Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Off Campus Study
Goals for OCS in the WGSS Program
- Gain an understanding of how issues involving women's, gender, and sexuality are closely linked to geographical location and culture.
- Gain an understanding of how gendered systems impact people and how people impact their surroundings.
- Take courses in areas such as feminist methodology, gender roles in democratization and government, feminist/gender theory, feminisms and literature, and the role of gender in economic development.
- Gain hands-on experience through field research, internships, or volunteer service.
- Incorporate experiences into WGSS class discussions after off-campus study.
Recommended Programs
The WGSS Program recommends studying off campus in the following programs:
- SIT Indigenous Peoples and Globalization (Cusco, Peru)
- SIT Social Transformation and Cultural Expression (Accra, Ghana)
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SIT Origins of African Identity (Cape Coast, Ghana)
- SIT Health, Gender and Community Empowerment (Bamako, Mali)
- SIT Multiculturalism and Human Rights (Cape Town, South Africa)
- SIT Community Health and Social Policy (Durban, South Africa)
- SIT Social and Political Transformation (Durban, South Africa)
- SIT International Perspective on Sexuality and Gender (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Courses to Take Before You Study Off-Campus
- Language courses for your destination of study.
- WGSS 120 (Introduction) and at least one course cross-listed with WGSS.
Other Tips for WGSS Majors
- Second semester sophomore year and fall semester junior year are the best times to study off campus. If you want to spend the whole junior year abroad, consult your academic adviser immediately. Jr. I.S. in WGSS must be taken during the Spring Semester at Wooster.
- It may be possible to take women's studies classes through some programs in which students enroll directly in a university. Majors and minors can often seek credit from their off-campus study programs for Special Topics 320, a 200-level WGSS course, or courses cross-listed with WGSS.
- Integrating off-campus research into a Junior or Senior I.S. is possible and useful, particularly when this incorporation has been planned well in advance.