The interdisciplinary minor in gender studies encourages students to think about the process of acquiring an identity as male and female and to consider the impact of changing gender roles on their lives. Areas of focus include marriage and family, sexual orientation, alternative lifestyles, gender across the life cycle, the distribution of power by gender, work and gender, and the representation of gender in literature and the arts. The gender studies program is under the supervision of the program director and a committee consisting of faculty members from most of the departments of the College.