Women's studies still strong after 30 years
Amanda Flitter
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
UNH alumna Nicole Brother said she "fell into women's studies" after she transferred to UNH from Northeastern University. It soon became her second major, in addition to English teaching, and eventually affected her life and career. Currently a high school English teacher, she may teach an entire women's studies course next year, and women's studies is something she always tries to incorporate in her classroom.
"I always incorporate various gender perspectives," she said.
This weekend, Brother, along with other alums, current students, and members of the UNH community, will gather to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the UNH women's studies program. The celebration will have discussion panels, a dinner and reception, and a keynote address delivered by Cynthia Cohen, a UNH alumna who is now executive director of the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence at Brandeis University.
Marla Brettschneider, coordinator of the women's studies program, said the purpose of the event is to "celebrate and mark where we are, where we're going, and where we've been."
According to Brettschneider, women's studies and the women's movement have gone a lot of places over the past few decades.
"Compared to 30 years ago, it's not at all the same world," she said.
Brettschneider said women's studies arose out of the women's movement of the seventies and the resulting attention to issues of gender and gender identity. This caused a drive to bring women's studies into academic life. In terms of campus environment, Brettschneider said that general social movements of the time, like the women's movement, needed to be brought to campus. For example, women undergraduates used to have curfews and dress codes, and fewer women faculty were hired. Brettschneider said these "protectionist gender differentials [were] affecting women's capacities to work on campus."
In 1977, UNH became one of the first universities in the country to offer a minor in women's studies. A women's studies major was approved in 1991.
"I always incorporate various gender perspectives," she said.
This weekend, Brother, along with other alums, current students, and members of the UNH community, will gather to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the UNH women's studies program. The celebration will have discussion panels, a dinner and reception, and a keynote address delivered by Cynthia Cohen, a UNH alumna who is now executive director of the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence at Brandeis University.
Marla Brettschneider, coordinator of the women's studies program, said the purpose of the event is to "celebrate and mark where we are, where we're going, and where we've been."
According to Brettschneider, women's studies and the women's movement have gone a lot of places over the past few decades.
"Compared to 30 years ago, it's not at all the same world," she said.
Brettschneider said women's studies arose out of the women's movement of the seventies and the resulting attention to issues of gender and gender identity. This caused a drive to bring women's studies into academic life. In terms of campus environment, Brettschneider said that general social movements of the time, like the women's movement, needed to be brought to campus. For example, women undergraduates used to have curfews and dress codes, and fewer women faculty were hired. Brettschneider said these "protectionist gender differentials [were] affecting women's capacities to work on campus."
In 1977, UNH became one of the first universities in the country to offer a minor in women's studies. A women's studies major was approved in 1991.
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