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Im taking 3 womens studies classes next semester. And one of the guys asked why take womens studies there are no men's studies!
and my ex boyfriend piped up "because the whole world is mens studies... "
and my ex boyfriend piped up "because the whole world is mens studies... "
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Canada
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Re: why womens studies?
Thu, March 29, 2007 - 9:45 AMThere are no "mens studies" at most colleges, because there hasn't been enough push for them..
I, personally, would find "mens/masculinity studies" very important and interesting.
I'd love a class that studied the way men of all walks fit into the various systems of power within their cultures.... and what masculinity means and how it is "proved/displayed" within each culture (not that masculinity is soley a "male" thing...) -
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Re: why womens studies?
Fri, April 6, 2007 - 6:20 PMWhile there may be no "men's studies" departments, there are many "gender studies" departments/courses/emphases.
It seems that "women's studies" departments across America tend to be of two kinds: the "activist" women's studies department vs. a more academic oriented department.
At my local university, the Women's Studies department is of the "activist" variety. By this, I mean that their majors tend to go into non-profit jobs, and students are encouraged to be critical thinkers as well as "actors."
I've noticed in other women's studies departments, the emphasis is on theory and little is done in the way of activism. In these departments, one is much more likely to find a "gender studies" emphasis.
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Re: why womens studies?
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 12:29 PMthere was a shift in a lot of academia around the 80s to be more inclusive of race and class and other identity vectors as well, and that necessarily brought to the surface relationships between women and men of various backgrounds, and how they differ. -
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Re: why womens studies?
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 2:11 PMInteresting distinction between activist and academic, Jessica. I hadn't thought of it.
I had considered gender studies to be a more or less natural development of further thinking on gender within women's studies. If femininity is socially constructed, than it stands to reason that masculinity is too. Looking at how gender (and sexuality) is constructed for both men and women bypasses or solves a lot of potential lameness. -
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Re: why womens studies?
Tue, April 10, 2007 - 11:39 AMIn my "Queer theory" class (gender studies/english lit) we focused a lot on how gender is constructed, and how masuclinity is "performed"... it was a fabulous class, but I think many men might be threatened by exploring masculinity within the context of homosexuality.
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Re: why womens studies?
Thu, August 2, 2007 - 7:16 PMi think your friend was right in that our whole culture is a men's study but i also think this veils what men are really doing and keeps them from being accountable. i would love a "men's" studies class- we have gotten away without it for far too long.
