WELCOME TO THE TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM

 

". . . if I wish to define myself, I must first of all say: 'I am a woman': on this truth must be based all further discussion." - Simone de Beauvoir

"La vida es acción." Sara Estela Ramírez, 1911

 

What is Women's and Gender Studies?
Women's and Gender Studies is an approach to knowledge that places women at the center of analysis.
Born out of the "feminist" movements of the 1960s, Women's and Gender Studies involves a reappraisal of the lives of women. The core concepts of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s that seem like common sense today were radical in their time: the idea that sisterhood matters, that any separation between the public and private spheres is a false one, that women have been and continue to be oppressed, that women are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, class, age, etc. These same notions continue to inform the contemporary discipline of Women's and Gender Studies.
As an interdisciplinary field, Women's and Gender Studies both identifies and examines gender issues that are embedded in everyday life, including such spheres as family, work, education, religion, popular culture, and media. In addition, it considers the role and study of women in the humanities, the social sciences, and the sciences.

The central goal of a Women's Studies Program is to provide students of both genders and all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual identities a context that examines the ideas of the past, that enables them to consider their experiences now, and that prepares them to participate in informed and creative ways in the future.
 

Why do we need Women's and Gender Studies?
Because too often historically accepted theories and explanations, indeed, the very methods of inquiry and study, have been characterized by prejudice towards, and misinformation and misunderstandings about, women.

In the past, the study of women was carried on almost exclusively by men working together in institutions and disciplines closed to women. Women's and Gender Studies programs seek to restore balance and to advocate tolerance and cooperation both in the methodology and interpretation of academic study and discourse.

Women's and Gender Studies programs and courses seek to provide students with the language, terminology, and concepts necessary to analyze and discuss the roles of women and men in the world. Through study and discourse inside and outside the classroom and across the disciplines, Women and Gender Studies programs seek to suggest new goals, new values, and new visions for society and to ensure that all individuals have access to the centers of policy and power in science, art, industry, and communication.

"Feminism," A Slippery Term
". . . a movement seeking the reorganization of the world upon a basis of sex-equality in all human relations; a movement which would reject every differentiation between individuals upon the ground of sex, would abolish all sex privileges and sex burdens, and would strive to set up recognition of the common humanity of woman and man as the foundation of law and custom." --Theresa Billington-Greig, 1911

"Feminism means finally that we renounce our obedience to the fathers and recognize that the world they have described is not the whole world." --Adrienne Rich, 1976

"A method of analysis as well as a discovery of new material. It asks new questions as well as coming up with new answers. Its central concern is with this social distinction, with its meanings, and with its causes and consequences." --Juliet Mitchell and Anne Oakley, 1976

"Is a mode of analysis, a method of approaching life and politics, a way of asking questions and searching for answers, rather than a set of political conclusions about the oppression of women." --Nancy Hartsock, 1979

"Is a commitment to eradicating the ideology of domination that permeates Western Culture on various levels--sex, race, and class, to name a few--and a commitment to reorganizing U.S. society, so that the self-development of people can take precedence over imperialism, economic expansion, and material desires." --Bell Hooks, 1981

 

MINOR IN WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES

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MINOR CURRICULUM—WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES           18 SCH

Required courses:

SOCI   4325             Sociology of Gender Roles[1]

WGST 3300             Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies

WGST 4302             Senior Seminar in Women’s and Gender Studies

Choose any 9 hours from either the Language and Literature Track or the Social and Behavioral Sciences Track:

Language and Literature Track :

ENGL  3310             Young Adult Literature*

ENGL  3316             Twentieth-Century Poetry*

ENGL  3326             Studies in World Mythology*

ENGL  3329             Studies in a Genre of American Literature*

ENGL  4306             Studies in a Genre of English Literature*

ENGL  4330             Nineteenth Century Literature: Romanticism*

ENGL  4331             Nineteenth Century Literature: The Victorians*

ENGL  4335             Chicano/a Literature

ENGL 4338             Minority Voices*

SPAN  3302             Studies in Spanish Literature of the Golden Age*

SPAN  4301             The Spanish Novel of the Nineteenth Century*

SPAN  4303             The Spanish American Novel*

SPAN  4305             Studies in Modern Spanish Literature*

SPAN 4317             Hispanic Folklore*

WGST 3301             Topics in Women’s Studies**

WGST 3302             Topics in Gender Studies**

Social and Behavioral Sciences Track:

ANTH 3351             Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 4301             Special Topics in Anthropology*

CRIJ     4320             Women in Criminal Justice[2]

HIST     3370             Women’s History (U.S.A.)

HIST    4390             Seminar in History*

HIST     4391             Problems in World History*

MGT     4399             Special Issues in Management*

NURS  4399             Current Topics*

PSCI     3322             The Politics of Class and Gender

PSCI     4321             Special Studies in Political Science*

PSYC  4310             Psychology of Human Sexuality

PSYC  4311             Marriage and Family Systems

SOCI   4311             Marriage and the Family

SOCI   4320             Women in the Criminal Justice System2

SOCI   4370             Medical Sociology*

WGST 3301             Topics in Women’s Studies**

WGST 3302             Topics in Gender Studies

[1] SOCI 4325 is interchangeable with WGST 4325.

[2] CRIJ 4320 is interchangeable with SOCI 4320.

*With permission of the WGST faculty advisor and depending on course topic.

**WGST 3301 and 3302 are permissible for students in either track.

 

A complete Women's and Gender Studies Minor Program guide is available through a Women's and Gender Studies Advisor.

Advisors for the Women and Gender Studies Minor

Dr. Phoebe Godfrey, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Office: KL 427D, Phone: 326-2662, email: pgodfrey@tamiu.edu

Dr.  Mehnaaz Momen, Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Political Science, Office: KL 418A, Phone: 326-2631, email: mmomen@tamiu.edu

For complete information on these and other Women's and Gender Studies courses refer to the TAMIU Catalog. If you have specific questions on the course content, contact the professor or one of the WGST advisors.
 
"I have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." - Rebecca West, 1913