Women’s Studies Program Assessment Report

September 7, 2007

MISSION STATEMENT:

The mission of the Women’s Studies Program is to educate students in the history of women’s lives and writing across cultures; to inform them of the range of theoretical approaches used to study these lives and writing; and to help them develop critical, creative, and pragmatic responses to the variety of information that they receive. It is our firm belief that a consciousness of the ways in which discrimination against women and of the vexed category of “woman” are prerequisites for making more meaningful and productive choices beyond Wells.

GOALS:

All students who major in Women’s Studies will:

--gain knowledge of the critical discourse that informs the variety of theoretical and historical approaches used to analyze women’s condition across historical periods and cultures;

--understand more fully the differences between the ways in which different fields—from the humanities to social sciences to the physical sciences—have (and do) analyze women;

--gain familiarity with the history of women’s movements and feminisms across cultures and historical periods;

--develop insights into the ways in which gender and sexuality have been—and are being—theorized;

--conduct research on well-defined questions pertaining to the field and become conversant with a wide range of canonical and less familiar primary and secondary sources;

--develop and support their interpretations in oral and written arguments and other projects;

--have experience in off-campus sites involved with issues pertaining to women.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students who complete the major in Women’s Studies will demonstrate:

1. confident deployment of the critical discourse that informs the variety of theoretical and historical approaches used to analyze key issues in the field;

2. understanding of the differences between the ways in which different fields—from the humanities to social sciences to the physical sciences—have studied women and the implications for analysis of working within and across disciplinary boundaries;

3. familiarity with the history of women’s movements and feminism across cultures and historical periods, as well as with the key texts that have shaped perspectives on this information;

4. understanding of the ways in which gender and sexuality have been—and are being—theorized and of the personal, political, and cultural conditions that have led to the development of these theories;

5. ability to do meaningful research on well-defined questions pertaining to the field and a familiarity with a wide range of canonical and less familiar primary and secondary sources;

6. ability to support their interpretations in oral and written arguments and in one sustained research project;

7. ability to read critically and make discerning critical judgments based on an attention not only to content but also to the formal choices that shape the text in question;

8. understanding of perspectives from the past and from non-western writers/thinkers/activists that differ from their own;

9. understanding of the link between personal and political expression;

10. clear organization, reasoning and writing in critical essays;

11. attention to the rhetorical and aesthetic effects of their own writing.

12. understanding of how theory and practice inform each other by working off-campus in a pragmatic context on issues pertaining to women.

MEASURABLE LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Objectives 1, 2, and 3:

Students begin to encounter the critical discourse that informs the variety of theoretical and historical approaches used to analyze key issues in the fields as well as differences between the ways in which different field approach the field of “women’s studies” in the required introductory course, WS 148: Introduction to Women’s Studies. This is a prerequisite for most subsequent coursework in the major. Moreover, in this course students start to develop a familiarity with the history of women’s movements and feminism across cultures and historical periods, as well as with the key texts that have shaped perspectives on this information. Additionally, WS 260: Indigenous Women’s Experiences, WS 301: Feminist Theory and WS 310: Feminist Methodologies: Intersectionalities offer students the chance to do advanced reading in the debates and conflicts shaping and affecting the production of feminist knowledge across time periods and cultures.

Objective 4:

To ensure that students develop an understanding of the ways in which gender and sexuality have been—and are being—theorized (and of the personal, political, and cultural conditions that have led to the development of these theories), the major requires WS 245: Body Politics. This course analyzes the ways in which women’s bodies—whether constructed as transgendered, lesbian, or other—are made the site of power struggles between competing interest groups, both in the U.S. and globally. The major also periodically offers WS 243: Language and Gender, which explores the effects and implications of gender roles in communication as well as sexism in language across cultures. In addition, WS 285/385: Topics in Women’s Studies, WS 301: Feminist Theory and WS 310: Feminist Methodologies: Intersectionalities have allowed for in-depth focus on issues such as Utopian/Dystopian Fiction; Transgenderism; Femininities/Masculinities.

Objective 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11:

WS 295/WS 395: The Tutorial in Women’s Studies, WS 399: The Independent Study/Project in Women’s Studies, and WS 401: The Senior Project in Women’s Studies build upon skills gained in all of the courses in Women’s Studies listed above (as well as those taken across disciplines that focus on women and gender) to demonstrate students’ ability to: do meaningful research on well-defined questions pertaining to the field and a familiarity with a wide range of canonical and less familiar primary and secondary sources; to support their interpretations in oral and written arguments and in one sustained research project; to read critically and make discerning critical judgments based on an attention not only to content but also to the formal choices that shape the text in question; to produce critical essays with clear organization, reasoning and writing in critical essays; to pay attention to the rhetorical and aesthetic effects of their own writing. Public presentations of the senior project--as well as attendance and participation in local and national conferences for undergraduates, activists, and academic professionals--provide students with a forum for receiving feedback on their ideas and testing new knowledge.

Objectives 8 , 9, and 12:

Especially in WS 260: Indigenous Women’s Experiences, WS 245: Body Politics, and WS 285/385: Topics in Women’s Studies, students have the chance to develop an understanding of perspectives from the past and from non-western writers/thinkers/activists that differ from their own, as well as of the link between personal and political expression. This latter objective is underscored through WS 290/WS 390, the required internship in Women’s Studies, which moves students into an encounter with the subjects of their study in practical contexts and expands their understanding of how theory and practice inform each other.

Means of Assessment Outcomes:

Because students in the Women’s Studies Program take courses not only in the Women’s Studies Program but also across disciplines—at least twenty (20) faculty maintain a curricular rotation that includes courses focusing on women, feminism, gender, and/or sexuality studies—they are exposed to a wide range of work assignments. These can include: peer comment on in-class presentations; journals; oral work; in-class quizzes; informal and formal writing assignments; in-class writing; examinations (take-home, closed, and open book); individual conferences; collaborative projects.

How Assessment Data will be Used:

This remains to be seen!