Gender Studies

The aim of the major in gender studies is to provide a framework for examining gender in societies. The major focuses on the experiences of women and men of various races, classes, and cultures in history, society, science, and the arts. Courses address one or more of the following issues:

  1. gender roles as cultural and cross-cultural concepts;
  2. the impact of gender on academic inquiries;
  3. the lives, achievement, and angles of vision of women.

In doing so, students learn to carefully analyze the construction and perception of gender in different cultures and in different historical periods. The program is interdisciplinary by design, since the questions being asked require multiple perspectives to answer.

At Coe, the Gender Studies major is crafted by the individual student, in consultation with an advisor in the program, to best fit the student's educational and career goals.

What do Coe students do with a Gender Studies Major?

Gender Studies adds a perspective to your education that can be valuable in a wide variety of fields.

Name Career after Coe

Jennifer (Martinson) Jacobs '98 – English, Spanish, and Gender Studies majors

J.D. from the University of Minnesota

Beverly Larson Veloff '98 – Elementary Education and Gender Studies minor

4th grade teacher, University City, Missouri

Wendie Carr '98 – English and Gender Studies majors, Religion minor

Editor and Publicist for Carroll & Graf publishers, New York

Camille Leganza '98 – English and Gender Studies majors

English teacher at the Wall Street Institute

Ni'Cole Jurena-Carey '99 – Psychology and Gender Studies majors

Graduate student in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ericka Otterson '00 – English major with a Gender Studies minor

Community Center Assistant Program Director at Cornell University

Jennifer (Willock) McCarthy '01 – Business and Public Relations majors with a Gender Studies minor

Marketing cooridnator for Hedrick & Associates (consulting civil engineering firm)

Lindsay Niedergeses '03 – English and Gender Studies majors

Teach for America volunteer; currently English teacher, Houston Independent School district

Alyssa (Craft) Rosendahl '03 – Sociology and Gender Studies majors with Philosophy minor

Law student, University of Iowa

Rachel Gearhart '04 – Psychology major with Gender Studies and Philosophy minors

Graduated with a MSW from Washington University (MO); mental health clinician in Alaska

Fatma Zahra '04 – History and Gender Studies majors, with Writing minor

Employed by Sakhi for South Asian Women; working on an MSW at New York Univesity