Gender and Women's Studies

The Gender and Women’s Studies minor complements many majors, including Psychology, Sociology, English, Communication and Business Law. It also provides a background for various careers such as those in law, counseling and healthcare. The minor is beneficial for students who are pursuing advanced graduate degrees in assorted fields, which include women’s studies, education, communication, politics, and cultural and media studies. Students who declare themselves Gender and Women’s Studies minors must take three core courses (9 units), plus three courses (9 units) of Gender and Women’s Studies electives.

The minor in Gender and Women’s Studies is an 18-unit minor. It consists of three required courses (one lower division and two upper division), plus three electives.

1. Lower Division Required Course (3 units)

GWS 100 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (3)
or GWS 110 Women, Work and Family (3)

2. Upper Division Requirements (6 units)

GWS 301 Feminist Theories (3)
GWS 351 Gender, Race, Class and Sexuality (3)

3. Electives (9 units)

Students are required to complete three electives for the Gender and Women’s Studies minor. Select any three courses from the following list. One of the electives must be upper division level.

Upper division elective courses for majors, as well as experimental and selected topics courses (upon approval of the Gender and Women’s Studies department chair or advisor), may fulfill electives required for the Gender and Women’s Studies minor.

AAS 340 Asian American Women (3)
AFRS 324 The Black Woman in Contemporary Times (3)
AIS 222/GWS 222 Gender, Sexuality and American Indian Communities (3)
ANTH 308 Gender and Culture (3)
ART 468 History of Women in the Visual Arts (3)
BLAW 391 Women and the Law (3)
CHS 246 Contemporary Issues of the Chicana (3)
CHS 346 History of the Chicana/Mexicana (3)
CHS 365 Third World Women and the Chicana (3)
COMS 360 Communication, Gender, and Culture (3)
COMS 435 Rhetoric of Women (3)
CTVA 413 Women as Filmmakers (3)
ENGL 369 Lesbian Writers (3)
ENGL 431 Images of Women in Literature (3)
ENGL 434 19th Century Women Novelists (3)
GWS 205/CS Gender and Women’s Studies Community Service and Seminar (1/2)
GWS 220 Men, Masculinity and Patriarchy (3)
GWS 230 Women and Entertainment (3)
GWS 300 Women as Agents of Change (3)
GWS 315 Gender, Sexuality and Islam in the U.S. (3)
GWS 320 Women and Urban Life/Urban Space (3)
GWS 340 Women, Gender and Global Development (3)
GWS 370 Women and Violence (3)
GWS 380 Sexual and Reproductive Health (3)
GWS 410 Sex, Lies and Media (3)
GWS 420 Women and Gender in Islamic Societies (3)
GWS 430 Global Sexualities (3)
GWS 440 Latin American Feminisms (3)
HIST 349A American Women I (3)
HIST 349B Women in American History Since 1848 (3)
HIST 350 History of Women (3)
HSCI 231 Women and Health (3)
JOUR 371 Gender and Media (3)
JS 330 Women in the Jewish Experience (3)
PHIL 348 Feminist Philosophy (3)
POLS 448 Women and Politics in the United States and the World (3)
QS 201 Race and Ethnicity in Queer Studies (3)
QS 303 Transgender Studies (3)
RS 304 Women and Religion (3)
RTM 330 Women, Leisure and Ethnicity in the United States (3)
SOC 324 Sociology of Sex and Gender (3)
SOC 325 Sex Roles and Work (3)

Individualized Work

Students may, with approval of the Gender and Women’s Studies department chair, receive credit for up to 3 units of independent study, which may be counted as an elective in the minor.

Total Units in the Minor: 18