Gender and Women's Studies

Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) is an interdisciplinary program grounded in the social sciences and humanities that explores how gender alongside race, class, ability, and other dimensions of identity and inequality shape our lives, communities, institutions, and the world. Our courses invite you to think critically about the world around you. Using an intersectional lens, you will explore the lives and experiences of cisgender and transgender women and men, and nonbinary folks to understand the historical and structural forces that shape their lives and (re)produce inequality.

Learn Across Perspectives

Study with accomplished faculty who bring interdisciplinary, intersectional, and transnational feminist perspectives to their teaching and research. Through topics such as decolonial and anti-racist feminism, transgender theory and cisgender studies, queer theory, and the study of men and masculinities, you will develop tools for understanding both historical struggles and contemporary challenges.

Build Skills for Your Future

GWS will help you cultivate skills that are valuable across careers and communities. You will learn to:

• Think critically and analytically about complex social issues such as reproductive rights and trans inclusion
• Analyze public policies, institutions such as the family, and systems of power such as patriarchy
• Apply intersectional and social justice frameworks to real-world challenges
• Compare experiences and institutions across cultures
• Communicate ideas through strong analytical writing and public speaking
• Conduct research and give symposia presentations 
• Apply what you are learning in practice through internships, activism, and other civic engagement

Upcoming Events

Join Us for the Interdisciplinary Studies Fall Social! 🍂

Come meet us, enjoy some light refreshments, and discover the programs offered through Interdisciplinary Studies! Learn about our programs, connect with faculty and fellow students, and see where an interdisciplinary path can take you. Taking place Wednesday, September 30 from 4-6pm in MCC 220. We’d love to see you there!

Anastasia Valecce For Hispanic Heritage Month

Join us for a talk by Anastasia Valecce about her new book Disobedient Women: Decolonial Movements of Afro-Queer Puerto Rican Artists. Taking place Monday, October 5 at 5pm in MCC 132.