About women's studies
The mission of the Women's Studies Department at the University of South Florida is feminist undergraduate and graduate education, research, and practice for social justice by engaging students in the discovery and production of knowledge that emerges from feminist perspectives on culture and society.
We seek to expose limitations in traditional higher education (in literature and the arts; history, law, and public policy; sociology, anthropology, and the social sciences; in area and ethnic studies; and in health, science, and technology) resulting from the exclusion of women and other marginalized groups to create knowledge that is transformative and inclusive.
We seek to provide students with the analytic competency that results from engagement with a curriculum focused on the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and nation and that promotes responsible citizenship in a diverse global environment.
We seek to connect our work as academics with the social and political world outside the university; to educate our students about social inequalities that result from sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, and ethnocentrism; and to link knowledge, research, teaching, and activism.
We seek to empower students through a feminist critique of social, cultural, and institutional structures that enables them to think more knowledgeably and critically about their own lives and that inspires them to work as active citizens for informed social justice.
Contact Information
Chair: Kim Vaz
Office: FAO 011
Phone: 813-974-3496
Fax: 813-974-0336
