- Advising
- About Us
- Faculty & Staff Directory
- Academic Programs
- Students
- Alumni
- Contact
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Open search box
Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies recognize that gender and sexuality intersect with other categories of identity and experience that include race, ethnicity, nation, social class, ability, and age, and place this knowledge at the center of academic study.
Our courses examine a wide range of topics from multidisciplinary perspectives.We encourage community involvement and activism, and our majors, minors, and graduate students complete internships with social change agencies and organizations.
Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies also practices feminist pedagogy in the classroom and feminist ethics in our dealings with students and others outside the classroom.
Our classes are student-centered and discussion-oriented. Our goal is to help students develop critical thinking skills that they can apply in broader contexts. We encourage community involvement and activism, and our majors and graduate students complete internships in social change agencies.
Learning Outcome 1: Identify and explain the ways in which our lived experiences and social institutions are structured through the intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, age, religion, culture, and nation.
Learning Outcome 2: Analyze current social and political situations from multiracial, transnational, and queer feminist perspectives.
Learning Outcome 3: Articulate the ways in which systems of power, privilege, and oppression shape our experiences as individuals and members of communities.
Learning Outcome 4: Develop skills in critical analysis.
Learning Outcome 5: Develop skills and effective strategies for advancing social justice.
Through participation in and successful completion of the Master of Arts (MA), students will graduate with:
1: Substantive knowledge in an area of feminist scholarship that includes familiarity with the ways in which our lived experiences and social institutions are structured through the intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, age, religion, culture, and nation, and the ability to analyze current social and political trends from multiracial, transnational, and queer feminist perspectives. This is accomplished through application of critical thinking, coursework, ethical practice of research, independent study, and thesis.
2: Preparation for doctoral level work in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and eventual careers in academia. This is demonstrated through application of standard and innovative theory and methods in coursework and thesis; participation in the WGSS Orientation and Professionalization series (511, 512, 513) and WGSS 535: Feminist Teaching and Learning; Graduate Teaching Assistantships; and opportunities for presentations at professional conferences.
3: Feminist leadership skills and preparation for careers in social justice and social change agencies. This is demonstrated through participation in WGSS 521: Feminist Leadership and Management; WGSS 522: Grant Writing and Development for Feminist Organizations; WGSS 523: Community Organizing and Collective Action; and through the WGSS 510 internship experience.
4: Ability to analyze and situate local movements for social change within global and transnational contexts. This is demonstrated through participation in WGSS 585: Transnational Feminisms and the Global Experience series (WGSS 586, 587, 588) that involves a short-term study abroad service-learning experience.
5: Ability to apply feminist theory and research to advance effective and ethical strategies for change. This is accomplished through coursework in theory and methods, WGSS 523: Community Organizing and Collective Action, as well as through the WGSS 510 internship and service-learning opportunities in national and transnational settings that focus on social justice.