Gender and sexuality informs everything — from our concept of self and our families to the construction of our institutions and societies.
A gender and sexuality studies (GSS) minor prepares you to face challenges in the contemporary world by helping you to understand gender and sexuality and their relationship to economic, political and social institutions, as well as to identities and hierarchies across the globe. GSS helps you recognize the diversity of gender and sexual identities, as well as the organization of sexuality, providing you with opportunities to examine the complexity of human cultures through a number of different theoretical lenses.
Gender and Sexuality
Are men fundamentally different from women? Are women born to be better nurturers than men? Are men in all societies more powerful than women? Why have some societies invented a three-gender system, while in other societies, any deviation from a two-gender system is perceived as a threat? Why do societies control sexuality, even among consensual adults?
These are a few of the many questions we explore. Examining these issues within the setting of a technological university like Clarkson — which attracts a disproportionate number of male students — provides students with a framework to understand the significance of gender/sex in institutional arrangements.
Gender and Sexuality Opportunities
Students who have a Gender and Sexuality minor find themselves open to more opportunities in the world:
Career Opportunities
You will gain substantial knowledge about gender and sexuality that will enable you to work toward a more equitable and just society in professional areas including the following:
Human resources and human support services (including Affirmative Action).
- Psychology.
- Social work.
- Healthcare.
- Public policy.
- International human rights.
- Education.
Extracurricular Opportunities
You will also have many opportunities outside the classroom to deepen your understanding of gender and sexuality and to gain valuable experience for your future career:
- Internships.
- Campus clubs, including the American Association of University Women, the Society of Professional Women, and the Gender-Sexuality Alliance.
- The Annual Undergraduate Student Conference in Humanities and Social Sciences, which provides students the opportunity to give presentations based on their research.
Gender and Sexuality Minor Core
Students are required to complete the following course:
- Either SS220 Introduction to Gender, or SS221 Introduction to Sexuality
- SS499 Zero-credit Minor Portfolio, as required of the other minors in the
department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Students are also required to complete four of the following courses:
- Either SS220 or SS221 (whichever one was not taken to satisfy requirement #1)
- ANTH225 Global Perspectives on Sexuality
- ANTH325 Sex and Commerce
- ANTH330 Men & Masculinities
- HIST326 Modern Sex: Sexualities and Genders in Modern America
- HIST327 History of Women and Gender in America
- HIST328 History of Gender and Sexuality in the Transatlantic World
- HIST329 History of the American Family
- HIST338 Women, Gender, and Science in American History
- HIST342 War and Gender: The Modern Period
- LIT240 Gender and Popular Culture
- POL355 Women and Politics
- SOC310 Women and Religion
- SOC330 Health, Wealth, Inequality, and the Environment
- SS499 Zero-credit Minor Portfolio, as required of the other minors in the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences.
