2019-2020 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Women’s and Gender Studies Major


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Programs of Study

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, 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 required to minor in another field (or are strongly encouraged to double major) in order to reinforce connections with existing majors. For more information, please visit the Women’s and Gender Studies Program website.

 

Major Requirements


All Women’s and Gender Studies majors must take ten (10) WGS courses and complete a minor or a second major (strongly preferred) in another field. The major requirements are distributed over five components as follows:

  • Two Core Courses in Women’s and Gender Studies:

WGS 110 - Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies  

WGS 200 - Topics in Feminist Theory  

  • Three Elective Courses carrying a WGS attribute, and taken from three different departments.
  • Three Specialization Courses at the 200-level or above, carrying a WGS attribute, and taken from at least two different departments. Students will design an area of specialization in consultation with their adviser.
  • One Methods or Skills Course related to the student’s WGS specialization. This course may overlap with a required course for the student’s minor or second major.
  • One Capstone Requirement designed around the student’s WGS specialization. The requirement may be taken as a capstone seminar, directed study (WGS 299), or an academic internship (WGS 298) 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.

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.

 

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.
 

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.

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.

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.
Parminder Bhachu, Ph.D.
Michael Butler, Ph.D.
Cynthia Caron, Ph.D.
Ed Carr, Ph.D.
Eric DeBarros, 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.
Abbie Goldberg, Ph.D. - Director
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.
Jacque Micieli-Voutsinas, Ph.D.
Heather Silber Mohamed, Ph.D.
Meredith Neuman, Ph.D.
Nicole Overstreet, Ph.D.
John Palella, Ph.D.
Jennifer Plante, M.A.
Amy Richter, Ph.D.
Juan Pablo Rivera, Ph.D.
Heather L. Roberts, 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


Sarah Buie, Ph.D.
Judith DeCew, Ph.D.
SunHee Kim Gertz, Ph.D.
Dianne Rocheleau, Ph.D.
Virginia Mason Vaughan, Ph.D.
 

Emeriti


Margaret Arndt, D.B.A.
Sarah Buie, M.F.A.
Marcia Butzel, Ph.D.
Carol D’Lugo, Ph.D.
Judith DeCew, Ph.D.
Cynthia Enloe, Ph.D.
SunHee Kim Gertz, Ph.D.
Susan Hanson, Ph.D.
Serena S. Hilsinger, Ph.D.
Fern Johnson, Ph.D.
Dorothy Kaufmann, Ph.D.
Sharon Krefetz, Ph.D.
Virginia Mason Vaughan, Ph.D.
Dianne Rocheleau, Ph.D.
Robert Ross, Ph.D.
Paul Ropp, Ph.D.
Barbara Thomas-Slayter, Ph.D.
 

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Programs of Study