Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Requirements
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Colby is committed to feminist anti-racist scholarship and research. We offer interdisciplinary classes that are intersectional and transnational, with commitments to critical race and critical caste scholarship, queer theory and queer of color critique, masculinity studies, Indigenous feminisms, and transnational activisms. We stress multidisciplinary methods in our coursework and provide “real world” application of WGSS knowledge—from writing grant proposals to reading alternative archives.
Our “core courses” taken by majors and minors in WGSS consist of Introduction to Women’s Studies, Feminist Theories and Methodologies, and the Senior Seminar capstone course. We add new electives each semester, but some student favorites include Queer of Color Critique and Educated Feet: Black Feminisms and Tap Dance.
A WGSS major graduates with a strong grounding in a variety of feminist research methodologies. Core courses train students in interdisciplinary methods and rigorous theoretical reading and writing. Students draw on courses in other programs and departments for training in empirical methods and for topical breadth. A WGSS major graduates having completed a program that is tailored to the student’s developing interests. Our program’s graduates are trained to think independently, courageously, and boldly about their own subjectivities and the world around them.
Faculty
Chair, Professor Tariq Ahmad (Biology)
Appointments in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Associate Professors Sonja Thomas and Jay Sibara; Assistant Professor Laura Fugikawa; Visiting Assistant Professor Andrea Breau
Professors with Cross-listed Courses in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Kimberly Besio (East Asian Studies), Ben Fallaw (History and Latin American Studies), Nikky-Guninder K. Singh (Religious Studies), Larissa Taylor (History), and Andrea Tilden (Biology); Associate Professors Dean Allbritton (Spanish), Chandra Bhimull (Anthropology, African-American Studies), Audrey Brunetaux (French and Italian), Megan Cook (English), Britt Halvorson (Anthropology), Annie Kloppenberg (Performance, Theater, and Dance), Laura Saltz (Art and American Studies), Katherine Stubbs (English), John Turner (History), and Natalie Zelensky (Music); Assistant Professors Ana Almeyda-Cohen (Spanish), Kelly Brignac (History), AB Brown (Performance, Theater, and Dance), Sarah Duff (History), Jin Goh (Psychology), Benjamin Lisle (American Studies), Seth Kim (Cinema Studies), Nazli Konya (Government), Mohammad Shabangu (English), Gwenyth Shanks (Performance, Theater, and Dance), Kerry Sonia (Religious Studies); among others.
Students are encouraged to contact the department for a complete list of currently cross-listed courses.
Requirements
Requirements for the Major in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Twelve courses, including an introductory course (WGSS 101); a course in feminist theory (WGSS 311); a senior seminar (WGSS 493); and nine additional courses designated as WGSS courses or courses cross-listed under WGSS, at least two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level. Students may also petition the program director to have a non-listed course counted toward the major by demonstrating that the majority of their own course work is on WGSS topics.
Students may count toward fulfillment of the major requirements a maximum of one semester of independent study (WGSS 491 or 492) or four credits of Senior Scholars work (if approved by the WGSS coordinating committee).
The point scale for retention of the major applies to all courses taken toward fulfillment of the major. Courses counted toward the major may not be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Honors in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Students majoring in WGSS may apply to participate in the honors program their senior year by submitting a formal statement of their intention to the WGSS coordinating committee by April 15 of their junior year. The written proposal must include a description of the proposed work, a timeline, and the agreement of a faculty sponsor and a secondary faculty reader. A 3.5 major average at the end of the junior year is a condition for entry into the program. By the beginning of the senior year, students must develop and circulate to the WGSS coordinating committee a prospectus for the project, written in consultation with the project’s faculty advisor. A 3.50 major average at the end of the senior year and a public oral presentation of the project are conditions for successful completion of this program. Honors course credits do not count toward elective credits in the major. The final project will usually consist of 50 pages or more of superior quality.
Requirements for the Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Six courses, including an introductory course (WGSS 101); a course in feminist theory (WGSS 311); and a senior seminar (WGSS 493); and three additional courses designated as WGSS courses or cross-listed under WGSS, at least two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level. No more than one semester of independent study (WGSS 491 or 492) may be counted toward fulfillment of the minor requirements.
The point scale for retention of the minor applies to all courses taken toward fulfillment of the minor. Courses counted toward the minor may not be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Electives in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies
Note: As course offerings change yearly, this list may not be comprehensive.
- WG 215 Indian Matchmaking
- WG 223 Educated Feet: Black Feminisms and Tap Dance
- WG 232 Queer Identities and Politics
- WG 234 Queer Children’s Literature
- WG 236 Reproductive Justice
- WG 241 Disability Studies
- WG 349 Queer of Color Critique
- WG 338 Indigenous Storytellers
- WG 341 Gender and Human Rights
- WG 343 Decolonize this Place
Courses from Other Departments That May Be Applied to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Major or Minor
Note: As course offerings change yearly, this list may not be comprehensive.
African American Studies
- AA128 Introduction to Black Studies
American Studies
- AM238 Making Modern Science
- AM254 Surveillance Culture
- AM366 Race, Gender, and the Graphic Novel
Anthropology
- AY221 Of Beasts, Pets, and Wildlife: What Animals Mean to Humans
- AY257 Anthropology of Slowness
- AY323 Medicine, Religion, and Bioethics
- AY346 Carcerality and Abolition CATW Course
- AY364 Toxicity, Health, and the Pharmaceutical Self
Art
- AR157 American Art: Identity and Belonging Since 1619
- AR252 Medicine and Visual Culture
- AR497 A Queer History of Medieval Art
Classics
- CL197 Gorgons to Godzilla: Monsters in Greco-Roman Myth and Beyond
East Asian Studies
- EA355 Aging and Public Policy in East Asia
Education
- ED101 Education and Social Justice
- ED213 Schools and Society
- ED217 Education Policy and Reform
- ED248 Emerging Adults: College, Career, and Postsecondary Development
- ED324 Elite Schooling in Global Context
English
- EN232 Early African American Literature
- EN321 Black Liberation Theology in Early America
- EN326 Strange Natures: Queer Landscapes of Early American Literature
- EN335 British Novel from Austen to Woolf – Gibson
- EN350 Another World is Possible: Ecotopian Visions
- EN366 Writing the Crisis: Post-Apartheid Literature in Focus
- EN493F Seminar: The Brontes in Context
- EN493K Seminar: World Literature: Globalization and Its Discontents
French Studies
- FR370 Fender, Body, and Space in Francophone African Literature
Government
- GO244 Sexuality, Gender, Feminism
Global Studies
- GS255 Global Health: Critical Perspectives on Health, Care, and Policy
- GS352 Liberation Struggles
German
- GM233 Black Germany
History
- HI339 South African Memoir
- HI343 Sense and Sensibility: Gender and Sexuality in Confucian China
- HI425 Brave New World: Histories of Assisted Reproductive Technology
Jewish Studies
- JS182 Jews, Judaism, and the Modern World
- JS297 Bodies and Embodiment in Jewish Thought
Philosophy
- PL220 Seminar on Philosophy and Gender
- PL222 Philosophy of Sex and Gender
- PL244 Vegan Studies: Animals, Politics, Environment, and Health
Religious Studies
- RE111 Religions of India
- RE117 A Passage to India: India and the Western Imagination
- RE143 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
- RE144 Introduction to the New Testament
- RE319 Bollywood and Beyond: South Asian Religions through Film
Russian
- RU232 Engineering the Human: Modern Russian Literature
Sociology
- SO262 Comparative Perspectives on Inequality
- SO343 Sociology of Hollywood
Spanish
- SP239 Latin America at the Movies
- SP234 Diversity and Racism in Contemporary Spain
- SP244 Bad Women and B-Films in Contemporary Latin America
- SP343 Indigenous Textualities, Decoloniality, and Land Sovereignty
- SP347 LatinX Indigeneities and Mesoamerican Borders
Science, Technology, and Society
- ST256 Queer Feminist STS
Performance, Theater, and Dance
- TD124 Performance, Politics, and Practice
- TD254 People, Place, Practice: Intro to Community-Based Performance