WGS 891 serves as the second seminar paper. It is meant to demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct substantial original research, similar to a History seminar paper, and to engage in theoretically-informed feminist gender analysis. Ideally, like a second seminar paper, WGS 891 will be related to the student’s dissertation topic. Whether or not the substance is related to the dissertation topic, a successful WGS 891 paper will demonstrate the student’s ability to engage in the kind of research and analysis that a dissertation in the joint PhD program entails. The WGS 891 paper must be completed before the preliminary exam is undertaken so that it may be defended as part of the oral exam.
