What Do Students Learn in Women’s Studies? As diverse as the discipline may be, a review of previous studies, together with current assessment plans and mission statements at a variety of institutions, suggests that there is consensus about core learning outcomes in the field and that there has been little change since goals were delineated in The Courage to Question. For example, the five key concepts listed for Old Dominion University in that book are: “systematic, interlocking oppression of women; women’s varied relations to patriarchy; the social construction of gender; the social construction of knowledge; and the redefining and re-conceptualizing of women’s power and empowerment” (86). The documents consulted in the creation of the list below (table 2) are recorded in Appendix B. Significantly, current programs appear to have moved from the “woman as victim” model to more explicit commitments to teaching about women of color both in the US and internationally. Some of the items below overlap; however, I have retained all of them for the sake of completeness. Graduate programs require advanced proficiency in meeting these goals. These are not intended as benchmarks for the assessment of programs or individual students’ learning, but rather as a rough guide to common practices at this time: See Table 2 Common learning outcomes for Women’s Studies Similarly, Women’s Studies programs in the US tend to have certain common requirements, course offerings, and structures. They also distinguish themselves through the use of feminist pedagogy. Smaller and under-resourced programs at public institutions may not be able to offer all of these features. See Table 3 Common features of Women’s Studies programs. In addition to the components described in Table 3, the following topics have become increasingly common undergraduate electives: globalization and women internationally; feminist research methods; and gender and science. In rare cases, campuses offer courses focusing on women in business or management. Other common graduate offerings include feminist epistemologies, women and spirituality, foundations of feminism, and activism. Courses on women and science, with the exception of those focusing on health care or biology, are few and far between on the graduate level. Doctoral programs often require students to specialize in a subfield, though they may be examined on several areas. For example, at Arizona State University, doctoral students may choose among specializations in visual and narrative culture; health, science, and technology (focusing primarily on health care); as well as justice, social change, and sustainability.
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Index to this Study
QUESTIONS FOR A NEW CENTURY:WOMEN’S STUDIES AND INTEGRATIVE LEARNING - Downloads
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Program Administration & Development
Twice annual member publication Official journal of NWSA Syllabi Collections, Program Admin Handbook and more Graduate Guide to Women's and Gender Studies Free resource for students considering graduate work in Women's/Gender Studies Directory Includes: Click here to visit the PA&D webpages and resources The Program Administration and Development Committee (PA&D) is a standing committee in NWSA specifically designed to represent the interests and needs of administrators of women's studies programs and departments to the Governing Council of NWSA and to assist NWSA in meeting the needs of women's administrators and their departments and programs. The PA&D webpages offer a wealth of free downloadable resources for NWSA members. These include: Defining Women's Scholarship What Programs Need Shared Development Documents including course development, climate issues and surveys, service learning guides and evaluations and much more. Click here to visit the PA&D webpages and resources. Click here to visit the Women's Center pages and resources. Women's Centers have representation on the NWSA Governing Council as a standing committee. This is more than a symbolic recognition of the important role that women's centers play in feminist education. The Center webpages offer a wealth of free downloadable resources for NWSA members. Administration Resources And More... Click here to visit the Women's Center pages and resources. NWSA has many initiatives in development and ongoing. Current initiatives include: NWSA is partnering with the National Organization for Research (NORC) at the University of Chicago to collect data on the field of women’s studies nationally. The WoCLP is designed to increase the number of women of color students and faculty within the field of women’s studies and, consequently, to have an impact on the levels of participation and power by women of color in the PA&D, NWSA, and in the field of women’s studies as a whole. About the Field Professional Development Calls for Papers for Publications Program Administration & Development Pedagogical Resources The site contains several interactive areas for NWSA members. General Areas >>Update your contact information<< Add a Student to your Institutional Membership Submit your book to the database Submit your video to the database Sent tenure, promotion, awards, and retirement news Governance This section includes
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QUESTIONS FOR A NEW CENTURY:WOMEN’S STUDIES AND INTEGRATIVE LEARNING
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