Gender and Women’s Studies BA

Gender, Women’s, + 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. We empower students to imagine a more just future and equip them with the tools to collectively enact it.

Ready to declare this major? Fill out a declaration of major form and submit it to the Registrar’s Office through RT.

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Take a look at what four years in the GWST BA can look like: GWST BA academic pathway

The major in gender and women’s studies consists of 36 credits, divided as follows:

CORE COURSES (15 Credits)
Course # Course Name GEP Semester Offered
GWST 100 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies SS/C
GWST 200 Studies in Feminist Activism SS Spring Only
GWST/CSST 300 Methodologies of Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies WI
GWST 480 Theories of Feminism
GWST 495 Colloquium: Research + Activism WI Spring Only

 

ELECTIVE CREDITS (21 credits) – Complete 21 elective credits: 12 credits must be from the three content areas listed below, and an additional 9 credits of GWST courses. Of these 21 elective credits, 6 credits must be designated Range of Experience (RoE) courses and 15 must at the 300 level and above. Students have the option to take up to 3 credits of independent study and 3 credits of internship towards completion of the major.

Selected topics courses (CSST 292, 392, 492, GWST 290, 390, 490) may be counted toward the 21 credits in electives.

History and Public Policy (6 credits)
Course Number Course Name RoE GEP
CSST 210 Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies RoE SS/C
GWST 315 Modern Masculinities AH/C
GWST/HIST 325 History of Women in America to 1870 SS
GWST/HIST 326 History of Women in American Since 1870 SS
GWST327/AFST354/HIST323 African-American Women’s History RoE SS
GWST/POLI 328 Women, Gender, Sexuality, + Political Power in the US
GWST 330/ANCS 320 Women + Gender in the Classical World AH/C
GWST/POLI 338 Women, Gender, + Law SS
GWST 340 Women, Gender, + Globalization RoE SS/C
GWST/HIST 366 Doin’ It: Case Studies/History of Western Sexuality RoE SS/C
GWST 373/HIST 379 “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” – Women and Gender in Islam RoE AH/C
GWST/HIST 374 European Women’s History 1200-1750 SS/C
GWST/HIST 375 European Women’s History 1750-Present SS/C
GWST/HIST 376 European Women’s History 1914-Present SS/C
GWST/SOWK 377 Women and Social Policy SS
GWST 379/SOWK 376 Intimate Partner Violence, a Social Work Perspective RoE C
GWST/HIST 380 History of Women + Gender in Asia RoE C
GWST/AMST 382 Perspectives on the Family AH
GWST 383 History and Politics of Sexuality RoE
GWST/AFST 439 Women in Africa and the Diaspora RoE

 

Representations as/in Culture (3 credits)
Course Number Course Name RoE GEP
CSST 321 Queer Representations in Film and TV RoE AH
GWST/CSST 220 Introduction to Transgender Studies RoE
GWST/AMST 245 Arab and Muslim Experiences in the US RoE AH/C
GWST/PHIL 258 Philosophy, Race, and Gender AH
GWST/MLL 320 Transnational Feminist Film RoE AH/C
GWST/MLL322/AFST347 Gender, Race, and Media RoE AH/C
GWST 323 Gender and Sitcoms AH
GWST/MUSC 334 Women in Music AH/C
GWST 341 Indigenous and Decolonial Feminisms RoE
GWST 342 Gender in Modern South Asia RoE AH/C
GWST 343 Gender, Human Rights, + Political Violence: Latin America RoE AH/C
GWST 344 Transnational Femininities RoE AH/C
GWST 348 Black, Queer, + Feminist Film RoE
GWST/THTR 349 Gender, Sexuality, + Theatrical Performance RoE AH
GWST/ENGL 364 Perspectives on Women in Literature AH/WI
GWST 365 Black Women Novelists RoE
GWST/PHIL 391 The Philosophy of Sex
GWST/MLL 413 Language, Gender, + Sexuality RoE
GWST/PHIL 458 Advanced Topics in Feminist Philosophy
GWST/ENGL 464 Studies in Women + Literature

 

Material, Social, and Technological Contexts (3 credits)
Course Number Course Name RoE GEP
CSST 345 Unruly Bodies RoE AH/C
CSST 485 Sexuality + Queer Theory RoE
GWST/ECON 250 Gender Roles in Economic Life
GWST/MLL 255 Intercultural Paris RoE AH/C
GWST/AMST 310 Gender + Inequality in America AH
GWST/SOCY 332 Human Sexuality in Sociological Perspective
GWST/SOCY 333 Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective SS/C
GWST/CMSC/IS 352 Women, Gender, and Information Technology SS
GWST/SOCY 353 Marriage + the Family SS
GWST/SOCY 355 The Sociology of Gender SS
GWST/PSYC 356 The Psychology of Sex + Gender
GWST/PSYC 357 Psychology of Women + Gender
GWST/ANTH 367 Anthropology of Gender
GWST/AFST 370 Black Women: Cross-Cultural Perspectives RoE SS/C
GWST/AFST 371 The Female Offender
GWST 378 Women, Gender, + Science SS/WI
GWST 381 Reproductive Justice in the US
GWST/SOCY 433 Gender, Work, + Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective RoE WI
GWST/SOCY 434 Gender + the Life Course
GWST/PSYC 444 Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity WI

NOTE: A C or better is required in all courses applied toward the major