Michigan State University is committed to fostering an inclusive space for all Spartans. Students have been able to specialize in LGBTQ studies in the past, and now the new LGBTQ minor will span throughout the College of Arts and Letters, Lyman Briggs College, James Madison College, and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. Michigan State celebrates LGBTQ Pride month in April, and recognizes the struggles and the history that LGBTQ people have faced in our country and on our university.
Initiated in large part through the LGBTQ Task Force’s efforts, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Sexuality Studies specialization will become a minor in Fall 2023. The 50-plus students currently enrolled in the specialization will begin diverting to the minor at that time.
The minor in LGBTQ and Sexuality Studies is designed to provide opportunities for undergraduates to obtain a comprehensive, global, cross/interdisciplinary academic experience in sexualities, gender identity and expression, and queer identities and activism. The minor complements a wide range of majors and is especially suited for students who plan to work with and advocate for issues of diversity, inclusion, and cross-cultural understanding.
Available as an elective to students who are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs at Michigan State University, the minor is administered by the Program in Women, Gender and Social Justice. “Creating the Womens’ Studies and LGBTQ specialization was the first thing I was asked to do when I became director of the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen),” says Lisa Fine. “The specialization began in summer 2013, so this change to a minor is particularly gratifying.” Fine, who is a professor of history, is co-director of the GenCen with anthropology Professor Anne Ferguson.
Key faculty who Fine says were instrumental in bringing the minor to fruition are trans-collegiate and include Trixie Smith from the College of Arts and Letters, Patty Rogers from RCAH, Noako Wake from Lyman Briggs, Julia Grant from James Madison, and Aminda Smith in Social Science. “New (2014) ISP Dean Steve Hanson has also been amazingly supportive of the change,” Fine says.
The new minor resides in the university, and the undergraduate major and graduate specialization reside in the College of Arts and Letters. Students in the program are advised out of the GenCen by Dori Hopkins. The entire program is a partnership between the College of Arts and Letters, Lyman Briggs College, James Madison College (where all the faculty reside), and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.
Fine notes that 15 credits are required for the minor, including the Gateway course—WS 304, two core required courses, and electives. Students can also appeal to add coursework from faculty in other areas. “The only thing we changed from the specialization to the minor,” Fine says, “is the addition of a Capstone experience that offers a lot of leeway in what students do. For example, students can take a graduate course, work for an NGO for credit, or choose any number of other options including research. We work to guide students, and help tailor programs to what they want and need. There’s also an excellent Study Away program, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Sexual Politics in Amsterdam”.
“Student response to the new minor has been terrific for a number of reasons,” Fine says. “The minor can enhance students’ academic programs—for example, those who want to go into social work. It can also be intellectually stimulating, as it helps students learn more about sexual orientation and gender dynamics.” As for program enrollment, Fine says, “A wide range of people—male and female—enroll, including straight students who register because they want to better understand LGBTQ and sexual issues.”
