Written by Héctor García-Chávez
Founded in 1979, the Loyola Women’s Studies/Gender Studies Program was the first at a Jesuit institution in the US. Our three Graduate Programs in Women’s Studies and Gender Studies -Women’s Studies/Gender Studies, Women’s Studies/Gender Studies in Social Work, and Women’s Studies/Gender Studies in Theology, draw from a variety of departments and programs and are aimed at analyzing how knowledge is shaped by power—especially around the intersecting axes of gender, sexuality, and race—and creating new pathways for promoting social justice. In recent years we have added new offerings -including Queer Theory, Masculinity Studies, Transgender Studies, and other fields that address the interests of our students- and current scholarships in the field.
We provide our students with the tools to see themselves, their communities, and the world through the lens of gender. Our MA programs place a strong emphasis on experiential learning and service. Students complete an internship or creative practicum in which they can partner with a local community organization to work on a project. Recent students completed capstone projects with Apna Ghar, Deborah’s Place, and the Chicago Area Women’s History Council. Our students are also active in campus organizations, such as The Women’s Project, Feminist Forum, LUCES mentorship program, CHANGE, and other student groups that promote social justice on campus and in our communities. Our close ties with CURL (Center for Urban Research and Learning) and our Feminist Lecture Series are testaments to our commitment to creating necessary conversations on diversity, equity, and inclusion while also showcasing our students’ community-based interests and WSGS research.
The Women's Studies/Gender Studies community at Loyola University Chicago is broadly interdisciplinary, as well as culturally and intellectually diverse. Our MA students join us from professional settings such as social work, nursing, education, public policy, and non-governmental organizations among other academic/professional fields. We also have a strong presence of MA students from international backgrounds including Kosovo, Pakistan, Palestine, Afghanistan, Brazil and México, to name a few.
We are committed to fostering open-ended critique, inquiry, and invention from a respectful and intersectional lens. We are proud of our tight-knit and supportive cohorts of students, many of whom are politically and socially engaged in the diverse Latinx community across Chicagolandia.
In our increasingly global world and life during pandemic times, migration and human rights issues have assumed a front and center position in our three MA programs. We invite our students to "migrate" outside the US. We have offered summer courses both in Barcelona, España and in our Loyola Felice Center in Rome, Italy. In 2023 we hope we can launch a new Summer program in México City! Gender influences reasons for migrating, who migrates and where, how people migrate, the networks they use, opportunities and resources available at destinations, and relations with the country of origin. Risks, vulnerabilities and needs are also shaped largely by one’s gender expression. The roles, expectations, relationships and power dynamics associated with being a man, woman, boy or girl, and whether one identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or intersex (LGBTQI+), significantly affect all aspects of the migration process, and can also be affected by it.
Today WSGS is a thriving community of over 30 graduate students. Upon graduation, our students are qualified for a wide variety of fields, including law, education, social services, medicine and public health, both in the US and across the globe. Recent graduates serve as legal advocates for the homeless, teach high school, provide direct services to women, men, and youth, attend medical school, and carry out research with urban and rural populations. Other graduates have continued their studies in public policy, public health, and Ph.D programs in English and Comparative Literature.
Loyola University Chicago is one of very few institutions offering a dual degree in Social Work and Women's Studies and Gender Studies. This dual degree program enables students to utilize their course work and research interests in an applied setting and, at the same time, it allows them to enhance their capacity to work with diverse populations, migrant communities and families in respectful social work settings after graduation.
As with all dual degree programs, students interested in the dual degree in Social Work and Women's Studies and Gender Studies must apply to each school simultaneously and be admitted based on the criteria for admission to each school. There are no separate admissions criteria for completing a dual degree program; however, course substitutions and logistics must be worked out with the liaisons. Earning both an MA in Women's Studies and Gender Studies and an MSW in Social Work allows students to complete these degrees more quickly by taking courses that carry credit in both fields.
Loyola University Chicago is the only Jesuit university that offers a dual graduate degree in Women’s/Gender Studies & Theology.
As with all dual degree programs, students interested in the dual degree must apply simultaneously to both Theology and Women's Studies and Gender Studies and be admitted to both MA programs based on their independent criteria.
This dual degree program enables students to experience the many intersections between advanced study in Theology and Women’s and Gender Studies, drawing from the strengths of faculty in both disciplines in the areas of women, gender, Queer theory, sexuality, religion, and ethics.
Author Bio: New Graduate Program Director, Héctor García-Chávez, Ph.D. Dr. García Chávez is a graduate of The University of Chicago and specialized in Iberian-Latin American Literatures and Literary/Cultural Theory. He holds a joint appointment in the Women’s/Gender Studies Program and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Loyola University Chicago. In 2017 he was awarded LUC’s highest teaching and mentorship award, the Ignatius Award for Excellence in Teaching. He teaches interdisciplinary courses in Queer/Cuir Theory, Masculinity Studies, and Migration and Gender. In addition to serving proudly as a Board Member for MAKE Literary Productions and actively collaborating with Lit&Luz Festivals both in Chicago and Ciudad de México, he is a frequent guest professor for UNAM-Chicago cultural events and serves on the Board of Taller de José, an NGO located in La Villita, Chicago.
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