Area of Concentration requirements

In what follows, a “course-equivalent” is defined as an activity equivalent to a full term of work (i.e., a semester-long course, tutorial, or IRP, or alternatively, a January term ISP, which consists of an intensive monthlong single activity).

The Course Schedule identifies two kinds of cross-listed classes: those that are automatically counted towards fulfilling the requirements and those that are cross-listed as “Gender Studies eligible” courses, for which the instructor’s permission must be requested and granted early in that term.

Additional or specialized coursework in Gender Studies may take the form of group Tutorials or Independent Research Projects, January Interterm Projects, volunteer work or internships and other practical experiences, and of course Senior Projects including theses. The Senior Project may be sponsored by any member of the faculty, but least one committee member should be affiliated or core faculty in Gender Studies and agree to be responsible for evaluating the gender component(s) of the project.

Internships and volunteer service-learning opportunities are recommended for students completing the Joint-Disciplinary AOC and required for the full AOC. Faculty and the Internship Coordinator can help students find local or national placements. We also encourage students to pursue Gender Studies in an international context; students would be well advised to study a foreign language or undertake a semester of study abroad to enhance their understanding of gender beyond the U.S. Some cross-cultural or intersectional work is required for both Joint-Disciplinary and full AOCs.

The following are REQUIRED for the full Gender Studies AOC, but RECOMMENDED for the Joint-Disciplinary AOC:

• An Introduction to the field; NOTE: This may be fulfilled by
  • a stand-alone introduction to the field if offered;
  • an approved introduction from another institution;
  • petitioning to count 2 introductory courses cross-listed with Gender Studies from different disciplines. For options 2 and 3, the Program Advisor has final jurisdiction.
• One broadly interdisciplinary course-equivalent; NOTE: Although a specifically interdisciplinary course may not be offered regularly, an interdisciplinary undertaking may draw upon prior disciplinary coursework to augment new work in a course, tutorial, or Independent Study Project on a related topic in another disciplinary field with faculty consent.
• A course in Methods, ideally surveying both qualitative and quantitative methods. NOTE: Regularly offered courses in the Social and Natural Sciences in methods may, at the discretion of the instructor, fulfill this requirement. Courses in interdisciplinary feminist or sexuality studies methods would also be good choices.
• An internship, volunteer project, service learning, or other ‘from theory to practice’ experience in gender-related areas.  NOTE: At least four of the above courses must be at an advanced level, and those courses must collectively span at least two disciplines (or one discipline and one interdisciplinary).”

When undertaking courses or projects not cross-listed under Gender Studies, students must ask faculty to indicate on their term evaluation that their work fulfills Gender Studies requirements and alert the Program Advisor of this arrangement. They may then list the course on their Gender Studies Application Form and get it approved.

Joint Disciplinary AOC Requirements

Joint-Disciplinary Gender Studies AOC students need to complete at least:

• Two course-equivalents each in the Humanities and in the Social Sciences with papers or projects focused on gender;
• One course-equivalent in the Natural Sciences with papers or projects focused on gender;
• A course-equivalent on theories of gender and/or sexuality, or feminist theory;
• A senior thesis/project that substantially engages gender-related issues, developed in consultation with your Gender Studies faculty committee member(s);
• One course-equivalent that is explicitly cross-cultural or addresses gender as it intersects with race, ethnicity, and/or social class (i.e. intersectional).

VIEW GENDER STUDIES ACADEMIC LEARNING COMPACT

Examples of regularly offered courses

Introduction to Gender Studies

Humanities
Religion and Gender
Topics in Feminist Philosophy
Nineteenth-Century British and American Women Writers
Motherhood: Images and Experience

Social Sciences
Sociology of Gender and the Body

Queer Studies
Women and Gender in China
Stigma and Prejudice
Intersectionality

Natural Sciences
Current Issues in Human Genetics
Public Health Disparities
Sex, Gender, Mind and Brain
Introduction to Oceanography

Internships
The Gender Studies program values and encourages students to engage in internships and other extra-curricular activities. These opportunities allow students to gain real-world experience and to prepare for graduate school and employment. Internships are required for all students seeking the full Gender Studies Area of Concentration. Some examples of student internships include:

SPARCC (Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center)
Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County
Family Law Connection
ALSO Youth 
Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida

Cross listing and Gender Studies eligible courses

Students are able to earn Gender Studies credit for taking a wide variety of courses, even from courses that are not primarily related to the field. For this reason, faculty members distinguish between full Gender Studies and Gender Studies Eligible courses. A course that focuses primarily on Gender Studies content will automatically earn credit towards the AOC requirements.

Other courses will allow the opportunity to earn Gender Studies credit upon the approval of and collaboration with professors. These Gender Studies Eligible courses require students to consult with professors to discuss a trajectory throughout the semester that will earn Gender Studies credit. This cross-discipline collaboration is essential to providing students with a well-rounded understanding of Gender Studies theories on a global scale.

Examples of Gender Studies eligible courses include:

African Ethnography
American Humor
East Asian Civilization
Social Movements
Age of Imperialism
Introduction to American Politics, 1945-Present
Sustainable Development
Public Opinion in American Politics