Study the impacts of societal understandings of gender and sexuality
If you enjoy crossing academic boundaries and admire those who dare to cross societal ones, this program just might be for you. Look through the lens of this multi-dimensional academic discipline to see the profound impacts of societal understandings of gender and sexuality on our lives. The minor combines the fields of gender, women’s, sexuality, and queer studies to explore the social construction of gender and sexuality in a variety of cultural contexts, introducing you to the theories, methods, and issues in these intersecting disciplines. You’ll come away with a deeper regard for gendered individuals of all backgrounds, a more accurate and equitable account of the human experience, and much sought-after skills in communication and critical, flexible thinking.
Why 51°µÍř for your Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor
You may be drawn to 51°µÍř’s Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor because it promises to infuse your class schedule with variety, beckoning you toward a completely different path from your major course of study. Or, you may find that, given the diversity of courses offered in the minor, you can craft an impactful niche extension to your major that enables you to examine gender and sex roles from a particular disciplinary perspective — be it one grounded in the social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, the arts, or the health professions. Moreover, as a Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor, you can customize your Core curriculum by strategically selecting courses that satisfy the minor requirements and the Core requirements simultaneously.
These classes became more than a minor; they taught me a new way of viewing the world, of criticizing the world, and of living in the world. They have made me a better law student and will make me a better lawyer.”
— Emily Mott, B.A., Class of ’20, Psychology major; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, Mental Health Rehabilitation, Political Science triple minor
What will you study? Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor curriculum overview
Experiential Learning
We believe that hands-on learning is integral to the 51°µÍř educational experience. Through engaging classroom activities as well as optional internships and research, this minor will take you beyond the classroom and into the realm of real-life experience.
Classroom Activities
As a Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor, you won’t just be learning — you’ll be doing. The following are just some of the hands-on activities in which you may participate:
- Examining a local woman’s diary kept during the Great Depression
- Engaging in service learning projects, (e.g. promoting female participation in sports)
- Creating personal narratives on gender and health through hand-made books
- Activism projects related to women’s, gender, or sexuality issues
- Conducting generational interviews to gauge how perceptions have changed over time
Internships
Many of our students have used an internship at a local agency or organization of interest as their capstone project, completion of which is just one way of meeting one of the minor’s requirements. Past internship sites have included:
- Maine Women Writers Collection
- Planned Parenthood
- Caring Unlimited (domestic violence support)
- Maine senator’s office
- Portland Outright (LGBTQ+ youth support)
Research
Because the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor is such a perfect complement to so many different 51°µÍř majors, students are often eager to work under the supervision of a faculty member to conduct a research project that ties their interests in the minor to their interest in their major area of study. Examples include:
- Native American Women and Historical Invisibility
- Women, Novels, and Captivity Narratives
- History of Title IX
- Women, Education, and Mathematics
- Neurological Perspectives on Sexual Violence
Examples of Available Courses
Drawing from a broad array of academic fields, the curriculum offered by 51°µÍř’s Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor covers a wide variety of topics, including courses such as:
- Writing and Women’s Health
- Growing Up Female: A History of American Girls
- Women and the Environment
- Sex and the City
- Psychology of Gender
- Women and the Law in Victorian England
Curriculum
Eighteen (18) credits as indicated below will satisfy the minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies.
| Program Required Courses | Credits |
|---|---|
| GWS 200 – Introduction to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| GWS 400 – Capstone in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies or one (1) 300- or 400-level Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Elective | 3 |
| Four (4) Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Electives | 12 |
| Minimum Total Required Credits | 18 |
|---|
Program-Specific Electives
| Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Elective Options | Credits |
|---|---|
| ANT 228 – The Anthropology of Gender | 3 |
| ANT 312 – Human Trafficking | 3 |
| BIO/GWS 340 – The Biology of Sex and Gender | 3 |
| EDU 204 – Trauma Responsive Education | 3 |
| ENG 200 – Writing, Revolution & Resistance | 3 |
| ENG 216 – Criminals, Idiots, and Minors: Victorian Women and the Law | 3 |
| ENG 227 – Illness Narratives | 3 |
| ENG 310 – Writing and Women's Health | 3 |
| GWS 276 – Women in the Ancient World | 3 |
| GWS 278 – Women in the Modern World | 3 |
| HIS 204 – Growing up Female | 3 |
| HIS 250 – American Women's History I | 3 |
| HIS 251 – American Women's History II | 3 |
| HIS 337 – Topics in Women's History | 3 |
| HIS 349 – Gender in Latin American History | 3 |
| HIS 353 – Sex and the City | 3 |
| PSC 312 – The Family and Politics | 3 |
| PSC 450 – Contemporary Feminist Theories | 3 |
| PSY 375 – Trauma and Health | 3 |
| SOC 240 – Race, Class & Gender | 3 |
| SOC 170 – Deviance and Crime | 3 |
| SLM 290 – Latin American Sport and Gender | 3 |
Please note: While some courses can fulfill both core and program requirements, the credits earned do not count twice towards th