Senior Integrative Experience Women’s Studies majors will be encouraged to begin broadly, taking courses in a variety of fields as well as introductory classes in Women’s Studies and Women’s Studies methodologies. As she moves through the program, she will be encouraged to tailor her course of study to meet her own research interests, taking an additional research methods course in her chosen discipline along with upper-level Women’s Studies courses that are relevant to her field. Through this coursework, she will learn to position herself as a critical specialist on gender and its representations in her particular area of interest, and, finally, prepare her scholarship for both the Wesleyan community and a larger professional audience. In WST 401 offered during the fall of the major’s senior year, she will work with her fellow classmates and instructor to complete a scholarly project. As the student is completing her interdisciplinary course of study conducted through the lens of focused feminist methodology, this seminar provides her with individual guidance to shape her senior research project, which she will present in the spring symposium and eventually refine for a professional audience.
Minor Requirements: Women’s Studies. The Women’s Studies minor provides students with a basic foundation of the issues, theories, and methods dealt within the discipline. Students will be encouraged to connect with Women’s Studies majors, faculty, and the community through participation in the various courses and the yearly spring symposium. A minor in Women’s Studies consists of a minimum of 16 hours and is distributed as follows: WST 200 Women, Culture, and Society 3 hours WST 350 Feminist Theory 3 hours WST 402 Symposium Lab 1 hour Chose three additional WST courses 9 hours At least two of the chosen courses must be at the 300 level. One chosen course, at any level, must be designated cross-cultural (this is in addition to the general education cross-cultural course).
Cross-Cultural Courses The Women’s Studies major and minor includes in its mission a commitment to the analysis of social categories in addition to gender, including race/ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, religion, and ability/disability, along with the ways in which these categories affect people in a variety of settings and contexts. Each student will therefore be required to take one course that is designated as cross-cultural in addition to her general education cross-cultural requirement. A class that meets this requirement should address women in a multicultural or cross-cultural course of study either within the United States or in a global setting. Students may petition the Women’s Studies Chair to approve a course that has significant cross-cultural content or emphasis but is not a designated WST course. The following courses currently meet the criteria for cross-cultural designation in Women’s Studies: WST/ECO 210 Women and Economic Development WST/POL 225 Women and Politics WST 250 Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women WST/HUM 260 Women's World Literature WST/THE 335 Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Performance
Resources for Non-Majors We welcome all students to join our classes; Women’s Studies courses offer a theoretical and experiential understanding of how women live in and are understood by our societies. This would be an excellent opportunity to make interdisciplinary connections through critical engagement and practical application.
Postgraduate Opportunities This major will prepare students for a wide variety of professional opportunities, including advertising, art, business, communication, counseling, education, government, health care, the humanities, law, not-for-profit work, social justice, and social service. The Women’s Studies degree is also excellent preparation for graduate education in humanities and social science fields.
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