Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies (GWSS) is an interdisciplinary field that integrates theory and practice with the aim of transforming social relations, representations, knowledges, institutions, and policies. GWSS works toward these goals by producing and disseminating knowledge through research, teaching, and activism. The interdisciplinary field provides students with the skills to critically and actively engage with the world around them.
Through the GWSS major at EWU, students examine gender and sexuality as they intersect with other socio-political categories and relations of power, such as race, indigeneity, class, nationality, religion, age, and ability. Issues of justice, social and economic transformation, and agency are central at all levels of the curriculum. The major is comprised of courses from a broad array of disciplines and interdisciplines and provides a strong foundation in the humanities and social sciences.
The interdisciplinary major is designed to foster personal and intellectual development, cultivate civic engagement, and provide a sound foundation relevant for employment in a variety of occupations within academia, the private sector, the professions, government, and the nonprofit sector.
Note:
- students must complete at least 25 credits of this major at Eastern Washington University;
- two years of a single high school foreign language or one year of a single college-level foreign language is required for this major.
Note: this 45 credit major requires the completion of a minor (minimum of 15 credits) for a total of 60 credits.
| Required Foundation Courses | ||
| GWSS/HUMN 101 | INTRODUCTION TO GENDER, WOMEN'S AND SEXUALITY STUDIES | 5 |
| GWSS 150 | GENDER, SEXUALITY AND POWER | 5 |
| Introductory Course–choose one | 5 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO LGBTQ+STUDIES | ||
| GENDER, REPRESENTATION AND POPULAR CULTURE | ||
| GENDER, HEALTH AND MARGINALIZATION | ||
| Intermediate Course–choose one | 5 | |
| TOPICS: ISSUES IN GENDER | ||
| BODIES, SOCIALIZATION AND CULTURE | ||
| TRANSNATIONAL FEMINISMS | ||
| Required Upper-Division–choose one | 5 | |
| FEMINIST THEORIES | ||
| QUEER THEORY | ||
| Required Electives | 15 | |
| Required Senior Capstone | ||
| GWSS 490 | SENIOR CAPSTONE | 5 |
| Total Credits | 45 | |
University Competencies and Proficiencies
English
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB
General Education Requirements (GER)
- Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours
- 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
- Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0
Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)
Humanities and Arts
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
University Graduation Requirements (UGR)
Diversity Course List
Foreign Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).
Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Degree Works calculates based on these two catalog years.
- The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
- The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.
Students who successfully complete a BA in Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies should be able to:
- analyze intersections among societal structures (such as gender, race, class, age, disability, national origin, and sexuality) that contribute to oppressions, power, or privilege;
- analyze the role of representation in producing/reproducing cultural attitudes about gender and other axes of identity;
- assess forms of collective action addressing global, regional, or local issues affecting marginalized identities;
- articulate multiple feminisms;
- communicate effectively from within feminist frameworks;
- integrate theoretical knowledge with feminist practice to solve problems.