This course examines approaches to research and research methodologies pertaining to the investigation of
women, gender, and sexualities. Our research methods will focus on how feminist and queer scholars have
used methodology and theories in their fields of knowledge. The course will prepare students from the
humanities and social sciences to conduct qualitative research. It will thus provide students with the basic
tools to conduct research using feminist and queer methods. They will experiment and play with a variety of
methods, such as archival research, interviews, oral histories, ethnographies, cartographies and other
unorthodox approaches, while also rehearsing how to incorporate theory, how to develop research questions
and hypotheses, the use of a variety of sources, the critical and ethical use of evidence, and the planning and
structure of designing a research project. This course provides the basis for WS499 WGS Senior Capstone
where students produce independent research projects.
Partial Instructions:
This assignment will help you practice locating, reading, and evaluating different types of sources. An annotated bibliography is more than just a list of citations—it is a way of summarizing and assessing how each source contributes to your research project. Think of it as a tool to help you clarify which sources are useful, how they connect to your topic, and why they matter.
You will create an annotated bibliography with three (3) different sources, one from each category:
1. A book (monograph, edited collection, or scholarly book chapter)
2. An article (peer-reviewed journal article or substantial magazine/newspaper piece)
3. Another type of source – this could be a blog post, website, film, exhibition catalog, podcast, interview, a zine, or other form of media.