John Jay College Of Criminal Justice | The City University of New York

Description.  Gender studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores the making and meaning of gender — femininity and masculinity — as well as sexuality across cultures and social formations, past and present.  The underlying belief of gender studies is that gender influences human options, conditions and experiences.  Legal, political, economic and cultural systems are shaped by assumptions about gender and sexuality.  Deep understanding of gender patterns, dynamics and biases can enhance the accuracy and scope of work in many fields, including criminal justice, psychology, anthropology, sociology, literature, philosophy and history.  Gender awareness benefits individuals, communities and organizations.

Learning Outcomes.  Students will:

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of key concepts in gender studies.
• Demonstrate the ability to think reflexively about one’s subject position within the literature of Gender Studies courses.
• Identify assumptions about gender & sexuality, including an awareness of how gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation intersect, and how these intersections influence constructions of human identity in historical, cultural, & geographic contexts.
• Demonstrate the ability to connect scholarly inquiry about gender and sexuality to theories and institutions of justice, criminality and human rights, as per John Jay's mission

Rationale.  One of the strengths of gender studies is that it teaches critical analysis by taking one of our most basic experiences — that of being a gendered human being — and forces us to question its meaning within a broad range of frameworks.  Because students in the minor take courses from a variety of disciplines, such as government, Latin American and Latina/o Studies, law and police science, and literature, they are exposed to many different methodological approaches and theoretical debates.  Students who earn a Gender Studies minor learn to be supple and critical thinkers, skills that will enhance their eligibility for any post-graduate work or career.

A minor in Gender Studies is very flexible.  Like majors or minors in other social science and humanities disciplines, the Gender Studies minor does not prepare students for one job, but for many different kinds of employment.  Gender studies courses train students in critical thinking, social science and humanities research methods and writing.  Coursework provides knowledge about the interplay of gender, race, class and sexuality in the United States and globally.  The ability to apply an internship toward credit in the minor allows students the opportunity to evaluate possible careers and provides employment experiences that help graduates find employment.  A minor in Gender Studies, with its combination of cross-disciplinary, analytic and practical skills, provides a well-rounded graduate with the tools to adapt to a world of rapidly changing work and family structures. 

Students who pursue gender studies have gone on to work in social services administration, domestic violence advocacy, business, communications, journalism, law enforcement, psychological and counseling services, legal and political fields, and a host of other careers.