Expansion is underway in the women’s studies department. Recently, women’s, gender, and sexuality studies (WGSS) has been approved to take place of the existing women’s studies curriculum.
“Officially, women’s, gender, and sexuality studies is a revision to an existing major, not a new major,” said Professor of English Jim Hood, chair of the Education Policy Committee.
On Nov. 3, an informational meeting was held at King Hall for prospective students interested in majoring in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. A variety of students ranging from first-years to juniors attended the meeting.
“There are two parts to the new major,” said Assistant Professor of Philosophy Lisa McLeod. “One is about understanding gender and what it does to us as a society, good or bad, and the other is what we can do about gender within our society.”
The women’s, gender, and sexuality studies major is an interdisciplinary major that requires a second disciplinary major and an adviser in each.
“Students who are currently (women’s studies) majors or minors can shift to the new requirements as of next semester; they may also choose to remain under the old requirements until they graduate,” said Hood. “However, they cannot pick and choose among the requirements.”
In addition to other changes in the revised curriculum, the major no longer requires students to participate in an internship or enroll in a senior seminar course as the original curriculum previously ordained.
“Right now our offerings aren’t as plentiful as we would like them to be,” said McLeod. “The department hopes to hire someone that has graduate work in queer studies.”
“The idea is to try and form a more coherent program of study for student’s that are or could be interested in the WGSS major,” said Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Julie Winterich.
Sophomore Grayson Schmidt attended the Nov. 3 meeting.
“No matter what you do in your life, you’ll be faced with issues of society,” said Schmidt. “I think what is great about this major is that it gives you the tools that will help you, as well as other people, to clearly think about issues concerning gender, sex, identity.”
“I think this major is important because it’s a topic that is very relevant to the world,” said Ivy Long. “We live in a patriarchal society that is continuously changing, and the women’s, gender, and sexuality studies major is helping it change for the better.”
Programming for the major was another topic of conversation at the meeting.
McLeod and Winterich, along with students, discussed getting the Guilford community involved with the WGSS major by screening a film series, creating workshops, and developing internship offerings relevant to the study.
There are also hopes for a women’s center on campus which would provide a place for information, books, and a bulletin board for students and faculty interested in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
“Women’s, gender, and sexuality studies is something that people need to be taught because it is necessary to know how gender identity works within our society,” said Schmidt. “It is culturally relevant and there’s so much passion that feeds interest into the topic.”