Requirements For the
Major in Women's and Gender Studies
The major in Women's and Gender Studies leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. No more
than three credits offered for the major may be taken Pass/No Credit or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.
All other courses for the major must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher.
No transferred course with a grade lower than C may be applied toward major requirements.
No more than three 100-level courses (9 credits) may be applied toward major requirements.
At least 18 credits must be in courses numbered 300 or higher. At least 12 credits
must be WST courses (or cross-listed equivalent) taken at Stony Brook.
Completion of the major requires 36 credits.
A. Core Courses:
1. WST 102 - Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies in the Social Sciences OR WST 103 - Women, Culture, and Difference.
2. WST 291 - Introduction to Feminist Theory
3. WST 301 - Histories of Feminism
4. WST 305 - Feminist Theories in Context
5. WST 408 - Senior Research Seminar for Women's and Gender Studies Majors
B. Focused Studies:
One Course in each of the following categories (see Notes 1 & 2):
1. Women & Gender in a Global Context
(e.g. WST 395 - Topics in Global Feminism or an approved substitute course)
2. Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
(e.g. WST 398 Topics in Gender, Race, & Ethnicity or an approved substiture course).
3. Gender and Sexuality
(e.g. WST 399 - Topics in Gender & Sexuality or an approved substitute course).
Note 1
The following courses are approved substitute courses for WST 395:
AAS 307 Women in US-Asian Relations
HIS 431 Women in Modern Japan
JPN 332 Japanese Literature in the Feminine Domain
SOC 391 Gender in Africa
SOC 394 Gender & International Development
WST 334 Women, Work & Family in Modern Europe
WST 360 Women in Premodern Europe
WST/AFS 350 Black Women & Social Change
WST/AFH/EGL 382 Black Women’s Literature of the Diaspora
WST/HIS 345 Women & Gender in Chinese History
The following courses are approved substitute courses for WST 398:
HIS 300 Race, Gender, Rights in U.S. Legal
HIS 396 Women of Color in American History
WST/EGL 372 Black Women Writers
WST/HUI 237 Images of Italian-American Women
WST 391/HUI 390/EGL369 Italian-Amer & Afri-Amer Women’s Literature
The following courses are approved substitute courses for WST 399:
ANT 295 Sex & Human Nature
CCS 325 Making Bodies Fit
EGL 390 Queer Studies: Race, Gender, & Sexuality in Literature
HIS 394 AIDS & Social History
POL 391 Sexualities & Politics
SOC 391 Sociology of Sexuality
WST 111 Intro to Queer Studies in the Humanities
WST 112 Intro to Queer Studies in the Social Sciences
WST 394 Special Topic: “Psychology of Reproduction”
WST 394 Special Topic: “Women, Science, Fiction, & Reproduction”
WST/AFS 381 AIDS, Race, Gender in the Black Community
WST/EGL 390 Queer Studies: Theorizing Race, Gender, & Sexuality
WST/HIS 374 Historical Perspectives on Gender Orientation
WST/SOC 340 Sociology of Human Reproduction
Note 2
At least two of the WST topics courses (taught be WGSS core or affiliated faculty)
must be used to satisfy Requirement B.
C. Electives
12 credits of WST courses (see Note 3)
The following courses offered by other departments may also be used to satisfy this
requirement.
AAS 331 Japanese Literature in the Feminine Domain
AAS 372 Family, Marriage, & Kinship in China
AAS 392 Soc Sci Topics in Asian & Asian American Studies (approved topic: "Caste & Gender
in Hindu Law")
AFH 382 Black Women's Literature of Diaspora
AFS 350 Black Women & Social Change
AFS 381 AIDS, Race, & Gender in the Black Community
ARH 391 Topics in Global Art (approved topic: "Images of Women in Visual Culture")
BIO 358 Biology of Human Social & Sexual Behavior
CCL 315 Gender & Sexuality in Ancient Greek Literature
CCS 327 Topics in Histories of Culture (approved topics: "Queer Fictions of History;
“Hormones & Behavior;” other topics when appropriate)
CLT 122 Images of Women in Literature
CLT 123 Sin & Sexuality in Literature
CLT 301 Theory of Literature (approved topic: "Queer Modernities")
EGL 276 Feminism: Literature and Cultural Contexts
EGL 310 Neoclassical Literature in English (approved topic: "Gender in the 18th Century")
EGL 350 Major Writers of American Literature, Colonial Period to 1900 (approved topic:
"James, Stein, & Woolf")
EGL 352 Major Writers of 20th Century Literature in English (approved topic: "Virginia
Woolf")
EGL 362 Drama in English (approved topic: "Women in Modern US Drama")
EGL 367 Contemporary Afro-American Literature (when topic appropriate)
EGL 371 Topics in Gender Studies in Literature
EGL 372 Topics in Women & Literature (approved topics: "Ecofeminism," "Mothering, Race, &
Gender," "Women Writers")
EUR 390 Special Topics in European Studies (approved topic: "European Women Writers")
HIS 336 Women, Work, & Family in Modern European History
HIS 340 Topics in Asian History (approved topic: "Women in 20th Century China;" other topics
when appropriate)
HIS 392 Topics in European History (approved topic: "The Age of Jane Austen")
HIS 393 Topics in Modern European History (approved topic: "Sexual Politics in Modern Europe;”
“The World of Jane Austen;” other topics when appropriate)
HIS 394 Topics in History of Human Reproduction
HIS 396 Topics in US History (approved topic: "Women & Work in 20th Century US")
HIS 401 Colloquium in European History (approved topic: "Heresy & Witchcraft in Middle Ages")
HIS 402 Colloquium in European History (approved topic: "Women, Militants, & the
Vote")
HIS 414 Colloquium in American History (approved topic: "Sex & Death in American
Murders")
HUI 231 Sex & Politics in Italian Cinema
HUI 235 Sex, Love, Tragedy: Early Italian Cinema
HUI 237 Images of Italian-American Women
LHD 301 Human Sexual & Gender Development Issues (approved topics: "Dirty Sex," "Gender
& Technology," "Love & Power in Hollywood," "Men & Women in Society," "Men in America")
LHD 302 Colloquium in Human & Gender Development (approved topics: "Gender [& Sex]
& Contemporary Media," "Pornography, Media, & AIDS")
LHD 401 Advanced Seminar in Human Sexual & Gender Development (approved topic: "Fetishes,
Freaks, & Addictions")
PHI 284 Intro to Feminist Theory (III)
PHI 384 Advanced Topics in Feminist Philosophy (III)
PSY 349 Special Topics in Social Psychology (approved topic: "Women's Health Issues")
SOC 340 Sociology of Human Reproduction
SOC 390 Special Topics (approved topic: "Gender in Africa")
SOC 391 Special Topics (approved topics: "Bodies: A Social Primer," "Sociology of Masculinity;”
“Gender in Africa;” other topics when appropriate)
SOC 394 Special Topics (approved topic: "Globalization, Gender, Migration;” “Gender & International
Development;” other topics when appropriate)
SOC 395 Topics in Sci, Tech, & Society (approved topic: “Perverts, Pimps, & Pills;” other
topics when appropriate)
SPN 410 Theory in Contexts (approved topic: "Money, Sex, & Power")
WSE 187 Women in the Laboratory
WSE 242 Society & Gender in Science & Engineering
Note 3
Any course listed as -or cross-listed with- WST may count as an Elective (Requirement
C). Other courses may count as qualifying electives if at least half the course content
addresses issues concerning women, gender, and/or sexuality. The Undergraduate Program
Director can review a course syllabus to determine if the course qualifies as an acceptable
Elective. Availability of Elective courses depends on individual departments.
D. Upper-Division Writing Requirement
Students must present to the director of undergraduate studies a minimum of ten typewritten
pages of formal writing, prepared for an upper-division course listed above as acceptable
for the major requirements. This written work must have been judged by the course
instructor to be satisfactory for the upper-division writing requirement in the field
of Women's and Gender Studies. Normally this requirement is met through the work in WST 408.
Students should consult with the department advisor to ensure that their plan for
completing the Upper Division Writing Requirement is consistent with university graduation requirements for General Education. Students completing the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC) must successfully complete
a course that satisfies the "Write Effectively within One's Discipline" (WRTD) learning objective in order to graduate. The Upper Division Writing Requirement
is consistent in most cases with the SBC learning outcomes for WRTD.
Additional Notes
No more than 6 credits from any combination of WST 447 (Directed Readings) and WST
487 (Independent Project) and may be counted towards a WST Major.
No more than 3 credits of WST 475 (Undergraduate Teaching Practicum I) may be counted
towards a WST Major.
No more than 6 credits of WST 488 (Internship) may be counted towards a WST Major.
