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What are power, privilege, and oppression? In what ways do these impact individuals and communities? Where do they influence access and opportunity? And what can we do personally and professionally to ensure more equitable and inclusive homes, communities, and societies?
GWS invites you to investigate your own experiences and environments through a critical feminist and queer lens to gain a stronger perspective on the importance of gender equity and social justice.
Gender, Women, and Sexualities studies is an excellent field of study for those interested in learning about how to become active in their own work toward social justice. Through analytical and reflective course work, students gain valuable skills and knowledge that will help them in their everyday lives and careers. Some of these skills include: written and oral communication, critical analysis, strategic thinking, problem solving, and research.
The Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies major must be planned in consultation with a faculty member in GWS. A grade of “C-” or better is required for each course in this program to count toward the Bachelor’s degree. Students should note that programs differ in the minimum grade required.
The recommended sequence for courses are as follows: 1000-level introductory courses, 2000-level courses, core and interdisciplinary electives, 3000-level theory course followed by a 4000-level senior experience.
Choose Two 1000-Level Courses:
Complete Two Required 2000-Level Courses:
Choose One 3000-Level Theory Course:
or
Choose One 4000-Level Experiential Course:
or
A minimum of 15 additional semester hours in GWS courses selected in consultation with and approved by a Department of Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies advisor. Among those courses for students to choose are:
An additional six credit hours is required in any GWS prefix course from the list above.
Required Courses: 18 credit hours
Core Electives: 15 credit hours
Interdisciplinary Electives: 6 credit hours
Senior Experience: 3 credit hours
Major Credit Requirements Total: 42 credit hours
OR
GWS 3510 Feminist Theory and Practices I, and GWS 4750 Feminist Theory and Practices II must be taken in sequence.
Students must take one course from each of the four areas: Transnational and Cultural Diversity, Social Justice and Activism, Bodies and Sexualities, and Interdisciplinary. Additionally, students must take two courses within their selected focus area. These courses must be planned in consultation with a faculty member in GITA.
An additional 6 credit hours is required from any course with a GWS prefix.
Core Required Courses: 24 credit hours
Area Requirements: 12 credit hours
Focus Area: 6 credit hours
Major Credit Requirements Total: 42 credit hours
If you would like to learn more about a specific course, please check out the academic catalog HERE.
MSU Denver emphasizes academic and experiential learning. As a Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies major you can take advantage of the following:
Focus Area: Develop a focus area in Transnational and Cultural Diversity, Social Justice and Activism, or Bodies and Sexualities. Gain knowledge about the histories and experiences of oppressed and underrepresented gender, sexual and racial/ethnic groups. Apply this knowledge to pursue careers within a wide variety of social justice and equity-based organizations.
Experiential Opportunities: Complete a service-learning course, which involves 30 hours of volunteer work, and complete an internship or teaching assistantship—all of which will give you relevant career experience.
Student Services: Take advantage of the services offered by the Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy, which houses the Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies Program. Services include wellness/lactation rooms, student advising and advocacy, scholarship support, a snack stop, and community space.
Feminist First Mondays: Get to know the diverse community of feminist scholars on campus through monthly forums that present research and creative work related to feminism, women and gender issues, critical race questions and social justice.
Bridge Speaker: Attend the annual Bridge Speaker series. The event serves as a bridge between Black History Month in February and Women’s History in March. GITA brings noted speakers to campus to discuss educational issues and shed light on the lives and contributions of African American women.
Triple F Film Series: Take part in monthly film screenings featuring work by and for people of color focusing on social justice and feminism.
Student activities: Develop leadership skills through involvement in the Iota Iota Iota Women’s and Gender Honor Society and Feminist Alliance at MSU Denver.
MSU Denver’s Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy is located in Boulder Creek, just north of the Colfax light rail station. The Institute serves as a feminist campus resource that provides programming and advocacy related to gender inclusion and social equity.
MSU Denver Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies program graduates have pursued a range of careers such as:
Associate Professor Anahi Russo Garrido is currently investigating intimacy in Mexico City in the lives of three generations of women participating in queer spaces and is the co-editor of Building Feminist Movements and Organizations. Her research and teaching interests include transnational gender and sexualities, global women’s movements, LGBT and transgender studies and queer and feminist anthropology.
Professor Arlene Sgoutas is the co-editor of “Mothers Under Fire: Mothering in Conflict Areas”. Her research and teaching interests include feminist interventions in global politics, international women’s resistance movements and motherhood studies. She was the recipient of the MSU Denver President’s Distinguished Service Award for faculty in 2014.
Associate Professor Sandra Mizumoto Posey was trained as a folklorist at UCLA where she received her M.A and Ph.D., but she has pursued a career that is truly interdisciplinary. Here at MSU Denver, she’s taught courses both for the major and five of our nine general studies categories plus the multicultural graduation requirement. Her publications have spanned ethnography, pedagogy, poetry and creative nonfiction. Her current writing focuses on memoir.
Assistant Professor Sonny Dhoot’s current research explores how the configurations of race, capital, gender, sexuality and normalcy shape the erotic lives of queers of colour. His current research and teaching interests include, queer/trans of color critique, decolonial/critical race feminisms, transnational and women of color feminisms, and queer erotics and sexuality studies. Sonny is also interested in anti-carceral community projects.
Stephanie Dimatulac Santos is an interdisciplinary scholar who uses ethnography, computational humanities, and cultural analysis to examine gender and development issues in Southeast Asia. Her current book project, Filipina Women and Social Reproduction Theory, uses the Filipino concept of “kabuhayan” or life-making as a counter-narrative to examine how development instruments privilege Western ideas of labor and resource extraction. Her teaching and research interests include transnational feminisms, Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies, and feminist science and technology. Her next research project examines emerging forms of transnational digital labor in Southeast Asia.
Graduates from MSU Denver’s Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies program have gone on to work at places such as:
Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies alumni have been accepted for graduate study at the following schools:
Contact the GWS Department
Hosted by the Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy
Main Line: 303-615-2052
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address:
Campus Box 36
PO Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217
Campus Location:
Boulder Creek, Room 132
950 10th Street Plaza
Denver, CO 80204