Women’s and Gender Studies

At the core of the Women’s and Gender Studies (WMGS) program at PLU is a vibrant, diverse, and supportive community of feminist women and men, working to enhance and reinforce the individual goals and strengths of each student. This multiplicity of resources and talents allow our courses to draw upon many different academic areas, explore themes, such as gender and sexual identity, emphasize critical examination of racism, classism, and other forms of inequity and discrimination, and focus on the pursuit of social justice.

The Women’s and Gender Studies major is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary complementary major. Conferral of a baccalaureate degree with a major in Women’s and Gender Studies requires completion of a second major from any discipline in the university. Students are encouraged to declare both majors simultaneously and to plan a program aware of the possibilities for applying individual courses to both majors. The Women’s and Gender Studies major allows application of courses from the second major and for general university requirements to the Women’s and Gender Studies major.

BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE
Major in Women’s and Gender Studies
32 semester hours, including:

• WMGS 201 (4 semester hours, offered every semester)
• WMGS 301: Feminist and Gender Theories (4 semester hours, offered every Fall Semester)
• WMGS 499: Women’s and Gender Studies Senior Capstone (4 semester hours, offered every Spring Semester)
• 20 additional semester hours
  • must be selected from approved list of WMGS courses (see list below);
  • must be selected from at least four disciplines, and from two different divisions or schools;
  • only one course may be at the 100-level; and
  • at least three of these courses must be at 300 or 400-level.
  • Courses from any discipline for which at least 60% of the assignments center on women, feminism, gender, and/or sexuality. This allows the integration of Women’s and Gender Studies perspectives into courses that are not explicitly or entirely structured around those perspectives. Consent of the instructor is required. Students should consult the Women’s and Gender Studies chair about this option before the course begins (when possible) and provide syllabi and assignments to the Women’s and Gender Studies Executive Committee for approval upon completion of the course.

WMGS APPROVED COURSES

Division of Humanities

• ENGL 213: Five Feminist Classics
• ENGL 213: Masculinity and Violence
• ENGL 217: Gay and Lesbian Literature
• ENGL 217: Poetry by Women
• ENGL 232: Women’s Literature
• ENGL 341: Feminist Approaches to Literature
• HISP 433: Female-Authored Memory and Fiction in the Southern Cone
• PHIL 220: Philosophy of Women
• PHIL 239: Philosophy of Love and Sex
• RELI 247: Women, Nature, and the Sacred
• RELI 351: Religion and Gender in American History
• RELI 330: Sex and the Bible
• RELI 361: Church History Studies: Women Reformers
• RELI 364: Women and Evil
• RELI 368: Feminist and Womanist Theologies
• SCAN 321: Gender and Equality in Scandinavia

Division of Social Sciences

• ANTH 350: Women and Men in World Cultures
• ANTH 352: Anthropology and Age
• HIST 359: History of Women in the U.S.
• PSYC 370: Gender and Sexuality
• PSYC 375: Psychology of Women
• SOCI 394: Gender and Violence
• SOCI 440: Gender and Society

School of Arts and Communication

• ARTD 490: Gender and Art
• COMA 303: Gender and Communication

School of Education and Kinesiology

• KINS 315: Body Image

MINOR
20 semester hours, including:

• WMGS 201(4 semester hours)
• 16 additional semester hours selected from:
  • WMGS courses (see list above)
  • List of WMGS courses (see list under major. These must be selected from at least two disciplines, and from two different divisions or schools
  • Only 4 hours may be at the 100 level
  • At least 8 hours must be at the 300- or 400-level
  • WMGS 301: Feminist and Gender Theories (4 semester hours) strongly recommended
  • Courses from any discipline in which at least 60% of the assignments center on women, feminism, gender, and/or sexuality. This allows the integration of Women’s and Gender Studies perspectives into courses that are not explicitly or entirely structured around those perspectives. Consent of the instructor is required. Students should consult the WMGS chair about this option before the course begins and provide syllabi and assignments to the WMGS Executive Committee for approval upon completion of the course.