Minor Gender and Diversity in Science, Society and Culture

Gender and diversity remain critical topics in contemporary culture whose values are negotiated within digital media platforms, governmental initiatives, and arts and literary cultures. Whether connected to LGBTQIA+ rights and experiences, the #MeToo or Black Lives Matter movements, or recurring discussions surrounding ‘Black Pete’ and the ‘Golden Age’ within the Netherlands, discrimination and racism remain connected intersectionally to broader gender dynamics. In this respect, gender and diversity appear in every facet of life. Especially within precarious or tenuous societies, such as those arising from the Corona crisis, a sufficiently gendered analytical focus is required in order to probe and address current questions about wellbeing in the home, healthcare, and gendered labour divisions. Such questions and analytical approaches are at the heart of this minor which aims to help students better understand and analyse recent and historically entrenched debates which deal with categories of difference including gender, ethnicity, race, class, religion, sexuality, and dis/ability.

In its multidisciplinary setting, this minor explores the social and cultural construction and meanings of difference in relation to gender and sexuality. It further explores how gender dynamics and notions of diversity function within arts and culture and within science and society more broadly. The four courses that make up this minor equip students with a theoretical and methodological foundation for researching the role of gender and diversity in cultural representations, everyday interactions, societal debates, and institutional policy making. Students will learn to apply analytical tools for academic research, while acquiring the necessary skills to assess the relevance of gender and diversity within society, science, and culture.

Overview of the courses

Click here for an overview of the course units within the minor Gender. The extensive course descriptions will be available in Ocasys soon.

Timetable

The timetables will be available soon.

Registration

Students have to register for the whole minor as well as for the course units of their choice within the minor via Progress in Spring 2025. Please note that students can take this minor either as a 15 ECTS or a 30 ECTS programme. If they would like to choose the 15 ECTS programme, they have to take the courses in block 1a. For the 30 ECTS programme, they have to take all courses.

For any questions regarding registration and enrollment, please contact the secretariat European Languages and Regional Studies via seccet rug.nl. For any course content related questions, please contact Suzanne Manizza-Roszak s.manizza.roszak rug.nl.