2019-2020 Residential Undergraduate Catalog 
    
    Apr 18, 2024  
2019-2020 Residential Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Women and Gender Studies


 

New England College offers a Minor as well as the opportunity for an Individually Designed Major in Women’s & Gender Studies.

About Women & Gender Studies

Women & Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores issues of power, gender identity, and hierarchy, based on sexual difference. Drawing upon a variety of traditional disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, literature and the arts, Women’s & Gender studies offers students an opportunity to learn how women and men of various racial, ethnic, economic and sexual identities are affected by the construction of gender and theories of sexual difference.

Because women’s and feminist scholarship has so dramatically altered our way of thinking about and understanding the world, students in this discipline perform a cross-disciplinary germination of ideas that complements and informs every academic field and profession, making it an ideal minor or double major. Combining theory and practice, Women’s & Gender Studies allows students to explore cultural, political, and historical contexts for understanding sex and gender in light of social justice and human rights concerns.

The following outcomes are indicative of successful completion of a minor or individually designed major in Women & Gender Studies. Students will be able to,

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the categories of sex, gender, race, and class as they apply to the social construction of reality;
  • Demonstrate through written and verbal communications a familiarity with the language and terminology of the discipline;
  • Articulate relationship between categories of sex, gender and issues of social justice;
  • Explain shifting definitions of sex and gender;
  • Demonstrate familiarity with women’s contributions to culture, history, politics, etc.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with key periods in the historical and political struggle for women’s and gender equality;
  • Apply critical feminist analysis to knowledge across the disciplines.

Programs

    MajorMinor

    Courses

      Women’s & Gender Studies

      All undergraduate courses are 4 credits unless otherwise noted.