Arts and Sciences Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives for the Women's Studies Program

Students graduating with a major in Women's Studies will be able to:

1. Understand and use fundamental concepts in feminist scholarship, including
   • social construction: how historical, political, economic and/or cultural forces shape individual experience of gender identity and/or sexuality
   • intersectionality: how the dynamics of gender, sexuality, class, race, and ethnicity interact in local and global contexts
   • interdisciplinarity: how multiple disciplinary perspectives must be engaged and synthesized in formulating research questions
   • critical epistemology: how the standpoint or situation of the researcher impacts the generation of knowledge
     
     
2. Explain and evaluate the significant intellectual and cultural contributions of women and/or LGBTQ individuals to human history and experience
   
   
3. Connect theory to practice through scholarship, civic engagement, social justice activism, or creative expression.
   
   
4. Design and carry out an independent research project, which includes
   • formulating original questions for investigation
   • providing a theoretical and/or methodological framework relevant to those questions
   • analyzing scholarship pertinent to the topic under investigation
   • presenting research results in an appropriate critical or creative format
   • communicating research results in oral summary both to academic mentors & to wider audience at a public forum