Women and Gender Studies Program

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(248) 370-2154

Program Website: oakland.edu/wgs

Director: Jo Reger (Sociology)

Women and Gender Studies Executive Committee:  Fabia Ursula Battistuzzi (Biological Sciences), Ami Harbin (Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies), Lan Jiang (Biology), Laura Landolt (Political Science), Jennifer Lucarelli (Health Sciences), Valerie Palmer-Mehta (Communication), George Sanders (Sociology), Robert Sidelinger (Communication), Anne Switzer (Kresge Library)

Chief adviser: Jo Reger (Sociology)

Women and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary field devoted to the study of the dynamics of gender, sex and power. Particular attention is given to differences among women in various social and cultural contexts, the representation of women in literature, art and the media, and the conditions that promote and impede women’s progress. In addition, women and gender studies puts gender, what it means to be feminine or masculine, at the center of the analysis. This includes questioning how gender shapes societal participation, privileges, statuses, and experiences. Women and gender studies uses feminist methodologies and theories to describe and analyze the impact of social movements, historical events, public policy and other social forces on women and men. Specific attention is given to how gender intersects with race, class, sex, sexual identity, national identity and religion.

Program honors

To be a candidate for honors in women and gender studies, students must be graduating seniors who have taken a minimum of 20 credits of their women and gender studies major course work at Oakland University and have earned a minimum GPA of 3.60 in that coursework with an overall minimum GPA of 3.0. In addition, a letter of reference is required concerning the student’s volunteer involvement in a service activity relevant to women’s issues.

Additional information

PA 510 and PA 511 are graduate level courses open to undergraduate students with instructor, and women and gender studies director permission.

Programs

• Women and Gender Studies Minor
• Women and Gender Studies, B.A.

Courses

• WGS 200 - Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 207 - Human Sexuality
• WGS 300 - Women in Transition
• WGS 301 - Special Topics in Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 302 - Global Women, Global Issues
• WGS 303 - Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
• WGS 305 - The Life Course in Anthropological Perspectives
• WGS 307 - Philosophy of Gender
• WGS 308 - Population and Society
• WGS 311 - Women and Politics
• WGS 320 - Feminist Theory
• WGS 321 - Methods of Feminist Analysis
• WGS 322 - Women in Modern America
• WGS 325 - Issues in Women’s Health
• WGS 326 - Family and Community Processes
• WGS 330 - Women, Crime and Justice
• WGS 335 - The Family
• WGS 336 - Sociology of Gender
• WGS 337 - Women’s Lives in Cross-Cultural Perspective
• WGS 339 - Women in Early Modern Europe
• WGS 343 - Gender Discrimination and the Supreme Court
• WGS 351 - Women in Art
• WGS 352 - Women and Work
• WGS 361 - History of American Families
• WGS 362 - History of African-American Women
• WGS 364 - Gender and Int’l Relations
• WGS 365 - Women Writing Autobiography
• WGS 370 - Women in Music
• WGS 374 - Psychology of Women
• WGS 375 - Women in China, 1700 to the Present
• WGS 382 - Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Education
• WGS 385 - Historical Archaeology
• WGS 387 - Media, Gender and Sexuality
• WGS 399 - Field Experience in Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 400 - Directed Research in Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 401 - Advanced Topics in Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 404 - Queer Social Theory
• WGS 405 - Women and Gender Studies Capstone Course
• WGS 481 - Gender Socialization in the Schools

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