the array of topics courses listed below as well as other women's studies topics courses offered on occasion by individual departments.