Contact Information
(541) 346-5529
Undergraduate degrees: B.A., B.S.
Undergraduate minor
Women’s studies inspires the desire to do meaningful work
The Women’s and Gender Studies program grants students a deeper understanding of the decisive role that gender plays in human societies. The program offers students an interdisciplinary curriculum that explores the diverse experiences of women in both national and international contexts.
The program also examines the meaning of gender as a socially constructed category that shapes personal identities, beliefs, opportunities, and behaviors. The wide range of classes explores the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality; the institutional structures that affect women’s and men’s lives; and the broad range of feminist theory that seeks to explain and influence women’s status in society.
“What students in this program find,” says program director Ellen Scott of the sociology department, “… is often small classes where they are really working hard to think about the social world in which we live and how gender structures the social, political, and economic worlds. It opens a whole new lens on the world, not just their personal lives but on the world around them.”
Among the areas of emphasis in the women’s and gender studies program are gender and sexuality,
third-world feminism, cultural
representation and literature, women and labor, feminist theory, critical race feminism, immigration and citizenship, and social activism.
Associate Professor Elizabeth Reis says that the WGS program’s strength is due to “the three core WGS faculty members have different backgrounds. I’m a historian, Lynn Fujiwara is a sociologist, and Judith Raiskin’s background is in English literature. We rotate teaching many of the core classes, but bring our own strengths to whatever course we are teaching.”
Adding to the interdisciplinary nature of the program is Assistant Professor Ernesto Martinez, who joined the faculty in fall 2006 with a research background in race and sexuality. In addition, more than seventy UO faculty members are affiliated with the program. “It is one of the broadest and most flexible programs on campus,” says Scott.
“Sometimes I think students stumble into the women’s and gender studies major,” says Scott, “… but what they find is what keeps them there.”
Points of Interest
- The University of Oregon is home to the best-funded research institute on women in the country—the Center for the Study of Women in Society.
- The women’s and gender studies program co-sponsors seminars, lectures, and research groups with the Center for the Study of Women in Society.
- The program recently received a grant to explore race, gender, and militarization with visiting scholars, a film series, a major conference, and visiting lecturers.
- Students gain hands-on experience
and develop professional skills working in nonprofit agencies through two-term internships.
- Upper-division students have the opportunity to engage in participatory learning experiences that include teaching in feminist pedagogy seminars and facilitating discussions for introductory classes.