Women's and Gender Studies Minor

Overview of the Interdisciplinary Minor

Over the past two decades, a distinct body of scholarship on gender has developed in almost every academic field. This scholarship raises basic questions about women, men and society which transcend disciplines and challenge traditional ways of teaching and conducting research. The feminist framework informing women’s and gender studies addresses the following issues with respect to gender:

• It challenges the andocentric bias in thought, language and social and intellectual systems.
• It re-thinks the central western dualisms: mind/body, subject/object, thinking/doing.
• It involves a critique of all forms of oppression including class, race, sex, sexual-affectional preference, 1st world-3rd world, violence, militarism, ecological destruction, political inequality and hierarchies of power.

Hartwick’s minor allows students to explore these issues in the context of a major field of study.

Students wishing to major in Women’s and Gender Studies should consider developing an Individual Student Program (ISP), through which they can design their own major.

Please note: Hartwick College focuses on offering fall, January, and spring term undergraduate courses in person, however circumstances may require us to offer a small number of courses in this department through distance education. In times of emergency, following regulatory guidelines, all classes may temporarily need to be delivered through distance education, including online. We also offer a slate of courses online in the summer to help our students make progress towards their degrees. With support from an academic advisor, students needing particular courses may have other online options as well. If you have questions about the way courses are delivered in your program, please contact your Department or Program Chair.