Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Major
Department Chair: Neda Atanasoski, Ph.D.
Rooted in the academic and political histories of Women’s Studies, the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies B.A. centers the study of structural inequity, as grounded in intersecting hierarchies of gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, and ability. The WGSS major provides students with an opportunity to develop a scholarly and applied understanding of social justice, honing a radical vision for political, economic, and societal freedom. Students will take courses informed by intersectional scholarship and methodologies from the arts and humanities, social sciences, public health, psychology, government, and public policy, among others. Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies offers students a flexible program of study in which there is focused attention on building students’ analysis and critique of the most pressing issues of the day, such as anti-black racism, reproductive justice, discriminatory practices against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, xenophobia and antisemitism, silencing of indigenous communities and structural exclusion by practices of ageism and ableism.
Our introductory courses, which offer the option of focusing on social sciences or artistic methods, equip students with the tools and vocabulary to both analyze and respond creatively to social problems. Upper-division courses, which are usually run as small-size seminars, focus on building students’ research skills for pursuing topics of special interest. The final year of the B.A. degree specifically prepares students for jobs through guided internship courses that involve regular interaction with both a worksite supervisor and an assigned faculty member. Senior-level seminars focus on the development of skills and knowledge that can inform careers in a wide range of areas, including non-profit management, social justice advocacy, digital and media expression, law, health-related fields, student affairs, academia, and government and public policy. We seek to shape a new generation of scholars and leaders who, with us, will work to acknowledge, understand, and critically interrogate hierarchies of difference, while imagining more just futures.
Courses offered by this department may be found under the following acronyms: WGSS, LGBT.
Program Learning Outcomes
Students are expected to fully engage with the curriculum and the opportunities presented for learning and research. Having completed the program, students should have acquired the following knowledge, skills, and practices:
- An ability to critically analyze issues related to women, race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class
- A demonstrated engagement with the practices of feminist, critical race, and LGBTQ social action
- An ability to do independent research using appropriate methods
- An ability to use effective forms of communication
Students will earn a total of 37 credit hours, distributed as indicated below. Drawing from approximately fifty courses, many of which are cross-listed with other academic units, students will have the opportunity to design an emphasis within the major relevant to their special interests. A number of courses may count in more than one category. At least 31 credits must be at or above the 3xx level. No course with a grade less than "C-" may be used to satisfy the major. An overall GPA of 2.0 in the major is required for graduation. Students will design their programs in consultation with a Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies advisor.
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
College Requirements | ||
Introductory Courses | ||
Select one of the following courses: | 3 | |
Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | ||
Introduction to WGSS: Gender, Power, and Society | ||
Introduction to WGSS: Art and Culture | ||
Introduction to Black Women's Studies | ||
Bodies in Contention | ||
Foundation Courses | ||
WGSS301 | Introduction to Research in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies | 3 |
WGSS302 | Feminist, Critical Race, and Queer Theories | 3 |
WGSS319 | Workshops in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies | 3 |
Thematic Concentrations | ||
Select at least four courses from the following thematic concentrations (see courses below). 1 | 12 | |
Area 1: Social Justice | ||
Area 2: Transnational Politics and Perspectives | ||
Area 3: Race, Ethnicity, and Class | ||
Area 4: Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities | ||
Area 5: Arts, Technologies, and Cultural Production | ||
Area 6: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies | ||
Capstone | ||
WGSS487 | Advanced Research Seminar in Gender, Race, and Queer Studies | 3 |
Select one of the following courses: | 3 | |
Individual Research in Gender, Race and Queer Studies | ||
Seminar in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | ||
Senior Seminar | ||
Advanced Feminist, Critical Race, and Queer Theories | ||
Scholarship in Practice | ||
Select one of the following courses: | 3 | |
Undergraduate WGSS Internship | ||
Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship | ||
Professional Development | 1 | |
Professional Development | ||
Cognate | 3 | |
Three upper level credits in a course outside LGBT/WGSS that provides supporting context for the thematic concentration. 2,3 | ||
Total Credits | 37 |
- 1
Nine of the 12 Thematic Concentration credits must be upper level. Six of the 12 credits may overlap with courses fulfilling other major requirements. Regardless of the overlap of courses between the categories of the major, students must complete a minimum of 37 credits in the major.
- 2
Students with a double major will be considered to have fulfilled their cognate requirement.
- 3
In fulfilling the above requirements, students must complete nine hours of upper-level credit in courses that provide the following perspectives (three hours each): historical, transnational, cultural production.
Social Justice
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Introduction to WGSS: Art and Culture | ||
Bodies in Contention | ||
Homophobia in the U.S. Society in the New Millennium | ||
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and Communication | ||
Women and the Civil Rights Movement | ||
Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT448B: Queer Space and Media Cultures) | ||
Women in the Media | ||
Women and Reform Movements in the Twentieth-Century United States | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468C: Feminist and Queer Theatre and Performance Art in Theory and Practice) | ||
Seminar in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT488D: Queer Theory and the Politics of Death) | ||
Senior Seminar | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498N: Religion, Militarism and Gender) | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498X: Doing Social Justice Research) |
Transnational Politics and Perspectives
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Women in Western Europe 1750-Present | ||
Women in Western Europe to 1750 | ||
ITAL241 | ||
World Literature by Women | ||
GERM281 | ||
International Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Studies | ||
Bodies in Contention | ||
Women and Japanese Literature: Japanese Literature in Translation | ||
GERM360 | ||
Caribbean Women | ||
Women of the African Diaspora | ||
History of Women and Gender in Africa | ||
Women in the Middle Ages: Myths and Daily Life | ||
JAPN416 | ||
Women and Culture in Colonial Latin America | ||
Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT448B: Queer Space and Media Cultures) | ||
SPAN459 | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468B: Sonic Representations of Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora) | ||
United States Latina Fiction | ||
Seminar in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT488D: Queer Theory and the Politics of Death) | ||
Senior Seminar (WGSS488D: Feminist Questions Queer Research: The Caribbean Context) | ||
Senior Seminar (WGSS488T: Girlhood: A Transnational Historical Perspective) | ||
Women and Society in the Middle East | ||
HIST493 | ||
Lesbian Communities and Differences | ||
Women in Medieval Culture and Society | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498N: Religion, Militarism and Gender) |
Race, Ethnicity, and Class
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Women in America Since 1880 | ||
Introduction to Black Women's Studies | ||
Constructions of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community | ||
Introduction to Black Women's Cultural Studies | ||
Bodies in Contention | ||
Black Women in United States History | ||
Women and the Civil Rights Movement | ||
Caribbean Women | ||
Women of the African Diaspora | ||
Asian American Women: The Social Construction of Gender | ||
Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT448B: Queer Space and Media Cultures) | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468B: Sonic Representations of Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora) | ||
AASP483 | ||
Seminar in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT488D: Queer Space and Media Cultures) | ||
Senior Seminar | ||
Feminist and Nationalist Thought in Black Communities | ||
African-American Women Filmmakers | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498N: Religion, Militarism and Gender) |
Bodies, Gender and Sexualities
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
History of Sexuality in America | ||
Introduction to Black Women's Studies | ||
Constructions of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community | ||
Introduction to Black Women's Cultural Studies | ||
Bodies in Contention | ||
Biology of Reproduction | ||
Psychology of Women | ||
Caribbean Women | ||
Women of the African Diaspora | ||
Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT448B: Queer Space and Media Cultures) | ||
Women's Health | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468B: Sonic Representations of Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora) | ||
Seminar in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT488D: Queer Theory and the Politics of Death) | ||
Senior Seminar | ||
Sex, Gender, and Jewish Identity | ||
Lesbian Communities and Differences | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498N: Religion, Militarism and Gender) |
Arts, Technologies, and Cultural Production
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Women Writers of French Expression in Translation | ||
Introduction to WGSS: Art and Culture | ||
Reading Women Writing | ||
LGBTQ+ Literatures and Media | ||
Introduction to Black Women's Cultural Studies | ||
World Literature by Women | ||
International Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Studies | ||
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film and Video | ||
Special Topics in LGBTQ+ Literatures and Media | ||
GERM360 | ||
Literature by Women Before 1800 | ||
FILM423 | ||
Feminist Critical Theory | ||
Literature by Women of Color | ||
Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT448B: Queer Space and Media Cultures ) | ||
Literature by Women After 1800 | ||
SPAN459 | ||
ENGL/LGBT465 | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468B: Sonic Representations of Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora) | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468C: Feminist and Queer Theatre and Performance Art in Theory and Practice) | ||
United States Latina Fiction | ||
Senior Seminar (WGSS488P: Gendering Postmodern Performance) | ||
Senior Seminar (WGSS88T: Girlhood: A Transnational Historical Perspective) | ||
African-American Women Filmmakers | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498N: Religion, Militarism and Gender) | ||
Advanced Special Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS498O: Women and Film) | ||
Lesbian Communities and Differences |
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | ||
LGBTQ+ Literatures and Media | ||
Homophobia in the U.S. Society in the New Millennium | ||
International Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Studies | ||
Bodies in Contention | ||
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film and Video | ||
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and Communication | ||
Special Topics in LGBTQ+ Literatures and Media | ||
Women of the African Diaspora | ||
Special Topics in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT448B: Queer Space and Media Cultures) | ||
LGBT465 | ||
Feminist Cultural Studies (WGSS468B: Sonic Representations of Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora) | ||
Senior Seminar (WGSS488D: Feminist Questions Queer Research: The Caribbean as Context ) | ||
Seminar in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (LGBT488D: Queer Theory and the Politics of Death) | ||
Sex, Gender, and Jewish Identity | ||
Lesbian Communities and Differences |
Click here for roadmaps for four-year plans in the College of Arts and Humanities.
Additional information on developing a four-year academic plan can be found on the following pages:
- http://4yearplans.umd.edu
- the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog