WGSS Major and Minors Requirements

The goal of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is to analyze gender and sexuality as complex systems of power that are structured by race, ethnicity, nation, and class.

We are committed to teaching gender literacy as knowledge integral to civic literacy.  From an interdisciplinary perspective, students explore a sophisticated body of knowledge and academic discipline to develop the skills for critical thinking and civic engagement.

Upon graduation, our majors are expected to be able to:

  1. Describe how the effects of gender, sexuality, race, class and nation intersect in the construction of identity and institutional formations.
  2. Demonstrate proficiency in writing and oral communication skills.
  3. Understand and evaluate major theories and texts central to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
  4. Understand the ways in which economic, cultural, religious, environmental, and political forces shape a range of transnational social movements in the U.S. and abroad.
  5. Conduct research using feminist methodologies.
  6. Use feminist frameworks to analyze the structure of gendered representations in media, language, and texts.
  7. Demonstrate critical and analytic thinking skills.
  8. Apply acquired knowledge toward academic, professional, and personal development.

The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies equips students with the knowledge, skills, and perception to realize the fullest range of options available to them.

Advising Planner

Advising Planner

Advising Planner

Students must take the following courses and earn at least a letter grade of "C" or better:

  • WGSS 101. Gender, Race, Sex and the Body
  • WGSS 102. Gender, Race, Sex, and Societies

Students must take the following courses and earn at least a letter grade of "C" or better:

  • WGSS 300: Feminist Theory
  • WGSS 301: Feminist Research Methods
  • WGSS 495: Senior Capstone
  • WGSS 496: Internship

For electives, students must take at least 18 units of the following courses:

  • WGSS 205 - Introduction to Queer Studies (3 units)
  • WGSS 216 - Hollywood and Beyond: Gender, Race, and Sex in the Movies (3 units)
  • WGSS 305 - Feminist and Queer Arts and Cultures (3 units)
  • WGSS 307 - U.S. Women and the Economy: Money, Sex, and Power (3 units)
  • WGSS 308 - Gender, Sex, and the Law (3 units)
  • WGSS 314 - Women Narrate Their Lives (3 units)
  • WGSS 315 - Black Women in America (3 units)
  • WGSS 316 - Women in the History of U.S. Film (3 units)
  • WGSS 318 - Fierce Struggle: U.S. Women of Color - History and Thought (3 units)
  • WGSS 356 - Lesbian Histories and Culture (3 units)
  • WGSS 365 - Pop Culture: Seeing Sex and Gender (3 units)
  • WGSS 370 - Masculinities (3 units)
  • WGSS 375 - Reproductive Justice (3 units)
  • WGSS 401 - Bodies and Borders: Feminism and Globalization (3 units)
  • WGSS 410 - Women, Religion, and Spirituality (3 units)
  • WGSS 416 - Queering Gender (3 units)
  • WGSS 420 - Mothers and Daughters (3 units)
  • WGSS 424 - Gendering Environmental Justice (3 units)
  • WGSS 430 - Women and Violence (3 units)
  • WGSS 442 - Sexing Chicana Literature (3 units)
  • WGSS 445A - Latinas and Revolution: Central America and Late 20th Century Mexico (3 units)
  • WGSS 490 - Selected Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (1-3 units)
  • WGSS 499 - Directed Studies (1-3 units)

For more information on our course, check out the courses page.

TBA

Minor in WGSS or Queer Studies

Minor Requirements

A minimum of 18 units are required for the WGSS minor.

Must take the 3 following courses:

  • WGSS 101: Gender, Race, Sex, and the Body
  • WGSS 102: Gender, Race, Sex and Societies
  • WGSS 300: Feminist Theory

Must take any 3 additional WGSS course. For our full list of courses, check out the courses page.

About the Minor

Queer Studies is an interdisciplinary minor that focuses on non-normative sexuality as a primary category of analysis. Queer Studies starts from the assumption that sexuality is central to human social organization; is always experienced in continually shifting contexts; and lived in relation to race, religion, class, nation, and gender. Its methods and premises grow out of scholarship on gender and thus is housed in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Department. The minor is a total of 15 units.

Minor Requirements

Queer Studies Minors must take the following 2 courses:

  • WGSS 205: Intro to Queer Studies
  • WGSS 416: Queering Gender

Choose any of the 3 following courses:

  • ASAM 370: Gender and Sexuality in Asian America
  • AIS/WGSS 313: American and Indian Genders and Sexualities
  • CHLS 330: Critical Issues in Chicana and Latina Studies
  • ENGL/WGSS 422: Sexing Chicana Literature
  • HIST 395: Gender, Sexuality, and Desire in World History
  • R/ST/WGSS 303: Queer Spirit
  • POSC/WGSS 317: Queer Law
  • WGSS 356: Lesbian Histories and Cultures
  • WGSS 370: Masculinities
  • WGSS 375: Reproductive Justice

For more information, please contact Dr. Jennifer Reed (Jennifer.Reed@csulb.edu)