This minor provides undergraduate students an opportunity to explore the social, political, and cultural realities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identities and to acquire knowledge and cultural understanding of persons who identify as LGBTQ.
A valuable minor for any career, the coursework makes students more aware of, and thus sensitive to, the LGBTQ community. In our ever-changing, global world, we all work with, work for, serve, or otherwise interact with LGBTQ people, and this minor gives students the tools necessary to do so competently.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer studies is an interdisciplinary field that emerged following the Women’s and Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and ‘70s and the emergence of their own respective fields of study. Like these other respected fields, LGBTQ studies covers the unique and rich history, culture, diversity, and contributions of the LGBTQ community and its people across time and social, economic, and political contexts. Such a broad span of knowledge comes from the contributions of various academic departments. Education, English, history, political science, sociology, and women's and gender studies are just a few of the disciplines routinely contributing to LGBTQ studies programs.
To graduate with a minor in LGBTQ studies, students must complete 18 hours from the following:
- SW 2500 (3) Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
and select five courses (no more than two from the same department; at least three must be upper level) from:
Electives—Lower Level
EDCI 2400 Education and Diverse Populations
ENGL 2593 Images of Women
ENGL 2716/LING 2716 Language Diversity, Society, & Power
KIN 2600 Human Sexuality
KIN 2604 Issues in Mental Health
WGS 1001 Evolution of Sex and Gender
WGS 2200 Gender and Popular Culture
WGS 2500 Introduction to Women’s & Gender Studies
WGS 2900 Gender, Race, and Nation
Electives—Upper Level
† ARTH 4420/4499 Art and Sex
CFS 4065 Family Life Education
EDCI 3001 Student Development and Diversity
EDCI 4800 Teaching in the Multicultural Classroom
*ELRC 7393 Multicultural Counseling
*ELRC 7600 Issues of Race and Gender in Higher Ed.
† HIST 4197 History of Sexuality in the US
POLI 4028 Gender & Politics
SOCL 4463 Gender and Crime
SOCL 4521 Sociology of Gender
*SW 7406 Social Work with LGBT People
THTR 4021 Gender and Sexuality in Performance
*THTR 7923 Seminar in Gender, Sexuality, and Perform.
WGS 3150 Survey of Feminist Theory
WGS 4541 Gender and the Law
*Undergraduates with 75 or more semester hours who are making timely progress toward a degree may be admitted to 7000 level courses. Such students must have a 3.50 or higher GPA, the appropriate prerequisites, consent of the instructor, and permission of the dean of the student’s undergraduate college. Credit so earned will apply only toward undergraduate degree requirements, except for students enrolled in an accelerated master’s degree program.
† Special Topics courses are eligible for the LGBTQ Studies minor ONLY when the content is relevant to LGBTQ studies and with permission of the instructor and the School of Social Work.
Other courses may be considered for the LGBTQ Studies Minor, with permission of the instructor and the School of Social Work.
Students who wish to declare this minor and have it added to a degree audit must visit their college counselor in their respective colleges. Contact: Denise Chiasson (dchiass@lsu.edu, phone: 225-578-1234, or 311 Huey P Long Fieldhouse) at the School of Social Work or your college advisor.
Buzz
Leigh, freshman majoring in sociology, minoring in LGBTQ studies
"This minor has opened my eyes to the fact that there are many sexual orientations, genders, and ways of living. I have learned a great deal about people who are different than me and that has helped me to better understand the LGBT+ community."
Leigh plans to focus their career on the needs of LGBTQ youth.