2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog
Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies
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Faculty
Chair
Vrushali Patil
Professor
Carole McCann
B.A., Temple University, 1978; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, 1987
Associate Professor
Vrushali Patil
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 2006
Mejdulene Shomali
B.A., University of Michigan-Flint, 2005; M.A., Ohio State University, 2007; Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2015
Assistant Professor
Maria Celleri
B.A., Binghamton University, 2009; M.A., Stony Brook University, 2011; M.A., The Ohio State University, 2013; Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 2019
Principal Lecturer
Kathryn Drabinski
B.A., Barnard College, 1997; M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 2000; Ph.D., 2006
Lecturer
Kathryn Kein
B.A., Cornell University, 2007; Ph.D., The George Washington University, 2016
Affiliate Professor
Marina Adler
B.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1981; M.A., 1984; Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 1990
Jessica Berman
A.B., Princeton University, 1983; M.A., The University of Chicago, 1986; Ph.D., 1993
Gloria I. Chuku
B.A., University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1986; Ph.D., 1995; M.A., University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria), 1989
Amy Froide
B.A., University of San Diego, 1988; M.A.T., 1990; M.A., Duke University, 1992; Ph.D., 1996
Christine Mallinson
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000; M.A., North Carolina State University, 2002; Ph.D., 2006
Kathryn McKinley
B.Phil., Pennsylvania State University, 1980; M.A., University of Toronto, 1984; Ph.D., University of Delaware, 1992
Tanya Saunders
B.A., St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 1998; M.P.P., University of Michigan, 2001; Ph.D., 2008
Michelle R. Scott
B.A., Stanford University, 1996; M.A., Cornell University, 2000; Ph.D., 2002
Nigel Semaj
B.A., Lycoming College, 2017; M.F.A., The New School, 2020
James Smalls
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1981; M.A., 1986; Ph.D., 1991
Affiliate Associate Professor
Dawn Biehler
B.A., Williams College, 1997; M.S., 2003; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 2007
Tania Lizarazo
B.A., Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), 2005; M.A., 2009; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 2015
Susan McCully
B.A., Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales, 1985; M.F.A., The Catholic University of America, 1989; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1997
Susan McDonough
A.B., Princeton University, 1996; M.A., Yale University, 2001; Ph.D., 2005
Marcela Sarmiento Mellinger
B.A., Millersville University, 1998; M.S.W., Temple University, 1999; Ph.D., University of Georgia, 2011
Elizabeth Patton
B.A., New York University, 1998; Ph.D., 2013; M.A., Drexel University, 2005
Jules Rosskam
B.A., Bennington College, 2001; M.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2008
Orianne Smith
B.A., Bennington College, 1986; M.A., Loyola University Chicago, 1999; Ph.D., 2005
Aubrey Jackson Soller
B.A., Rice University, 2005; M.A., Ohio State University, 2008; Ph.D., 2013
Lisa Pace Vetter
B.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1991; M.A., Fordham University, 1994; Ph.D., 2000
Brandy H. Wallace
B.S., University of Alabama, 1998; M.A., 2001; M.S., Florida State University, 2003; Ph.D., 2006
Affiliate Assistant Professor
Thania Muñoz Davaslioglu
B.A., California State University, Los Angeles, 2007; M.A., University of California, Irvine, 2011; Ph.D., 2015
Mercedez Dunn-Gallier
B.A., Spelman College, 2013; M.P.H., University of Michigan, 2016; M.A., 2017; Ph.D., 2021
Keegan Finberg
B.A., Sarah Lawrence College, 2006; M.A., University of California, Santa Cruz, 2012; Ph.D., 2015
Haniyeh Barahouie Pasandi
B.A., University of Tehran (Iran), 2012; M.A., Université Sorbonne (France), 2018; Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2019
Sharon Tran
B.A., Queens College, 2010; M.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 2013; Ph.D., 2017
Yolanda Valencia
B.A., Eastern Washington University, 2002; M.A., University of Washington, 2014; PhD, 2019
Mirjam Voerkelius
B.A., Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 2011; M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 2013; Ph.D., 2018
Noor Zaidi
B.A., Columbia College, Columbia University, 2007; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 2015
Affiliate Professor of the Practice
Deborah Rudacille
B.A., Loyola College, 1980; M.A., Johns Hopkins University, 1998
Affiliate Principal Lecturer
Eileen O’Brien
B.S., University of Pittsburgh, 1973; M.S., The Catholic University of America, 1977; M.A., 1984; Ph.D., 1987
Affiliate Senior Lecturers
Tammy Henderson
B.A., Johnson C. Smith University, 1994; M.A., Bowling Green State University, 1996; Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 2009
Lindsay Johnson
B.A., Salem College, 2005; M.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 2008; Ph.D., 2013
Timothy Phin
B.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2004; M.A., The Johns Hopkins University, 2009; Ph.D., 2014
Gender, women’s, and sexuality studies is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that investigates how gender and sexuality operate as organizing axes of social, cultural, economic and political institutions, as well as in the everyday lives and cultural products of people who must live within them. Emphasizing the importance of historical and cross-cultural and transnational perspectives, Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies at UMBC critically examines the intersections of gender and sexuality with other differences, including, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, and ability to make visible structures of power that otherwise remain hidden. Students are empowered to imagine a more just future and equipped with the tools to collectively enact it.
The Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Department offers a major, two undergraduate certificates, and two minors.
Career and Academic Paths
Each of the Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Department options - the undergraduate major, the certificates, and the minors - reflects a deep commitment to the interdependence of theory and practice. In this way, the program equips students with the substantive knowledge and critical skills required to respond to rapidly changing environments in areas such as government, business, education, public service, the health professions, social justice, social services, and the law, at local, national, and global levels.
Academic Advising
Each student is assigned an academic advisor from one of the program’s faculty upon declaring a major, certificate or one of the minors. Students may also request to be assigned to a particular faculty member. Advisees are urged to consult regularly with faculty advisors, utilize information on the Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Department website and to take part in department activities.
Special Opportunities
Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL+).
All students academically connected to the Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Department through a declared major, certificate, or minor are encouraged to participate in the WILL+ program, a learning community that promotes academic excellence, leadership development, and civic engagement. Through WILL+, students have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by planning and executing projects on campus and in the community, meeting with powerful activists and leaders from around the region, and attending co-curricular cultural events, all with other students similarly committed to diverse gender and social justice issues. In conjunction with WILL+, the Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Department sponsors a living-learning floor in the residence halls for interested members.
In addition, students have the opportunity to apply their Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies course work in a wide variety of internship options available in the Baltimore Washington region, including such organizations as the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women, and Planned Parenthood. More information about Gender and Women’s Studies at UMBC and elsewhere can be found at the Gender, Women’s + Sexuality Studies website.
ProgramsMajorMinorCertificateCoursesCritical Sexuality StudiesGender and Women’s Studies- GWST 099 - Women’s Self-Defense (0)
- GWST 100 - Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (3)
- GWST 100H - Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (3)
- GWST 100Y - Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies (4)
- GWST 200 - Studies in Feminist Activism (3)
- GWST 220 - Introduction to Transgender Studies (3)
- GWST 245 - Arab and Muslim Experiences in the United States (3)
- GWST 250 - Gender Roles in Economic Life (3)
- GWST 255 - Intercultural Paris (3)
- GWST 258 - Philosophy, Race, and Gender (3)
- GWST 290 - Issues in Gender and Women’s Studies (3)
- GWST 300 - Methodologies in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies (3)
- GWST 310 - Gender and Inequality in America (3)
- GWST 310H - Gender and Inequality in America - Honors (3)
- GWST 315 - Modern Masculinities (3)
- GWST 320 - Transnational Feminist Film (3)
- GWST 322 - Gender, Race, and Media (3)
- GWST 323 - Gender and Sitcoms (3)
- GWST 325 - History of Women in America to 1870 (3)
- GWST 326 - History of Women in America Since 1870 (3)
- GWST 327 - African American Women’s History (3)
- GWST 328 - Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Political Power in the U.S. (3)
- GWST 330 - Gender and Women in the Classical World (3)
- GWST 333 - Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3)
- GWST 334 - Women in Music (3)
- GWST 338 - Women, Gender, and Law (3)
- GWST 340 - Women, Gender and Globalization (3)
- GWST 341 - Indigenous and Decolonial Feminisms (3)
- GWST 342 - Gender in Modern South Asia (3)
- GWST 343 - Gender, Human Rights, and Political Violence in Latin America (3)
- GWST 344 - Transnational Femininities (3)
- GWST 347 - Gender, Race, and Space (3)
- GWST 348 - Black, Queer, and Feminist Film (3)
- GWST 349 - Gender, Sexuality and Theatrical Performance (3)
- GWST 352 - Women, Gender, and Information Technology (3)
- GWST 355 - The Sociology of Gender (3)
- GWST 356 - The Psychology of Sex and Gender (3)
- GWST 357 - Psychology of Women and Gender (3)
- GWST 364 - Perspectives on Women in Literature (3)
- GWST 365 - Black Women Novelists (3)
- GWST 366 - Doin’ It: Case Studies in the History of Western Sexuality (3)
- GWST 367 - The Anthropology of Gender (3)
- GWST 370 - Black Women: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (3)
- GWST 371 - The Female Offender (3)
- GWST 373 - “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” - Women and Gender in Islam (3)
- GWST 374 - European Women’s History 1200-1750 (3)
- GWST 375 - European Women’s History 1750 - Present (3)
- GWST 376 - European Women’s History, 1914 - Present (3)
- GWST 377 - Women and Social Policy (3)
- GWST 378 - Women, Gender and Science (3)
- GWST 379 - Intimate Partner Violence, A Social Work Perspective (3)
- GWST 380 - Women and Gender in Asia (3)
- GWST 381 - Reproductive Justice in the US (3)
- GWST 382 - Perspectives on the Family (3)
- GWST 383 - History and Politics of Sexuality (3)
- GWST 390 - Topics in Gender and Women’s Studies (3)
- GWST 391 - The Philosophy of Sex (3)
- GWST 400 - Senior Independent Study (3)
- GWST 401 - Special Projects in Gender and Women’s Studies (1-3)
- GWST 413 - Language, Gender and Sexuality (3)
- GWST 433 - Gender, Work, and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3)
- GWST 434 - Gender and the Life Course (3)
- GWST 439 - Women in Africa and the Diaspora (3)
- GWST 440 - Imperial Entanglements: Race, Gender, Sexuality (3)
- GWST 444 - Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (3)
- GWST 450 - Internship (1-3)
- GWST 452 - WILL Internship Seminar (2)
- GWST 458 - Advanced Topics in Feminist Philosophy (3)
- GWST 464 - Studies in Women and Literature (3)
- GWST 469 - Masculinity and Femininity in the Middle Ages (3)
- GWST 480 - Theories of Feminism (3)
- GWST 490 - Advanced Topics in Gender and Women’s Studies (3)
- GWST 491 - WILL Senior Seminar (2)
- GWST 495 - Colloquium: Research and Activism (3)
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