The Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor provides students with the opportunity to explore gender and sexuality from an interdisciplinary perspective. As an interdisciplinary field of study, Gender and Sexuality Studies bridges the methodological traditions of feminist studies, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, and transgender studies. The aim of the minor is to interrogate the social, cultural, and natural frameworks through which societies create, resist, and revise normative standards for the self, the body, and social relations in culturally and historically specific ways. Key topics of inquiry include: the complex interaction between gender and sexuality as they intersect with other identity constructions such as race, class, ethnicity, nationality, or religion; the ways that gender and sexuality influence and are influenced by economics, medicine, and the law; gender and sexuality as focal points for major political contestation and struggle; and representations of gender and sexuality in creative and imaginative work in art, cinema, literature, and mass media. The minor links a common introductory course with multi-disciplinary course offerings from throughout the curriculum so that students will develop critical responses to social justice and civil discourse that are essential to careers in a diverse global community.
