Core Curriculum
SCCS Common Core Curriculum
All students majoring in programs within the School of Cultural and Critical Studies (including American Culture Studies, Popular Culture, Ethnic Studies, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) take common core curriculum courses in their junior and senior years providing students the opportunity to develop a stronger sense of community and connection here at BGSU.
CCS 3030: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Culture
This course intoduces students to many of the foundational theories used in the fields within the School of Cultural and Critical Studies (American Culture Studies, Ethnic Studies, Popular Culture, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies). Students will learn about the historical and social contexts out of which these theories arise, what they say, and how and when they can be applied to analyzing social phenomena. This is a reading-, writing-, and discussion-intensive course. The material is challenging, but ultimately rewarding, and essential for any practitioner of social and cultural analysis.
CCS 3710: Gender, Race & Culture in Community-Based Practice
This is a service-learning course that prepares students for career and internship experiences in community-based work and the non-profit sector. Students work with local organizations and organize an event for and with those organizations.
The exact project differs every year, but past projects and community partners have included:
- Generation Justice: A one-day conference on social justice for high-school students (pictured above). Community partners included BG City Schools, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
- Toss the Tiara: An alternative dress-up day for ages 3-6.
- Seeing Difference Project: a photo journaling project for high school students. Community partners included Lucas County and Wood County Libraries, and the YWCA.
- Community Cooking Classes. Community partners included BG Brown Bag Project.
Organizing these events allow students to learn about project management, marketing, leadership, volunteer coordinating, and much more. These are particularly important skills since so many of our graduates go on to work in the nonprofit sector.
It is strongly encouraged, but not required, for students to take CCS 3710 before they enroll in an optional internship in the School.
Other classes in the School also frequently involve service learning projects. For example, Women and Interpersonal Violence (WS 3350) frequently partners with the Cocoon Shelter or similar organizations. And, Race and Urban Housing (ETHN 4350) often partners with the Toledo Fair Housing Center.
CCS 4850: Qualitative Research Methods
CCS 4860: Capstone Seminar
Our School of Cultural and Critical Studies Majors learn how to do qualitative research and get hands-on experience designing research projects, conducting interviews and doing fieldwork in CCS 4850. This senior capstone experience culminates in CCS 4860 where students complete a research project that they designed and conducted.
- Leah N. Bennington, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
An Examination of Barriers to Partnership Opportunities for Women in Private Law Practices
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Melissa Miller - Keith A. Richmond II, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Men’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources on Ohio College Campuses
Faculty Consultant: Trisha Bonham - Torrence Doerner-Gabel, Ethnic Studies
Women, Girls and the Weight of Water: Analyzing Intersectional Activism in the Flint Water Crisis
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Thomas Edge - Mollie Boyd, Ethnic Studies
Accessibility of Fentanyl Harm Reduction Resources in Ohio
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Scott Martin - Elizabeth Garen, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Tackling the Algorithm: Comparing Two of YouTube’s Idea- Sharing Channels
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Radhika Gajjala - Grace Riehle, Popular Culture
#HockeyIsForEveryone—but Who Is ‘Everyone’?: Queer NHL Fans, X (Twitter), and the Politics of Belonging in Hockey
Faculty Consultant: Radhika Gajjala - Marcos Sanchez, Popular Culture
Exploring Trauma and Mental Health in Stephen King’s It
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Charles Coletta - Halle Richardson, Popular Culture
Blueprints for Becoming through Purpose and Planning in the College Experience
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Charles Coletta - Christian Gunnoe, Popular Culture
Electronic Art’s The Sims: Analyzing Video Game Avatar Gender Representation in the 21st Century
Faculty Consultant: Sasha Kim - Tegan Ruttencutter, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Psychology
Toledo Area Private High Schools: An Analysis of Marketing Strategies
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Sarah Rainey-Smithback - Mariann Bonnice, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
From a Multidisciplinary Perspective: A Critical Auto- Ethnographic Study on Student Engagement in the Classroom
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Sarah Rainey-Smithback - Jennifer Attah, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Religious affiliation within universities and among college students.
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Angela Nelson - Gyllien Anderson, Popular Culture and Psychology
Movies and Mirrors: The Impact of Body Representation in Film on the Mental Health of the Audience
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Jeffrey Brown
Spring 2024
- Phoebe Yoder-Tiedt, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"100% Leak Free Periods! An Analysis of Social Media Advertisements in the Era of Disposable and Reusable Menstrual Products"
Faculty Consultant: Prof. Becca Cragin - Sarah Piwko, Popular Culture
"Goodbye Fabio: Analyzing Cover Designs of Goodreads and Publishers Weekly's Top Romance Novels of 2023"
Faculty Consultant: Dana Nemeth - Chloe Parks, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Musical Theatre
"Post-Transnormativity? Changing Norm Expectations from Transgender TV Celebrities"
Faculty Consultant: Prof. Sarah Smith Rainey-Smithback - Marlie Unger, American Culture Studies
"Two Worlds and In Between: Becoming Goth through the Virtual Spaces of TikTok"
Faculty Consultant: Prof. Matthew Donahue
Honors Advisors: Prof. Rob Sloane and Prof. Matthew Donahue - Nora Rock, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"The Final Girl and Her Mother in 3 Wes Craven Slasher Films and Their Remakes"
Faculty Consultant: Prof. Jeffrey Brown - Noah Fitch, Ethnic Studies & History
"The Author & Apartheid: Building Pro-Blackness at BGSU Through James Baldwin and the Anti-Apartheid Movement"
Faculty Consultant: Prof. Thomas Edge
Honors Advisors: Prof. Thomas Edge and Prof. Michael Brooks - Lily Fritsch, Popular Culture
"When Hashtag Becomes Genre: Romance Fiction on TikTok and BookTok"
Faculty Consultant: Prof. Rob Sloane
Spring 2023
- Lucia Meyers, Ethnic Studies
"Conversaciones el la Mesa: Migration nad Experiences of Mexican Women Living in Northwest Ohio"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Luis Moreno - Katherine Pool, Ethnic Studies
"Examination of Historical Housing Discrimination in Toledo, Ohio"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Thomas Edge - Jordan Swartz, Popular Culture
"The Correlation Between Social Media and Self Image"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Montana Miller - Surah Marks, Ethnic Studies
"'Going Back to My Roots': An examination of black hair through generations"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Jessica Birch - Donovan Gaffney, Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies
"Analyzing the misogyny and violence in the Red Pill online community"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Sarah Rainey-Smithback - Alexadra Haynes, Popular Culture
"The Perpetuation of the American Misinterpretation that Anime is for Children"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Kristen Rudisill - China Bower, Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies
"The Fall and Rise of Domestic Arts"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Sarah Rainey-Smithback
Spring 2022
- Caytlin Schultz, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"A Critical Evaluation of Domestic Violence Resources at BGSU." - Zion Kania, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
“'Pronouns? Wait Until You Hear About Adverbs!' Memes as a means of Developing Gender Queer Identity and Community in Online Spaces"
- Tony Lowe, American Culture Studies
"Learning Histories of People of Color at Bowling Green High School"
- Uzochi Nwauwa, Ethnic Studies
"Good Hair!: The Significance of Black Women’s Hair"
- Mikayla Fitzpatrick, Ethnic Studies
"The Common Experiences of Women of Color Faculty at Universities in the United States"
- Christopher Wilson, Ethnic Studies
"Is Nike Congruent with the Social Messages they use to sell Products? Tracking Nike’s Social Congruency"
- Roux Wells-Jensen, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"Multiplicity of Being: The (Many) Nonbinary Experience(s)"
- Molly Marody, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"BGSU’s All-Gender Housing and the Student Experience" - Nicholas Wynn, Popular Culture
"Alma de La Frontera: Vivir Entre, Vivir Más Allá (Soul of the Borderlands: To Live Between, To Live Beyond)" - Elijah Blunders
"Refusal to Condemn the Queer: The Relationship between the LGBTQ+ Community and the Unitarian Universal Church at BGSU"
Spring 2021
- William Ezzell, Popular Culture
"Live From A Studio Audience: How M*A*S*H and All in the Family discussed and educated audiences on the Vietnam War."
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Rob Sloane - Clare de Lune, Popular Culture
"Transition and Transcendence: Graphic Novels as a Mode of Transgender Expression"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Charles Coletta - Shelby Kuney, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"Understanding Lesbian Gender: a Recontextualization of Lesbian Gender and Identity Through the Non-Binary Lesbian"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Tessa Pyles - Mikayla Ernst, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"Exploring Bowling Green State University’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Through a Survey of Individual Experience"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Sarah Rainey-Smithback - Donovan Gaffney, Ethnic Studies
"Addressing Race on the Longest street in the world: Sesame Street!"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Thomas Edge - Madison Everett, Ethnic Studies
"Something to Fall Back On: An Analysis of the Black Church as a Model for Other All-Black Spaces"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Thomas Edge - Alan Martinez, Ethnic Studies
"Expanding Across the Pacific: Establishing Chinese-Mexican Culture in 20th Century North America"
Faculty Consultant: Dr. Luis Moreno - Kristin McKeown, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"A Novel Remote Team-Based Learning Platform for Medical Students Using Readily Available Technology"
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah Rainey-Smithback
Spring 2020
- Collin J. Andrews (Major PopC; minor in History)
"Dungeons & Dragons: An Investigation of the Game’s Recent Popularity" - Carter D. Bracy (Major Ethnic Studies; minor in geography)
“Hot, Hot Humboldt Park: Real Estate Vernacular and its Effects on Gentrification” - Gretel J. Thorpe (Major ACS; minors in Design for Social Impact, non-profit administration, and political science)
"Material Artifacts of the Contemporary EDM Festival Scene: Commerce, Community, and Counterculture"
CCS 4890: Internship
Up to 4 hours of internship credit can be counted toward a student’s major or minor in the School.
Please check out our Internship FAQ’s below. If you have further questions, contact the Undergraduate Coordinator for the School at ccs@bgsu.edu.
Internships are a great way to learn about careers related to cultural and critical studies and to network with future employers and colleagues.
Internship FAQ's
- 2.5 cumulative GPA
- Completed 6 credit hours of course credit in CCS (ACS, ETHN, POPC, or WGSS)
- Complete Application
CCS 3710 is highly recommended, but not required.
Yes, CCS 4890 is repeatable; however, you can only count up to 4 credit hours to your major or minor in the School. If you wanted to try two different internships, you can do an internship for 2 credit hours one semester at site A, and then an additional 2 credit hours another semester at site B.
1 credit hour of internship means that you are working 32 hours for the site over the semester. So, a 3 credit hour internship would mean that you work 96 hours over the semester (approximately 6 hours per week during a 16 week semester).
You can take CCS 4890 any semester--Fall, Spring, or Summer.
For your internship, you will have a site supervisor which is a person who works at the place you’re completing your internship. You will also work with a faculty member in the School who will ultimately be the person who assigns your grade for the course. The site supervisor will complete midterm and final evaluations on your work, which will inform the faculty instructor in the School how you are performing.
The Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School will help you set up the internship.
In addition to the work at the internship site, you will be expected to:
- Participate in weekly discussion on canvas with your instructor(s) and other students taking CCS 4890
- Complete a site agreement with your site supervisor
- Complete a midterm self-assessment
- Meet your instructor to discuss the site supervisor’s midterm assessment
- Complete a final self-assessment
- Final 5-7 page reflection paper
Yes, internships can be paid or unpaid. Typically, internships are unpaid.
The Director of Undergraduate Studies can help you find a suitable internship site. You can intern anywhere in the world, and in any field. Doing some research on nonprofits in the area you want to do your internship is a great way to start.
Updated: 11/21/2025 01:56PM