Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Elizabeth Hubble, Director

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, an interdisciplinary program founded in 1990, encourages the production, discussion, and dissemination of knowledge about women's experiences, oppressions, and achievements in Montana, the U.S., and the world. In the last decade this focus has broadened to include study of the social and cultural construction of gender, sex, and sexualities. By fostering awareness of cultural and international diversity, as well as of the circulations of power mediated by race, class, age, and sexual orientation, Women's and Gender Studies encourages students to think critically and to envision justice for all peoples.

The Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies program is administered by the director, with assistance from the program coordinator, in consultation with the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Steering Committee, an interdisciplinary group of faculty and professional associates with teaching, research, and scholarly interests in women, gender and sexuality.

Students may include Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies in their studies in two ways. They can major in Liberal Studies with an option in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, or they can complete the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies minor. Students may select coursework from a wide variety of courses offered in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law, education and other disciplines. Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies offers scholarships and sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of events including lectures, discussions, and performances that make a vibrant contribution to both the campus and the Missoula community life.

To be admitted, students must register with the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies director, who will explain option or minor requirements and supervise their program.

Undergraduate Degrees Available

Subject Type Option Track
Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts
Women's, Gender & Sexuality St Bachelor of Arts
Women's, Gender & Sexuality St Minor

Department Faculty

Professors

  • Jill Bergman, Professor
  • Casey Charles, Professor
  • M. Ione Crummy, Professor
  • Paul Dietrich, Professor of Religious Studies and Liberal Studies
  • Janet Finn, Professor
  • Christine Fiore, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair
  • Sara Hayden, Professor
  • Anya Jabour, Professor of History; Co-Director, Women & Gender Studies
  • Kathy J. Kuipers, Associate Professor
  • Clary Loisel, Professor

Associate Professors

  • Hiltrud Arens, Professor
  • Bryan Cochran, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training
  • Sarah J. Halvorson, Professor
  • Teresa Sobieszczyk, Associate Professor, Sociology, and Director of International Development Studies and Peace Corps Prep Programs
  • Celia Winkler, Professor

Assistant Professors

  • Tobin Miller Shearer, Associate Professor of History; Director of African-American Studies

Adjunct Faculty

  • Beth Hubble, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Women's Studies

Course Descriptions

Women's and Gender Studies

  • WGSS 150X - Women's Rights and Women's Roles Around the World

    Credits: 3. Offered autumn in odd-numbered years. This course offers an interdisciplinary perspective on women’s participation in family, community, and political life around the world. This course will use a comparative approach to familiarize students with multiple societies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia and examine transnational themes that range across time and place. Guest lectures, field trips, and films will expose students to different approaches to the study of women’s lives, work, and activism and to the range of women’s activities around the world. In the second part of the course, students will collaborate on further research and design a final project presentation.
    Course Attributes:
    • Indigenous and Global

  • WGSS 163L - Hist/Lit Persp Women

    Credits: 3. Offered spring. Formerly PHL 151H, LS 119H, WGS 119H, WGGS 163H. This is an introduction to the discipline and scope of Western thought from antiquity to the present focusing on women as the subject rather than men. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding and critical appreciation of seminal texts by and about women through readings, class discussion and written assignments.
    Course Attributes:
    • Literary & Artistic Stds Crse

  • WGSS 250 - Media Representations of Women, Men, and Sexuality

    Credits: 3. Offered autumn in even-numbered years. This course is designed as a survey introduction to a variety of issues related to gender and sexuality in the mass media and pop culture. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with the breadth of these issues while at the same time providing them tools to critically analyze and engage with modern media. The course focuses largely on mass mediated forms such as television, film, music, sports, news, advertising and new media. An underlying understanding within the course is a recognition of the inextricable interconnections between gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation and so forth. Therefore, the course is invested in exploring the ways in which differences in identity produce different mediated representations and experiences of media. The course is comprised of class discussions based on readings, class presentations, and viewing and interpreting various mediated texts and documentaries. The course readings are both practical and theoretical, and while many of them focus on specific case studies, they are intended to provoke thoughtfulness in each student such that it can be applied to a variety of media.

  • WGSS 263S - Social and Political Perspectives on Women, Men, and Sexuality

    Credits: 3. Offered autumn. Broad overview of gender and women's issues from a social science perspective. Relevant topics related to the sociological and psychological aspects of gender across culture are explored, including masculinity, femininity, violence, reproductive health, cultural diversity in the expression of gender, issues in sexual orientation, and media contributions to these issues.
    Course Attributes:
    • Social Sciences Course

  • WGSS 291 - Special Topics

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

  • WGSS 294 - Seminar

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. A review and discussion of current research. Topics vary.

  • WGSS 363 - Feminist Theory and Methods

    Credits: 3. Offered spring. In-depth exposure to feminist views and critique of the ethics and methods of scientific, social, and literary inquiry. Includes exposure to primary sources and current societal and global issues and movements, research finding, and literature exemplifying these methods of inquiry and the gendered dimensions of such inquiry.
    Course Attributes:
    • Writing Course-Advanced

  • WGSS 390 - Undergraduate Research

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Directed individual research and study appropriate to the back ground and objectives of the student.
    Course Attributes:
    • Research & Creative Schlrshp

  • WGSS 391 - Special Topics

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

  • WGSS 392 - Independent Study

    Credits: 1 TO 12. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student.

  • WGSS 398 - Coop Education/Internship

    Credits: 1 TO 6. R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of director. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Internship Services office. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation.
    Course Attributes:
    • Internships/Practicums

  • WGSS 463 - WGS Capstone

    Credits: 2. Offered spring. Prereq., WGS 119H, WGS 263S, WS 275S. Capstone course for the Women's and Gender Studies minor.

  • WGSS 490 - Undergraduate Research

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Directed individual research and study appropriate to the back ground and objectives of the student.
    Course Attributes:
    • Research & Creative Schlrshp

  • WGSS 491 - Special Topics

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

  • WGSS 492 - Independent Study

    Credits: 1 TO 9. (R-9) Offered intermittently. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student.

  • WGSS 595 - Special Topics

    Credits: 1 TO 12. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics. Level: Graduate
    Course Attributes:
    • Internships/Practicums

  • WGSS 596 - Independent Study

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student. Level: Graduate
    Course Attributes:
    • Service Learning/Volunteer

  • WGSS 598 - Internship

    Credits: 1 TO 6. (R-6) Offered by special arrangement. Prereq., consent of department. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Internship Services office. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship (198, 298, 398, 498) may count toward graduation. Level: Graduate
    Course Attributes:
    • Internships/Practicums