What is “Women’s Studies”?
The Institute for Women's Studies coordinates an interdisciplinary teaching and research program at Macquarie University. It is hosted by the Department of Sociology in the Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy.
As a discipline, Women's Studies investigates what it means to be a woman or a man in society and culture. Our units look closely at the impact of gender, sex and sexuality on our lives in a variety of arenas: at home, at work, on the streets, in the classroom. Who are we? Why are we the ways we are? What directions is society taking and how can it be transformed? Women’sstudies and genderstudies offer new approaches to untangling these questions. We bring together units in Anthropology, English, Critical and Cultural Studies, History, Law, Media and Communications, Human Geography, Philosophy, Sociology and many others. We also offer units focused solely on Women’s Studies and Gender. Our students are women and men, new entry and ‘mature’ age, full-time and part-time, internal and external, local and international.
What Can You Do With It?
We are sometimes asked what kind of jobs a student might hope to get upon doing a major (at Macquarie University also called a “coherent study”) in Women, Gender & Sexuality. Like other knowledge programs within the generic Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Social Science degrees, e.g. Philosophy or Sociology, Women’s Studies is not designed to offer vocational training as such. What is does foster is the development of critical thinking, and writing and communication skills, all of which are generic skills keenly sought by today’s employers.
In addition, it offers expertise on a specific range of questions to do with gender (its intersections with class and race; how identity and body image is formed, how to deal with discrimination and the possibility of social change, etc.), which concern many fields of employment. These include education (classroom teaching and curriculum development on a primary, secondary and tertiary level, policy and management issues); health and welfare; political or public policy-making; media writing and advertising; management of private and public enterprises (sexual harassment and equal opportunity policy, issues of power, personnel management and office culture), and more. From our experience, a Women, Gender & Sexuality major has proved useful to students in a range of employment opportunities.
Note: Your testamur (degree certificate awarding you your BA, BSocSci and so on) does not show your coherent study or major. For a prospective employer to be made aware of the area of specialization in your degree s/he will need to be advised by you and if required, shown a transcript of your results and/or a letter specifying the major/s in which you qualified. Upon your graduation, a letter from the Institute for Women’s Studies certifying your qualification in a Women, Gender & Sexuality major is available on request.