Women’s and Gender Studies Program

Dr. Carl Riden and Dr. Wade Edwards, Co-Directors of Women's and Gender Studies

The Women's and Gender Studies Minor at Longwood offers students an interdisciplinary program that incorporates an understanding of gender perspectives in all areas of the curriculum. Women's and Gender Studies creates a framework for examining the historical, cultural, political, economic, and global conditions central to understanding both women as gendered beings and the processes of gender construction for all humans.  It recognizes that not only gender, but race, class, ethnicity, age, ability and sexual orientation are crucial aspects of women's and men's experiences. Because issues of gender cut across most areas of knowledge, students can raise similar questions within different disciplines and by using various methodologies achieve a deeper understanding of the complexity and wholeness of human experience.

Requirements for 18-Credit Minor in Women's and Gender Studies

In order to complete a minor in Women's and Gender Studies, students must:

1.File a form of intention to pursue the minor at the Office of Registration,

2.Earn a grade point average of 2.0 in those courses chosen to meet the minor requirements, and

3.Complete 18 hours of course work (including at least 9 hours at the 300 or 400 level) from the following courses.

In addition to the above courses, students are encouraged to participate in Women's and Gender Studies events on campus.

WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES COURSE DESCRIPTIONS (WGST)

Women's and Gender Studies 106. Introduction to Women's Studies. The course will introduce students to literature in the social sciences by and about women. We will explore key roles which women play in society, how they have questioned these roles, and contributions which women make in different societies. We will read about women in our own and other societies as a way to explore these questions. 3 credits.

Women's and Gender Studies 295. Selected topics in Women’s and Gender Studies. The topics will vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit when topics change.

Women's and Gender Studies 390.  Directed or Independent Study. Must be approved by the head of the department. May be repeated as 391.

Women's and Gender Studies 489. Directed Study. Symposium in Women’s Studies sponsored by the Washington Center. Forty to 60 hours of lectures, panel discussions, workshops, site visits, and bi-weekly discussion groups over a 2 to 3 week period in Washington, DC.  Prerequisites: two courses in Women’s and Gender Studies, 2.5 GPA, and approval of the Directors of Women’s and Gender Studies. The work done in the Symposium will be evaluated by a faculty member designated by the Program Directors, and cannot be double-counted at Longwood to meet the requirements of other disciplines. 2-3 credits.

Women's and Gender Studies 490. Directed or Independent Study. Must be approved by the program directors. 1-18 credits.

Women's and Gender Studies 492.  Internship in Women’s and Gender Studies. Directed practice in a public, private, or community agency or organization which has as one of its goals the improvement of the status of women. Students work with an on-site supervisor who guides their internship in collaboration with a faculty liaison appointed by the Directors of Women’s and Gender Studies.