Gender and Women’s Studies Certificate
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 perspectives, the Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Department 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.
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To complete the certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies, students must complete 24 credits of Gender and Women’s Studies coursework, divided as follows:
| CORE COURSES (12 credits) | |||
| Course # | Course Name | GEP | Semester offered |
| GWST 100 | Introduction to Gender + Women’s Studies | SS/C | |
| GWST 200 | Studies in Feminist Activism | SS | Spring Only |
| GWST 300 | Methodologies in Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies | WI | |
| GWST 480 | Theories of Feminism | ||
| WOMEN’S HISTORY COURSES (3 credits) | ||||
| Course # | Course Name | RoE | GEP | |
| GWST/HIST 325 | History of Women in America to 1870 | SS | ||
| GWST/HIST 326 | History of Women in America since 1870 | SS | ||
| GWST327/AFST354/HIST323 | African-American Women’s History | RoE | SS | |
| GWST330/ANCS320 | Women and Gender in the Classical World | AH/C/WI | ||
| GWST/HIST 366 | Doin’ It: Case Studies in the History of Western Sexuality | RoE | SS/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/HIST 380 | History of Women + Gender in Asia | RoE | C | |
| GWST 383 | History and Politics of Sexuality | RoE | ||
ELECTIVE CREDITS (9 credits)
Nine credits of elective Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies courses, including topics courses (GWST290, 292, 390, 392, 490, 492). At least two elective courses must specifically address the range of women’s experiences (RoE) for example through a focus on international women, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or class.
NOTES:
- A C or better is required in all courses applied toward the certificate
- A maximum of six (6) credits of GWST electives may be taken at the 200 level
- A maximum of three (3) GWST independent study credits may be counted toward the certificate