Gender and Sexuality Studies Jump To: Jump To: Program Offerings Minor Offering type Minor The Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary forum for the study of gender and sexuality, as well as their intersections with race, class, ethnicity and physical ability across cultures and global geographies both past and present. The program's courses, which are open to all students, examine gender and sexuality from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The program offers core courses, seminars and cross-listed courses. A current list of course offerings is available on the program website. The program also encourages summer internships in relevant community-based programs, nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations with which the program's theoretical and historical inquiries can be applied in a practical setting. Goals for Student Learning The undergraduate minor in the interdisciplinary field of gender and sexuality studies at Princeton offers foundational and empirically based courses, as well as advanced theoretical courses on an extensive array of issues concerning gender, sexualities, race, scientific inquiry, and women’s historical, social, and cultural experiences within the United States and in transnational contexts. The program is designed to provide students with skills that develop substantive methodological and theoretical expertise within the field, supplementing work that engages subjects germane to gender and sexuality studies more broadly within their primary departments. Taking seriously the interdisciplinary nature of the field, the program encourages direct engagement with a wide variety of academic fields within the humanities, social sciences and the sciences. Those fields include but are not exclusive to anthropology, history, religion, sociology, English, comparative literature, African American studies, American studies, psychology, political science, philosophy and biology. The program’s robust and diverse intellectual community is comprised of scholars with expertise in feminist and queer theories, queer of color critique, histories of sexualities, LGBTQ+ history, gender and transnational migration, reproductive rights, feminist science studies, philosophy of science and transgender studies. The aim is to help students develop critical and analytical skills in research and knowledge production and a mastery of the fundamental principles of gender and sexuality studies to better understand and traverse these fundamental aspects of the human experience. Admission to the Program Admission to the program is by email, available via the program website and/or via consultation with the program director. Students are able to enroll beginning in the spring of their sophomore year and ending in the spring of their junior year. Program of Study Students who wish to complete the requirements for the undergraduate certificate in gender and sexuality studies must take five courses: The introductory course, GSS 201 (or, with permission, a cross-listed 200-level or above course) Three elective courses in GSS or cross-listed with GSS from at least three of five thematic clusters (Transnational/Global Perspectives; Gender, Race, and Ethnicity; Bodies, Sexualities; Culture and Representation; Politics and Social Change; Historical Perspectives) One additional 300- or 400-level GSS course or cross-listed with GSS Students may take gender- or sexuality-related courses in their major departments for certificate credit. In addition, certificate students are required to incorporate issues related to feminism, women, gender and/or sexuality into one junior paper and their senior thesis. Independent Work Students are required to incorporate issues related to feminism, women, gender and/or sexuality into one junior paper and their senior thesis. Certificate of Proficiency Certificates of proficiency in the study of gender and sexuality are issued upon graduation to students who have completed the program and have met the requirements of their departments. This applies to students in the Class of 2024 and to students in the Class of 2025 who did not choose the minor program. Additional Information A list of gender- and sexuality-related courses across the University may be found on the program website each semester and in Course Offerings on the Office of the Registrar website. These courses may be used to satisfy the program's requirements. Faculty Director Wallace D. Best Director of Graduate Studies Wallace D. Best Director of Undergraduate Program Wallace D. Best Executive Committee Elizabeth M. Armstrong, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs Wallace D. Best, Religion Catherine Clune-Taylor, Gender & Sexuality Studies Pgm Javier E. Guerrero, Spanish & Portuguese Brian E. Herrera, Lewis Center for the Arts Tera W. Hunter, History Shamus R. Khan, Sociology Anne McClintock, Gender & Sexuality Studies Pgm Sanyu A. Mojola, Sociology Sara S. Poor, German Gayle Salamon, English Rhaisa Williams, Lewis Center for the Arts Associated Faculty April Alliston, Comparative Literature Bridget Alsdorf, Art and Archaeology Wendy Laura Belcher, Comparative Literature Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús, Effron Center Study of America Ruha Benjamin, African American Studies Michael W. Cadden, Lewis Center for the Arts Margot Canaday, History Zahid R. Chaudhary, English Anne Cheng, English Divya Cherian, History Angela N. Creager, History Maria A. DiBattista, English Brigid Doherty, German Jill S. Dolan, Office of the Dean of College Patricia Fernández-Kelly, Sociology Diana J. Fuss, English Rubén Gallo, Spanish & Portuguese Reena N. Goldthree, African American Studies Jenny E. Greene, Astrophysical Sciences Judith Hamera, Lewis Center for the Arts Elizabeth Harman, Philosophy Wendy Heller, Music Brooke A. Holmes, Classics Alison E. Isenberg, History Amaney A. Jamal, Politics Melissa Lane, Politics Satyel Larson, Near Eastern Studies Russ Leo, English Sarah-Jane Leslie, Philosophy Beth Lew-Williams, History AnneMarie Luijendijk, Religion Stephen J. Macedo, Politics Gaetana Marrone-Puglia, French & Italian Tali Mendelberg, Politics Erika L. Milam, History Sanyu A. Mojola, Sociology Barbara N. Nagel, German Elizabeth L. Paluck, Psychology Sara S. Poor, German Deborah A. Prentice, Provost Jennifer Rexford, Computer Science Carolyn M. Rouse, Anthropology Daniel Rubenstein, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Esther H. Schor, English Kristopher Velasco, Sociology Janet A. Vertesi, Sociology Moulie Vidas, Religion Christy N. Wampole, French & Italian Judith Weisenfeld, Religion Stacy E. Wolf, Lewis Center for the Arts Tamsen O. Wolff, English Professor Anne McClintock Gayle Salamon Assistant Professor Catherine Clune-Taylor Lecturer Alfred Bendixen Regina Langley Caroline Matas Visiting Professor Rhacel Parreñas For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website. Courses GSS 201 - Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies Fall SA What does it mean to be a woman or a man? Or neither? How do gender and sexuality, those seemingly most personal and private of attributes, emerge from networks of power and social relations? This course introduces major concepts in the interdisciplinary field of gender and sexuality studies. We will analyze the ways in which gender, as an object of study and as a lived experience, intersects with class, race, and ability, and will examine the relation between gender, sexuality and power in literary, philosophical, political and medical discourses. G. Salamon GSS 204 - Readings in Latin Literature (also LAT 204) Not offered this year LA GSS 212 - Classical Mythology (also CLA 212/HLS 212/HUM 212) Fall LA GSS 221 - Inequality: Class, Race, and Gender (also AAS 221/SOC 221) Not offered this year SA GSS 225 - Sex, Sexuality, and Gender (also SOC 225) Not offered this year SA GSS 302 - Topics in the Study of Gender (also LAS 314) Spring SA Advanced seminar; focus changes from year to year. In general the seminar uses contemporary and classic works of feminist theory to examine ideas about gender that have shaped modern culture. Topics have included feminism and liberalism, literature and ideology, and psychoanalysis and feminism. J. Delgado GSS 306 - Women and Film (also VIS 341) Not offered this year LA An exploration of the relationships between the idea of "woman'' and the art of film. Issues addressed will include the role of woman as performer and director, questions of film genre, the identification of the female image as constitutive of the cinematic image, the historical and social dimensions of the female image projected in films of different times and different cultures. Film screenings, one three-hour seminar. G. Marrone-Puglia GSS 309 - Topics in Judaic Studies (also JDS 301) LA GSS 312 - Gender and Development in the Americas (also LAS 310/SOC 310) Not offered this year SA GSS 313 - German Intellectual History (also CLA 308/GER 306) Fall/Spring LA GSS 320 - Topics in Medieval Greek Literature (also CLA 320/HLS 320/MED 320) Not offered this year LA GSS 321 - Topics in German Medieval Literature (also GER 321/MED 321) Spring CDLA GSS 328 - Women and Gender in Islamic Societies (also REL 328) SA GSS 329 - Psychology of Gender (also PSY 329) Not offered this year EC GSS 331 - Sex and Gender in the Ancient World (also CLA 329) Spring SA GSS 338 - Love and Justice (also HUM 364/REL 364) Not offered this year EM GSS 341 - Topics in African American Literature (also AAS 392/ENG 392) Not offered this year LA GSS 351 - Law, Social Policy, and African American Women (also AAS 351) Not offered this year SA GSS 360 - Women, Gender, and American Religion (also AMS 369/REL 360) Not offered this year SA GSS 361 - Culture, Power, and Inequality (also SOC 361) Not offered this year SA GSS 383 - Special Topics in Creative Writing (also AMS 345/CWR 345) Not offered this year LA GSS 384 - Gender and Sexuality in Modern America (also AMS 424/HIS 384) Spring CDHA GSS 386 - Islamic Family Law (also NES 347) SA GSS 393 - Gender and Science Fall SA An exploration of two aspects of the gender and science literature: the historical participation of women (and men) in scientific work and the feminist critique of scientific knowledge. The seminar will explore ways in which women have been systematically excluded from science and assess the problems with that thesis. One three-hour seminar. A. Creager GSS 394 - Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (also ENG 384) Fall/Spring CDLA GSS 395 - Topics in Women's Writing (also AAS 340/AMS 483/ENG 383) Fall LA GSS 400 - Contemporary Theories of Gender and Sexuality (also ENG 264) Spring SA We will take as our primary text the new translation of Simone deBeauvoir"s landmark volume The Second Sex, one of the most significant origin points of current understandings of gender. In our sustained consideration of The Second Sex, we will explore Beauvoir's ideas about the influence of sex and gender on childhood, the family, sexuality, relationships, aging, work, the social order, and the philosophical imaginary. We will also consider contemporary writing alongside that text, taking Beauvoir as our tour guide as we encounter and interpret contemporary representations of gender. G. Salamon GSS 406 - Topics in Global Race and Ethnicity (also AAS 303/GHP 313/HUM 347) Fall/Spring HASA GSS 422 - Gender and American Politics (also POL 422) Spring CDSA GSS 438 - Topics in 18th-Century Literature (also COM 342/ENG 339) Fall LA GSS 442 - The McGraw Seminar in Writing (also JRN 441) Not offered this year LA GSS 459 - The History of Incarceration in the U.S. (also AMS 459/HIS 459) Not offered this year HA GSS 498 - Princeton Atelier (also AAS 498/ATL 498) Fall LA
