The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies offers an innovative interdisciplinary undergraduate minor program in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Studies. LGBT Studies works to establish sexuality as a crucial category of analysis in the humanities and social sciences. It draws on disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, history, literature, and cultural studies in order to document the extent to which sexuality itself is a complex cultural and historical phenomenon that bears careful examination. Just as Women's Studies, for instance, is not only by, about, and for women, LGBT Studies is not only by, about, or for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people — it includes all humanity in its purview.
A large portion of the energy spent developing this field has been devoted to discovering (and recovering) the history, dynamics, and complexities of same-sex relationships. Both those relationships and their study have had to combat a variety of delegitimizing forces originating from numerous social locations. The study of same-sex relationships within LGBT Studies has intended to provide legitimacy to those kinds of relationships, to the communities of people organized around and involved in those relationships, and to the history of those people and those communities. In working toward this end, the field of LGBT Studies has necessarily worked to theorize the concept, practice, and history of sexuality itself. It has learned to examine the various ways intimacies and sexual experiences are constructed and perceived in different periods, cultures, and social classes. The field of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies both addresses the particularities of the modern forms of sexuality we call lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (forms of sexuality that have only recently been able to claim for themselves the right to serious academic study) and further addresses the phenomenon of sexuality itself in all its historical and cross-cultural diversity.
There is currently no major program in LGBT Studies. Students interested in pursuing studies in this field at the major level should consider the major in Gender and Women's Studies.
Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements.
General Guidelines
All minors must be declared before the first day of classes in your Expected Graduation Term (EGT). For summer graduates, minors must be declared prior to the first day of Summer Session A.
All upper-division courses must be taken for a letter grade.
A minimum of three of the upper-division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required in the upper-division courses to fulfill the minor requirements.
Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which the student plans to graduate. If students cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, they should see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)
The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies Undergraduate Advising office provides students with the following assistance to help guide them through the academic bureaucracy and hopefully ensure that they have a successful undergraduate experience at Berkeley:
Counseling regarding their education and GWS courses.
Major information, courses, independent studies, honors program, GWS student group.
Graduate programs and career information and referrals.
The department strives to and is committed to providing a safe, inclusive environment for all students. Students are welcome, feel supported, respected, and valued, and receive the ultimate advising experience to ensure academic advancement through the program.
The Undergraduate Advisor's Office (UA) is located in 608C Social Sciences Building. You can contact Eric Cheatham, Undergraduate Major Advisor at [email protected] for further assistance regarding the major and minor programs.
Courses
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
An introduction to varied dimensions of alternative sexual identities in the contemporary United States, with a focus ranging from individuals to communities. This course will use historical, sociological, ethnographic, political-scientific, psychological, psychoanalytical, legal, medical, literary, and filmic materials to chart trends and movements from the turn of the century to the present. Sexual Politics and Queer Organzing in the US: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for 20AC after taking Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies 20AC.
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7 hours of lecture and 3 hours of discussion per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021
This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to work closely with LGBT faculty, investigating a topic of mutual interest in great depth. Emphasis in on student discussion and collaboration. Topics will vary from semester to semester. Number of units will vary depending on specific course, format, and requirements. Special Topics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2021
This course examines interpretive issues in studying the history of sexuality and the formation of sexual identities and communities. Considering primary documents, secondary literature, and theoretical essays, we investigate specific historiographical concerns and raise questions about historical methodology and practice. Interpreting the Queer Past: Methods and Problems in the History of Sexuality: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
This course will draw upon a wide range of critical theory, film, music, literature, popular culture, ethnography, theater, and visual art to explore the relationship between cultural forms of representation and individual and collective forms of expression. Central questions for mutual consideration will include: Who/what constitutes the subject of queer cultural production? How are queer theories relevant (or irrelevant) to queer cultural and political practices? Cultural Representations of Sexuality: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2018
Cultural Representations of Sexuality: Queer Literary Culture explores a variety of twentieth-century literary texts (poetry, fiction, drama) produced at key moments in the “queer past.” Using sound recordings, visual art, and documentary film to enhance our encounter with literary texts, this course seeks to amplify the aesthetic dimensions of queer politics, sociality, culture and counter-culture, through sound and moving image. Over the course of the semester, students will learn to situate literary and text-based modes of expression and circulation within a broader field of cultural production. Cultural Representations of Sexualities: Queer Literary Culture: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2022
This course examines modern visual cultures that construct ways of seeing diverse sexualities. Considering Western conventions of representation during the modern period, we will investigate film, television, and video. How and when do "normative" and "queer" sexualities become visually defined? Cultural Representations of Sexualities: Queer Visual Culture: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2019
An introduction to social theory and ethnographic methodology in the cross-cultural study of sexuality, particularly sexual orientation and gender identity. The course will stress the relationships between culture, international and local political economy, and the representation and experience of what we will provisionally call homosexual and transgendered desires or identities. Sexuality, Culture, and Colonialism: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 3 or Sociology 3
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2011
Course focuses on the production of sexualities, sexual identification, and gender differentiation across multiple discourses and locations. Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
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