Sexuality, Women’s & Gender Studies

SWAGS is a cross-disciplinary exploration of sexuality and gender and their intersections with race, class and nation. It is also an inquiry into the material, cultural and political lives of women.

We examine feminist and queer thought in a variety of global and historical contexts. Faculty specialize in literature, history, anthropology, film, and politics.

Department Highlights

The Major

Students explore and analyze the creation, meaning, function and perpetuation of gender in human societies.

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Honors Theses

SWAGS theses are interdisciplinary. Recent graduates have worked on projects such as the poetry of Alice Fulton, queer activism on the internet, and public health and abortion rights, among others.

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Our History

Founded in 1986 by prominent feminist scholars on campus, the department grew out of the intellectual and political excitement generated by women's and gender studies, broadly, and the growing presence of women at Amherst College.

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Circle window with banner reading Smash the Patriarchy

Women’s and Gender Center

Our faculty and students work closely with the WGC, which promotes learning about and exploring gender through personal experience, academic inquiry, community organizing, activism, and discussion.

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Queer Resource Center

The Queer Resource Center serves as the hub of the queer community on campus. The Center provides numerous events, resources and leadership opportunities for all students at Amherst College.

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Five College Women's Studies Research Center

The Center initiates and supports collaborative projects dedicated to engaged, critical feminist scholarship from diverse perspectives.

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Our Alumni

SWAGS majors go on to graduate school at top universities, and work in fields ranging from academia, to journalism, to medicine, to the law.

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The Latest

Featured

2022 Summer Newsletter

SWAGS faculty, staff, students sitting outside on tiered benches May 2022 Check out our new Summer 2022 newsletter!

Newsletter

May 16, 2022

2022 Rose Olver Prize Winners

Congratulations to Jade DuVal '22 and Sophie Ewing '22, co-winners of the Rose Olver Prize!

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May 16, 2022

2022 David Kirp '65 Stonewall Prize Winners

Congratulations to Kayla McKeon '22 and Lisa Zheutlin '22, co-winners of the David Kirp '65 Stonewall Prize!

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April 26, 2022

Prof. Jen Manion Appears on podcast "Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness"

What was it like to trans gender if you were living in 18th or 19th century England or America? This week, History and SWAGS Professor Jen Manion joins Jonathan to explore the world of “female husbands,” people who were raised as girls but lived as men.

Podcast

Interview of Rose Olver

Rose Olver in chair during interview in 2008

Professor Rose Olver of Psychology and SWAGS was interviewed in 2008 as part of the Friends of the Amherst College Library: Oral History Project to capture on video interviews with members of the Amherst community whose involvement with the college has been long-standing and whose reminiscences seem likely to be of historical significance.

Interview

September 15, 2021

Fresh Faculty: Christine Peralta

Christine Peralta

Q&A with new faculty member Christine Peralta in the Amherst Student.

Full article

July 29, 2021

Podcast: Testosterone in Women's Athletics

Caster Semenya (C) competes in the women's 200m final during the Athletics Gauteng North Championships at the LC de Villiers Athletics Stadium in Pretoria on 13 March 2020 The Guardian speaks to SWAGS Professor Katrina Karkazis about the rules that ban female athletes with naturally high testosterone.

Podcast

Black Women of Amherst

Amherst College alumnae and students are telling their stories to bridge historical and present-day experiences and to illuminate the accomplishments and wisdom of the Black women of Amherst College.

Amherst Uprising

Their Stories

Sexuality, Women’s & Gender Studies Courses

Current Courses

SWAG 158

Asian American History: 1800-Present

Description

Using an intersectional approach, the course traces how issues related to gender and sexuality impact Asian American racial formation in the U.S. Major themes include labor migration, community formation, U.S. imperialism, and social movements.

SWAG 265

Manhood and Masculinity in the U.S.

Description

What does it mean to be a “real man” in the contemporary United States? This course critically analyzes manhood and masculinity as socially constructed and ever-changing concepts deeply entangled with race, class, disability, and sexuality.

SWAG 400

Contemporary Debates: Gendering Populism

Description

The past decade has witnessed the dramatic rise of populist parties, movements, and leaders. We will explore the ways populists enact hegemonic forms of masculinity and femininity and employ binary constructions of gender to differentiate allies from enemies.

Five College Certificates

Five College Certificate in Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice

Students delve into the social, economic, legal and political conditions that influence reproduction through a variety of classes across the five colleges. Students graduating in May 2020 should submit documents to their RHRJ advisor by April 20.

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Five College Certificate in Queer, Trans, and Sexuality Studies

Students critically examine the relationship between sexual and gender identities, experiences, cultures and communities in a wide range of historical and political contexts through a variety of classes across the five colleges.

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Prizes & Awards

The Rose Olver Prize is for the senior thesis that best analyzes the construction of gender. The David Kirp 1965 Stonewall Prize is for student work on some facet of LGBTQ+ experience.

Rose Olver Prize Kirp Stonewall Prize

Scenes from SWAGS

Meet Our Faculty

SWAGS faculty represent numerous fields. Our research interests range from post-colonial literature and theory of South Asia, to Colonial American history, to gender equality in the workplace. Meet the entire department.