Ethnic and Gender Studies Program at Fredonia
This one-of-a-kind program grounds students in a liberal arts foundation––one that prioritizes research and questioning across the humanities, sciences and arts––and immerses them in the interdisciplinary fields of ethnic and gender studies, which prioritize an intersectional approach to critical thinking and analysis. By focusing on the complex ways that identity is multiply shaped by systems of power and knowledge that impact opportunity, students learn to be active problem solvers, combining the content they learn with the tools that can help them to put their education to work in our communities.
The Fredonia Difference
You won’t find this program at other SUNY schools! Fredonia’s program highlights the importance of this intersection of identities by putting the two disciplines together so that scholarly discourse between and among multiple identity groups is central to the academic experience.
Additionally, our major requires, and our advisors will work with students individually to identify good opportunities for, skills-based coursework. Students seeking more public-facing career options may choose public speaking and argumentative writing as skills coursework, while those interested in advocacy might instead choose grantwriting and statistics. The content knowledge learned in the EGS major ensures that students are prepared to identify areas where they would like to see change. The skills-based coursework prepares them to develop and apply solutions.
Finally, our program also draws on some of the best teaching by faculty committed to diverse scholarship, establishing a learning community dedicated to addressing real problems through engagement with a wide range of scholarly perspectives.
Career Opportunities for Ethnic and Gender Studies
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Sample Courses
ETHN/WGST 202: Foundations of Social Justice
This course introduces students to foundational concepts in the study and practice of social justice in American society, historically and at present, and in comparative global perspective. The course can include social justice topics as related to: racism; classism; religious oppression; sexism; heterosexism; transgender oppression; ableism; ageism; and environmentalism. The course will also engage students in the process of putting thought into practice by introducing various research methodologies such as quantitative, qualitative, and cultural studies approaches. Students will explore the course concepts, coupled with research methodologies, to identify and analyze social problems and to use information to formulate and engage in problem-solving strategies for social change.
WGST 210: LGBTQ Literature & American History
This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of LGBTQ American identities, combining historical and literary analysis and methodologies. We will examine major events, developments, themes, and concepts within LGBTQ American history from the nineteenth-century to the present. Sexual orientation and gender identity will also be examined in relation to other marginalized identity positions and systems of privilege and oppression.
WGST 304: Latina Literary and Cultural Studies
An examination of contemporary Latina literary productions in the context of representations of Latinas in mainstream U.S. society. The focus of the course is on women of Hispanic descent living and writing in the United States, including work by and about Chicanas, Puerto Ricans, Dominican Americans, and Cuban Americans. Previous course work in Latina/Latino literature not required, but some previous course work related to African American or other ethnic literature, women's literature/feminism, and/or film studies is strongly recommended. Cross-listed as ENGL 304/INDS 304.
Program Additional Links
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