Women and Gender Studies

The interdisciplinary women and gender studies undergraduate major and minor offer students a rigorous but flexible program of study that examines women, gender, and sexuality in relation to race, class, national identity, and ability. Students explore the ways that gender and sexuality work in diverse communities and in different cultural and historical contexts. Areas of inquiry include but are not limited to: gender/sex systems across cultures and historical periods; gender, sexuality, and culture; legal and public policy issues around gender and sexuality; women's participation in social and cultural production; transnational feminisms; feminist theory and its relation to different philosophical and epistemological traditions; sexual identity politics and histories; and queer theory. Drawing from approximately 50 courses, many cross-listed with other academic units, students fulfill the requirements of the major or minor and can design an emphasis relevant to their special interests by focusing on one of three cognate areas: gender/sexuality, race/ethnicity, or global/transnational. The program houses a reading library and organizes colloquia, workshops, and other cultural and educational events.

Students have gone on to careers in fields such as law, medicine, government, public health, public policy, social work, teaching, counseling, advocacy, media, public relations, education, politics, fundraising, small business development, librarianship, and arts administration.

The undergraduate degree and the minor in women and gender studies will provide students with an in-depth understanding of:

  • the historical and cross-cultural variability of social norms of masculinity and femininity
  • the ways in which gender/sex systems intersect with other axes of domination, such as class, race, ethnicity, ability, and national identity
  • the centrality of gender and sexuality to politics, economics, social relations, and culture at the local, national, and international level
  • the diversity of global feminism
  • how gender roles and expectations play out in the global economy
  • how power and privilege function at the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, and national identity
  • how women participate in, contribute to, and transform areas of social life including politics, economics, social relations, culture, and religion
  • institutionalized discrimination and violence against women, girls, and LGBTQ individuals
  • women’s activism and resistance to oppression
  • the varied research methods and theoretical perspectives used in women, gender, and sexuality studies, including the relationship between theory and practice
  • the history of women, gender, and sexuality studies as an academic discipline and the main themes that have characterized its emergence

In addition, students with degrees in women and gender studies will be able to:

  • communicate complex ideas related to women and gender studies to academic and general audiences
  • employ creative problem solving techniques, especially with regard to research and analysis of the issues noted in the previous section
  • organize and synthesize material in new ways, especially with regard to research and analysis of the issues noted in the previous section
  • read, critically evaluate, and synthesize women and gender studies scholarship
  • work collaboratively with colleagues and the general public, especially with regard to the issues noted in the previous section

For more information, visit wgst.colorado.edu.

Course code for this program is WMST.