Women's and Gender Studies (WGS)
https://cola.unh.edu/womens-gender-studies
Program Offered: Graduate Certificate
This program is offered in Durham.
The Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies is intended to serve the needs of both students who are matriculated in a graduate program and non-degree students who are interested in developing specific knowledge in the areas of feminist theory, critical women’s, gender, and sexuality studies as well as feminist methodologies. There are three specific audiences:
- Current and future UNH graduate students from a variety of M.A. and Ph.D. programs who would like to connect their area of study to feminist theory and critical women’s, sexuality, and gender studies, gain specific knowledge and skills in Feminist Studies and graduate with an additional, demonstrable credential;
- UNH graduates with bachelor’s degrees, who may or may not have majored or minored in Women’s Studies, whose career paths have led them to seek more knowledge and skills in feminist theory and critical women’s, gender, and sexuality studies in order to gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved in their current job and/or to pursue advancement in their field;
- Members of the community or residents of the greater Seacoast region who hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree who are interested in connecting their previous areas of study or current intellectual or political interests with the aspects of feminist theory and critical women’s, gender, and sexuality studies by pursuing additional knowledge and skills in these areas.
Please visit the the Graduate School Website for detailed instructions about applying for the graduate certificate program.
WGS 832 - Feminist Theory
Credits: 4
A multidisciplinary introduction to some of the major conversations and methodologies in feminist theory (e.g., materialist feminism, standpoint epistemologies, psychoanalysis, discourses of sexuality and the body, transnational feminism, postcolonialism and decolonization). Critical readings of landmark and more recent feminist texts, and discussion of gender in relation to other categories of analysis including sexuality, race, class, nation, disability and religion.
Equivalent(s): WS 832
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
View Course Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate the ability to think critically about categories of difference—including gender, sexuality, race, nation, class, religion--and explore the relationship between inequality and those categories of difference.
- Demonstrate understanding of how difference influences the values, beliefs, and experiences of individuals and groups in across historical, cultural, political and geographic contexts.
- Define and apply central concepts in Women's and Gender Studies and Queer Studies, including but not limited to sexuality, power, privilege, inequality, justice, violence, the body, reproductive health, and intersectionality (i.e., interlocking and simultaneous forms of oppression).
- Know the history of feminist thought and production, especially as it has been inflected by cultural difference.
- Demonstrate self-reflectiveness, cultural awareness, critical analysis, and the ability to effect personal and community change.
- Write and speak clearly, be able to construct persuasive arguments based on their experiences, the experiences of others, and on scholarship; be able to conduct research using feminist methodologies.
WGS 895 - Directed Study
Credits: 1-4
Independent study of advanced or specialized topics requiring extensive reading and writing. To be elected only with permission of the Department Chair and of the supervising faculty member.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 4 credits.
Equivalent(s): WGS 899, WS 895, WS 899
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
WGS 898 - Colloquium in Feminist Studies
Credits: 4
An advanced course on a topic to be chosen by the instructor. Please inquire at the Women’s Studies office for a full course description each time the course is offered. Examples include Equality, Privacy and Consent; Queer Theory; Transnational Feminisms; Major Women Writers.
Equivalent(s): WS 898
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
View Course Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate the ability to think critically about categories of difference—including gender, sexuality, race, nation, class, religion--and explore the relationship between inequality and those categories of difference.
- Demonstrate understanding of how difference influences the values, beliefs, and experiences of individuals and groups in across historical, cultural, political and geographic contexts.
- Define and apply central concepts in Women's and Gender Studies and Queer Studies, including but not limited to sexuality, power, privilege, inequality, justice, violence, the body, reproductive health, and intersectionality (i.e., interlocking and simultaneous forms of oppression).
- Know the history of feminist thought and production, especially as it has been inflected by cultural difference.
- Demonstrate self-reflectiveness, cultural awareness, critical analysis, and the ability to effect personal and community change.
- Write and speak clearly, be able to construct persuasive arguments based on their experiences, the experiences of others, and on scholarship; be able to conduct research using feminist methodologies.
WGS 899 - Directed Study
Credits: 1-4
Directed study for graduate students.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 4 credits.
Equivalent(s): WGS 895, WS 899
Grade Mode: Letter Grading