Gender Studies
Brenda Boudreau, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English;
bdboudre@mckendree.edu; (618) 537-6971; Carnegie Hall 213
The Gender Studies minor complements McKendree’s more traditional liberal arts
majors as well as its professional courses of study. This minor benefits students in professional
programs seeking knowledge to enhance a selected career path just as much
as students in traditional liberal arts contemplating graduate study in their fields.
Students from all majors would thrive with a Gender Studies minor. Individuals who
complete this program will gain comparative insight into how scholars from different
disciplines — including history, sociology, literature, writing, communication, and psychology
— pose and answer questions about gender.
Students who minor in Gender Studies will enroll in a variety of courses designed
to help them understand the multiple experiences and viewpoints of women and men
in contemporary society and in history, the gendered constructions of power in America
and in the world, the representations of gender in literature, and the psychology and
sociology of gender. As a result of this focused study, students should be able to (a)
describe the varied and complex relations among social ideology, social structures/hierarchies,
gender roles, and sexuality in various cultures; (b) identify the presence and
effects of gender discrimination in the United States and other societies; (c) analyze
cultural artifacts and texts using the interdisciplinary methods of gender criticism; (d)
summarize the basic elements of a feminist critique of Western society, including its
political implications; (e) evaluate various theories about the inherent similarities and
differences among and between women and men; (f) recover the long-neglected history
and viewpoints of women in various cultures around the world; and (g) relate more
effectively to individuals of the other gender in their social and professional lives.
To minor in Gender Studies:
1. Students must take six courses for a total of eighteen credit hours. Students must
also earn a cumulative GPA of 2.25 or better in courses applied to the minor.
2. All students in Gender Studies will be required to take HIS 271/371 U.S.
Women’s History for a total of three hours.
3. The remaining fifteen hours are selected from among the following courses.
No more than six (6) hours can be taken from any one discipline. Six hours
must be at the upper division level:
SOC 260 Sociology of Families
SOC 350 Sociology of Gender
ENG 235 Gender in Literature
PSI 315 Gender and International Relations
PSY 265 Psychology of Gender
PSY 370 Psychology of Human Sexuality
REL 212 Religion and Gender
SPC 375 Gender and Communication
Other courses as announced each semester. Refer to the course catalog.
4. Relevant internship hours may be substituted for three hours of the minor
requirements.