From a woman's perspective
Archived article from Oct 7, 2002
By Rochelle Runas
For Americans, the 1970s were a time of war, demonstrations, bell-bottoms and presidential impeachment proceedings. Activism provoked change and advancement on many fronts, including civil rights, environmental awareness and women's equality.
It was during this decade that the women's studies program at Rutgers–New Brunswick was born, starting with just a few courses at Douglass, Livingston and Rutgers colleges. Over the next 15 years, through some challenging times, the program continued to grow with support from Rutgers faculty in a variety of disciplines. Housed in the basement of Voorhees Chapel, the program gained approval for a major and minor serving some 65 students.
The late 1980s and the 1990s saw path-breaking initiatives for women's studies, including the creation of the Institute for Women's Leadership, a consortium of existing and new women's programs and centers. These initiatives were led by world-renowned women scholars and activists based at Rutgers, including Alice Kessler-Harris, Charlotte Bunch, Barbara Lee and Mary Hartman, and funded with generous university support as well as external grants.
The institute brought the women's studies program significant national attention and distinction.
Today, America faces new challenges with a war on terrorism, growing economic uncertainty and an increased emphasis on security issues. The world's women are a majority of the poor, illiterate and refugee population facing continued economic and political marginalization and widespread violations of their human rights. These conditions fuel the passionate dedication and commitment of Rutgers faculty and administrators, who continue to guide and groom future women leaders through innovative programs.
Women's and gender studies, now housed at the Ruth Dill Johnson Crockett Building, has more than 200 majors or minors and is considered one of the top programs in the country. An innovative M.A. program, now in its sixth year, engages international and American students in discussions about the history, practice and theories of women's studies.
Last year, the program became the department of women's and gender studies, and this year the doctoral program, one of 10 in the nation, was approved. The first class of Ph.D. students from around the world will begin their studies this semester.
"This is an exciting time to be at women's and gender studies at Rutgers as we initiate a new cutting-edge curriculum, create new international opportunities for our students and engage our alumni in building the premier department in the country," says Joanna Regulska, the current chair. Here is just a sampling of what's on the horizon for the next decade.
Exploring new areas
At a seminar session last spring, several Rutgers professors of math, science and engineering were engaged in a fervent discussion with fellow colleagues in the social sciences and humanities. The topic was one that rarely, if ever, is discussed in science classrooms.
"And what about liberal feminism?" asked the moderator. "Can anyone define that for me?"
"Liberal feminists just want women to be treated equally to men," a faculty member answered. "They don't want special treatment." Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.
The yearlong seminar was part of Teaching Inclusive Science and Engineering, an initiative that brings together educators from a variety of fields to discuss the role of gender in framing scientific inquiry. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the program is a collaboration among faculty from the women's and gender studies department, Douglass College, the School of Engineering, the Graduate School of Education and Cook College.
While the group agreed on the goals of liberal feminism, other discussions led to lively debates about how and when to incorporate the new scholarship on gender into the science and math curricula.
The April session, for instance, was moderated by guest speaker Sue Rosser, dean of Ivan Allen College at the Georgia Institute of Technology and an expert on curricular transformation in the sciences. The women, gathered in the CoRE building on the Busch campus, learned about the different types of feminism as they relate to math, science, engineering and technology. Among other things, they discussed how most jobs for women in technology involve the grunt work of putting together circuit chips, rather than more creative design and engineering.
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