Women’s and Gender Studies Option

Through the interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies Option, students learn about gender and sexuality in the family, media, popular culture, language, literature and the arts, employment, psychology, religions, politics, and history.  Students strengthen critical thinking skills by questioning commonly held assumptions about gender roles and identity, sexuality, race, and class, examining intersections among different forms of oppression. Graduates are valued for their knowledge about the impact of gender on private and public life.

The WGS Option opens a seamless pathway to CUNY senior colleges where majors and/or minors are offered. Courses in WGS also develop students’ marketable skills such as research, problem solving, communication, and leadership. Demand for this expertise is strong in health care, law, education, community organizing, psychology, criminal justice, social work, counseling, and public service.

In WGS courses, students connect personal experiences with their studies, which deepens their learning and encourages civic engagement. Examining attitudes and practices that foster gender justice, WGS students are poised to effect change in their communities and places of employment.

Program of Study:
Students take one required course, Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 100), and choose two electives, one from each category below, to fulfill the nine credit Option. Course descriptions are provided.

Required Foundational Course:
WGS 100 (3 credits)—Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

I.  Social Science and Humanities
WGS 200—Gender and Work (3 cr)
WGS 201—Women and Religious Experience (3 cr)
WGS 270—Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies (3 cr)
PSY 140—Psychology of Women (3 cr)

II.  Literary Study
ENG/WGS 223—Women in Literature (3 cr)
ENG  241—Introduction to LGBTQ Literature (3 cr)
ENG 250—The Female Detective Novel (3 cr)

LAC/WGS 260—U.S. Latina Women’s Literature (3 cr)