|
 |
 |
| Login | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
REGISTRATION INFORMATION for Spring 2010
The Department of Gender and Women's StudiesThe mission of the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is to expand our understanding and appreciation of women's lives and experiences both historically and in contemporary societies. We define education and learning in the broadest sense, including coursework, research, and a wide range of educational programs on and off campus. We expect our efforts to be intellectually stimulating and to touch people's lives in important personal ways. As the Final Report of the University of Wisconsin System Task Force on Women's Studies wrote in 1974, a major objective of Women's Studies is "to raise the aspirations of women, expanding their sense of possible future alternatives and opportunities and their own capabilities. The concurrent purpose is to enable men to widen their spheres of development for they, too, have been limited by narrow traditional concepts of 'women's roles' and 'men's roles.'" The Department of Gender and Women's Studies was founded in 1975 during a period of activism and debate that extended across the University of Wisconsin System. Our Program was established with a unique structure that provided much of its strength. Whereas most other women's studies programs of the time could be described as structures designed to coordinate offerings of faculty from different departments, our program had from the start a degree of autonomy and resources that allowed us greater ability to define our own field, the content of our curriculum, and our own process for governance and decision-making. Over the years we have come to be a well-respected Program in the University as we have grown and strengthened. Having begun with a small set of course offerings, the Program now lists 62 courses, 32 of which are cross-listed from other departments. Not counting cross-listed courses, the Program offers 10-12 courses each semester as well as a full summer program. In 1980 the Women's Studies Certificate was offered for the first time; by 1984 we were offering a Ph.D minor in Women's Studies. In 1986 we were authorized to enroll our first students as undergraduate majors in Women's Studies, and the Class of 1987 was our first graduating class. The Department of Gender and Women's Studies has grown in other ways. Our faculty are well respected and active members of the scholarly community, with many influential publications to their record. In 1977 the Women's Studies Research Center was founded as the arm of the Department of Gender and Women's Studies devoted to encouraging and coordinating high-quality women's studies research on campus. The Program works to be a responsible member of the larger community, participating in feminist activities with educational implications on the University, local, state, national, and even international levels. The Department of Gender and Women's Studies members see ourselves not merely as a University department in the traditional sense, but as a community of students of women's studies. We value diversity within our community and reflect many different understandings of women's studies, feminism, and education. Decision-making takes place largely in communities and in Program meetings. All who are committed to women's studies education are encouraged to become involved.
Program OfficeChair, Department of Gender and Women's Studies:
Location:
Contact Numbers:
Office Hours:
|
 |
|
 |
