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New master’s program likely
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by Natalie Rhoads
Monday, February 7, 2005
A master’s degree in women’s and gender studies may soon be offered for students at the University of Wisconsin.
A committee of UW Board of Regents members will meet this week to review the proposed master’s program. If the program is approved and later passed by the Board of Regents in March, the program could be instated as soon as next fall, according to women’s studies professor Caitilyn Allen.
“All the feedback we’ve gotten so far has been positive,” Allen said.
Establishing the master’s program has been a three-year effort, which started with a survey of alumni to determine possible interest in the program, according to Allen. Then, in the past year, the Academic Planning Counsel reviewed and passed the program.
The program would be an addition to the already offered undergraduate major and doctoral minor, Allen added.
Women’s studies instructor, Marianne Bloch said she hopes there will be a large response to the program, however, only two or three students will be admitted each year. Bloch said the number of admitted students would most likely increase as the program grows, but resources are currently limited for the program.
“At the moment, the [lack of] resources that are available are limiting the people that can be admitted,” Bloch said.
In addition, a language requirement for the master’s program could possibly limit students from acceptance into the school, according to Bloch. However, she said the language requirement is important because the program would focus on international gender relations and fulfill a lot of different needs.
“I think, in general, it will be a small program that will grow each year,” Bloch said.
UW junior Jessica Krasnick, who completed a women’s studies course on Cultural pluralism in Educational Policy, said the master’s degree in women’s studies is an important asset to the university in order to keep its reputation as a dominant university.
“[Seats in the program] will be pretty coveted,” Krasnick said.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 8:32am):
Doesn't this just scream "Unemployable Studies"?
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 8:41am):
Ha it ever occured to any of you repugs that some people like learning? That it is not about how much money they can make? God you make me sick.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 9:21am):
Study your hobbies on your own time when they're not a drain on our finanical aid system. This program will merely crank out more professors to teach the aforementioned program.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 10:47am):
"Doesn't this just scream "Unemployable Studies"?"
It's not like it's art history, English, or philosophy.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 12:42pm):
If you are so worried about the financial aid system why don't you give yours up and go get a job instead of wasting your time posting on here?
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 12:55pm):
"It's not like it's art history, English, or philosophy."
What you conservatives will never see or learn is that while it might (and I emphasize might) be the businessmen, engineers, and laborers that keep a culture going. It is the poets, scholars, artists and thinkers that make it worth living in.
There is a name for your attitude. It's what spawned the Cultural revolution in China (That's right Communism! EEK!) and the terrible mess we are in today as we are morally bankrupt thanks to big business feeding humanity's lowest desires: competition,violence,greed etc..
The question between art and business it a simple one once the basic needs of society are met (no thanks to W cutting billions from programs for the poor yesterday). Would you rather live in a society where man is tuned to be a consumption machine. Where people sell their most valuable asset in life, time, for a more expensive car, or would you rather live in a society where people use man's highest attribute, thought, to enrich,enlighten and better others?
On a different note: You Republican dunces really need to get over your "It's my money you are wasting" arguments. It's called a collective society. You will never agree on every thing that the governement spends its money on. For example, I am angry that my taxes are going to slaughter,maim, and dismember Iraqi children. However, that is the mess you jerks have put us in. It's part of having to live in a society that sometimes you preference will not win out. So if you want to make an argument as to why Women's studies is not a valuable course of study, fine, but arguments about spending "your" money are not legitimate. IT is not "your" money. It is the government's money and by proxy all societies money to do with as they see fit via voting. "Your" money is the money you have after taxes.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 3:56pm):
I like how some posters have defined the posters they disagree with. I suppose it is easier to knock down the straw man you construct than it is to address the arguments made by non-caricatures.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 4:26pm):
"What you conservatives will never see or learn..."
What you jackasses will never see or learn is that not everyone who disagrees with you is a conservative. Liberals can have common sense, too.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 6:39pm):
I'm sure it's really the conservatives who have rendered our country "morally bankrupt." Give me a break!
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 10:32pm):
I have an idea on how to save money at the UW.
Don't add useless new majors to the curriculum.
It won't just be a new professor here and there either. It will be a professor with a secretary, graduate student, and soon an administrative staff for the department. This is the kind of crap that causes tuition and taxes to go up so much every year.
If those people are so interested in learning something that has no useful purpose to the Wisconsin economy, then they should have to pay every dime of the cost of that learning and not be subsidized by the state taxpayers and the rest of the students.
Anonymous (February 7, 2005 @ 10:36pm):
lets get back to the real world people.
Everybody wants to be a poet or a freelance artist, but some people make sacrifices and work harder (engineers, business people) rather than give in to their impulses. These people do this because it will provide a more comfortable life for their families. The result is that useful services get to people. If everyone was a poet, everyone would starve and planes would crash from the sky. It is that simple. Somebody has to do the work. I don't think we need any more encouragement for people to do work that is unproductive for society (i.e. gender studies program)
