Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Major, Politics Specialization

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 27
  • Grade Requirement: C- or better; Pass/No Pass grades do not count for the major.

Required Courses

Requirements for the Major

WGSS majors may choose an optional specialization within the major called Politics if the students' interests lie primarily within this area of WGSS. Students enrolled in the Politics specialization must complete the WGSS major using the approved courses in each required category below. Only 6 units may be taken at the 1000 or 2000 level. In addition, 6 units must be taken at the 4000 level. One of the 4000-level courses can be double-counted for one other category. For example, one class may count toward the 4000-level class and it may fulfill the theory requirement.

1. One 1000-Level Introductory Course: 3 credits

WGSS 1500Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies3

2. One Race/Ethnicity/Politics Course: 3 credits

Students select one of the following. These courses can also be electives.

WGSS 3002Feminist Fire!: Radical Black Women in the 20th Century3
WGSS 3020Justice as Failure: Abolitionist Theory and Praxis3
WGSS 3740Imperialism and Sexuality: India, South Asia, and the World: Writing-Intensive Seminar3
WGSS 4165From Mammy to the Welfare Queen: African American Women Theorize Identity3

3. One Sexuality and Politics Course: 3 credits

Students select one of the following. These courses can also be electives.

WGSS 2070Sexuality and the State: Introduction to Sexuality Studies3
WGSS 3030Queering Citizenship: Gender/Abolition3
WGSS 3090Sex and Money: Economies of Desire3
WGSS 3135The Racial and Sexual Politics of Public Health3
WGSS 3165Queer Histories3
WGSS 3256Sex Trafficking3

4. One Non-U.S. Course: 3 credits

RELPOL 3070Islam, Gender, Sexuality3
WGSS 3416War, Genocide and Gender in Modern Europe3
WGSS 3548Gender, Sexuality & Communism in 20th-Century Europe3
WGSS 3740Imperialism and Sexuality: India, South Asia, and the World: Writing-Intensive Seminar3
WGSS 4245Transnational Feminisms3

5. One Theory Course: 3 credits

WGSS 3215Bodies Out of Bounds: Feminist and Queer Disability Studies3
WGSS 3575Confronting Capitalism: Feminism, Work and Solidarity3
WGSS 4085Everyday Unruliness: Feminist and Queer Resistance3
WGSS 4165From Mammy to the Welfare Queen: African American Women Theorize Identity3
WGSS 4200Feminist Political Theory3
WGSS 4245Transnational Feminisms3
WGSS 4350Queer and Feminist Geographies3

6. One History Course: 3 credits

AMCS 3705Topics in Gender and American Culture3
ELIT 3501Topics in English and American Literature (30 Years of Queer)3
ELIT 3502Topics in American Literature: Girls' Fiction3
ELIT 4102Medieval English Literature II:Medieval Womens Writing3
FILM 3450Sexual Politics in Film Noir and Hard-Boiled Literature3
GLOBAL 3890Furies and Die-Hards: Women in Rebellion and War3
HISTORY 3146Topics in European History: Modern European Women3
HISTORY 3226Gender and Sexuality in 1950s America: Writing Intensive Seminar3
HISTORY 3259I Know IT When I See It. a History of Obscenity & Pornography in the United States3
HISTORY 4124Advanced Seminar: Women and Religion in Medieval Europe3
JIMES 3870/JIMES 4850Topics in Jewish Studies3
KOREAN 4550Topics in Korean Literature and Culture: Gender in Korean Literature and Film3
REST 4061Nuns3
WGSS 2118First Year Seminar: Angels, Prostitutes and Chicas Modernas: Women in Latin American History3
WGSS 3002Feminist Fire!: Radical Black Women in the 20th Century3
WGSS 3055Making Sex and Gender: Understanding the History of the Body3
WGSS 3081From Hysteria to Hysterectomy: Women's Health Care in America3
WGSS 3101An Intellectual History of Sex and Gender: Text and Traditions3
WGSS 3121Topics in American Literature: Girls' Fiction3
WGSS 3130Sexuality in Early Christianity3
WGSS 3135The Racial and Sexual Politics of Public Health3
WGSS 3152Sex and Gender in Greco-Roman Antiquity3
WGSS 3153The Women of Greek Tragedy3
WGSS 3165Queer Histories3
WGSS 3175Community-Engaged Learning: Documenting the Queer Past in St. Louis3
WGSS 3405Revolutionize It! the Radical History of Second-Wave Feminism3
WGSS 3416War, Genocide and Gender in Modern Europe3
WGSS 3446No Boys Allowed: Girlhood and Programming for Girls in 19th and 20th Centuries, United States3
WGSS 3475Queering the History of Health3
WGSS 3510Women and Social Movements: Gender and Sexuality in U.S. Social Movements3
WGSS 3548Gender, Sexuality & Communism in 20th-Century Europe3
WGSS 3555Caste: Sexuality, Race and Globalization3
WGSS 3650The Global History of HIV/AIDS3
WGSS 3700Gender and Social Class3
WGSS 3740Imperialism and Sexuality: India, South Asia, and the World: Writing-Intensive Seminar3
WGSS 3751Topics in Women's History: Women, Gender and Sexuality in Postwar America3
WGSS 4115Gender, Religion, Medicine and Science
WGSS 4153Decolonization to Globalization: How to End an Empire3
WGSS 4231Topics in American Literature I3
WGSS 4551Intersectional Identities in Medieval France3
WGSS 4700Ancient Greek and Roman Gynecology3
WGSS 4918Advanced Seminar: Sexuality in the United States3
WGSS 4993Advanced Seminar: Women and Religion in Medieval Europe3

7. One Methods Course: 3 credits

WGSS 3174Community Engaged Learning: Feminist and Queer Community Praxis3
WGSS 4141Feminist and Queer Research Methodologies3
WGSS 4280Sex and Gender in Public1.5
WGSS 4440Sex and Gender in Public1.5

Note:

Students who plan to write an honors thesis must take WGSS 4141 Feminist and Queer Research Methodologies and must also enroll in the 1-credit WGSS 4142 Thesis Proposal Workshop offered concurrently with WGSS 4141. WGSS 4142 is restricted to students who plan to submit an honors thesis proposal. Both WGSS 4141 and WGSS 4142 should be taken during the fall semester of the student’s junior year unless special departmental approval has been given. 

Students who take WGSS 4141 Feminist and Queer Research Methodologies must submit a copy of their final paper from this course to the WGSS office at WGSS@wustl.edu. After the successful completion of WGSS 4141 and WGSS 4142 and the approval of the honors thesis proposal, students enroll in WGSS 4991 Honors Thesis: Research and Writing during the time they are writing the honors thesis, which is usually two semesters.

8. Two 4000-level Courses or an Honors Thesis: 6 credits

Courses taken in any of the above categories will satisfy this requirement, or the student may choose to write an honors thesis. One of the 3-credit courses must be a 4000-level course in WGSS course from the following list:

AFAS 4030Sexual Health and the City: A Studiolab Course Course On the Politics of Reproduction3
WGSS 4016Queer of Color Critique3
WGSS 4017Healing and Social Justice3
WGSS 4085Everyday Unruliness: Feminist and Queer Resistance3
WGSS 4115Gender, Religion, Medicine and Science3
WGSS 4141Feminist and Queer Research Methodologies3
WGSS 4165From Mammy to the Welfare Queen: African American Women Theorize Identity3
WGSS 4200Feminist Political Theory3
WGSS 4245Transnational Feminisms3
WGSS 4350Queer and Feminist Geographies3
WGSS 4370Reformers and Radicals: Feminist Thinking Through History3
WGSS 4401Intersectionality - Intersectionality3
WGSS 4991Honors Thesis: Research and Writing3

The second may be either a 4000-level course in WGSS or a 4000-level course approved for this degree offered by another program (e.g., has a different course subject code than WGSS). Consult with your WGSS major advisor to to ensure your chosen course meets this requirement.

9. Elective Courses

  • Students select 6 units of any WGSS courses as electives, but one of the courses listed below is encouraged:
POLSCI 4218Gender and the Future of Work3
WGSS 3215Bodies Out of Bounds: Feminist and Queer Disability Studies3
WGSS 3405Revolutionize It! the Radical History of Second-Wave Feminism3
WGSS 3410Gender in Society3
WGSS 3470Law, Gender, and Justice - Law, Gender, and Justice3
WGSS 3685Gender Violence - Gender Violence3
WGSS 3700Gender and Social Class3
WGSS 4017Healing and Social Justice3

Additional Information

Study Abroad

We strongly encourage and support students who wish to study abroad. Therefore, we accept up to 9 credits from study abroad (3 of those credits could fulfill the historical context or ethnic/global/racial requirement). Please contact Amy Cislo, WGSS Study Abroad Faculty Advisor, about this option.

Transfer Credit

Current students who wish to take courses at other universities during the summer may transfer up to 6 credit units. However, these credits cannot be used to fulfill the introductory course or the theory or methods/service-learning requirements. Students transferring to Washington University who wish to complete the major in WGSS may transfer no more than 9 credits of coursework taken elsewhere.
 

Contact Info

Phone:314-935-5102
Email:wgss@wustl.edu
Website:https://wgss.wustl.edu