Women and Gender Studies Minor

Description

Scholars of Women and Gender Studies investigate connections between gender, sexuality, identity, and power, applying this knowledge to social justice action and the liberation of all people. We take a decolonial, antiracist, antiableist, trans-affirming, and class-conscious approach to the critical study of gender, considering a diverse range of women’s and other marginalized gender perspectives, histories, and cultural creations and contributions. The Department promotes student success within an academic, professional, and personal context through applied advocacy projects, personalized study, and opportunities for engaged and co-curricular learning. The minor curriculum provides students with the occasion to investigate intersections of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, sexuality, and ability as dimensions of social identity, considered at local, national, and transnational levels.

Because of its interdisciplinary framework, a Women and Gender Studies minor fits particularly well with many majors, since cross-listed courses can be applied toward both major and minor requirements. Majors that pair well with this minor include:

• African and African-American Studies
• Anthropology
• Art/Art History
• Communication
• Criminal Justice
• Dance
• Education
• English
• Healthcare Studies
• History
• International Studies
• Journalism and Broadcasting
• Philosophy
• Physical Education
• Political Science
• Public Health
• Psychology
• Social Work
• Sociology
• Spanish

Admission to the Program

Any undergraduate student can declare this minor.

Program Requirements

In addition to the course requirements below, students must meet the following requirements:

1. A grade of “C” or higher must be earned for all courses in the minor.
2. Half of the credits for the minor in Women and Gender studies (9 credits) must be taken at Brockport.

Required Core Courses (9 credits)

• WMS 101 Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
• ONE course in Feminist Theory selected from:
  • WMS 409 Feminist Theory
  • WMS/AAS 423 Black Feminist Theory
• ONE course selected from:
  • WMS 360 Sex and Culture
  • WMS/PBH 419 Human Sexualities
  • WMS/SOC 369 Sociology of Sexualities
  • WMS 330 Global Perspectives on Women and Gender
  • WMS/ANT 373 LGBTQ+ Cultures

Elective Courses (9 credits)

• THREE Women and Gender Studies electives from approved, interdisciplinary cross-listed courses. At least ONE must be 300/400 level.

Total Number of Credits: 18

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

UNDERSTAND
Identify and explain factors contributing to how gender has been historically and politically constructed and how it intersects with race, class, sexuality, dis/ability and other social identity categories both in the US and globally. 

COMMUNICATE
Analyze cultural representations and contextualize them in qualitative and quantitative scholarly research to produce an original argument about how power and privilege operate in society.

APPLY
Apply anti-racist, decolonial, and collaborative feminist approaches to social justice oriented labor and/or advocacy.