Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) at Southern Oregon University is an interdisciplinary program emphasizing the teaching and study of gender, sexuality, and women in society, culture, and history. The courses in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies examine the numerous ways in which gender and sexuality intersects with multiple social forces and shapes human experience.

Students learn about themselves and the world through critical thinking and personal and social empowerment. Integrating various disciplines, GSWS provides a supportive and challenging liberal arts education through a distinct interpretive framework. At SOU, GSWS emphasizes the relationship of classroom learning to social awareness and community involvement. In addition to providing general education courses, the program offers a minor, drawing on courses from departments and programs housed across the university. We also participate in the Interdisciplinary Studies Major, as both a primary and secondary field.

Students may also enroll in the Interdisciplinary Studies Major with Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies as either a primary or secondary area. For more information about the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies minor, contact the program chair.

Program Requirements

Programs

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science

• •  Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, BA or BS

Certificate

• •  Certificate in Transgender Studies

Minor

• •  Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Minor

Courses

Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

• GSWS 199 - Special Topics

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  1-8 credits
  Topics and credits vary. Repeatable for up to 8 credits.
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 201 - Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

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  4 credits
  Introduces the interdisciplinary field of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, including key topics such as intersectionality, privilege, and social construction. We will explore historical and contemporary perspectives on women’s studies, sexuality and queer studies, and gender studies, including transgender studies and masculinities, as well as historical and contemporary social movements, including feminism, queer activism, transgender activism, and masculinities activism. Required for the Transgender Studies Certificate. Approved for University Studies (Explorations Strand F-Social Science).
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 201.
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 202 - Community Building in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

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  2 credits
  Introduces key concepts related to resilience, activism, and community building in GSWS. Focuses on personal and collective resilience, cohort building within the class, community building at SOU, and community building in our region. Students learn about, discuss, and enact feminist and queer approaches to resilience, community, solidarity, alliance, and coalitions through and across differences from an intersectional perspective. Repeatable for up to 6 credits.
  Graded (Pass/No Pass) only.
• GSWS 299 - Special Topics

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  1-8 credits
  Topics and credits vary. Repeatable for up to 8 credits.
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 300 - Explorations in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

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  4 credits
  Focuses on exploring topics and issues that are central to the field of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies.  Topics may include bodies and embodiment, families and intimacies, work and economy, resisting violence, health and reproductive justice, media and culture, and religion and spirituality, and they are addressed from intersectional feminist and queer perspectives.  This course helps students to develop critical writing and inquiry skills related to GSWS. May be applied to the Transgender Studies Certificate. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or above. GSWS 201  is recommended, but not required.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 301 - Global Gender Movements

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  4 credits
  Examines contemporary feminist movements worldwide. Explores the emergence or re-emergence of feminist organizing in the U.S., Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Topics include the relationship of religion, race, class, and sexual orientation to conceptualizations of feminism worldwide; the relationship of gender and human rights; economic development, transnational corporations and their impact on gender; and sexual rights and reproductive freedom. Approved for University Studies - Strand J. Prerequisite(s): Completion of all lower division University Studies requirements.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 301
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 302 - Contemporary U.S. Women’s Movements

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  4 credits
  Explores the origins of contemporary feminist movements in the U.S. Examines such controversial topics as pornography, date/acquaintance rape, sexual harassment, abortion, and reproductive rights. Studies the history of feminist social movements, organizations, and the development of feminist social theory. Includes the contributions of feminists of color and lesbian feminists and looks at the ways in which race, class, and sexual orientation affect women’s lives. May count towards the Ethnic & Racial Studies Minor. Approved for University Studies (Integration - Strand J).
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 302
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 311 - Masculinities

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  4 credits
  Explores masculinities as they are constructed, experienced, and embodied in the U.S. and throughout the world. We will critically interrogate masculinities and their relation to men’s bodies, and we will examine women’s and other masculinities. This course will analyze masculinities through identities, embodiment, work and economy, violence, and activism.  Completion of GSWS 201  recommended.  Approved for University Studies Integration - Strand J.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 312 - Trans Histories, Trans Futures

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  4 credits
  This course serves as an introduction to transgender studies by exploring trans histories as well as social movements and activism for trans futures. This course begins with significant historical figures and events in trans history, addressing the emergence of the category of transgender and using an intersectional perspective to explore these histories in relation to both gender binary and nonbinary experiences. We will then explore social movements to improve trans lives through the work of activists and scholars imagining new trans futures. Completion of GSWS 201 recommended. Required for the Transgender Studies Certificate. Approved for University Studies Integration - Strand J.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 313 - Fat Studies: Bodies, Culture, and Politics

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  4 credits
  Introduction to the burgeoning area of Fat Studies, with a focus on fatness in the U.S. today.  We will interrogate the war on obesity, moral panics around body size, the construct of fitness, health at every size models, and fat-positivity in order to deconstruct the meanings of fatness.  We will analyze the ways that gender, sexuality, race, class, and disability intersect in relation to fatness.  This course will also examine the interrelationships between feminist and queer politics and fat activism.  Students are recommended, but not required, to take GSWS 201  before this course.  Approved for University Studies (Integration - Strand H).
  
• GSWS 315 - Disability Justice

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  4 credits
  Introduces students to the areas of queer disability, gender, and sexuality in relation to other categories such as race and class, we examine the embodiment and lived experiences of people with disabilities as well as the connections between disability and crip studies, feminist studies, and queer studies. Students gain knowledge of queer and feminist disability studies as fields of inquiry as well as interrogate topics important to activists and scholars who work in this area.
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 321 - Media Studies in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

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  4 credits
  Provides an introduction to the critical analysis of queer and feminist issues through media, primarily television and film. We will examine media representations of queerness, sexuality, women, and gender using an intersectional framework that addresses issues through identity, politics, and culture. Counts as an elective for the Digital Cinema major or Communication students in the Social Media & Public Engagement concentration. May be applied to the Transgender Studies Certificate. Prerequisite(s): GSWS 201  is recommended, not required.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 341 - Thinking Queerly: Exploring Queer Studies

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  4 credits
  Provides introduction to queer studies across various disciplines. Beginning with the terms and concepts used in queer studies, examines socio-historical constructions of sex, sexuality, and gender, as well as the intersection of race, social class, and ability, and how this relates to identities. Investigates the application of different approaches to queer studies. Examines queer theory in terms of sexual identity and sexual politics and explores the theoretical and empirical applications of queer theory; in other words, queering theory. Topics may include exploring how and why the concepts of “sex” and “sexuality” changed over time; what the various research and theoretical approaches to the study of sexual diversity are; how gender, race, and social class intersect with conceptions of sexuality; why it is beneficial to examine normative concepts, structures, and theories through a “queer” lens. May be applied to the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies minor.
    Prerequisite(s):
  GSWS 201
    or instructor approval.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 342 - LGBT2QIA+ Lives and Communities

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  4 credits
  Provides an overview of LGBT2QIA+ lives and communities with a primary focus on the contemporary U.S. Theoretical, historical, social and cultural frameworks will inform the basis of learning how LGBT2QIA+ people negotiate their lives and identities outside of the traditional concepts of sexuality and gender. The study of LGBT2QIA+ lives will include a focus on the intersections of ethnicity, race, indigeneity, class, and disability with sexual and gender identities. May be applied to the Transgender Studies Certificate.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 343 - Gender, Race, and the Body

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  4 credits
  Examines gendered and racialized bodies and their link between the self and society; how bodies serve as means of social control, as well as sites of transformation and resistance; and how we utilize bodies to understand and create “difference.” Considers the implications for various social groups of the increasing focus on the body in U.S. society through the frameworks of gender and race. May be applied to the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies minor. May count towards the Ethnic & Racial Studies Minor. Approved for University Studies (Integration Strand J). Prerequisite(s): SOAN 204  or GSWS 201  and completion of all lower division University Studies requirements. (Cross-listed with SOAN 343 .)
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 343
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 344 - LGBT2QIA+ Health

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  4 credits
  Given the health disparities that queer and trans communities face, this course addresses structural and intersectional responses that emerge from queer and trans people, health providers, and activist organizing to reduce disparities and prioritize LGBT2QIA+ health. Highlighting resilience and social change, we center queer and trans experiences of health care alongside queer and trans activist responses to healthcare systems to address the ways that people have created positive changes for LGBT2QIA+ health primarily in the U.S. and Canada. May be applied to the Transgender Studies Certificate.
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 399 - Special Studies

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  1 to 18 credits
  Credits to be arranged. Repeatable.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 399
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 401 - Research

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  1 to 5 credits
  Stresses the development of research and writing skills. Research projects must be approved by the program coordinator and/or Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Council.  Repeatable. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 401
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 405 - Reading and Conference

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  1 to 4 credits
  Credits to be arranged. Repeatable. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 405
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 407 - Seminar

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  1 to 4 credits
  Credits to be arranged. Repeatable. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 407
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 409 - Practicum

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  1 to 16 credits
  Practicum must be approved by the program coordinator and/or Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Council. Repeatable for a maximum of 16 credits.
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 410 - Feminist and Queer Theory in Action

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  4 credits
  Examines the relationship between feminist and queer theory and related action. In addition to class readings, attendance, participation, and assignments, all students are required to engage in thirty hours of a collective class project involving social and cultural action related to gender, sexuality, and/or women/girls. In-class time is divided between analyses of diverse feminist and queer theories and activism and collective discussion of the class project. Required of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies minors, GSWS majors, and IIMs whose primary field is gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. Approved for University Studies Integration (Strand I). Prerequisite(s): GSWS majors, GSWS minors, Transgender Studies certificate, or permission of instructor. GSWS 201  and junior standing or above, or permission of instructor.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 410
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 411 - Theories in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

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  4 credits
  Engages with theoretical perspectives in the areas of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, including but not limited to feminist, queer, and/or trans theories. Analyzes theoretical paradigms from an intersectional lens. Topics vary. Repeatable for up to 12 credits. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above.
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 413 - Feminist Philosophy and Theory

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  4 credits
  Examines the nature of feminism and explores current feminist thinking in the philosophies of knowledge and language, as well as metaphysics, religion, and aesthetics. May be applied to the Philosophy minor. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or above.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: PHL 425
  Grade mode designated on a CRN basis each term. Students should consult current term schedule.
• GSWS 417 - Sexual Politics in U.S. History

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  4 credits
  Examines historical changes in and struggles over the meaning, regulation, and politics of sexuality in the United States from the period of settlement to the present. Explores the relationship of gender, race, class, and region to sexual experience and identity. Focuses on the rise of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender identity and politics. Also investigates debates over issues such as sex education, birth control, prostitution, pornography, AIDS, and the moral panics elicited by these issues. Topics vary each term.  Approved for University Studies (Integration - Strand J). Prerequisite(s):  Junior standing or above, or instructor permission.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 417
  Graded (A-F) only
• GSWS 495a - Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Capstone I

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  2 credits
  The GSWS capstone seminar is a culminating experience through which students reflect on, integrate, and apply the knowledge and skills developed in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies in preparation for life, career, and/or further study.  Students choose to complete original research, a community activist project, a creative work, or a scholarly paper or other substantial culminating project. All students will prepare a formal paper, presentation, and portfolio as part of their capstone experience. Prerequisite(s): GSWS 201  and GSWS 300 ; senior standing, GSWS major or Interdisciplinary GSWS emphasis.
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 495b - Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Capstone II

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  2 credits
  The GSWS capstone seminar is a culminating experience through which students reflect on, integrate, and apply the knowledge and skills developed in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies in preparation for life, career, and/or further study.  Students choose to complete original research, a community activist project, a creative work, or a scholarly paper or other substantial culminating project. All students will prepare a formal paper, presentation, and portfolio as part of their capstone experience. Prerequisite(s): GSWS 495a .
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 495c - Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Capstone III

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  2 credits
  The GSWS capstone seminar is a culminating experience through which students reflect on, integrate, and apply the knowledge and skills developed in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies in preparation for life, career, and/or further study.  Students choose to complete original research, a community activist project, a creative work, or a scholarly paper or other substantial culminating project. All students will prepare a formal paper, presentation, and portfolio as part of their capstone experience. Prerequisite(s): GSWS 495b .
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 501 - Graduate Research

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  4 credits
  Graduate Research.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 501
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 505 - Reading and Conference

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  1 to 4 credits
  Credits to be arranged. Repeatable.
  * This course was formerly offered under a different number; students who took the following course(s) will not receive additional credit unless the course is stated to be repeatable in the description above: WS 505
  Graded (A-F) only.
• GSWS 507 - Seminar

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  1 to 4 credits
  Topics and credits vary. Repeatable. Prerequisite(s): restricted to post baccalaureate or graduate students.
  Graded (Pass/No Pass) only.
• GSWS 509 - Practicum

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  1-12 credits
  Topics and credits vary. Practicum must be approved by the program chair. Repeatable for up to 12 credits. Prerequisite(s): restricted to post baccalaureate or graduate students.
  Graded (A-F) only.