Gender Studies Program

Introduction

The Certificate in Gender Studies in an undergraduate interdisciplinary studies certificate that allows students to explore historical constructions of gender, as well as contemporary conceptualizations of gender and sexuality, as they apply across various contexts and disciplines. Courses in various disciplines will take an intersectional approach in analyzing how race, class, ethnicity, and ability intersect with gender and sexuality in influencing social practices and ideas.

The Certificate Program includes 2 required courses and 9 hours of gender related coursework from any discipline. You can refer to the WTAMU catalog for a description of the Gender Studies Certificate Program requirements, or learn more about us through our Facebook Group: Gender Studies at WTAMU. For bios, blogs, and art projects of some of our Gender Studies students, see Bios, Blogs, and Projects.

Why a Certificate and not a Minor?

The certificate is fewer hours (15 rather than 18 for a minor) and allows for more flexibility for admissible coursework that can work within the widest variety of student majors and degree plans at WTAMU. The certificate will also appear on the transcript, acknowledging that the student had done a specialization in Gender Studies, which can demonstrate expertise useful for graduates in an increasingly competitive job market.

Required Courses

GNDR 3301: Introduction to Gender Studies. This course covers historical constructions and contemporary conceptualizations of gender across a variety of disciplines. Students will learn terminology and methodology related to the study of gender and sexuality. 

GNDR 4397: Gender Studies Capstone Course. Students will work with a professor to produce an original work in the field of Gender Studies. 

For more information about the program, please contact Dr. Amy Von Lintel, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Gender Studies Program at avonlintel@wtamu.edu.

Recent Projects

Fall 2016 Intro to Gender Studies Website Project

Working with Dr. Von Lintel, the students in GNDR 3301, collectively designed and edited a website to share what Gender Studies at WTAMU is all about. Check it out here: http://gndrstudies.wixsite.com/gndrstudies2016

Buffalo Girl Mural Project in Mary Moody Atrium

This mural is a collaboration between the Gender Studies students (currently enrolled in GNDR 3301 for Fall 2016) and the WTAMU Mural Squad. Public responses are being solicited. Check us out on Facebook for more information:

https://www.facebook.com/wtamubuffalogirl/

Faces of Feminism: Mural Project Talk Back

Full Video of this Event (held on Sept. 20, 2016) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQQXfeBtHL8&feature=youtu.be

Book Award Winners

The Gender Studies Student Book Award is a yearly form of recognition given to one student chosen for his or her outstanding representation of gender and identity studies on WTAMU campus. Student nominations are provided by Gender Studies affiliated faculty and staff (with the deadline of March 31 each year) and then a committee selects one student per year to receive the award, which is given in the form of a book selected especially for the student and is presented publicly in May.

The Spring 2018 Award went to Katie Rowan, a Comm and Dance major. Katie’s commitment to feminism is seen in the research that she has conducted in her Communication courses. For example, she recently presented her feminist analysis of the character Eliza Hamilton as portrayed in the musical Hamilton. Her paper was one of the 89 selected for presentation at the 2018 Undergraduate Honors Conference, a national conference. In her work in WTLeadership, Katie was also very aware of gendered stereotypes and helped the high school students she mentored begin to recognized "gendered" messages. Katie is also passionate about equality of opportunity. That is probably influenced by her experiences as a dance major and as a dance instructor. She is sensitive to how young girls are often focused too much on their appearance and societal expectations and not as much on the qualities that make them unique. Congrats, Katie!!

The Spring 2017 Award went to Abby Betts, a Mass Comm Major. Though Abby is not a Gender Studies Certificate recipient, she has demonstrated the very scholarship, values, and activism that the Gender Studies Program encourages. She saw a chance to make a positive change in light of gender discrimination on campus, and acted on it. She discovered that the sculpture of Molly Goodnight outside of Cornette Library lacked the same honorary plaque with historical information that decorated and identified the statue of her husband, Charles Goodnight (located outside of the PPHM). Abby then brought the suggestion to add such a plaque for Molly's statue to the WT administration, and with the help of Dr. Kris Drumheller, Abby got the plaque added. Abby’s efforts brought to light the gender biases at work in art and history that caused Molly’s story to be left untold while Charles’s was openly celebrated, the biases that gave Charles his acclaim as the "Father of the Texas Panhandle," while simultaneously denying Molly’s role as a pioneering "Mother" from being acknowledged on equal footing. Abby has made a lasting difference on our campus for gender equality, and she deserves our recognition. During the Mass Comm Awards Banquet in April, she fittingly received a copy of the book No Turning Back: The Art of Veryl Goodnight, which features the work of the artist of the Molly Goodnight sculpture, and a familial relative of Molly. Congrats, Abby!!

The Spring 2016 Award went to Hannah Ellis, a Corporate Communication Major from Colorado who plans to graduate in May 2017. Hannah was nominated by Dr. Trudy Hanson. She has an overall GPA of 3.69, has strong campus involvement, and hopes someday to return to Colorado to teach courses like Paula Schlegel's Gender Communication course, which Hannah "fell in love with." Hannah was awarded Sherry Turkle's Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (2015). Turkle is a well-known media scholar who investigates how the lack of conversation undermines our relationships, creativity and productivity. See an online interview with Turkle discussing her book here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?400035-1/book-discussion-reclaiming-conversation  Congratulations, Hannah!!