Respondents unidentified as students, faculty or prof/administrative staff:
Feminist & Gender Studies: 3
Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies: 4
Gender & Sexuality Studies: 7
Gender Studies: 6
Comments:
Feminist & Gender Studies
I worry that "Gender and Sexuality" eliminates a very important aspect of women's history, since much of the gender and sexual movement is focused around women. Likewise with "Gender Studies." I think it's important that women have an official title within the concentration. I personally would suggest "Women's and Gender Studies." While sexuality is indeed an aspect of the women's movement, I worry that incorporating it into the title of the concentration would further serve a defeatist purpose-- that of yet again associating women with the body and sex.
believe that the name is not what matters.
Sexuality is a whole other animal.
I believe that this survey is ridiculous.
Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies
I think that it is still important to study women's issues. A name that leaves out the word feminist seems to shift the focus all together, implying that the concentration now only considers the role of each gender in society, when I think the specific study of women's place in the world, not only as compared to men's, is still critical.
because i think taking the feminist part out would be a mistake and because i like the idea of adding in sexuality. i feel like this one is the most inclusive and comprehensive.
Gender & Sexuality Studies
Although one does not have to be a woman to be a feminist, I still feel the title is limiting.
unfortunately, many people are afraid of the word "feminist" and will not identify themselves as "feminist" even when they are. leaving it out of the title will open up the field to more people. i think it's important to have both gender and sexuality in the title because they are very different concepts.
More open-ended as a name. I think you could then include (in bold black print) a feminist component within the program, a couple of courses that keep alive the historical component for those who want to pursue that.
Definitely NOT; we shouldn't move away from "feminist."
Gender Studies
i think the term 'feminism' is both dated and alienating.
Succinct; covers all the ground of this concentration, including feminism and feminist scholarship, sexuality (can you get far into gender without considering sex?), queer theory, men's studies, whatever.
General comments on the concentration:
I don't really care what name you pick, but I think the name should reflect the content of the program. Do you study the feminist movement? Do you study sexuality? The term feminist has gone out of vogue. Personally, I stopped using it when I realized I could not define it in any meaningful way. However, I think it is still meaningful when used in the context of the women's movement from the 60's to the 80's. Otherwise, I don't find it such a useful term. If you switch to just "gender studies" I imagine a program studying the way that gender effects who we are as individuals and cultures, and how the biological and environmental implications of gender interact. If you add the term "sexuality" to either name, I would suspect you are also focusing upon human sexuality in the context of either the feminist movement, or gender roles--depending upon the rest of the name.
i would love to see classes on male gender and sexuality as well!
I prefer that it not exist
I don't know enough about the concentration for it to affect me, but I also think that the name itself shouldn't matter and get everyone excited. It is, I think, the things you learn in the concentration that should be important, and the things you get out of it, not the name that you get to put on your resume. If it's that important to someone, they personally can get the name changed, I'm sure, on their transcript only.
You have presented very general reasons in support and against each name, but you do not provide us with a description of the actual concentration at Haverford. It is hard to name the concentration without knowing the courses included in the concentration or understanding the emphasis of the concentration. Each of those titles implies something different and the point of a title is not what sounds best or is most PC, but to convey what it means to have concentrate in that subject.
Again, let's not move away from "feminist" or "feminism," and not lose the uniqueness of the concentration. Sexuality should be made a separate course of study.
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