Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies (PGSS)

Although many universities in Japan offer courses in women’s studies and gender studies, only a limited number of them have an institutionalized gender studies curriculum. This means that individual scholars may teach wonderful classes, but there is no continuity for their teaching and research after their departure or retirement. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a curriculum supported by an organizational framework which can accumulate the efforts of individual scholars. At ICU, the Center for Gender Studies (established in 2004) functions as the supporting organization for PGSS and the CGS steering committee is its decision-making body.
PGSS is the very first interdisciplinary program in Japan to include “sexuality” in its name. The history of gender studies has in its origin the re-definition of the originally grammatical term, gender, to refer to socio-culturally constructed differences between men and women. This enabled us to dismantle the structure of gender discrimination and break away from the theories of biological reductionism which states that men and women are treated differently due to their biological differences. The concept of gender has developed in many ways, especially since the 1980’s when sexuality issues increasingly began to draw public interest and understanding. Through this process, for example, we have come to understand that feminism, the central core of gender studies, has focused on heterosexual women, marginalizing their non-heterosexual counterparts. Gender can no longer be discussed without considering sexuality. Although sexuality studies in Japan began only recently, it has attracted the interest of many students at ICU and is an increasingly popular senior theses topic.
The most significant characteristic of PGSS is that in all the courses, students can acquire the gender studies perspective and the skills to approach or think about various phenomena and representations. This enables them to develop their own viewpoints, theories and feelings. Students can not only study within the field but also apply their new skills, bringing fresh perspectives to challenge traditional theories and methodologies in other disciplines. For this reason, aside from specializing in PGSS, students could also effectively combine it with their study in another discipline.
PGSS does not only aim for the satisfaction of intellectual curiosity. Knowledge has power, and access to it is not equally distributed among us. So in order to avoid privileging those who have knowledge, we need to bridge the gaps between theory and practice, and academia and activism. The knowledge that is essential for human survival can be found in our daily lives. Thus, it is our aim to help develop a rich store of knowledge, nurturing sensibility through being/relating with others with the understanding that only a limited amount of knowledge can be verbalized. In this way, PGSS gives students the opportunity to challenge their fixed preconceptions and existing views of society, of humanity, and of the world.