Women’s and Gender Studies, B.A.

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A major in Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) enables students to explore the social, political, and cultural dimensions of gender and inequity. WGS is the study of how gender structures everything from our innermost sense of self to transnational circuits of society and economy. WGS uses an intersectional perspective, which means that we understand gender to be co-constituted with race, ethnicity, sexuality, nation, ability, and other forms of social power. We use an interdisciplinary approach that examines social structures, institutions, and ideologies of gender through social, historical, political, legal, and cultural lenses.

Emphasizing the connections between theory and practice, Women’s and Gender Studies encourages applied learning through internships, service learning, cultural production, and research. The WGS Department’s general education courses and lecture series produce campus-wide transformative consciousness, while our major courses further depth and engagement. WGS classes are places where students can strengthen critical awareness and build community.

A major in WGS empowers students to understand and engage in building a more equitable world. An intersectional feminist analysis facilitates critical exploration of power, difference, and the production of knowledge. It also compels us to envision more just alternatives and commit to transformative action.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students should be able to do the following:

Basic Themes and Categories of Analysis in WGS

Critically examine how gender structures people’s identities, interactions, and experiences in relation to race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ability, nation, and other intersecting forms of difference.
Understand masculinity and femininity as historically and culturally specific social constructions situated within fields of power.
Appreciate how and why gender is embedded in and influences culture and major social institutions (i.e., family, health care, law, education, religion, the workplace, and the media).

Learning Objectives Specific to WGS

Demonstrate understanding of basic themes and categories of analysis in Women’s and Gender Studies.
Describe, compare, and evaluate the major writings and trends in feminist theory.
Use and critically assess qualitative feminist methods used in social science research, including advanced development of skills in library research and in-depth interviewing.
Apply concepts and theory acquired in WGS courses to internships.
Engagement in feminist praxis that joins theory and research to specific plans for individual and social change.

Learning Objectives Related to General Education/General Skills

Demonstrate critical thinking abilities (e.g., the ability to ask critical questions about the theory and methodology contained in required readings and to then make connections between theory, research, and experience).
Demonstrate oral communication skills (e.g., the ability to make an oral presentation to the class and to work with others in groups).
Demonstrate written communication skills (e.g., the ability of students to develop their writing abilities, communicate effectively, and write for different audiences).

Learning Objectives Relating Theory with Practice

Apply the principles of feminist pedagogy to student learning. Feminist pedagogy requires that students become active participants in their own learning.
Apply the principles of feminist pedagogy to students’ own lives in order to become active participants in the process of social, personal, and political change.

Degree Requirements

See the “Degree Requirements ” in the University Catalog for complete details on general degree requirements.

General Education Requirements (48 units)

See the “General Education Program ” requirements in the University Catalog for information on General Education requirements. Some major requirements may double count for GE requirements.

Core Requirements

WGS 200 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies Unit(s): 3
WGS 201 - Feminist Lecture Series Unit(s): 1-4
WGS 375 - Gender, Power and Freedom in U.S. History Unit(s): 3
WGS 385 - Transnational Feminisms Unit(s): 3-4
WGS 398 - Careers in Women’s and Gender Studies Unit(s): 1
WGS 425 - Feminist Research Methodology Unit(s): 3-4
WGS 474 - Foundations of Feminist Thought Unit(s): 4
WGS 475 - Contemporary Feminist Theory Unit(s): 4
WGS 485 - Senior Seminar Unit(s): 4
WGS 499 - Internship Unit(s): 1-4

Pathways

WGS students will choose to specialize in one of the following two pathways: 1) Community/Clinical or, 2) Cultural/Critical

1) Community/Clinical: Students interested in community organizing, social work, health care, education, and/or counseling will consider this pathway. Courses emphasize community and identity development, social transformation and justice movements, institutions and organizations, bodies and health, and service learning.

2) Cultural/Critical: Students interested in the arts and art activism, cultural work and activism, education, and/or advanced degrees in humanities, critical social sciences, or law will consider this pathway. Courses emphasize critical theories, pedagogies, ideologies and structures, and cultural production, representation, and activism.

The listed courses are eligible toward each pathway. Students are encouraged to consult with their faculty advisor and the department chair to request approval for unlisted courses to count towards their pathway. Many courses without WGS course designation have home department prerequisites and restrictions. WGS majors seeking to register in such courses must meet these requirements. If WGS majors wish to fulfill their pathway largely with another department’s courses, they are encouraged to double major or minor.

Elective(s)

Additional WGS courses or recognized courses in other departments.

Units

Total Core Units: 27

Total pathway units: 12

Total Elective(s) Units: 4

Total units necessary for major: 43

Sample Four-Year Plan