Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies

329 Minné Hall
507.457.5460
Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies website
Tamara Berg, Director

Faculty

Tamara Berg, Professor; BA, University of Wisconsin; MA, PhD, Indiana University-Bloomington; 1995 -
Linda D’Amico, Associate Professor; BS, MA, PhD, Indiana University-Bloomington; 2000 -

Purpose

Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies is a multidisciplinary program that examines the lives and experiences of women and men from multiple disciplinary perspectives - history, art, psychology, economics, literature, sociology, and public health, among others. Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies students explore the ways in which gender shapes women’s and men’s identities and experiences in national and global cultures. Students also consider how cultural differences affect women’s and men’s lives within multicultural societies. Students explore the differences that arise from intersecting factors such as race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, age, geographic region, and religion. WAGS as a discipline explores the complexities of all of these factors.

The Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program is committed to integrating classroom and community. Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies students apply feminist theories and analyses to current social issues and develop the skills necessary for citizenship through a field experience with a community organization or agency. The Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program sponsors and coordinates campus opportunities and events that promote understanding and awareness of diverse perspectives and gender-related issues among WSU students, faculty, and staff. The program centralizes information relevant to women’s, gender and sexuality study opportunities at WSU and provides students, faculty, and staff convenient access to and use of that information.

The Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program functions for and with all segments of WSU, including the Outreach and Continuing Education Department, the Rochester campus, and the larger Winona community. The program focuses on five major objectives:

Promoting understanding of gender issues on campus and in the wider community
Supporting gender-related social change activities on campus and in the wider community
Guidance and leadership in the process of integrating gender issues into the WSU curriculum
Centralization of information about existing opportunities for exploring and addressing gender issues
Coordination and administration of women’s and gender studies course offerings.

The program operates in the following areas:

Academic Opportunities: The program offers a minor in women’s, gender and sexuality studies composed of courses that focus on women and/or gender as well as on the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, age, geographic region, and religion. The program identifies and promotes additional academic opportunities for all students and faculty interested in expanding their knowledge of women’s, gender, and sexuality issues.
Campus and Community Events:The program works with campus constituencies in developing and planning workshops, lectures, performances and other events related to women’s and gender issues.

The Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies minor provides students the opportunity to develop a clearer understanding of the lives and experiences of women and men, as well as the impact of gender differences on social development and experience. The minor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies also develops among students an understanding of feminism both as a body of theory and an approach to social change. Through a combination of interdisciplinary Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies courses, courses in other departments, and a field experience, the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies minor prepares students to assume roles as active citizens in addressing issues shaping women’s and men’s lives. Each student is required to complete a portfolio that represents and explains her/his growth and development as a minor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies.

Pass/No Credit (P/NC) Courses

Except for independent study, students must take all courses in the minor on a grade-only basis.

General Education Program Intensive Requirements

Students may use intensive courses, which will usually be in the student’s major or minor program, to satisfy both General Education Program and major requirements. Intensive courses will usually be in the student’s major or minor program. The Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program offers the following intensive courses in the General Education Program:

Math/Critical Thinking (◆)

◆ WGSS 348 - Topics in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

For Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies minors, intensive courses are identified in the lists of required courses and electives in this section.