Women's and Gender Studies

A man and a woman looking at each other.

WGS classes focus on women, gender, race, and sexuality. (Image courtesy of Clare Bayley. Used with permission.)


Exploring gender with the tools of different, and often multiple, disciplines, Women's and Gender Studies subjects strive to help MIT students better understand how knowledge and value take different forms depending on a variety of social variables. In the course of their inquiry, students not only learn how to use gender as a category of analysis, but also reflect on the manifestation of gender in their own lives, leading to a range of personal and intellectual discoveries. Although gender is a central component of every subject, the study of gender requires attention to connections between gender, sexuality, race, class, religion, nationality, and other social categories; different subjects shed light on different aspects of such connections.

WGS is also an important resource for faculty with an advanced knowledge of gender studies within particular disciplines who are interested in learning more across disciplinary lines; it also welcomes faculty who have an emerging interest in the field of Women's and Gender Studies. WGS offers an undergraduate curriculum consisting of core classes and cross-listed subjects from several departments. Students may concentrate, minor, and petition for a major departure in WGS. There are more than 30 faculty members who are affiliated with the Program from fields as diverse as architecture, history, comparative media studies, brain and cognitive sciences, literature, and political science, for example. The Program in Women's and Gender Studies offered 26 subjects during the academic year 2011-2012, with approximately 200 students enrolled.


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Women's and Gender Studies Courses

Archived Women's and Gender Studies Courses

Some prior versions of courses listed above have been archived in OCW's DSpace@MIT repository for long-term access and preservation. Links to archived prior versions of a course may be found on that course's "Other Versions" tab.

Additionally, the Archived Women's and Gender Studies Courses page has links to every archived course from this department.