Women’s Studies Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Women’s studies is an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The rise of programs in women’s studies stems from the acknowledgment that prior to the 1970s formal education was primarily focused on a patriarchal structure that emphasized contributions of men and neglected roles played by women. As women in the second wave of feminism worked toward the women’s liberation movement, there was a realization that for women’s accomplishments in history, economics, psychology, and so on to be fairly recognized, a major overhaul in the education of students was necessary.

As an academic discipline, women’s studies was modeled on the American studies, ethnic studies (such as African American studies), and Chicano studies programs that had arisen shortly before it. The first women’s studies program in the United States was established in May 1970 at San Diego State College (now San Diego State University). Throughout the 1970s, many universities and colleges followed suit and created departments and programs in women’s studies, including professorships that did not require the sponsorship of other departments. By the late twentieth century, women’s studies was formally recognized as an academic institution, and such courses were available at many universities and colleges around the world. A 2007 National Women’s Studies Association survey included 576 institutions that offered women’s or gender studies at some level. Currently, there are 678 listed in its online searchable database, with fifteen institutions offering a doctorate in the United States.

The field of women’s studies in the twenty-first century seems to have reached a crossroads and there is much talk about the discipline outliving its initial, original purpose of highlighting the historical accomplishments of women. Some claim that because education now focuses equally on the contributions of women and men, there is no need for a separate discipline, while others argue that focusing on women’s studies only raised the stigma of antifeminism. As a result, some programs have shifted their attention to the international impact of women’s studies, some have gone into an active service learning component to ground graduates in the grass roots, and some have taken advantage of the movement into distance education and online learning.

Regardless of the transition in which women’s studies finds itself, many programs have found that they need to be more inclusive not only of men but of those with different sexual orientations and focus more on gay, lesbian, and transgendered issues. As a good compromise, some women’s studies departments have refocused themselves as women, gender, and sexuality studies programs. No matter the name, the need to consciously consider the contributions of different members of society and not just the dominant majority has been the key contribution of women’s studies programs the world over.

Bibliography:

Blumhagen, Kathleen O’Connor, and Walter D. Johnson, eds. Women’s Studies. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1978.
Bowles, Gloria, and Renate Duelli Klein, eds. Theories of Women’s Studies. London: Routledge, 1983.
Braithwaite, Ann. Troubling Women’s Studies. Toronto: Sumach, 2004.
Ginsberg, Alice E. The Evolution of American Women’s Studies: Reflections on Triumphs, Controversies and Change. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Hunter College Women’s Studies Collective. Women’s Realities, Women’s Choices: An Introduction to Women’s Studies. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
MacNabb, Elizabeth. Transforming the Discipline. New York: Haworth, 2001.
Weigman, Robyn. Women’s Studies on Its Own. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2002.

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