Gender is a social term; sexuality is a biological one. How is gender related to sexuality? Gender in society today poses many challenges. The interaction between personal and professional identities, at home and at work, presents all of us with new responsibilities and opportunities. Complex family arrangements are required in order to pursue career paths, and while handling these arrangements has traditionally been the responsibility of women in our culture, new configurations are emerging with the evolution of social norms. 

The role of gender in history and in society has not been adequately represented in traditional disciplines. For instance, what role has gender played in developing our concepts of the social sciences or of the humanities? Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies originally emerged out of the women's movement. The notion of equality was and still is the primary impetus behind this new area of inquiry.

Initial attempts in Women's Studies scholarship were aimed at recovering the role of women in traditional disciplines. Subsequently, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies scholarship has focused on the distinction between gender and sexuality, and the distinction between power and oppression. Oppression is the misuse of power to the detriment of others. How and why is power sometimes transformed into oppression? In an attempt to answer these questions, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies scholarship has turned its attention to the concept of difference. The study of difference has further produced an emphasis on the analysis of diversity, ethnicity and multiculturalism.

Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies offers a unique perspective in the liberal arts. It explores the influence of gender in the study of all disciplines, making GSWS an interdisciplinary field of study which prepares students for a world in which gender operates as a significant factor in all that we do.