Gender, women’s, and sexuality studies is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that investigates how gender and sexuality operate as organizing axes of social, cultural, economic and political institutions, as well as in the everyday lives and cultural products of people who must live within them. Emphasizing the importance of historical and cross-cultural and transnational perspectives, Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies at UMBC critically examines the intersections of gender and sexuality with other differences, including, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, and ability to make visible structures of power that otherwise remain hidden. The department empowers students to imagine a more just future and equips them with the tools to collectively enact it.
Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies offers a major, two undergraduate certificates, and two minors, Gender + Women’s Studies and Critical Sexuality Studies.
As a Department, GWST is deeply committed to social justice, both at UMBC and around the world. Our growing list of departmental commitments is available here.