Queer Studies Minor Program

Artist: former QSMP student Hailey Gomez (they/them/theirs)

 

The Women and Gender Studies Department is home to the Queer Studies Minor Program.

About 

The Queer Studies Minor Program (QSMP) was founded in 2011 by a group of faculty members, including our current department chair, Dr. Karyl Ketchum. It is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on sexuality from an intersectional point of view, meaning in relation to other categories of difference including race, class, gender, ability, and nationality. 

Like the field of Queer Studies at large, the program examines sexual—and gender—orientations, identities, normativity and nonconformity; queer theory, history, and representation; queer cultural production (i.e., queer art); homophobia and transphobia; and much, much more. Most importantly, the program is social justice-centered and focuses on LGBTQIA+ communities and historic as well as present-day social movements. Our courses invite students to explore topics of personal interest and in the context of their own lives.        

Requirements

The Queer Studies minor is 21 units in total and, like the Women and Gender Studies major, consists of core courses, breadth courses, and elective courses in our department and other departments. (Students who are also majoring in Women and Gender Studies may double-count some units.)

Benefits

A Queer Studies Minor designation on a student's transcript distinguishes them affirmatively in application to graduate school across many fields. Additionally, it makes students more competitive for employment and internships in fields including social work, counseling, education, healthcare, social service, government, the law and nonprofit advocacy. In a private-sector job market with increasing demand for sensitivity and nuance to issues of diversity, social marketing, and critical/intellectual flexibility, a Queer Studies Minor positions CSUF graduates on the leading edge of cultural, social, political and scientific knowledges, and it recognizes their specific expertise in one of the most culturally and politically relevant topics of our time.

What Students Are Saying

“I would not be the person I am today if not for the welcoming community I found in the Women and Gender and Queer Studies Department at CSUF. Every class I've taken has deconstructed my ingrained preconceptions, assisted me in becoming vulnerable in my life, supported me in discovering my identities, and opened my eyes to many possibilities of living and thriving towards an inclusive and hopeful future. I am grateful to be a part of the Women and Gender and Queer Studies Department for guiding me to "the work" in my hometown that has given me a voice to build awareness and collaboration towards acceptance and belonging.”

-Hailey Gomez (they/them/theirs)

 

Requirements for the Queer Studies Minor

The CSUF Queer Studies Minor Proposal can be found here