About Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Our Program and Courses

Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies is a major and minor at F&M. Unlike other programs — which focus solely on the West or on the United States — F&M's global focus weaves together a unique blend of lenses including: languages, psychology, biology, sociology, history, anthropology, American studies, film and media, and more.

As a major or minor, you’ll explore how social, historical, philosophical, and scientific constructions of gender and sexuality shape both academic discourses and lived experiences. Through coursework and independent research, you’ll learn to apply feminist theories, queer theory, and other critical theories to reflect on how experiences are shaped by gender and sexuality within historical, economic, and cross-cultural contexts.

By the time you graduate, you will: 

  • Be familiar with the major issues related to gender and sexuality, and understand the scholarly debates about their causes
  • Understand the ways in which gender and sexuality intersect with other axes of power including race, class, ability, nation
  • Differentiate among a variety of feminist theories and use them in argument and activism
  • Apply cross-cultural, historical, and global frameworks to the analysis of experiences and representations of gender and sexuality

Wondering what a Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies course is like? Take a look at our course catalog to explore what’s available to you.

Our Faculty and Staff

Rachel E Anderson-Rabern

Associate Professor of Theatre, Theatre Program Co-Director, Department Chair of Theatre & Dance

Comparative Literary Studies; Theatre & Dance; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Meredith J Bashaw

Professor of Psychology, Department Chair of Psychology

Biological Foundations of Behavior; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Jaime E Blair

Professor of Biology, Program Chair of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Elena C Cuffari

Assistant Professor of Psychology & Scientific Philosophical Studies of Mind

Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Dennis A Deslippe

Professor of American Studies and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Department Chair of American Studies

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Giovanna Faleschini Lerner

Professor of Italian, Program Chair of Comparative Literary Studies

Africana Studies; Comparative Literary Studies; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Alison Kibler

Professor of American Studies and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies

Public Health; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Karen Leistra-Jones

Associate Professor of Music

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Maria D Mitchell

Professor of History

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Clara S Moore

Professor of Biology

Biological Foundations of Behavior; Public Health; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Cristina Perez

Assistant Professor of American Studies

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Ashley C Rondini

Associate Professor of Sociology

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Meagan K Tripp

Assistant Professor of German

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Ann L Wagoner

Academic Department Coordinator

American Studies; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Elspeth M Wilson

Assistant Professor of Government

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

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Learning Outside the Classroom

Research Opportunities 

Every student at F&M has extraordinary opportunities to engage in independent or faculty-led research. As a Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies student, you can join one of the 40 F&M faculty members across 22 academic disciplines who have conducted research incorporating the study of gender or sexuality into their areas of expertise. You can also dive into a relevant topic that interests you most through an independent study.
Explore research at F&M

Annual Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Conference

The Central Pennsylvania Consortium (CPC) — composed of Franklin & Marshall, Dickinson, and Gettysburg Colleges — holds an annual undergraduate Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Conference each spring at one of the three consortium colleges. Our students have presented their research at this conference, covering topics ranging from reproductive justice to queer politics.

Off-Campus Study

Extend your understanding of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies beyond borders. F&M’s exceptional off-campus study program empowers you to study abroad and further explore gendered experiences in other parts of the world. 
Explore off-campus study at F&M

The Alice Drum Women’s Center

​The Alice Drum Women's Center was founded in 1992 to encourage dialogue on women’s and gender issues, advocate for women, and promote equality and mutual respect on the F&M campus. The Center offers resources and information on gender and sexuality, as well as a myriad of opportunities to develop leadership skills.​ Many Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies students engage with the Center, attending events or serving on the Center’s board. 

Explore the Alice Drum Women's Center

The Phillips Museum of Art

Located right in F&M’s Steinman College Center, the Phillips Museum of Art fosters an understanding and appreciation of the arts, including contemporary, historical and multicultural materials. The museum often partners with academic departments to offer opportunities for faculty and staff to extend the walls of their classrooms and engage students in tours, object-based learning workshops, and research opportunities. 

Students of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies have turned to the museum to curate their own exhibitions, working with F&M’s collection of art and objects under the direction of College faculty and museum staff.

Explore the Phillips Museum of Art

Success Beyond F&M

What happens after you graduate with a degree in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies? The skills you gain — including the ability to critically analyze the ways gendered perspectives inform fundamental concepts like race, class or ethnicity — are valuable for any post-graduate pursuit. 

Graduate School

Many Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies majors go on to study in graduate programs in the U.S. and abroad. They have pursued advanced degrees in:

  • Business Administration
  • Criminal Justice
  • Food Studies
  • Global Health and Development
  • Education
  • Journalism
  • Law
  • Mental Health Counseling
  • Public Administration
  • Public Policy
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
  • Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Career Paths

Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies graduates are prepared for a wide array of careers including in healthcare, education, law, and the nonprofit sector. They hold positions such as:  

  • Agrarian Apprentice
  • Attorney
  • Care Advocate
  • Director of Student Affairs
  • Editor
  • ESOL Specialist
  • Law Clerk
  • Marketing Account Director
  • Media Strategist
  • Mental Health Intake Coordinator
  • Police Officer
  • Program Manager
  • School Administrator
  • Social Justice Program Coordinator
  • Social Media Specialist
  • Social Worker
  • Teacher
  • Technical Recruiter
  • Title IX Coordinator

Alumni Spotlight

“My hope for the project is that it helps guide policy and motivates governments and policymakers. No human rights are safe until LGBTQ human rights are safe.”

As fate would have it, a passion first ignited on campus brought Erin Hallenbeck '17 back to F&M. Hallenbeck credits an F&M introductory course – “Gender, Sexuality and Power” – for her interest in social-justice causes. Today, Hallenbeck is project manager and research assistant for the F&M Global Barometers, which measures the state of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in countries and territories. “Not many people are tracking this topic,” said Hallenbeck. “We're providing really relevant information people need. My hope for the project is that it helps guide policy and motivates governments and policymakers. No human rights are safe until LGBTQ human rights are safe.”
Read More »

Research Spotlight

Students Uncover Lancaster’s Secret Side

With its bucolic landscape and Amish roots, many visitors to Lancaster assume the region’s past is nothing less than virtuous. But a group of Franklin & Marshall College students is uncovering a more salacious side. Through the Lancaster Vice History tour, F&M students travel back in time to explore reform group efforts to curb prostitution, gambling and liquor law violations in the 1900s. The tour and ongoing research is facilitated by Alison Kibler, professor of American studies and women's, gender & sexuality studies.
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Related Fields of Study

American Studies

Engage with the oldest multifaceted major at F&M. As a student of American Studies, you’ll enjoy a true liberal arts experience, exploring several disciplines to develop analytical skills and critical judgment and to examine the range and diversity of American experiences, identities and communities.

Film and Media

Think visually, explore the media arts, and create films and videos with nuance and sophistication. Film and Media at F&M provides you with a core foundation in film history, theory, and practice, helping you learn how to examine the world through the lens of a motion picture camera.

Sociology

One field of study engages in all sorts of questions about people, institutions, and social structures: sociology. How does power operate in society? How do politics shape our lives? How and why have family relationships changed over time? As a student of sociology, you will explore these interactions to better understand how they shape the world and cultures that we live in.

Student & Alumni Stories

December 7, 2023

Students Take on Climate Change Beyond the Classroom

F&M students are inspiring climate action in unconventional ways. From internships to advocacy on campus, meet students making sustainability a more accessible concept.

November 16, 2023

Young Alum Shines Light on LGTBQ Global Rights

Erin Hallenbeck’s Franklin & Marshall degree has taken her as far as the U.K. and the Netherlands. But today, the 2017 grad is making a global impact right from campus.

April 25, 2023

'I Left As a Leader': Young Alumni Share Stories

In a panel sponsored by the Alumni Leaders of Tomorrow program, Franklin & Marshall College graduates Emma Corrado '16, Wyatt Behringer '18 and Danielle Sang '18 spoke to students about their top F&M takeaways and the strength of the True Blue network.