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

About SWAGS

The Major

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

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About SWAGS

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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Gender matters poster

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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About SWAGS

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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Building of Five College Women's Studies Research Center

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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About SWAGS

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

2021 Spring Newsletter

Check out our new Spring 2021 newsletter!

SWAGS faculty, staff, and students on the front steps of Grosvenor House in March 2020

Newsletter

2021 Rose Olver Prize Winner

Nat Shogren

Congratulations to Nat Shogren '21, winner of the 2021 Rose Olver Prize!

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2021 David Kirp '65 Stonewall Prize Winner

Luke Williamson '21

Congratulations to Luke Williamson '21 winner of the David Kirp 1965 Stonewall Prize!

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2021 Rose Olver Student Research Fund Winner

Lisa Zheutlin

Congratulations to Lisa Zheutlin '22, SWAGS winner of the 2021 Rose Olver Student Research Fund!

Research Project

Congratulations to Professor Khary Polk!

His book Contagions of Empire was a finalist for the 2021 Organization of American Historian Lawrence W. Levine Award for best book in American cultural history!

Book cover of Contagions of Empire by Khary Polk

Lawrence W. Levine Award

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

Intellectual Freedom and Responsibility Regarding Instruction

The SWAGS Department recognizes the need to balance academic freedom of thought and choice of material with the sensitivities of our teachers and students.

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Sexuality, Women’s & Gender Studies Courses

Current Courses

Five College Certificates

An illustration of a person with their arms in the air 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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A rainbow flag backlit by the sun 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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Rose Olver

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