Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Minor

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Minor Program Information

Department of Literature and Language
PO Box 70262
Phone: (423) 439-4125
Web address: www.etsu.edu/cas/litlang/wsp

Director: Dr. Phyllis Thompson
email: thompsop@etsu.edu

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) is an interdisciplinary field of study examining how women, gender, and sexuality are documented, conceptualized, and investigated by diverse disciplines in the humanities, behavioral and social sciences, biological sciences, and visual and performing arts. The WGSS minor offers students the opportunity to explore women’s contributions to culture and history; to examine how gender and sexuality shape culture, the arts, literature, health, politics, the sciences, law, and education; and to analyze how race, ethnicity, nationality, class, disability, age, and religion intersect with other identities in relationship to structural, institutional, and ideological inequalities and oppression.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies graduates are prepared to take leadership roles, particularly in positions that require training in equity and inclusion. The minor is flexible enough to allow students to tailor it to their interests so that it can complement or augment their major. The knowledge and skills that WGSS minors develop can assist in finding employment in business, healthcare, education, government, criminal justice, communications, and the non-profit sector and/or prepare for future graduate studies.  

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Minor Requirements: 18 credits

At least 9 credits must be at the 3000-level or above.

Required Courses: 9 credits

WGSS 2010 - Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 credits)
WGSS 2020 - Women in Global Perspective (3 credits)
or
WGSS 2110 - Sex, Gender, and the Body (3 credits)
WGSS 3330 - Feminist Thought and Practice (3 credits)

Approved Electives: 9 credits

Choose three (3) courses from the following:

ARTH 4117 - Women and Queers in the Arts (3 credits)
CDST 4017 - Ecofeminism: Nature, Gender, Culture (3 credits)
CJCR 4670 - Race, Gender and Crime (3 credits)
CJCR 4950 - Special Topics in Criminal Justice and Criminology (3 credits) (When topic is Women’s, Gender, and Sexual Studies)
CJCR 4957 - Special Topics in Criminal Justice (1-6 credits) (When topic is Women’s, Gender, and Sexual Studies)
COMM 3346 - Speaking for Social Change (3 credits)
COMM 4200 - Gender and Communication (3 credits)
COUN 4207 - Girls’ and Women’s Wellness for Helping Professionals (3 credits)
ENGL 3500 - Women Authors (3 credits)
ENGL 4087 - Themes in Women’s Literature (3 credits)
FILM 4100 - Film Genres (3 credits) (When topic is Women’s, Gender, and Sexual Studies)
FILM 4200 - Topics in Film (3 credits) (When topic is Women’s, Gender, and Sexual Studies)
HDAL 2340 - Understanding Cultural Diversity (3 credits) ¹
HIST 3012 - Women in Early Politics (3 credits)
HIST 3313 - Women in the Ancient World (3 credits)
HIST 3924 - Women in the Middle East (3 credits)
HIST 3926 - Gender in American History to 1877 (3 credits)
HIST 3927 - Gender in American History since 1877 (3 credits)
HIST 4247 - History of Women in U.S., Settlement to 1945 (3 credits)
HIST 4257 - History of Women in Appalachia (3 credits)
HIST 4837 - American Women Since World War II (3 credits)
MGMT 4460 - Organizational Leadership (3 credits)
PHIL 3110 - Philosophies of Feminism (3 credits)
PSYC 3300 - Psychology of Gender and Sexuality (3 credits)
SOCI 3030 - Gender and Society (3 credits)
SOCI 4252 - Race, Class, and Gender in Film (3 credits)
SOWK 1030 - Cultural Diversity (3 credits) ¹
SOWK 4567 - Human Sexuality (3 credits)
WGSS 2020 - Women in Global Perspective (3 credits) ²
WGSS 2110 - Sex, Gender, and the Body (3 credits) ²
WGSS 3110 - Men and Masculinities (3 credits)
WGSS 3410 - Gender and Violence (3 credits)
WGSS 4018 - Honors Thesis (3-6 credits) (3 credits required)
WGSS 4080 - Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Internship (3 credits)
WGSS 4200 - Feminist Research Methods (3 credits)
WGSS 4500 - Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Senior Capstone (3 credits)
WGSS 4900 - Independent Study (1-3 credits) (3 credits required)
WGSS 4950 - Issues in Women’s Movement (3 credits)
WGSS 4957 - Special Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 credits)
Women’s Studies Emphasis courses (limit of two) ³
Other approved special topics courses (3 credits)

Note:

¹Students can count either HDAL 2340 - Understanding Cultural Diversity or SOWK 1030 - Cultural Diversity toward the minor, but not both.

²Student can take WGSS 2020 or WGSS 2110 , whichever course they did not choose from required course section

³Women’s Studies Emphasis sections are special sections of standard courses in various departments, typically General Education courses, which are designed and taught in ways that still meet their original course criteria within their own departments and within General Education, but also highlight female writers/theorists, women and gender issues, and/or feminist frameworks. These courses are designated by the Women’s Studies Steering Committee (WSSC), in consultation with instructors. Limit of 2.