• THE FIELD OF WOMEN'S STUDIES
• WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAM AT MSU
• WOMEN'S STUDIES OFFICE SERVICES

Women's Studies courses were created nationally beginning in the late 1960s because of the longtime neglect, silencing and derogation of women's lives in nearly every discipline.  By placing gender in the center of analysis, feminist scholars have made important contributions to many areas of knowledge.  Literary critics have questioned traditional literary canons which exclude the work of women writers of diverse class, race and ethnic backgrounds.  Studying the lives of diverse women, historians have challenged traditional assumptions that history is primarily about politics, public policy and famous individuals.  Anthropologists, recognizing women's lives and contributions in many cultures, have altered perspectives on human evolution and cultural creation.  Sociologists have raised questions about unpaid subsistence, relations between unpaid work and households, discriminatory patterns in language and traditional family studies.  Psychologists have begun to rework basic assumptions in their field, by theorizing processes of gender and personality foundation.  Anthropological and historical studies of medicine have illuminated the powerful interrelation between the production of scientific knowledge, the dominant conception of gender and the training of American physicians.  Feminist researchers in education examine how gender stereotyping has been institutionalized in the schooling process.  Today there are over 620 Women's Studies Programs in the United States.
 

In 1973-74, a thematic program in Women's Studies became available to all undergraduates.  In 1993-94, the thematic was replaced by the more ambitious, cross-disciplinary major leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree, a program designed to provide a liberal arts education.  Students are required to take at least thirty credits of Women's Studies courses which offer a cross-disciplinary perspective, as well as to fulfill requirements of the College of Arts and Letters.  The major emphasizes the position of women in culture and society and the intersections of gender with other social identities including race, class, religion, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and nationality.

The major provides a framework for understanding theories and methods relevant to a variety of professions such as journalism, business, counseling, education, publishing, health, law, women's resources, and government service.  Students in other departments, schools and colleges may select Women's Studies courses as cognates or electives, and graduate students may choose graduate level courses, another area of Women's Studies which continues to grow.

There are over fifty Women's Studies faculty who are recognized scholars, teachers and researchers in the College of Arts and Letters, Social Science, Communication Arts and Sciences, Education and James Madison College.
 

Re-Visions:  Journal of the Women's Studies Program at MSU, highlights the writings of MSU faculty and students, and is published twice a year. It is a vehicle of communication and intellectual engagement for Women's Studies students and scholars campus-wide as well as nationally.

Each semester Women's Studies sponsors and co-sponsors a variety of colloquia, drawing feminist speakers from local, national and international intellectual communities.

Undergraduate Women's Studies majors may be guided in their academic pursuits by a graduate assistant who holds a half-time position as advisor.  Graduate students may receive guidance from the Director of Women's Studies.

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