Why Study Gender?
The Gender Studies Program investigates fundamental questions about human society and culture:- What is gender?
- How is gender different from sex?
- How are women and men different, and similar?
- Why do we divide people based on gender?
- Are gender divisions produced by biology or cultural construction?
- How do ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, culture, and class influence gender?
- How do popular culture and mass media influence our conceptions and experiences of gender?
- How are concepts of beauty, sexuality, and pornography influenced by gender prescriptions?
- How do explanations of gender vary across history and cultures?
- What is the impact of gender on societal institutions, such as government, religion, and family?
- How have assumptions about gender influenced scientific and technological research?
GS classes explore the making and meaning of gender—femininity and masculinity—across institutional and personal arenas of human interaction and endeavor. Students from departments and colleges all across campus take courses in Gender Studies because these classes offer lively intellectual exchange, social and political insights, and multidisciplinary perspectives that greatly enhance a student’s major field of study. Gender Studies provides powerful analytic tools for self-understanding as well as global awareness.
Understanding the workings of gender in individual experience and in larger cultural formations prepares a student for a variety of careers and personal pursuits. By acquiring a certificate in Gender Studies, students will become knowledgeable about current research and thinking in multidisciplinary gender scholarship and will develop skills in self-reflection, cultural critique and social activism. GS prepares students for careers in social work, government, law, medicine, counseling, business, public relations, teaching, and other human service fields.