Women’s Studies to Become Women’s and Gender Studies
Dr. Drucilla K. Barker

Next year marks the 35th anniversary of Women’s Studies at USC Columbia.  It will also mark the first year of Women’s and Gender Studies. Yes, we are changing the name!  My role in this process began with my arrival last summer and the discussions initiated at the Core and Affiliate Retreats.  But the process began much earlier, ten years ago to be exact, when Lynn Weber in her remarks in this newsletter asked, What’s in a Name?” 

The points that Dr. Weber made in her comments then are still true today: Women’s Studies is no longer only about women, nor is its scholarship done only by women.  Gender, the central concept in Women’s Studies, is a system of relationships of dominance and subordination and systems of gender inequality are interwoven with other systems of inequality such as race, class, sexuality and nationality. Yet, the historical rationale for the creation of Women’s Studies—the  persistent inequities between women and men, the marginalization of women in the academic canons, and the second class status of activities and behaviors associated with women still persist today.  (Throwing like a girl still remains a term of derision!)  I hope that the new name, Women’s and Gender Studies, will reflect these tensions while at the same time, keep women at the center. Let me explain further.

First, the argument for including gender in the title is this: Gender is a relational concept referring to social constructions of femininity and masculinity that refers to  individual identities, political and economic systems, and symbolic and cultural meanings. As such it is integral to the ways in which privilege, subordination, and resistance are created and maintained in society. Using gender as a category of analysis has become commonplace in most disciplines from English, to history, to biology.  Explorations of literary texts, of social histories, and human sexuality have all been enriched by gender analyses. 

As our mission statement indicates, the lens of gender is also a prism that reflects class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and nationality. Intersectionality is a theoretical paradigm and methodology that foregrounds the fact that inequality and privilege are always multilayered and multidimensional. Our commitment to intersectional analysis means that Women’s and Gender Studies at USC is not only about advancing the status of women, but rather it is about transformation and intuitional change that promotes the wellbeing of everyone, not only the elites. Thus including gender in our name foregrounds the program’s commitment to the relationship between social justice, globalization, women’s health and well being, and community activism.

So why not just change the name to Gender Studies?  It certainly is shorter!  The feminist historian, Alice Kessler-Harris, addressed this very issue in her essay, “Do We Still Need Women’s History,” which was recently published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Kessler-Harris readily acknowledges the explanatory potential of gender and celebrates its wide-spread use in writing history.  However, she cautions us not to abandon the history of women.  Gender, she argues, obscures as much as it reveals. Thus we need to remember to look at the particular ways that women, various in race, class, nationality, and sexuality, engaged in their worlds. For gender to be a critical lens and challenge the normative view of the world through the eyes of men, we must continue to study and understand the lives of women. As long as misogyny is alive and well, which it surely is today, we need to keep women’s squarely in the picture.

Thus, Women’s and Gender Studies acknowledges that our teaching and research agendas include both women and men, while keeping women at the center.  It acknowledges that the goals of the women’s movement have not been met and that in our search for social justice for everyone, we must not loose sight of the centrality of women to Women’s and Gender Studies.

Finally let me note that adding gender to the title of women’s studies programs is becoming commonplace in prestigious universities throughout the country.  It is already the practice among the branch campuses and the University of Charleston.  Thus changing our name will foster collaboration between Columbia and the branch campuses and contribute to a South Carolina identity for Women’s and Gender Studies centers and programs.

As you all know, Women’s Studies at USC has a long and distinguished history.  The Women’s Studies Faculty, both the core and the affiliates, and the Partnership Council feel that this change honors that history and think that this change will contribute to our reputation as one of the leading and most innovative programs in Women’s and Gender Studies today.