Gender Studies at Barnard

Question: I'd like to know about the gender study programs at Barnard. Can you please describe your experiences of taking gender studies courses at Barnard?

Answer: What's wonderful about pursuing gender studies at Barnard is that we have a great Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department, but that critical approaches to gender and identity are also woven throughout classes in all kinds of different departments.

For example, one of the choices for the First-Year Writing class is called "Women and Culture," which challenges traditional dichotomies that cast gender as an essential attribute rather than a cultural construction. I took this course my first year at Barnard, and was introduced to to the frameworks and schemas with which to think about gender in various contexts before ever taking a formal gender studies class.

This through-line of critical approaches in multiple fields has also applied to my theatre classes, English classes, philosophy classes, and also to the extracurricular groups that I have been involved with. I’d also encourage you to check out the Barnard Center for Research on Women, a great resource on campus which facilitates many events and projects, and hosts guest speakers and groups.

- Aydan Shahd ‘20

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