Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, BA

Justine Howe (justine.howe@case.edu), Director


Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Major: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies


Program Overview

The goal of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program is to educate students in interdisciplinary approaches to feminist and queer theories of gender, sexuality, culture, and society. Students are exposed to a variety of forms of critical thinking in relation to:

  1. the social construction of knowledge and philosophy
  2. intersections of race/ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality in social systems of power and privilege
  3. historical and cross-cultural accounts of gender and gender inequality
  4. literary criticism
  5. approaches to science and medicine informed by "feminist empiricism" and "feminist standpoint" theories
  6. contemporary theories of art, performance, language, jurisprudence, social science, and religion in the context of varied gendered identities and sexualities
  7. studies of the body as a focal point for theorizing relations among the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences
  8. social justice and activism as it pertains to women and gender both locally and globally

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies prepares students to think critically and creatively within a framework employing gender and sexuality as central categories of analysis. Through course work offered across departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, students build their understanding of how gender organizes institutions, practices, and social behavior; explore the diversity of gender and sexual identities and how those intersect with other forms of identity, such as race and class; engage transnational and global perspectives on gender and sexuality; and develop critical thinking and research skills. The program prepares students for a variety of professional pathways, including public policy, social work, the nonprofit sector, and social justice, as well as for graduate study. 

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be able to describe and explain key theoretical and methodological concepts and frameworks in the field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
  • Students will be able to analyze the experiences and contributions of individuals and communities of diverse gendered identities and sexual orientations to history, politics, literature, and academia.
  • Students will be able to demonstrate how various gender identities and sexual orientations intersect with race, ethnicity, religion, class, and other key categories of social difference.
  • Students will be able to analyze transnational gendered identities, representations, and structures of cultures outside the United States.
  • Students will be able to critically think, research, and write to apply gender studies theories and concepts through individual research projects to social issues such as reproductive rights, poverty, and gender-based violence.

Undergraduate Policies

For undergraduate policies and procedures, please review the Undergraduate Academics section of the General Bulletin.

Accelerated Master's Programs

Undergraduate students may participate in accelerated programs toward graduate or professional degrees. For more information and details of the policies and procedures related to accelerated studies, please visit the Undergraduate Academics section of the General Bulletin.

Program Faculty

Justine Howe, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Religious Studies; Director, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

Katia Almeida, PhD
Senior Instructor, Department of Anthropology

Karen Beckwith, PhD
Flora Stone Mather Professor, Department of Political Science

Elizabeth S. Bolman, PhD
Elsie B. Smith Chair in the Liberal Arts; Professor and Chair, Department of Art History and Art

Joy Bostic, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies; Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Susan S. Case, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Management

Gabriela Copertari, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Margaretmary Daley, PhD
Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Ananya Dasgupta, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of History

Elina Gertsman, PhD
Distinguished University Professor; Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Department of Art History and Art

Laura E. Hengehold, PhD
Professor, Department of Philosophy

Susan W. Hinze, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology

Megan Swihart Jewell, PhD
Senior Instructor, Department of English

Jacqueline C. Nanfito, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Gabrielle Parkin, PhD
Instructor, Department of English; Director, Writing Resource Center

Renee M. Sentilles, PhD
Henry Eldridge Bourne Professor of History, Department of History

Lihong Shi, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology


Affiliated faculty

Mary Grimm, MA
Associate Professor, Department of English