Photo: Christy Glass, Social Work, Director of the Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research.
By: Lyndi Robins, CHaSS Communications Journalist
The Center for Intersectional Gender Studies and Research (Intersections) is now offering minors in Intersectional Gender Studies, Sexuality Studies, and a certificate of study in Inclusive Leadership. All programs will be available beginning fall 2021 semester.
Intersections, developed in 2019, is a recent addition to Utah State which features a new approach to past Women’s Center and Women’s Study academic programs.
The programs have been in development for over a year while a team of faculty, staff and students worked to organize the center and create curriculum.
“We are so excited to see this yearlong plus process come to fruition where we have the three programs, and they are ready to go,” said Christy Glass, interim director of Intersections.
The Intersectional Gender Studies minor will train Utah State students to think critically about the role of gender in a complex world.
“An intersectional gender studies minor will train students in both breadth and depth gender studies through an interdisciplinary approach,” said Glass. “Students will be exposed to cutting edge gender studies research at the intersection of race, ethnicity, social class and sexuality.”
The Sexuality Studies minor aims to teach students about sexuality, the body, and the history of sexuality in politics and social norms in relation to identity.
The Inclusive Leadership Certificate will prepare students to become leaders of diverse groups. Students will gain leadership experience through real-life experience in research, communications and community engagement.
Certificates of study can be a valuable resource for individuals already in their career who want to learn a new skill or update their degree.
“We want our students to lead wherever their careers take them,” said Glass. “Regardless of the career or profession, we are seeing increasing diversity and globalization. Our students are going to have to confront and grapple with those complex issues and we want to provide them with the tools to lead effectively.”
All three programs feature 18 credit hours of coursework in addition to events, workshops, lectures and conferences. These fields of study are intended to compliment majors campus wide.
“The more interdisciplinary our students, the stronger the programs will be,” said Glass. “The faculty teaching courses in the programs come from every college on campus and we have courses from every college on campus as part of either our core or elective courses.”
While creating Intersections, administrators studied and implemented strategies from successful peer programs across the country.
“We really want our Utah State students to have access to the coolest, latest innovations in the field so that they are getting a world-class, cutting edge education in these areas,” said Glass.
Both the minors and the certificate of study are available on all Utah State campuses. Intersections will also offer several scholarships to statewide students.
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