Malcolm X College Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) Program

Viggy Alexandersson

GWSS Coordinator

Gender, Women's (as in women’s movement a.k.a. gender inclusive feminist studies, not simply women-themed courses), and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) at City Colleges of Chicago is comprised of a set of transdisciplinary, intersectional, and inclusive (e.g., Introduction to Social Justice, Abolitionist Feminism, Ecofeminism, Queer Theory, etc.) core courses at the 100 and 200 level as well as co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities from a variety of disciplines outside of GWSS.

Core faculty district-wide (instructors of the core courses as well as co-curricular and extra-curricular leads for GWSS) includes:

  • Full Professor Viggy Alexandersson (Malcolm X College)
  • Instructor Ana Arredondo (Daley College)
  • Associate Professor Jeremy Basso (Daley College)
  • Associate Professor Amanda Loos (Harold Washington College)
  • Lecturer Jovan Rivera-Lovato (Olive-Harvey and Malcolm X College)

Associated faculty district-wide (co-curricular and extra-curricular leads for GWSS) includes:

  • Assistant Professor Erica Chu (Truman College)
  • Full Professor Meryl Junious (Kennedy-King College)
  • Assistant Kerry Luckett (Kennedy-King College)
  • Assistant Professor Patti Renda (Wright College)
  • Associate Tineka Scalzo (Wright College)
  • Assistant Jocelyn Turner (Kennedy-King College)
  • Full Professor Rochelle Robinson-Dukes (Olive-Harvey College)

Affiliated faculty and staff district-wide (administrative operational leads for GWSS): 

  • Associate Vice Chancellor Laura Clark (District Office)
  • Vice Chancellor Sarah Lichtenstein Walter (District Office)
  • Associate Professor Cynthia Manns (Olive-Harvey College)
  • Associate Professor Alison Mastny (Malcolm X College)
  • Associate Dean Nagieh (Gia) Omer (Malcolm X College)
  • Provost Mark Potter (District Office)
  • Dean Jason Swanson (Macolm X College; Emeritus)

MISSION

The Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies seeks to radically improve equity and social justice for all people by analyzing and interrogating ideology, power structures, and oppression through intersectional feminist, queer, and additionally social justice-centered lenses. The program applies an intersectional, transdisciplinary, and inclusive framework to its coursework, pedagogy, and praxis; values diverse modes of intellectual development and knowledge generation; and promotes community development through education, art, dialogue, service, activism, and other forms of engagement. 

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Program learning outcomes (often called PLOs) describe the cumulative knowledge, skills, and dispositions students should demonstrate at the end of a program, not just after a single course. The outcomes in a single course are called student learning outcomes (often called SLOs). To see the SLOs for any of the eleven GWSS courses found in the Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) section of the academic catalog, feel free to email the instructor assigned to the course or the Malcolm X College GWSS coordinator Professor Viggy Alexandersson at valexandersson@ccc.edu. 

  • Communicate intersectional feminist, queer, and additionally social justice-centered concepts through writing, speech, and/or visual media
  • Apply intersectional feminist, queer, and additionally social justice-centered ideas to diverse contexts
  • Analyze systems of privilege and oppression using intersectional feminist, queer, and additionally social justice-centered lenses
  • Connect intersectional feminist, queer, and additionally social justice-centered concepts across disciplines and historical periods
  • Perform praxis grounded in intersectional feminist, queer, and additionally social justice-centered frameworks

There are 3 GWSS Pathways at City Colleges of Chicago that help prepare students for academic, professional, and personal pursuits.

Note: An A.A.S. is beginning development.

All GWSS courses at Malcolm X College count towards a student’s general education requirements. GWSS courses at the other City Colleges of Chicago may not count towards a student’s general education requirements. Students can verify which courses are approved for general education by reviewing the IAI GECC Courses webpage. Some GWSS courses count for social/behavioral science general education credit, and some count for humanities/fine arts general education credit. All GWSS courses are approved for the human diversity requirement. 

If a student takes 2 or more GWSS classes, they meet the minimum course requirement to join the GWSS Triota Honors Society! Triota’s primary purposes are to honor academic achievement for students in GWSS courses and cultivate feminist values such as equity, anti-oppression, and inclusive scholarship through academics, service, and campus engagement. Students in Triota receive a lavender cord at graduation to indicate their honors society status. For more information about how to qualify and apply for Triota, please email Professor Viggy Alexandersson at valexandersson@ccc.edu. 

Additionally, successfully completing a GWSS course at Malcolm X College is the first step towards becoming eligible for a Malcolm X College GWSS Learning Assistant work study position. GWSS work study positions will be posted as they become available at the CCC Connect Job Portal.

A Look Back at the Progression of GWSS at City Colleges of Chicago

The Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) as an unrecognized affiliation dates back to the 1980s (e.g., the creation of Women’s Centers at Kennedy-King College).  Dating back to August 8, 2005, Women’s Studies was officially added to City Colleges of Chicago’s student administration system as only an emphasis area (e.g., a non-women’s studies course that taught methodologies from another discipline and only added themed elements of women’s studies). In 2016, the “Women’s Studies” emphasis area evolved into a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program designation (i.e., where non-WGSS courses were themed around GWSS elements and had a few extra requirements such as aligning to the co-curricular WGSS program learning outcomes ). By the fall of 2020, a “Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies” Associate in Arts Pathway became official; yet, the pathway only had non-GWSS courses that were themed around GWSS elements. In other words, CCC has yet to have GWSS courses as their own discipline. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies officially became a discipline during the fall of 2021. However, centering a more thoughtful articulation of the discipline that affirms Indigenous histories and culture, the discipline name was revised to Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies in the spring of 2022. Since 2022, Malcolm X College has gotten eleven GWSS courses approved to be taught by the Illinois Community College Board and to transfer as either social/behavioral science general education credit or humanities/fine arts general education credit. Each of the eleven courses have a praxis project to empower students with tools that help shape the world around them academically, professionally and personally well after the duration of a GWSS course.