2016-2017 Academic Catalog

Nov 21, 2024

2016-2017 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Women’s and Gender Studies Minor

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Women’s and Gender Studies Overview

Clark launched its Women’s Studies program in 1979. In spring 2006, the university approved the Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) major. The WGS major provides students with a solid foundation in women’s studies and gender analysis, introduces them to a range of disciplinary approaches to women and gender, and helps them to develop an area of specialization within the field. Courses stress the importance of social ideas and relationships such as those shaped by gender, ethnicity, race, and class to better understand individual and collective experiences, past and present.

The WGS Program is supported by more than forty affiliated faculty from the humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, visual and performing arts, management, and the sciences. Students wishing to declare a major or minor in WGS should schedule a meeting with one of our affiliated faculty, or meet with the WGS Director to select an adviser. Because of the interdisciplinary program structure, students are strongly encouraged to double major or minor in another field in order to reinforce connections with existing majors. For more information, please visit the Women’s and Gender Studies Program website.

Minor Requirements

Women’s and Gender Studies minors must take a minimum of six (6) WGS courses. The minor requirements are distributed over three components as follows:

One Core Course in Women’s and Gender Studies:

WGS 110 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
Four Elective Courses carrying a WGS attribute, with at least two courses at the 200-level. It is recommended that these include both social sciences and humanities courses.
One Advanced Research or Internship Credit selected in consultation with a WGS adviser. The research credit may be taken as an advanced research seminar or directed study designed around a special project, and may overlap with a capstone course required for the student’s minor or second major with the approval of the other department. Internships must be organized through Career Services for academic credit.

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.

Note that Core Courses are taught in rotation by faculty members from different departments and disciplinary backgrounds. Therefore, the content of the courses may vary by semester, reflecting the instructors’ individual fields of study and areas of expertise.

WGS 110 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

Elective Courses

WGS minors must take four (4) Elective Courses, with at least two courses at the 200-level.

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.

* 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.

English Language and Literature

Geography

History

International Development and Social Change

Language, Literature, and Culture

Peace Studies

PSTD 101 - Introduction to Peace Studies

Political Science

Psychology

Sociology

Visual and Performing Arts

Research or Internship Credit

All WGS majors and minors must take one Research or one Internship Credit. The research or internship requirement may be satisfied by (1) taking an advanced research seminar or capstone course in another department that is taught by a WGS faculty affiliate, (2) a Directed Study designed around a special project supervised by a WGS faculty affiliate, or (3) through a one-credit internship. Students may register for WGS 298 Internship, WGS 299 Directed Study, or the designated course number assigned by the department hosting the advanced research seminar or capstone course.

The Research or Internship Credit 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 research or internship experience during their junior or senior year, and must request pre-approval from their faculty adviser and the WGS Director.

Women’s and Gender Studies Faculty

Program

María Acosta Cruz, Ph.D.
Michael Addis, Ph.D.
Belén Atienza, Ph.D.
Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Ph.D. - Director
Parminder Bhachu, Ph.D.
Sarah Buie, M.F.A.
Michael Butler, Ph.D.
Cynthia Caron, Ph.D.
Ed Carr, Ph.D.
Carol D’Lugo, Ph.D.
Eric DeBarros, Ph.D.
Judith DeCew, Ph.D.
Gino DiIorio, M.F.A.
Jody Emel, Ph.D.
Patricia Ewick, Ph.D.
Rachel Falmagne, Ph.D.
Anita Fábos, Ph.D.
Odile Ferly, Ph.D.
William Fisher, Ph.D.
Ellen Foley, Ph.D.
Beth Gale, Ph.D.
SunHee Kim Gertz, Ph.D.
Abbie Goldberg, Ph.D.
Janette T. Greenwood, Ph.D.
Betsy P. Huang, Ph.D.
Esther Jones, Ph.D.
Lisa Kasmer, Ph.D.
Thomas Kuehne, Ph.D.
Nina Kushner, Ph.D.
Deborah Martin, Ph.D.
Deborah Merrill, Ph.D.
Heather Silber Mohamed, Ph.D.
Meredith Neuman, Ph.D.
Nicole Overstreet, Ph.D.
Jennifer Plante, M.A.
Amy Richter, Ph.D.
Juan Pablo Rivera, Ph.D.
Heather L. Roberts, Ph.D.
Dianne Rocheleau, Ph.D.
Laurie Ross, Ph.D.
Marianne Sarkis, Ph.D.
Srinivasan Sitaraman, Ph.D.
Valerie Sperling, Ph.D.
Andrew Stewart, Ph.D.
Rosalie Torres Stone, Ph.D.
Ora Szekely, Ph.D.
Shelly Tenenbaum, Ph.D.
Robert D. Tobin, Ph.D.
Alice Valentine, M.A.
Kristen Williams, Ph.D.
Kristina Wilson, Ph.D.

Research

Margaret Arndt, D.B.A.
Cynthia Enloe, Ph.D.
Fern Johnson, Ph.D.
Paul Ropp, Ph.D.
Barbara Thomas-Slayter, Ph.D.
Virginia Mason Vaughan, Ph.D.

Emeriti

Marcia Butzel, Ph.D.
Susan Hanson, Ph.D.
Serena S. Hilsinger, Ph.D.
Dorothy Kaufmann, Ph.D.
Sharon Krefetz, Ph.D.