HAVE YOU CONSIDERED COMBINING YOUR FRENCH MAJOR WITH A WOMEN'S STUDIES MINOR?

French majors with a minor in Women's Studies may be better prepared for challenges of their professions; they will have taken a significant amount of course work focusing on the majority of the human population. These courses will be useful because many government agencies, private industries and educational institutions are interested in gender equity and cultural diversity. They are actively seeking employees familiar with the historical, cultural, and social contributions of women. Since it is an interdisciplinary program, Women's Studies prepares students to understand the complex global interrelationships of economic, political, legal, and cultural institutions in our society, while taking into account the ways in which interpersonal communication is affected by gender and traditional social structures.

A minor in Women's Studies offers French majors the opportunity to enhance professional skills by taking course work complementary to the curriculum in French. Core and elective courses in Women's Studies assist French majors in developing a multi-disciplinary perspective on specific issues related to women, representation, and cultural diversity. Many Women's Studies courses are also writing intensive, enabling students to improve their persuasive writing and critical thinking skills. In addition, students can pursue personal interests by enrolling in special topics courses and doing independent study.

To earn a Women's Studies minor, students should take 18 hours of approved courses, including three core courses--WOMS 230, Women in Contemporary America, WOMS 235, Women Across Cultures and Centuries, and WOMS 432, Feminist Theory. Additional courses may be selected from a list of approved electives. Electives that may be of particular interest to French majors include:

ANTH 361 Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women
ANTH 468 Anthropology of Gender
ARTH 485D Topics in Art History: Images of Women
COMS 410 Communication and Gender
ENGL 400 Literary Topics (for example, U.S. Women Writers, Twentieth-Century Lesbian Writers)
FLFR 445 French Women Writers
HIST 360 Race, Class, and Gender in American History
HIST 369 Women in United States History
HIST 413 Family, Sexuality, and Society since 1400
HIST 322 Women in Modern Europe
ILAS 390 Internship
POLS 373 Women and Politics
SOCI 357 The Sociology of Gender
WOMS 332 Growing Up Female
WOMS 430 Special Topics in Women's Studies (e.g., Current Debates: Women & Gender, Africana
Woman)
WOMS 434 (Also ENGL 434) Women, Men, and Language
WOMS 439 Independent Study in Women's Studies (e.g., on images of women in popular
culture)

A complete list of electives is available in the undergraduate catalogue.

For additional information about the Women's Studies minor, please call 753-1038.

Last Updated: August 7, 2007