Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Area focuses on understanding how constructions of women, gender, and sexuality are shaped across various social, cultural, political, economic, and historical contexts. The area combines methods of traditional academic disciplines with innovations in interdisciplinary feminist scholarship.
Our Academics
The Department of Social and Critical Inquiry offers several degree options for undergraduate and graduate students:
- Major in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
- Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
- Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
WGSS takes an intersectional approach to feminist and queer theory. Faculty bring expertise from a wide range of humanities and social science fields, offering courses that complement many areas of study. WGSS students gain the skills to address contemporary social issues and challenges, preparing them for diverse career paths across various fields.
Community Engaged Research
Research Specialties
Our research investigates the complex and changing comparative and transnational processes that define gender and sexuality. By analyzing the narratives, structures, and ideologies that shape everyday life, social institutions, and cultures, our scholarship seeks to dismantle systems of oppression and create social change.
Outreach and Engagement
Our faculty and students collaborate across campus to provide hands-on learning for students and educational opportunities for the communities we serve. These activities connect WGSS concepts to diverse academic fields and explore critical issues that affect our daily lives.
We sponsor conferences, lectures, and other events in partnership with organizations such as:
History and Mission
Formerly known as the Women’s Studies Program, WGSS was established at UConn in 1974 as the first formal program of its kind in the state. Born out of years of organizing, activism, and advocacy, it set the foundation for groundbreaking interdisciplinary research and teaching focused on gender and women’s studies. In 2024, the program celebrated its 50th anniversary and joined the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry.
Our mission today is threefold:
- To transform scholarship in existing academic disciplines by incorporating the study, contributions, and feminist analysis of gender and sexuality.
- To create a new body of interdisciplinary feminist research and teaching that concentrates on women, gender, sexuality.
- To build a supportive and critical scholarly community that advances our understanding of the construction, reproduction, and resistance to inequality.