MISSION STATEMENT

In the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department (WGSS) at Macalester College, students investigate key questions raised within feminist and queer theories and the fields of women’s, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay studies. We examine our core topics in contexts of interlocking systems of cultural and political difference based on race, nation, class, ethnicity, and ability, including comparative national and transnational perspectives.

WGSS is an interdisciplinary field interlinking the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and arts. In addition to a full sequence of core courses, WGSS affiliated faculty offer a variety of cross-listed courses. Students may use these courses to fashion a unique focus for their studies. The department supports students in completing independent research, internships, study away, and senior and honors projects.

Students in WGSS develop practical and theoretical skills for understanding and engaging the social, cultural, economic, and political contexts shaping our world. The department encourages students to engage their knowledge with the many communities that intersect their lives at Macalester and beyond. Our graduates have applied their work in a wide variety of careers, such as in academia, literature and the arts, law, politics, business, health and medicine, and non-profit work.

Students may major or minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.