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WGSS 301: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary Societies

This guide is intended to support your research in women's, gender, and sexuality studies.

Welcome, WGSS 301 students!

Change sign at Sandown Pier (Isle of Wight, UK) by Ross Findon - Used under (CC BY-NC 2.0); image resized from original

Things you'll find in this guide:

  • How to focus your topic.
  • How to determine what types of information sources you need.
  • How to find sources for both background and scholarly research.
  • How to cite your sources

This course guide will answer these questions and provide the resources you need to do your assignment.

Need more help? Email your librarian!

Assignment: WGSS 301-03 (21773)

Research Project (20%)

Early in the semester students will gather in groups of 4 to collaborate on a research project. For the research paper, the idea is to apply an intersectional feminist analysis of gender, race, class, sexual identity, and/or dis/ability to a current event in the news. Paper topics should expand upon a topic covered in the course and all papers should have a Global Component/Focus and incorporate an intersectional perspective.

Research topics might include race relations in the U.S. vs. Latin America, gay and lesbian marriage around the world, or transgender experiences in various locations. Other topics could include dowry/age of consent of marriage in the U.S. vs. the Middle East, or other issues found in the Ms. Magazine readings or current events. (There is a detailed list of Ms. Magazine articles broken down by subject matter available for your use in Canvas.) Use this project to develop your skills in critical thinking and development of a written argument. The project will include a 8-10 page paper with at least 3 academic sources using APA or MLA format. Course readings count as academic sources and Ms. Magazine may be used as ONE (1) of the 3 sources. The paper will be submitted to Canvas via Turnitin. Paper is due Wednesday, May 17th @ midnight.

The project will also include a brief in-class presentation. During Week 15 of class, May 8 & May 10, groups will present their material with half of the groups taking a turn on Monday and the other half on Wednesday. Groups will plan for a 5-minute presentation that will summarize the key points of their research and each group will have 2 minutes for Q&A while the next group readies their materials.