An interdisciplinary certificate in LGBTQ and sexuality studies will draw from a variety of departments in the College of Liberal Arts when it is launched in the fall of 2014.
Unanimously approved by the College of Liberal Arts Policy and Curriculum Committee, LGBTQ/Sexualities Studies is a field that draws together work in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences to explore the history of sexuality, the experience of sexual minorities, and the cultural and political meanings of debates over sexual identities and practices.
“The University of Texas is fortunate to have more than a dozen nationally-known faculty doing research in this interdisciplinary field, and courses such as Gay and Lesbian Literature and Culture have been offered at UT since the early 1990s,” said Lisa Moore, the interim director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and a member of the faculty advisory committee for the certificate.
She said LGBTQ/Sexualities Research Cluster—a unit of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies—has collected relevant courses and listed them as the “Pink Book” each semester for several years. Student demand for these courses has always been strong, and undergraduate leaders of the Queer Student Association have been formally requesting a degree program since 2009.
“This combination of faculty expertise and student demand attests to the value of the program for the University,” said Moore. “Indeed, until now UT lagged behind its peers nationally in not having a formal course of study in this field. The Center for Women’s and Gender Studies is delighted with the success of our proposal and looks forward to an exciting and productive certificate program in the years ahead.”