Undergraduate

Completing a minor in Women's Studies at the undergraduate level at Memorial helped me evolve into a free thinking individual which has continued to serve me well as a master's student. My experience in the women's studies program has opened the door for critical engagement and analysis that transcends disciplinary boundaries. I have become much more grounded in my ability to form thoughtful opinion and analysis. Furthermore, such grounding continues in helping me to engage with and understand issues in a way that allows me to productively contribute beyond the theoretical, and most importantly for my work, beyond the rhetorical as well.

-- Amy Morrisseau (MA student, University of Victoria)

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During my first year in university when I heard about "Women's Studies" as a subject area, I did not know enough about what I didn't know to even fathom what women's studies could possibly be about -- that is, besides the obvious idea of the study of women. Now I am unable to imagine reading anything without the knowedge, insight, preoccupations, and awareness that I've amassed. Discovering the discipline at the end of my third year as a student had a profound influence on the rest of my degree and promises to shape my academic prospects. Becoming a student of Women's Studies has transformed the way I read, relate, and interpret my world.

-- Zaren Healey White (MA student, Memorial University)

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Gender Studies is an academic area of study that critically examines how gender shapes our identities, our social interactions and our world. Through exposure to interdisciplinary perspectives, students develop a framework for thinking about power relations and the ways that those relations are shaped and challenged by intersecting constructions of gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, age and nationality. Gender Studies examines everyday experiences, social and political institutions, literary and philosophical contributions, and past and present ideas and world events. The discipline provides students with tools to engage with and critically analyze these areas.