This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.uwgb.edu.

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

https://www.uwgb.edu/women-gender-studies/

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) explores: 

  • women’s past and present contributions to societies as persons, creators, and thinkers.
  • the intersectional diversity--racial, economic, sexual, religious, generational—of women’s, men’s, and nonbinary individuals’ experiences.
  • scholarship exposing the structural and institutional factors that perpetuate sexism, racism, classism, heteronormativity, and transphobia.

While WGSS is a discipline in its own right, our interdisciplinary program draws upon methods and content from a wide range of programs and majors, including anthropology, literature and the arts, biology, economics, history, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology. Our minor prepares students to:

  • better understand individuals, particularly but not only women, and the social structures that impact the lives of individuals.
  • think critically about the intersectional issues which they will face in their lives professionally and personally.
  • extend their intellectual development by helping them to understand women’s accomplishments and capabilities, and by looking beyond the limits of traditional gender-differentiated roles.
  • think, research, and write while using strong interdisciplinary skills.

Thus, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is an essential component of a liberal arts education.

Any student may elect Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as a minor in addition to their chosen major. The minor is excellent preparation for further study in law as well as for graduate programs in WGSS, psychology, social work, literature, and education. Graduates with WGSS minors are working in a variety of fields, including business, child and family services, education, journalism, and social service administration.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Learning Outcomes

A student who completes a Women and Gender Studies minor at UWGB will demonstrate the ability to:

  • critically read, recognize, and analyze the gendered identities presented to them;
  • understand how gender expectations function in culture, history, and social dynamics
  • investigate how gender constructs impact their everyday lives and issues within their major or current field of study
  • begin to appreciate/understand other cultures and peoples through investigation of the role that gender plays in their societies
  • construct alternative ways to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate their views of their major and related fields
  • initiate positive change in terms of gender definition/stereotypes
  • enhance their overall general education by synthesizing the various disciplines through this minor's pedagogical approach

Minor

Required Supporting Course3
Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Choose one of the following Supporting Courses3
Women in Literature
Fertility, Reproduction, and Family Planning
Women in the Performing Arts
Human Trafficking
Sociological Perspectives on Gender
Women's Voices
First Year Seminar
Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
Gender in Popular Culture
Latin American and Latina Women
Travel Course
Upper-Level Courses
Choose 4 of the following courses 12
Women, Art and Image
Gender and the Law
Women and Gender in First Nations Communities
History of Sexuality in the U.S.
U.S. Women's History
The Biology of Women
Psychology of Women and Gender
Sociology of Sexual and Intimate Relations
Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Feminist Theory
Internship
Independent Study
Travel Course
Total Credits18

Faculty  

Kathleen C Burns; Professor; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts

Alison A Gates; Professor; M.F.A., University of Washington

Rebecca A Meacham; Professor; Ph.D., University of Cincinnati

Christine A Smith; Professor; Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Dana Atwood; Associate Professor; Ph.D., Western Michigan University

Andrew W Austin; Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Tennessee

Bryan James Carr; Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Oklahoma

Ann Mattis; Associate Professor; Ph.D., Loyola University

Valerie Murrenus-Pilmaier; Associate Professor; Ph.D., Marquette University

Rebecca L Nesvet; Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Lisa M Poupart; Associate Professor; Ph.D., Arizona State University*

Kimberley A Reilly; Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Chicago, chair

Jolanda M Sallmann; Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison*

Courtney J Sherman; Associate Professor; D.M.A., Arizona State University

Rebecca Stone-Thornberry; Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Colorado

Lisa Wicka; Associate Professor; M.F.A., Purdue University

Jennifer Young; Associate Professor; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University

Kaden Paulson-Smith; Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison

Samuel E Watson; Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of Kansas

Tracy Rysavy; Assistant Teaching Professor; M.A., Boston College

Erica Wiest; Assistant Teaching Professor; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee