Our Approach
Women's and Gender Studies students develop the following core abilities and knowledge sets through their coursework and experiences in the department:
- A critical lens through which they examine the world. Women's and Gender Studies majors are able to analyze how power shapes institutions, knowledge, and interpersonal relationships; they appreciate the complex intersections of gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, and so on; they use conceptual frameworks from feminism and other social justice approaches to evaluate problems and seek solutions.
- A consistent use of a global perspective. Women's and Gender Studies majors acknowledge their participation in and responsibility to local, national, and/or global communities; recognize the complex interconnections between living beings and the environment; and value acting with empathy and promoting social justice.
- Communicative strengths in reading, writing, and speaking. Women's and Gender Studies majors read visual and verbal texts carefully and critically; hone their abilities to communicate clearly and concisely orally and in writing; consider audience, purpose, genre, and rhetorical strategy in their compositions; and are able to express their viewpoints effectively and advocate for their beliefs persuasively.
- An analysis of the relationships between past, present, and future. Women's and Gender Studies majors understand the importance and complexity of history; they contextualize current issues and concerns in relation to events, debates, and figures from the past; they have knowledge of women's activist, intellectual, and social movement histories.
- The application of knowledge to effect change: Women's and Gender Studies majors will develop an ability to apply academic knowledge beyond the classroom, as advocates for the central values in the field; they will acquire versatility in professional skills that transfer core disciplinary knowledge bases to a range of career and activist pursuits.