Women’s and Gender Studies, B.A.

Women’s and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program that examines the historical construction and perpetuation of asymmetrical sex and gender systems, and their relationship to other systems of power. It also explores the ways in which gender intersects with personal identities, social arrangements, economic and political systems, and ways of knowing and understanding the world.

Women’s and Gender Studies offers a major with course offerings from 15 departments in the School of Arts and Sciences, The Crane School of Music, and the School of Education and Professional Studies. It also offers a Women’s and Gender Studies minor.

Women’s & Gender Studies Major Requirements:

The Women’s and Gender Studies major has four core requirements:

Introductory Course
Research Methods
Feminist Theory
Senior Seminar

In addition, students take at least one course from each four different disciplinary perspectives:

Historical
Social-Political
Artistic-Literary
Science-Health

Two additional W&GS electives are required as well. This interdisciplinary approach provides students with knowledge of key academic debates across the disciplines that frame the field of Women’s and Gender Studies.

Program Requirements

Required Courses: 13-14 Credits

WMST 100 - Women’s & Gender Studies I 3 or 4 Credit(s)
WMST 360 - Feminist Research Methods 4 Credit(s)
WMST 370 - Feminist Theory 3 Credit(s) (POLS 353 or PHIL 372 may be substituted)
WMST 462 - WS Seminar 3 Credit(s)

Multidisciplinary Perspectives Courses: 12-13 Credits

One course from each of the following four perspectives

Historical Perspective

HIST 230 - Introduction to Africa 3 Credit(s)
HIST 304 - History of American Women I 3 Credits
HIST 305 - Modern American Women 3 Credits
HIST 450 - Modern American Oral History 3 Credits
HIST 451 - Witchcraft in Early America 3 Credits
ANTH 331 - Women in Native America 3 Credit(s)
COMM 416 - Voices of American Women 3 Credit(s)

Electives: 6-8 Credits

Choose any two additional Women’s and Gender Studies courses from the list below.

ANTH 150 - Human Sexuality 3 Credit(s)
ANTH 321 - Cross-cultural Aspects of Women’s Health 3 Credit(s)
ANTH 342 - Language and Gender 3 Credit(s)
ANTH 412 - Seminar in Women’s Sexuality 4 Credit(s)
ANTH 495 - Gender Through the Ages 3 Credits
COMM 201 - Mass Media and Society 3 Credit(s)
COMM 372 - Rhetoric of the Black Church 3 Credit(s)
COMM 390 - Topics in Communication 1-4 Credit(s)
COMM 416 - Voices of American Women 3 Credit(s)
DANC 220 - Caribfunk 1 3 Credits
DRAM 210 - Interpretation and Analysis of Plays 3 Credit(s)
DRAM 313 - History of Theatre II 3 Credit(s)
DRAM 414 - Contemporary Theatre Topics 3 Credit(s)
FREN 350 - North African Literatures and Cultures 3 Credit(s)
HIST 315 - Modern Japanese Women’s History 3 Credit(s)
HIST 451 - Witchcraft in Early America 3 Credits
HLTH 165 - Health: A Lifestyle Approach 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 341 - Sexual Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 342 - Women’s Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 344 - Issues in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Health 3 Credit(s)
LANG 292 - Languages, Cultures, Differences 3 Credit(s)
LITR 322 - Children’s Literature 3 Credit(s)
LITR 323 - Young Adult Literature 3 Credit(s)
LITR 355 - Gender and Literature 3 Credit(s)
LITR 359 - Literary Themes 3 Credit(s)
LITR 520 - Special Topics 3 Credit(s)
POLS 323 - Welfare Policy Research 4 Credit(s)
POLS 329 - Gender and the Law 4 Credit(s)
POLS 332 - Women and Politics 4 Credit(s)
POLS 338 - International Human Rights 4 Credits
POLS 415 - Civil Liberties: Race, Sex & Privacy 4 Credit(s)
SOCI 305 - Sociology of the Family 3 Credit(s)
SOCI 310 - Racial and Ethnic Relations 3 Credit(s)
SOCI 313 - Global Cultures 3 Credit(s)
SOCI 320 - Work and Complex Organizations 3 Credit(s)
SOCI 375 - Women and Work 3 Credit(s)
SOCI 376 - Women and Crime 3 Credits
SOCI 380 - Family Violence 3 Credits
SOCI 385 - The Sociology of Troubled Youth 3 Credits
SOCI 395 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
SPAN 306 - Readings in Hispanic Literature I 3 Credit(s)

Note(s)

Some courses have prerequisites in addition to WMST 100 . See catalog or instructors for other prerequisites.
POLS 125 and SOCI 150 is the same as WMST 100 .
A minimum grade of 2.0 is required for all courses in the major.
No course may double count for any of the above requirements.
No more than two courses may double count with any other SUNY Potsdam major or minor.

Women’s and Gender Studies, B.A.

Program Requirements

Required Courses: 13-14 Credits

Multidisciplinary Perspectives Courses: 12-13 Credits

Historical Perspective

Social-Political Perspective

Artistic-Literary Perspective

Science-Health Perspective

Electives: 6-8 Credits

Note(s)

Total Credit Hours Required: 31-35