Women’s and Gender Studies Program

Introduction

The Women’s and Gender Studies program considers historical and current analyses of women and gender in the US and globally. This program draws on the unique offerings of several departments and programs at Manhattanville. This interdisciplinary program provides students the opportunity to study women’s lives and gender through the perspectives of anthropology, art history, communication studies, English, film studies, history, political science, sociology, world literatures and languages, and world religions.

Women’s Studies began as the academic outgrowth of women’s and feminist activism in the late 1960s and 1970s. At this time, women’s voices and experiences were rarely represented in the social or natural sciences. The Women’s Studies program at Manhattanville was founded in 1981. Students in the program have gone on to be community organizers, attend graduate school, and work in a variety of professional fields.

Degree

Women’s and Gender Studies is offered as a minor.

Program Administrators

Beth Williford, Program Director, (914) 323-5143, Beth.Williford@mville.edu

Faculty and Staff

Program Director

Beth Williford

Affiliated Faculty

Nada Halloway (English)

Maria José Lujan (World Language and Literatures)

Lisa Rafanelli (Art History)

Hephzibah Strmic-Pawl (Sociology and Anthropology)

Overview

Women’s and Gender Studies at Manhattanville is a broadly-based, interdisciplinary program.

To receive a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies students need to complete a total of five courses, including WGS 1040: Women in Society: An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies.