BA in Women's, Ethnicity and Intersectional Studies
The department of women's, ethnicity and intersectional studies (WEIS) is the academic home for analyzing gender in relationship to economic and social class, race and ethnicity, sexuality, and national identity. Students learn to think critically about how social institutions, popular images and common ideologies shape multiple forms of identity, knowledge and reality.
Our curriculum attempts to:
- Examine how socially constructed identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, social class, sexuality and age intersect with and inform each other.
- Analyze the ways in which intersections and systems of power impact the realities of peoples' lives.
- Recognize the long history of women, people of color and other marginalized populations' contributions to government, politics and society.
Program Requirements
A minimum total of 120 credit hours is required for the BA in women's, ethnicity and intersectional studies. In addition to meeting the requirements of the WSU General Education Program and the requirements of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, students must meet the following requirements:
The major in women’s, ethnicity and intersectional studies consists of 30 credit hours. Courses not in this list may be used to fulfill the program requirements with approval from the program coordinator or department.
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| Select courses to meet General Education requirements 1 | 34-35 | |
| College Requirements | ||
| Select courses to complete all LAS Competency Areas 1 | 36 | |
| Foundations | ||
| Select 6 credit hours from the following | 6 | |
| Introduction to Women's Studies | ||
| Diverse Women in Popular Culture | ||
| Women in Society: Social Issues | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Women in Society: Cultural Images | ||
| Dealing with Diversity | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Fundamentals of Diversity | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Intersectional Inequality - Poverty, Women and Ethnicity | ||
| Intersections of Thought | ||
| Select 3 credit hours from the following | 3 | |
| Philosophy of Feminism | ||
| Theories of Feminism | ||
| Explorations | ||
| Select 18 credit hours from the following | 18 | |
| Men and Masculinities | ||
| Gender and Politics | ||
| Women's Personal Narrative | ||
| Human Sexuality | ||
| Gender, Alcohol and Addictions | ||
| Gender and Digital Culture | ||
| Women in World Religions | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Diversity, Human Rights and the Law | ||
| Black Women: Love, Lust & Loss | ||
| Hip Hop and Feminism | ||
| Women and Animal Rights | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Feminism and Girl Culture | ||
| Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Studies | ||
| Women and Sports | ||
| Gender, Science and Technology | ||
| Women's Global Issues | ||
| Gender and Popular Music | ||
| Women and the Bible | ||
| Cooperative Education | ||
| Internship | ||
| Women and the Environment | ||
| Women in Early America, 1600-1830 | ||
| Issues and Perspectives on African Women and Globalism | ||
| The American Woman in History | ||
| Psychology of Women | ||
| Writing by Women | ||
| Women, Children and Poverty | ||
| Women in Other Cultures | ||
| Directed Readings | ||
| Contemporary Issues and Perspectives: LGBTQ | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Domestic Violence | ||
| Women and Aging | ||
| Dangerous Women in Film | ||
| Gender, Race and the West/East Divide | ||
| Workshop | ||
| Native American Tribal Systems | ||
| The African American Historical Experience | ||
| 20th Century African American History | ||
| Racial Profiling | ||
| Immigrations Today | ||
| African American Male | ||
| Cooperative Education | ||
| Internship | ||
| Diversity and Aging | ||
| African-American Business History | ||
| Individual Projects: Ethnic Studies | ||
| American Multicultural Literature | ||
| African-American Literature | ||
| Studies in Ethnic Literature | ||
| Women and Reform in America, 1830-Present | ||
| Survey of American Indian History | ||
| Sociology of Sexualities | ||
| Family Diversity | ||
| Archaeology of Sex and Gender | ||
| Capstone | ||
| WOMS 599 | WEIS Capstone: Women-Ethnicity-Intersectionality | 3 |
| Open Electives | ||
| Select enough electives to reach 120 credit hours | 19-20 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
- 1
Required major courses may also count towards General Education and/or LAS Competencies. Students will need to select additional electives to reach 120 credit hours required for graduation with assistance from an advisor.
Applied Learning
Students in the BA in women's, ethnicity and intersectional studies are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by taking WOMS 599 WEIS Capstone: Women-Ethnicity-Intersectionality. This course is required for all majors. WOMS 599 encourages students to make presentations (paper, poster or skit) at the Diverse Women’s Summit (DWS), the Global Village Assembly (GVA), or at another university-based, state or national conference. WOMS 599 requires students to produce a final research paper or research project that reflects developed knowledge and critical thinking within the major.