DCF94280-E8F7-F166-A62F886D097067AC
DD020F53-C98F-50DB-CEDFC9E5288EEEAA

About the Major

Women’s and gender studies at Hamilton provides students with a powerful perspective on cultural and world history by putting women at the center of its analysis. The curriculum certainly is not for women only. It is not even exclusively about women. Who are we as individuals and as members of a society? Who shapes those identities and how? How do gender, power, race, and class affect the interactions of women and men? These are issues that every thoughtful person must address. Above all, women’s studies is about personal and intellectual growth.

Students Will Learn To:

  • Explain the connections between the pedagogy of feminism to the methodology and varying practices of the subject
  • Demonstrate the connections between the history of feminism to contemporary theory, practice and activism 
  • Critique the use of contemporary theories of intersectionality, interdisciplinarity and transnationality in feminist studies 
  • Apply a range of feminist methodologies and theories in research and writing 
  • Demonstrate knowledge of theories in academic feminism with the social orders and structures in which we live 

Meet Our Faculty

Vivyan Adair

Chair, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies

vadair@hamilton.edu

women’s studies; race, class, gender, sexuality and nation; comparative literature and theories of composition and rhetoric; sexuality studies; welfare reform, education and public policy

Margaret Gentry

Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Chair of Religious Studies

mgentry@hamilton.edu

women and aging; widowhood; caregiving of elderly; psychology of women/gender; household division of labor

Man Kaplan

Visiting Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies

mkaplan@hamilton.edu

decolonial feminism, feminist epistemologies and pedagogies, geopolitics of knowledge

Mariah Stember

Visiting Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies

mstember@hamilton.edu

women’s, gender and sexuality studies; gender scholarship; feminist theory; interdisciplinary feminist scholarship; African studies; public policy, and global health

Careers After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in women's studies are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:

  • Director of Operations, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
  • Program Officer, Building Movements, Ms. Foundation for Women
  • Nurse Midwife, URMC Midwifery Group
  • 4th Grade Teacher, The IDEAL School of Manhattan
  • Attorney, Laskoff & Associates
  • Mental Health Counselor/Play Therapist, Integrative Counseling Services
  • Physician, Rhode Island Hospital

Explore Hamilton Stories

Caroline Casey '23

Whitney Museum Intern Casey ’23 Learns the Art of Storytelling

Caroline Casey ’23 has spent the summer working as an intern at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She tells what led her to this position and how it’s helped solidify her career goals.

Ashley Garcia ’22, Hannah Petersen ’22

Student Sociology Research Published in Academic Journal

Hannah Petersen ’22 and Ashley Garcia ’22 published “Schools as racialized organizations in policy and practice,” in the international, peer-reviewed Sociology Compass.

Carson Goos '21

Goos ’21 Accepted into Teach For America Program

Carson Goos '21 will be teaching social studies in Delaware. Here's what she had to say about the organization, and how Hamilton prepared her for her upcoming role.

Contact

Department Name

Women's and Gender Studies Department

Contact Name

Vivyan Adair, Chair

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

Site Search