Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor

Required Course

In this course, you’ll survey the effects of cultural values and social institutions on peoples lives. Additionally, you’ll analyze sources of gender inequality—especially in terms of the social construction of gender and sexuality—and examine the intersections of race, class, and sexuality for women. The course draws heavily on student participation to integrate personal gender experiences with a base of knowledge about women.

Elective Course

Explore the multiple ways that social processes and culture construct sexuality. You will study social science research on human sexuality, the meanings of sex and gender from a sociological perspective, and the cultural mythologies that shape and inform our emotions, behaviors, and attitudes.

Elective Course

Examine feminist theories from an analytic and sociological viewpoint, including how feminist thinkers have conceptualized gender in society and these ideas have evolved over time and within particular sociopolitical contexts. Study definitional and political issues inherent in “feminism” and what it has come to mean in society. The theories studied include liberal, Marxist, psychoanalytic, and radical feminism. Throughout the course, you will learn how these theories are evaluated along the intersections of race, class, and sexual orientation.