The Minor in Women's Studies

The Self-designed Major
in Women's Studies

Course Descriptions

•WOSTFaculty

•WOST Events

•Antioch Comparative Women's Studies in Europe Program

• Feminists United Student Group

• Saint Mary's Straight and Gay Alliance Website

• Additional Campus Resources

• Women's Studies Graduate Programs

• Women's Studies Web Resources

• National Feminist Organizations

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Goals for Student Achievement in the Women's Studies Program

What do we want our minors to accomplish?

The field of Women’s Studies encourages students to analyze and to re-imagine the seemingly familiar worlds of women’s lives. The program adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the study of women, gender, and sexuality by working across boundaries within the humanities and social sciences. It is guided by feminist theoretical insight into different forms of power, inequality, and privilege. Students investigate the construction not only of gender, but also of race, class, and sexuality. They examine not only the present but also the past, not only the United States but also today’s increasingly global, transnational world. Students will develop the skills to interpret and to analyze systems of oppression and, ultimately, to work toward a more just human society. From course content and assignments to ethical questions about the conditions of women around the world, the Women's Studies program embodies a commitment to women in all their diversity and reflects our conviction that women must be active agents in defining themselves and creating knowledge.

The student achievement goals that flow from this philosophy are as follows:

  1. Knowledge and Understanding

    Students should demonstrate familiarity with the following concepts and ideas:

    • the history of feminism and women’s work within broader reform and justice movements in the United States
    • the relationship between privilege and oppression
    • institutional barriers to access and equity
    • the interlocking nature of social constructs, including gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality, socioeconomic class, nationality, and ability, among others
    • the complexity of identity and identity politics
    • women’s past and present actions as opponents—as well as proponents—of social justice and equity
    • introductory and advanced forms of feminist theory
    • ways in which cultural, racial, religious, and historical constructions of gender and sexuality organize knowledge and structure women’s lives
    • the inter- and multi-disciplinary nature of women’s and gender studies and the potential for cross-fertilization of ideas across fields in the humanities, social sciences, professional programs, and physical sciences
  2. Skills

    Students will demonstrate the following abilities:

    • to think critically by evaluating sources, analyzing discourse, and considering context
    • to communicate effectively in the language of women’s and gender studies through writing, oral presentation, and verbal exchange
    • to communicate effectively with others by listening closely, speaking thoughtfully, respecting differences of perspective and opinion, and receiving criticism productively
    • to investigate their own biases and investments
    • to situate the conditions of women’s lives in the United States within a broader global framework
    • to conduct research into scholarly and pubic discourse about women, gender, and sexuality
    • to act as critical consumers of cultural representations and claims about women, gender, and sexuality
    • to assess and to take active part in their undergraduate education and lifelong learning
    • to affect change in their own lives and in their communities
  3. Social Justice

    Students will demonstrate a commitment to justice for all women. They will prepare themselves to become agents of change through personal action and structural transformation. Such preparation might include:

    • the ability to envision and work toward positive alternatives for transforming women's lives
    • engaging in activities that help to transform women's lives, such as internships or volunteer experiences
    • an awareness of one's personal strengths and limitations including one's leadership and collaborative abilities and what this implies in her relationship with other women
    • the capacity to understand and accept the implication of one's choices for herself and others and to affirm one's ability to choose
    • an awareness of one’s own privileges within systems of privilege and oppression