This introductory course examines a broad range of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues within the historical, psychological, racial, theological, cultural, and legal contexts in which we live. Students will learn the historical and theoretical foundations of LGBTQ+ studies as well as the contemporary implications for family, work, religion, and law for LGBTQ+ people and the mainstream society. Students will have the opportunity to compare the regulation of sexual orientation across different gender, racial, and socioeconomic communities.

This course explores how contemporary understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality have shifted and developed over time with a specific focus on queer identities; highlights key moments of LGBTQ+ activism and political engagement; traces the interplay between sexual and gender minorities and law, politics, religion, and medicine; and explores how queer identities intersect with race, class, disability, and nationality. Through engagement with memoirs, treatises, academic works, documentaries, art, and a range of primary sources produced by, for, and about LGBTQ+ people primarily in the United States, students will gain knowledge of the most important aspects and events that have shaped queer histories and cultures.

This course explores contemporary leadership styles through the lens of gender diversity. Relying upon a feminist social justice framework alongside models of intersectionality, students will actively engage with a wide variety of gender and culture-informed literature and visual media sources, defining—in both theory and practice—what it means to be an inclusive and empowering leader in modern society. Some questions to consider will include: In a work environment, who is responsible for ensuring gender equity? Where does inclusion begin? How does our personal identity shape our view of leadership? How does our view of leadership shape our identity? Why does gender matter in a professional environment? What role does feminism play in the construction of societal norms? What is the relation between leadership, power relations, and authority? How does a feminist social justice framework affect and reorient traditional notions of leadership? How do leadership styles and models vary across cultures? What styles of leadership are needed to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces, organizations, and societies?

This course focuses on the many forms of feminist activisms and feminist strategies of grassroots social resistance in the U.S. and beyond. It centers women as agents of social change in the struggle to challenge gender stereotypes, sexism, and oppressive policies; organize to reduce social issues such as poverty, racism, homophobia, and violence; work to expand opportunities for gender equity and social justice; and confront barriers in education, the criminal justice system, and politics. Topics of investigation include feminist struggles against domestic and sexual violence (including emergent forms of sexual regulation and slavery, agendas of incarceration, and politics of immigration and housing) as well as the fight for personhood, citizenship, legal rights, property rights, rights to the land, water, and clean air, disability rights, personal freedom, suffrage, education, reproductive rights, workplace equality, and more. As there is a personal element to all forms of feminist social activism, the course will also engage questions such as: How do you envision yourself as an empowered, effective activist for gender justice? What strengths, resources, and commitments can you bring to your gender justice work? What social issues are you most passionate about? Students in the course will also create or participate in some activist project concerning a particularly pressing local, national or global social issue thereby melding theory and practice for increased gender justice in the world we live in.

This course begins with the concept that sexuality, gender and gender identity is neither fixed nor innate. Many people who adopt a definition or expression of gender different from society often identify themselves as queer. The study of this movement is referred to as queer theory. This course examines the concepts of sex, gender, and gender expression of straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic classes within the context of the larger society in which we live. Students will explore the unique political, legal, and interpersonal challenges faced by those embracing queer identity as well as the diversity of gender identities and expressions.

This course thoroughly investigates the fraught history of U.S. laws and policies intended to police (and, yet, inadvertently producing) “queer” genders and sexualities, broadly construed. Beginning in the colonial period, this course will explore laws regulating marriage, divorce, abortion, gender presentation, immigration, sex work, and sexual assault as they impact the queer communities. It will also consider legal movements for sex- and gender-based rights, LGBTQ+ equality, hate crime legislation, and contemporary laws regulating LGBTQ+ education and medicine. Throughout the course, we will consider the ways in which the law serves to constitute and erase sexual and gendered possibilities of queer individuals; discuss the differences between the law as written and policies in practice; examine the relation between legal applications and ethical aspirations as they concern the rights and recognition of queer individuals; and debate whether the law can or should be a path to queer liberation. Through collaborative in-class activities and discussions informed by an interdisciplinary selection of legal, historical, political-scientific, and theoretical texts, the course will provide students with an extensive knowledge of the ways in which U.S. laws and policies impact the social, personal, and interpersonal experience of queer individuals and communities.

This class explores the impact the HIV/AIDS epidemic had on queer, disabled, immigrant, and other marginalized communities within the United States. Focusing particularly on the early years of the epidemic, we will discuss early public health and political responses; the emergence, tactics, and legacies of activist groups like AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP); the role lesbians played in both fighting AIDS and supporting people with AIDS (PWAs); and the way that the virus has been remembered and memorialized in arts and culture. Students will gain knowledge of the disproportionate and intersectional impacts the virus had on Black queer and Haitian communities; the ways HIV/AIDS contributed to urban and artistic gentrification; the persistent way the virus has impacted laws and policies of immigration, identification, and sex; the relationships among HIV/AIDS activism in the 1980s and 1990s and the fight for same-sex marriage in the 2000s and 2010s; and the ways that the political response to HIV/AIDS influenced the COVID-19 pandemic.

This small-group, discussion-oriented, intensive-writing seminar examines some area of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (chosen by the instructor, announced in the course subtitle, and developed in the syllabus). The seminar is based on collaborative learning, discussions, and various forms of formal and informal writing understood as an integral part of the critical exploration of WGSS-related topics.

This variable topic course examines one or more themes, figures, movements, critical questions or issues in the areas of LGBTQ+ studies. The topic for the course is chosen by the instructor, announced in the course subtitle, and developed in the syllabus. Topics in LGBTQ+ Studies can be taken multiple times provided the topic being studied has changed.

A semester or summer-length experience in a professional setting related to the WGSS degree (this class is restricted to WGSS degree students).

This individualized course allows students to work independently on their own creative project by applying themes and methodologies proper to women’s, gender, and sexuality studies to an area of their own academic interest. The advanced project is carried out outside the classroom under the supervision of a WGSS faculty sponsor selected by the student. The project culminates in the production and public presentation, display or performance of a creative work (such as an artifact, a film, a videogame, installation art, a musical composition, a piece of design, a performance, a poster, an activist initiative, etc.) that incorporates women’s, gender, and sexuality studies theory and/or practice. The final product must be accompanied by a written component that explains the critical or theoretical context for the project and provides an analysis of its content. Prior to enrollment in this course, students must submit a project proposal to their faculty sponsor, who will forward it to the WGSS Program Director for approval. The proposal should specify the topic and goal of the advanced project, the timeframe for its completion, and a venue for public dissemination (for guidelines for designing and gaining approval for an Advanced Project, see the guidelines for an Independent Study as provided in College of Liberal Arts Policy I.D). To submit a proposal for an Advanced Project in WGSS and receive an official WGST course grade, the student must have completed 3 courses in WGST core or co-listed courses, have a minimum GPA of 2.7 at the time of the application, and complete the work described in the proposal.