Minor in Women and Gender Studies

The Women and Gender Studies Program offers students an opportunity to examine the lives, words, and ideas of women too often hidden from history, and to explore new ways of thinking about gender.  Our interdisciplinary program focuses on such issues as the gendered construction of science, women’s cultural creativity, histories of gender inequality and social transformation, visual representation and popular culture, queer and transgender politics, gendered inequities in work and pay, eco-feminism and the natural environment, and critical intersections of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class, sexuality, and gender.

As they develop skills in feminist analysis, critical thinking, and writing, Women and Gender Studies students investigate and challenge long-standing assumptions about gender and society.  Our students often apply their theoretical knowledge through internships with local organizations and agencies.  Women and Gender Studies majors and minors are prepared for graduate and professional schools in a variety of disciplines, as well as for careers in business, in public service, and in nonprofit organizations.

Committed to an international/global perspective, the program has hosted visiting scholars from many countries, including Russia, Croatia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Scotland, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, and Sweden.  In addition, Women and Gender Studies has received a US State Department grant that encourages cooperation between USM and women faculty in the United Arab Emirates.

Each semester, co-curricular presentations by nationally and internationally acclaimed scholars, activists, and performers enrich our classroom experiences. Recent programs include “Witches and Witch Hunts across the Ages” (lecture, Michele Tarter); “New Mainers” (stories of survival and arrival by Mainers from Africa, Europe, and Asia); “Labor Feminism and the Future of Women’s Rights” (lecture, Dorothy Sue Cobble); “Damned Dreams and Dangerous Desires” (performance, Kate Bornstein); “Globalization, Social Justice, and the Environment” (lecture, Nawal El Saadawi); “Is God Love” (lecture, bell hooks); and poetry readings by Sonia Sanchez and Jackie Kay.