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Interdisciplinary Programs
At Butler, interdisciplinary programs offer
students the opportunity to bring together their
intellectual interests in a variety of academic
disciplines. Students are able to study a topic
or issue in the world today from multiple
perspectives, studying ideas in several academic
departments, drawing on existing disciplinary
knowledge and then integrating these approaches.
Using multiple knowledge domains
to form a critical understanding of gender or
peace, or the role of science in the global world,
students come to new knowledge via a process
of synthesis. The four interdisciplinary studies’
programs at Butler University embrace this
interconnectedness, and offer students courses
of study and co-curricular opportunities —
including internships, study abroad, and community
projects — that provide them breadth
and depth of knowledge and understanding.
What many students discover is that their
interest in one subject often leads them to
courses and points of intellectual intersection
that they had never previously considered or
even known about. At Butler, interdisciplinary
programs provide students the opportunity to
bring together their interests within a variety
of disciplines, study a topic in the world today
from multiple perspectives, and integrate different
knowledge and ways of knowing the world
that is complicated and multidimensional and
crosses the boundaries you often find between
traditional departments.
Students in these four interdisciplinary
studies’ programs — Gender, Women and
Sexuality Studies; International Studies; Peace
Studies; and Science, Technology and Society
— are enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences, and to receive their degree, they
must complete all graduation requirements of
the College.
Administration
Laura L. Behling, Ph.D., Associate Provost for
Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Programs
Gender, Women and
Sexuality Studies
Administration
Vivian Deno, Ph.D., director
Assistant Professor
Brooke Beloso, Ph.D.
Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies
provides an interdisciplinary setting in which
students can examine gender — the social
meaning of the distinction between the sexes
—and sexuality — sexual identities, discourses,
and institutions — as they intersect with race,
class, ethnicity, nationality, and transnational
movements.
In required courses, students will analyze
gender and sexuality from a variety of academic
fields, and they will explore the theoretical
and historical basis of such study. Upperdivision
electives are chosen from at least three
disciplines, allowing students to pursue their
inquiries in more depth without narrowing
their focus to a single field. Internships provide
students with the option to apply theoretical
knowledge to work and/or community-based
learning opportunities.
Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies is an
excellent complement to all majors at Butler
University , regardless of whether the student
plans to attend graduate school or seek out
employment immediately after graduation. For
students interested in graduate school, Gender,
Women and Sexuality Studies provides a strong
foundation in women’s and gender studies, as
well as for advanced work in any academic discipline
that lends itself to gender critique. For
students interested in entering the work force,
Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies students
are well equipped to work in a diverse and multicultural
world, an attribute today’s employers
are seeking in a variety of professions and
occupations, including public administration,
social services, business, the arts, law, medicine,
social work, anthropology, journalism, media
and criminology.
Requirements for a major in Gender, Women
and Sexuality Studies:
Required Courses
GWS102 Intersections of Identity: Gender,
Race, Class and Sexuality (3 hrs)
GWS202 Resistance for Social Change (3 hrs)
GWS304 Feminist and Queer Theory (3 hrs)
Transnational Requirement — Select two of the
following (6 hrs)
GWS303 Special Topics: sexandthecity.org
AN320 Gender and Sexuality in
Globalization
105 Butler University
Interdisciplinary Programs