[Program History and Philosophy]
The Women & Gender Studies Minor first became available to Stetson students in September, 1991. In that first semester, four courses were cross-listed for credit towards the minor. Since then, the program has grown considerably, with faculty from different departments and schools actively involved in teaching WGS courses or in WGS activities. In a typical semester, WGS courses enroll between 250-300 students.
The objectives of the program are as follows:
- to challenge traditional assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality;
- to provide a context for students to formulate their own values and philosophy based on both knowledge and personal experience;
- to analyze sex/gender systems operating through race, class, age, and sexual orientation, including how these systems shape women's and men's lives and consciousness;
- to analyze how male-female differences get translated into gender stratification and to examine the consequences of this stratification for individuals and society;
- to develop critical thinking skills;
- to refine written and oral communication;
- to provide desirable preparation for students going into business or professional fields in which they will be dealing with gender issues and/or problems;
- to heighten awareness of gender issues and improve gender relations.
Unlike women's studies programs at many other schools, Stetson's program tries to address the concerns of both women and men. Given this dual focus, students sometimes ask why the program is not simply called "Gender Studies." Here's a short explanation: the WGS committee has felt it is important to keep both "women" and "gender" in the title because both reflect essential components of the program's goals. That is, "gender" is there because we are committed to including issues of concern to men as well as women. "Women" is there because the program attempts to respond to the ways that women's experiences and perspectives have been and continue to be marginalized, displaced, or ignored--both in college classes and in the world at large. The program attempts to remedy that imbalance.
|
