Women’s and Gender Studies – Albright College

Women's and Gender Studies

Interested in how masculinity, femininity, gender roles and sexuality have changed over time?

Explore the diversity of women’s experiences at Albright College. Learn how race, class and other aspects of identity interact with gender and sexuality.

Since its inception in 1989, the women’s and gender studies curriculum has incorporated a growing number of courses on men and masculinities. Although the majority of women’s and gender studies courses emphasize gender in western societies, one of the goals of this program is to provide a global context and to offer students courses which will define the roles and issues of women and men in non-western societies.

Combined Major in Women’s and Gender Studies

Students interested in women’s and gender studies will combine the major with another area of study such as English, history, political science, psychology, religious studies or sociology.

Faculty from multiple departments teach courses for the program, emphasizing an “interdisciplinary” approach to studying women’s and gender issues. Faculty encourage students to seek personal advising to explore the varied coursework options. Course offerings vary greatly by semester and a variety of courses across disciplines may qualify for women’s and gender studies credit.

Please contact Women’s and Gender Studies Co-Coordinators Dr. Katherine Lehman and Dr. Kami Fletcher for more information.

In both the Women’s and Gender Studies minor and the co-major, students will learn:

  1. To use gender as an analytical category
  2. The history of women
  3. The principles and varieties of feminism both as a political philosophy that shapes activism and a method of analysis in academia
  4. To explore the diversity of women’s experiences and how race, class, and other aspects of identity interact with gender and sexuality
  5. How understandings and expressions of masculinity, femininity, gender roles and sexuality are contingent and have changed over time and across culture
womens-gender-studies

Hilary Aquino, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
610-921-7697
haquino@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Katherine J. Lehman, Ph.D.
Chair, Associate Professor of Communications
610-921-7291
klehman@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Irene Langran, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of General Education and Faculty Development; Professor of Political Science
610-921-7570
ilangran@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Jennifer Koosed, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies
610-921-7760
jkoosed@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Kami Fletcher, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
610-921-7821
kfletcher@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Carla Abodalo, MS
Senior Instructor of Sociology
610-921-7592
cabodalo@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Guillaume de Syon, Ph.D.
Professor of History
610-921-7822
gdesyon@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Teresa Gilliams, Ph.D.
Professor of English
610-921-7805
tgilliams@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Lesley Goodman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
lgoodman@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Elizabeth Kiester, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology; Department Chair
610-921-7885
ekiester@albright.edu

womens-gender-studies

Barton Thompson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
610-921-7593
bthompson@albright.edu

Combined Major Requirements

  • Introducing Sex and Gender (WGS 210)
  • Seminar in Women’s Studies (WGS 400)
  • 200-level internship
  • Four other women’s and gender studies courses (It is important to understand that students electing the combined major in women’s and gender studies can not earn general studies credit for the courses which are part of their major.)

The listings and topics vary from year to year, but among the courses offered on a regular basis for either the minor or the co-major are:

  • Introducing Sex and Gender (WGS 210)
  • Sex, Gender, Bible (REL 244)
  • US Women’s History (HIS 204)
  • God and Doctors: Religion, Health, and Medicine (REL 236)
  • Gender and Sexuality in American Religions (REL 260)
  • Women’s Work (HIS 275)
  • Women in Latin America (LAS 340)
  • U.S. Social History: The American Family 1600-1900 (HIS 311)
  • Sex, Gender and Culture (ANT 320)
  • The Family (SOC 261)
  • Social Stratification (SOC 262)
  • Parenting and Technology (SOC 270)
  • Work and Family Conflict (SOC271)
  • Domestic Violence (SOC 311)
  • Immigration and Transnational Families (SOC470)
  • Women Writing in America (ENG 235)
  • Black Women Writers (ENG 235)
  • Women Writers: Africa & the Caribbean (ENG 235)
  • Women’s Texts (ENG 390)
  • Women, Gender & Mass Media (COM 283)

Minor Requirements

  • Introducing Sex and Gender (WGS 210)
  • 200-level internship
  • Three other women’s and gender studies courses

Courses offered Fall 2021

Class Days of the Week Time Instructor
WGS 210: Introducing Sex and Gender TTH 11:00am-12:20pm Hilary Aquino
WGS 220: LGBTQ Media, History & Culture Hybrid – TTH 9:30am-10:50am Katherine Lehman
HIS 205: History of Medicine in the US Hybrid – TTH 2:30pm-3:50pm Hilary Aquino
SOC 261: The Family Hybrid – MWF 11:0am-11:50am Elizabeth Kiester
SOC 311: Domestic Violence MWF 11:0am-11:50am Carla Abodalo
SOC 470: Immigration & Transnational Families MWF 9:00am-9:50am Elizabeth Kiester

Required Courses of all WGS minors

WGS 210
Introducing Sex and Gender
Is gender merely a matter of biology?  Or is it an identity we perform through the way we move, the relationships we choose, the culture we create, the politics we espouse?  This course is an introduction to the basic content, theories, and methods of women’s and gender studies.  We will explore the ways in which society constructs gender, the ways in which people develop gender identity, and the ways in which gender intersects with race and class identities.  We will also explore issues surrounding sexuality: sex, reproductive health, and sexual orientation. We will investigate how different ideologies of sex and gender affect our everyday lives.  GENERAL STUDIES CONNECTIONS-HUMANITIES

WGS 400
Seminar in Women’s Studies
Addressing developments in the new scholarship on women and in feminist theory and methodology, the seminar focuses on topics from different disciplines and affords students the opportunity to present their own scholarly work in the field. Topics vary from year to year and take advantage of the wide range of expertise of faculty specializing in women’s studies fields. Major focus in this seminar course is on issues related to past, present and future constructions of gender in the United States.