31 courses with the subject WGST, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
WGST 1010Identity and Privilege3
This course is designed to focus on gender identity as it intersects with other identity markers, like race, orientation, class, disability, and others. A primary focus in the course is to interrogate structures of power at the individual, social, and institutional levels to better understand how privilege and oppression are perpetuated as well as resisted in historic and contemporary US cultures. Typically offered:
In this course, students learn a variety of cinematic techniques to analyze popular films, television programs, and internet videos. We consider ways gender, race, and sexuality have been represented in various US and international media productions. Our investigation of popular media includes Hollywood and independent feature films, network and cable television programs, and internet webisodes and videos. All works are subtitled in English. No prior experience with media studies in required. Typically offered:
Race, gender identification, sexuality, intelligence, athletic ability - all traits that vary among human beings and all that have been used to sort, reward, punish, and judge. Having a clear understanding of what we know - and what we don’t know - about the nature of these human traits is essential for ethically navigating our diverse world. This course examines the history and current state of our understanding of the biological underpinnings of human diversity, and discusses the ethical challenges posed by searching for the science of human difference. Typically offered:
This course will look at various writings that address the need for radical change in the struggle to achieve equality. Works by past and present activists will be read alongside fictional imaginings of a world without sexism and discrimination. While the primary focus will be gender, this course will also consider related categories of oppression such as race, ethnicity, religion, and ability. In reading a variety of genres including memoirs, novels and essays, students will explore how literature might be used to shape the world. Attributes: WGST YLIB
Students study and practice skills central to academic and professional research through the development of independent, inquiry-based projects. In their projects, student assert, support, and integrate their own positions into scholarly conversation based in research.. Students develop competency in the location, evaluation, analysis and documentation of sources that represent a range of different perspectives on important issues. Typically offered:
Any SUST course at the 300 or 400 level, excluding SUST 390, SUST 490, SUST 491 and SUST 496 Total: 39-40 credits B.S. Inclusive Childhood Education Major with a Liberal Arts Concentration in Earth Science Students pursuing teaching certification in inclusive childhood education may complete a concentration in Earth science. In addition to meeting all of the i
An introduction to queer studies from a wide range of orientation and gender perspectives. Relying upon theoretical, historical, and cultural studies texts, we will consider the representation and constructions of sexuality-based and gender-based identities as they have been formed within the contemporary United States. We will use Queer Theory to critically examine the way power works to institutionalize and legitimate certain forms and expressions of sexuality and gender while stigmatizing others. We will explore the idea of sexuality as a category of social identity and interrogate the ways that sexuality and gender interact, and how this interaction informs the meanings of each of these identity categories. We will also ask central questions: How do other social categories of identification (race, ethnicity, class, etc.)affect the ways in which we understand expressions of queerness? What does studying queerness tell us about the workings of contemporary political, cultural, and social life? What is normal and who/what is it that defines and controls normalcy? Attributes: AMSS CC WGST YLIB
Students in this class build civic awareness, understanding, and support for the LGBTQ+ community on the Fisher campus as well as in the larger Rochester community by studying LGBTQ+ and mainstream films and by attending and participating in LGBTQ+ and feminist fall film festivals and venues held in the Rochester area including at the ImageOut Film Festival, the High Falls Film Festival, The Out Alliance, the Dryden and the Little. Students then share their learning, insights and experience by collaboratively working on an online class magazine that contains film reviews and analyses. Interviews with film organizers and participants, photo essays, editorials, and reports on the history and importance of LGBTQ+ and feminist film festivals around the world. A new issue of this publication is created every year and is made available to the Fisher community as well as the Rochester film community at large, through links with partner websites. Typically offered:
Total: 18 credits Note: One course may overlap between the major and the Interdisciplinary Arts min *Core foundational courses in ARTS (Learning Community, Research-Based Writing, a 2025-2026 Catalog » Academic Programs » Undergraduate » School of Arts and Scienc Arts: Interdisciplinary Arts (Minor)
This course draws on critical race studies and cultural studies frameworks to foster analyses of race and representation in U.S. film with emphasis on contemporary film representations of racial minorities. The focus will be on films, of varying genres, that become part of the popular culture and how their racial representations speak to, reflect, reproduce and/or contest contemporary articulations of race and racism. Depending on the semester, there may be independent films and very recent films to assess current trends towards critical race films and/or reproductions of old scripts. Themes covered include: the origins of racial and gendered stereotyping in film, interracial family romance, film and social activism and Civil Rights, representation in film, model minorities, Whiteness, tokenism, coming-of-age, sexuality, labor, and the white savior, among others. This course may be taken 3 times, so long as the course material/focus are different (Example: one semester Black Cinema, another semester Latinx or Indigenous Cinema. Typically offered:
In 2022 alone, the Human Rights Campaign has recorded at least 38 deaths of trans people in the United States due to fatal violence, making it among the most violent years against trans people to date. It is also clear that trans violence and oppression disproportionately affects trans women of color, and that racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and homophobia intersect with transphobia in ways that shorten the lives of trans people (Spade 2015). Additionally, trans people experience social, economic, and political marginalization due to the lack of legal representation, barriers to gender-affirming healthcare, legal name and gender changes, physical spaces, and other seemingly neutral administrative systems that enforce narrow binary categories of gender and force people into them to get their basic needs met. While transgender politics seem to be everywhere, what does this media attention mean for lived gender self-determination and liberation? Think about the visibility of trans celebrities like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and Caitlyn Jenner; the success of TV series such as I am Jazz an Attributes: CCE YLIB ZCIV
Gender is one of our most powerful social sorting mechanisms. It structures behavior, organizes social life, and puts boundaries around identity formation. We therefore “read” gender everywhere: in our language, on people’s bodies, in advertisements, in the dynamics among family members and peers, in classrooms and workplaces, and in sacred, literary, legal and instructional texts. In this class, we will develop our ability to read gender more critically by applying theories and methods to specific works of art. We will develop our understanding of gender and its power by examining literary and artistic works that feature the problems, perils, and potentials of gender expression. Through fiction, film, visual arts, and scholarly essays, we will develop our ability to define gender, understand how it intersects with racial, class, ethnic, and cultural differences, and how our notions of gender difference have changed over time through advances in civil and human rights. We will use reading, writing, discussion and artistic design not just to absorb information about gender, but understan Attributes: CIA YLIB
In this class, students explore how popular culture generates and articulates our understanding of gender and sexuality and their intersections with race and class. How does popular culture reinforce and/or challenge race, gender, and sexuality norms? What messages do we receive from popular culture about the presumed correct ways to live our lives in the U.S.? For whom are these presumably correct lives attainable? Who is left out? In other words, what do popular culture representations say about the lived realities of race, gender, sexuality (along with race and ability) in the U.S.? How does popular culture discipline and/or offer new possibilities for how we live? Typically offered:
This course offers special topics in Gender & Sexuality Studies and is not offered on a regular basis. Course content may vary with each offering and may be repeated for credit with different content. Recent topics include Gender & Politics, Gender & Reproductive Rights, and Sexual Identity & TV. Attributes: YLIB
Subject
WGST
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Type
course
Repeatable
may be repeated for credit with different content.
This course introduces students to literature, theory, and films from a wide range of orientation perspectives and gender identities often referenced collectively as queer. The queer community is a pluralistic one inclusive of many distinctive identities that the texts in this course explore. Distinguishing among these identities is important to not only appreciate the individual richness of experience and varying perspectives each offers, but also to understand the unique challenges each faces. The belief that sex, gender, and even orientation are binary and oppositional still dominates much of contemporary American culture. The literature and theory we study deconstructs such normative binary categories and demonstrates the variety of orientation and gender identities and the fluid aspects of gender and orientation. Relying upon theoretical, historical and cultural studies texts, we consider the representation and constructions of sexuality-based and gender-based identities as they have been formed within the contemporary US. We use Queer Theory to critically examine the way power works to institutionalize and legitimize certain forms and expressions of sexuality and gender while stigmatizing others. We explore the idea of sexuality as a category of social identity and interrogate the ways that sexuality and gender interact, and how this interaction informs the meaning of each of these identity categories. We also ask central questions: How do other social categories of identification (race, ethnicity, class, etc.) affect the ways in which we understand expressions of queerness? What does studying queerness tell us about the workings of contemporary political, cultural and social life? What is normal and who/what is it that defines and controls normalcy? This course focuses on works from the 20th and 21st centuries with an emphasis on the historical context of each piece. Typically offered:
Total: 34 credits B.S. Inclusive Adolescence Education/American Studies Dual Major Students pursuing teaching certification in inclusive adolescence education (social studies) may dual major in inclusive adolescence education and American studies and earn a Bachelor of Science degree. In addition to meeting all of the in Choose ONE:
This course investigates the roles of law, culture and technology in creating families. It focuses on the ways in which systems of reproduction reinforce and/or challenge inequalities of class, race, gender and sexuality. We examine the issues of entitlement to parenthood, LBGTQ families, access to reproductive healthcare, international adoption, surrogacy, birthing and parenting for people in prison, and the uses, consequences and ethics of new reproductive technologies. The questions addressed included: How does a person’s status affect their relation to reproductive alternatives? What is the relationship between state reproductive policies and the actual practices (legal, contested, and clandestine) which develop around these policies? How are notions of family and parenting enacted and transformed in an arena that is transnational, interracial, intercultural, and cross-class? Students are required to write three analytical reflections, give an oral presentation, and write a final research essay based on independent research. Attributes: YLIB ZCIV
While transgender politics seem to be everywhere, what does this media attention mean for lived gender self-determination and liberation? Think about the visibility of trans celebrities like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and Caitlyn Jenner; the success of TV series such as I am Jazz and Transparent; and national proposals to restrict bathroom usage for trans people. This class rethinks these cultural flash-points through a survey of topics central to contemporary trans identity and activism: media representations of trans lives; the politics of trans medical care; gender policing in public space; the relationship between trans liberation and feminist activism; and many other issues. A central part of the course will be on civic engagement both on and off campus. We will form partnerships with the college administration and with the Out Alliance, an organization that works to meet the needs of the Rochester queer community. Through these partnerships, students will gain connections between classroom readings and discussions of trans materials and their relevance for specific populations booth Attributes: CC YLIB
*Except ISPR 475, 476, 477, and 490. **A week long international trip, usually taken over spring break, is a required component of the course. Additional fees apply.
This course will focus on specifications of identities related to gender norms and gender roles in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Heterogeneity within these countries will be discussed within social, cultural and religious realms. The various historical, political and cultural effects on ideologies that surround notions of gender due to colonialism and post-colonialism will be discussed. We will look at the various images of women as culturally symbolic embodiments of rigid efforts in preserving tradition and nation. Three major identities of religion, caste, and politics will be focused upon as major forces that inform experiences related to gender, sexuality, class, and caste, which in turn form identities. The realities that surround gender identities and representations of those identities among fast-changing cultural nodes will be examined in a South Asia that is radically changing, economically, culturally, politically, and spiritually. Explorations on women and gender will be made through exposure to South Asian histories, literatures, politics, economi Attributes: CC WGST YLIB
Introduction to feminist theories about politics. Topics include gender and citizenship; gender, race, class and the state; sexual identity and political identity; and gender, theories of knowledge, and political power. Cross-listed with POSC 299P. Attributes: CC YLIB
