Sample Courses
- Feminist Theories
- Gender and Sexualities
- Intro to Women's and Gender Studies
- Race, Class and Gender
Popular Electives
- Black Women in Literature and Film
- Feminism and Pornography
- Gender and Language
- Identity and Media
- Intro to Queer Studies
- Mass Incarceration
- Safe Zone Train-the-Trainer
Recent Internships or Field Experiences
- The Arc Livingston County
- Bethany House
- Center for Reproductive Rights and Justice, UC Berkeley Law
- Chances and Changes
- Livingston County Family Court
- NYC’s Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence
- NYS Division of Human Rights
- Planned Parenthood of Rochester
- Willow Center
Women's and Gender Studies Major
Why study women's and gender issues at Geneseo?
Women’s and gender studies aims to understand gender and sexuality as interrelated systems of structural inequality. The department centers gender minorities—including women and LGBTQ+ people—in everything it does, but it also focuses on the ways in which sexism, heterosexism, and cisexism harm all people, including men and straight cisgender individuals. Committed to an intersectional approach to feminism, the program pays attention to intersecting systems of oppression including racism, classism, ableism, and so on.
The program develops students’ critical thinking, reading, and writing skills as well as an appreciation for activism and social change. Many students choose women’s and gender studies as a second major, in combination with other areas of the humanities and social sciences.
Program Options
Additional Options
- Concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies with Childhood Education with Special Education (1–6)
- Concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies with Early Childhood/Childhood Education (B–6)
Program Highlights
- 20+ courses each semester that fulfill program requirements, drawn from women’s and gender studies but also American studies, anthropology, art history, biology, Black studies, geography, economics, English, history, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology
- One-on-one work and advising with program coordinator and other faculty members for capstone projects and course planning
- Home to the Safe Zones Program, where students can earn academic credit as part of the training to be a Safe Zones facilitator
- Close connection to student groups, such as VOX, PRIDE, and Iris Magazine
- Center for Interdisciplinary Programs, a centralized home for independent majors outside of a traditional departmental structure
- Interdisciplinary coursework that makes it easy to double-count courses for another major program
Example Careers
- Crisis Services/Domestic Violence
- Field Organizing
- Higher Education Administration
- K–12 Education
- Lobbying
- Mental Health/Recovery
- Social Justice Activism/Administration
Recent Grad Schools
- George Washington University
- SUNY Buffalo
- Syracuse University
Contact Info
Amanda Roth, Program Coordinator
rothal@geneseo.edu
Welles Hall 107A
585-245-6354
