Women’s and Gender Studies Major

Honors

Women’s and Gender Studies majors with outstanding academic records (a GPA of at least 3.5 in their WGS major courses and an overall GPA of 3.25 at Clark) may apply to the departmental honors program in spring of their junior year.  Those with a lower GPA can be admitted through a petition process.  To receive departmental honors, a student must successfully complete an honors thesis.  Prospective candidates for honors should choose a thesis advisor and topic in the early spring of their junior year, and then draft an honors proposal which will be reviewed by the thesis advisor and then revised and submitted by the student for consideration to the departmental honors committee following spring break.  If approved for the honors program, the student will begin writing the thesis in the fall of the senior year.  In the spring of senior year, the student finishes writing the thesis and has a thesis defense at which the thesis is evaluated for possible departmental honors. 

Core Courses

The Core Courses in Women’s and Gender Studies introduce students to the fundamental questions and concepts of the field, past and present. Students should aim to take WGS 110 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies early in the program to define their topical areas of interest and guide advanced course selection.

• WGS 110 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
• WGS 200 - Topics in Feminist Theory

Elective and Specialization Courses

WGS majors must take three (3) Elective Courses from three different departments and three (3) Specialization Courses from at least two different departments.

Elective Courses are intended to expose students to a breadth of disciplinary perspectives on women and gender studies. WGS Elective Courses are taught by WGS affiliates in the Departments of English, Geography, History, International Development and Social Change, Language, Literature and Culture, Management, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Visual and Performing Arts. It is recommended that students choose Elective Courses from both the social sciences and humanities.

Specialization Courses are advanced electives at the 200-level or above that are taught by WGS-affiliated faculty from across the University. WGS majors will work closely with their advisers to formally declare an area of specialization for more advanced study in their junior and senior years. The specialization is not within an existing department or discipline, but should cross at least two academic departments and form a coherent thematic specialization. Examples areas of specialization have included: Women in Comparative Fiction, Women and Work, Gender and Environment, Gender, War and Militaries, Women and Social Change, Gender, Identity and Sexuality, Gender, Culture and Human Rights, and Feminist Critiques of Globalization.

* Note that special topics or capstone courses in other departments may carry a WGS attribute when the topic is relevant to Women’s and Gender Studies (for example, PSCI 289 - Advanced Topics in International Relations - Capstone Seminar). Always check the course grid for the titles of advanced topics and capstone seminars each semester.
 

• IDND 200 - Advanced Topics in Gender, Race, and Area Studies
• WGS 240 - Special Topics: Women’s and Gender Studies
• WGS 299 - Directed Study

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Methods and Skills Courses

Women’s and Gender Studies majors must take one Methods or one Skills course relevant to their declared area of specialization, which may overlap with a required course for their minor or second major.

The Methods and Skills Courses below do not necessarily carry a WGS attribute, and will be listed under the department name in the course grid. Alternative methods or skills classes may be approved as exceptions by the Women’s and Gender Studies Director.

• GEOG 110 - Introduction to Quantitative Methods
• GEOG 141 - Research Design and Methods in Geography
• HIST 120 - Writing History
• ID 132 - Research Methods for International Development and Social Change
• PSCI 107 - Research Methods
• PSYC 105 - Statistics
• SOC 202 - Social Research Process
• TA 127 - Analysis of Theater Production

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Capstone Seminar Research Course

All WGS majors and minors must take one capstone course. The capstone research requirement may be satisfied by (1) taking an advanced research capstone seminar offered in WGS or offered by another department, taught by a WGS faculty affiliate, (2) an Independent/Directed Study (WGS 299) designed around a special project supervised by a WGS faculty affiliate, or (3) a one-credit academic internship (WGS 298).

The Capstone course is intended to be a culminating research or practical experience that allows students to apply their knowledge and skills gained through WGS courses, and should be directly related to the student’s WGS Specialization or topical areas of interest. Students should plan to complete their capstone course during their junior or senior year, and must request pre-approval from their faculty adviser.

* Note that special topics or capstone courses in other departments may carry a WGS attribute when the topic is relevant to Women’s and Gender Studies (for example, PSCI 289 - Advanced Topics in International Relations: Gender and Conflict - Capstone Seminar). Always check the course grid for the titles of advanced topics and capstone seminars each semester.

• WGS 298 - Internship
• WGS 299 - Directed Study

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• ENG 253 - Advanced Studies in Shakespeare
• ENG 262 - Special Topics in 19th-Century British Literature
• ENG 263 - Traumatic Tales: National Trauma in Romantic Literature
• GEOG 237 - Feminism, Nature and Culture
• HIST 213 - Gender and the American City
• HIST 234 - History of Racism in Modern Europe
• HIST 236 - Gender, War and Genocide in 20th Century
• HIST 295 - Dangerous Women
• PSYC 262 - PSYcast: Communicating Stigma Research on Social Issues
• PSYC 265 - Psychology of Men
• SOC 294 - Global Ethnographies in the 21st Century