Gender Studies

Gender Studies is a dynamic interdisciplinary field of academic study and research. Drawing on continuing scholarly developments in the Natural and Social Sciences and in the Humanities, Gender Studies invites us to consider and to question the assumptions and values that shape our individual self-image and our interactions with others in society. Some students approach Gender Studies from the angle of Environmental Studies, others with the cross-cultural concerns of anthropology, or with an interest in how gender inflects the field of ethics; what joins them in conversation is a will to examine how human understandings of gender and sexual identity have changed over time and how they continue to shape our experience of the world. Broadly defined at New College, Gender Studies encompasses work that could also be called women’s studies, masculinity studies, lesbian and gay studies, queer studies, or feminist studies; it also intersects with the issues raised in the various fields of ethnic studies.

Here at New College, students combine their work in Gender Studies with work in another established AOC, completing what is known at New College as a "joint disciplinary" Area of Concentration. Students thus enhance their interdisciplinary work in Gender Studies with a solid grounding in a complementary AOC (such as biology, literature, or sociology). In addition to the requirements laid out by the GS Program (see the Gender Studies Worksheet for details), students are responsible for fulfilling the AOC requirements of their paired field/discipline in consultation with appropriate faculty. Students wishing to pair their work in Gender Studies with a Divisional AOC (Humanities, Natural or Social Sciences) need to file the paperwork for a "Special Area of Concentration" (ie, "Gender Studies in the Humanities") and to complete both the requirements for the GS AOC and all the requirements for the Divisional AOC.

Much Gender Studies course work takes the form of group Tutorials or Independent Research Projects. Internships and activist and service-learning opportunities are strongly encouraged. Students interested in considering a Gender Studies Area of Concentration should download the Gender Studies Worksheet early in their academic career and use it to track their progress toward fulfilling the requirements in consultation with an affiliated faculty member.

For program requirements, click here for the General Catalog.

Office of the Provost
New College of Florida
5800 Bay Shore Road
Sarasota, Florida  34243

Phone: (941) 487-4200
Fax: (941) 487-4201
provost@ncf.edu