Women's and Gender Studies

WGS Mission Statement

Women’s and Gender Studies highlights gender as a fundamental category of analysis in virtually all fields of knowledge. Through interdisciplinary courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as co-curricular programs and community-based projects, WGS calls attention to the social construction of the meanings associated with the sexed body and its implications for the systemic organization of power. Centered on the study of women’s works and lives, our mission leads us to consider how both women’s and men’s lives are gendered. WGS courses explore how gender shapes social roles and identities, as well as how gender interacts with other systemic identity categories, particularly sexuality, race, class, and nation.

Gender applies to every aspect of students’ lives, from their perception of what counts as knowledge to the options they see available to them in their day-to-day lives, their careers, and their roles as members of communities. With over sixty courses across fifteen programs and departments, TCNJ’s WGS program offers students opportunities to expand their critical awareness of changing social patterns and the effects of institutions and culture on the choices and capabilities of individuals and communities.

As an interdisciplinary program, WGS prepares its majors for a variety of occupations as well as for graduate and professional schools. As in other liberal arts disciplines, advanced proficiencies in writing, presentation, and analysis are fundamental goals for WGS graduates. WGS majors gain skill and experience in analyzing a wide range of texts, data, images, and objects; in translating academic learning into social action; in applying theory to the design and analysis of research; and in reporting their findings in writing, speech, and multimedia presentations.