Gender Studies, Bachelor of Arts
The Gender Studies major explores how gender and sexuality influence constructions of human identity historically and culturally, and how these in turn shape human development, behavior, and the processes of justice. Students in the major will learn to examine gender and sexuality from a broad variety of academic perspectives. As such, they become versatile thinkers with strong skills in critical problem solving, research, data collection, and writing. The Gender Studies major has been designed in the best tradition of liberal arts study: courses are structured to support independent inquiry, ethical reflection, and critical thought, and they culminate in a final research project that enables students to test their skills on a question of their own choosing. Students graduating with a BA in Gender Studies go on to a wide variety of careers and post–graduate study, including the arts, business, education, health care, media, politics, law, public policy and social work.
Learning outcomes. Students will:
- Be able to identify and analyze how assumptions about gender and sexuality influence the construction of human identity, and do so with sensitivity to historical, cultural, and geographic contexts.
- Produce written arguments that explore the complex interrelationships between gender and sexuality and other identity categories, such as race, class, nationality, age, and physical disability.
- Discuss major topics and approaches in the history of feminist theory, queer theory, masculinity studies, and gender studies, and be able to critically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of any given approach.
- Perform independent research on a topic related to gender or sexuality with stated disciplinary and interdisciplinary methods, and compose an informed research paper communicating scholarly and disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary approaches to gender analysis.
- Connect scholarly inquiry on gender and sexuality to theories of justice, criminality, and human rights, concerns specifically related to John Jay’s educational mission.
Credits required. 36
Prerequisites. The required course, GEN 255/BIO 255 has a prerequisite of SCI 110 or SCI 112 or SCI 114 (or any STEM variant science course of at least three-credits such as BIO 102 or BIO 103 or BIO 104 or CHE 102 or CHE 103 or CHE 104). This course satisfies the Required Core: Life and Physical Science category of the Gen Ed program.
Coordinator. Professor Katie Gentile, Department of Counseling (212.237.8110, kgentile@jjay.cuny.edu)
Advising resources. Four-year Plan of Study
Honors Option. To receive Honors in the Gender Studies major, a student must complete a 3-credit research project-based independent study prior to taking the senior seminar while achieving a 3.5 grade point average in their major courses (above the 100-level) and an overall GPA of at least a 3.2. Eligible students may enroll in the Honors Option as upper juniors (having accumulated at least 75 to 90 credits) by meeting with the Gender Studies Coordinator.
Additional information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College or who changed to this major in September of 2015 or thereafter must complete the major in the form presented here. Students who enrolled prior to the date may choose either the form shown here or the earlier version of the major. A copy of the earlier version may be obtained in the Undergraduate Bulletin 2014-15.
Part One. Historical and Theoretical Foundations
Required
Total Credit Hours: 12
Part Two. Critical Methods
Required
Total Credit Hours: 3
Part Three. Research Methods
Choose one
| HJS 315 | Research Methods in Humanities and Justice Studies | 3 |
| SSC 325 | Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 3
Part Four. Senior Seminar
Required
| GEN 401 | Senior Seminar in Gender Studies | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 3
Part Five. Gender Studies Area Electives
Students select five electives from Gender Studies-designated courses and may substitute a semester-long internship in a gender-related field or an approved Independent Study with a GS faculty (GEN 389 or GEN 489) for one elective. To ensure that students are exposed to significant and significantly different approaches to thinking about gender and sexuality, students must take at least one course in each of the following categories:
Category A. Diversities of Genders and Sexualities
These courses focus on non–dominant U.S. constructions of gender and sexuality internationally and among diverse communities and cultures in the United States. Recognizing that gender and sexuality are defined as much by their positioning within global political, social and economic systems as by their individual racial, ethnic, religious, class or sexual identity, this cluster offers a comparative look at both the individual and the global aspects of gender and sexuality. Courses that satisfy this requirement will examine the diversity of histories, experiences and cultures within the United States or internationally.
Choose at least one
| AFR 248 | Men: Masculinities in the United States | 3 |
| COR 320 | Race, Class and Gender in a Correctional Context | 3 |
| GEN 356/HIS 356 | Sexuality, Gender, and Culture in Muslim Societies | 3 |
| GEN 380 | Selected Topics in Gender Studies | 3 |
| HIS 265/LLS 265 | Class, Race and Family in Latin American History | 3 |
| HIS 270 | Marriage in Medieval Europe | 3 |
| HIS 375 | Female Felons in the Premodern World (was Female Felons in Premodern Europe & Americas) | 3 |
| LLS 255 | Latin American Womanin Global Society (was Latin American Woman) | 3 |
| SOC 243 | Sociology of Sexualities | 3 |
Category B. Cultural Representations of Genders and Sexualities
These courses focus on the study of art, media, literature and cultural production both as sites of theoretical and political work about gender and sexuality and as sources of the construction and representation of gendered/sexed identities. Courses that satisfy this requirement will examine forms of expression and representation, such as literature, art, philosophy, theory, and cinema, as constitutive and contested arenas of sexuality and gender.
Choose at least one
Category C. Institutional Systems of Genders and Sexualities
These courses address the construction of gender and sexuality within the legal, economic and social structures of our society. They look at the very pragmatic ways that societies both reinforce and undermine gender and sexuality through their policies and social practices. Courses that satisfy this requirement will investigate historical or contemporary gender and sexuality within law, sociology, economics, government, criminology and psychology.
Choose at least one
| ANT 210 | Sex and Culture | 3 |
| CRJ 420/SOC 420 | Women and Crime | 3 |
| CSL 260 | Gender & Work Life (was Counseling in Gender & Work Life) | 3 |
| ECO 327 | The Political Economy of Gender | 3 |
| GEN 380 | Selected Topics in Gender Studies | 3 |
| ISP 334 | Sex, Gender and Justice in Global Perspective | 3 |
| POL 237 | Women and Politics | 3 |
| POL 318 | Law & Politics of Sexual Orientation | 3 |
| POL 319 | Gender and Law | 3 |
| PSC 235 | Women in Policing | 3 |
| PSY 333 | Psychology of Gender | 3 |
| SOC 215 | Social Control and Gender: Women in American Society | 3 |
| SOC 333 | Gender Issues in International Criminal Justice | 3 |
Students should consult with the Gender Studies Major Coordinator to ensure adequate coverage.
In addition to the regularly offered electives listed above, a number of unique electives that count toward the major will be offered each semester. The Director of the Gender Studies Program will compile a list each semester and disperse it amongst Gender Studies majors and minors.
Total Credit Hours: 15
Total Credit Hours: 36