Seminar and Practicum in Engaged Research
 

In the Seminar and Practicum, students learn first-hand how feminist research methods and theory are integral to practice and how practice informs and alters methods and theory.
 
Each student begins conversation with CSWGS staff and faculty about their Practicum in the spring of sophomore or junior year. In the fall of the junior or senior year, the student takes the Pre-Seminar (SWGS 494), a 2-credit course graded S/U that prepares them to submit an Institutional Review Board application or a formal research proposal.

In the spring of the junior or senior year, the student takes the Seminar and Practicum courses (SWGS 496 and SWGS 497) simultaneously.  These courses unite theory and practice, allowing students to enhance their academic knowledge through research on issues of gender and/or sexuality in collaboration with a local non-profit organization.  Seminar and Practicum projects are eligible for Distinction in Research and Creative Work.

The weekly Seminar (SWGS 497), a 2-credit course, is taken for a letter grade. It explores a range of perspectives on feminist theory and practice, grassroots organizing, and policy-making on issues of women, gender, and sexuality.  Some readings will focus specifically on the areas in which the students are conducting their Practica that semester, perhaps covering topics such as domestic violence, reproductive freedom, or human trafficking.  The Seminar situates the students’ concurrent experiences at their Practica in broader theoretical, historical, and transnational contexts.  Course requirements include critical essays drawing on assigned readings and a final paper in which each student analyzes their own Practicum in light of the seminar readings.

The Practicum (SWGS 496), a 3-credit course, is also taken for a letter grade. It requires 6 hours of work per week at a local non-profit organization during the semester; a weekly journal entry focusing on relationships between the on-site experience and Seminar readings; and a formal public presentation of the research project near the end of the semester.  Successful Practicum placements match an organization’s needs with the student’s interests and skills. The research project arises from this deliberate and informed encounter between the student and the needs of the organization and the clients it serves.  This true collaboration is a distinguishing feature of the Center’s “engaged research” approach.

The Seminar and Practicum are open to non-majors. Permission of the instructor is required, as is some background in the study of women, gender or sexuality.

The Seminar and Practicum in Engaged Research has been a part of the major since 2008.  In 2024, 100 students will have completed projects and forged strong relationships with non-profit organizations in Houston and beyond.