Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies

The affiliated minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer studies (LGBT) examines the lives and representations of individuals and groups considered sexual minorities, as well as the various forces that have affected them across cultures and throughout time. Sexuality offers a critical lens to analyze communities, cultures, and subcultures; institutions, discourses, and literatures; economic and political movements; the social construction of power, status, and hierarchies; and identity categories configured on the basis of age, ability, class, ethnicity, gender, race, and religion. Moreover, sexuality is considered as the subject of biological, medical, and psychological research. LGBT studies is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary minor that emphasizes the application of new theories and methodologies (e.g., queer, feminist, critical race, and multicultural theories) to established disciplines as it promotes the generation of new knowledge within traditional fields. Through the minor, students gain critical understandings of normative categorization, query unspoken assumptions, examine social stratification and distributions of power, and explore the diversity of forms that sexuality has taken historically and in contemporary contexts.

Related Major

• Women’s Studies Major  

Awards

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies Award for Academic Excellence, in honor of Marilyn Thie — awarded by the program to a senior, on the basis of completion of the minor or three or more courses, a GPA of 3.30 or higher, and significant scholarly achievement in LGBTQ studies.

Majors and Minors

• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies Minor