AUA Announces New Minor in Gender Studies

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Effective the Spring 2022 semester, the American University of Armenia is offering students the option of minoring in Gender Studies (GS). The minor aims to provide students with a transdisciplinary program that explores the meaning of gender and how gender, ability, age, class, race, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, and other aspects of identity are considered within intersectional frameworks. 

“We are delighted to finally launch the Gender Studies minor at AUA, which is the culmination of over two years of collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues working on gender-related topics in their research and teaching,” remarked Dr. Hourig Attarian, associate professor and co-leader of the Gender Studies Minor development team. “We hope that the course offerings of the minor will expand in coming years to encompass courses from a variety of disciplines across the colleges, reflecting the true nature of interdisciplinarity and intersectionality in the field of gender studies.”

Students will examine how gender influences human experiences, knowledge construction, and power relations. The minor requires the completion of 15 credits (5 courses) selected from offerings such as “Learning, Activism, and Social Movements,” “History of Western Armenian Feminist Literature,” “Women/Gender and the Visual Arts,” and “Psychology of Gender,” in addition to a culminating project or research experience. 

Upon completion of the minor, students will be able to critically engage with key concepts and theoretical frameworks central to gender studies and recognize the significance of gender in the ways in which social life is organized. Students will also analyze diverse individual and collective experiences and critically examine how they have shaped, and been shaped by, local and global hierarchies.

The Gender Studies minor will help students prepare for further studies or careers in fields such as education, public relations, human resources, social work, law, journalism, business, non-profit management, public health, medicine, artificial intelligence, and politics.

The Minor in Gender Studies is one of four opportunities for AUA undergraduate students to earn a Minor. The other Minors include Environmental Sciences; Genocide Studies and Human Rights, and Philosophy, Politics, & Economics.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.