Why Women's Studies Matter

For the next few weeks, I have the privilege of teaching at the Oregon Extension Women's Studies May Term, a program I blogged about awhile back. Tomorrow, our 19 students will begin to arrive from universities across the country. We'll spend weekday mornings studying gender, theology and literature in the solace of the Rogue Valley in Oregon.

Today, I'm in downtown Ashland, OR, at a coffee shop with wireless internet, but for most of the next few weeks, I'll be on the top of a mountain with two computers equipped with dial-up internet (for 25 + students and staff to share). Needless to say, the blog entries will be short, or, possibly, non-existent. This is because part of what we try to do at the Oregon Extension is to create a contemplative climate for students, a place without the daily distractions of technology, an environment where students and faculty can commune with nature, read books, take hikes, and just chat over a cup of tea. Such sacred spaces are becoming more and more rare in this world of globalization.
But before I sign off into the land of pine trees and chai, I want to take a moment to celebrate the existence of women's studies programs like this one. According to the National Women's Studies Association,

Women's studies, as a distinct entitiy within U.S. higher education, made its debut in 1970 with the establishment of the first program at San Diego State University. Forty years later, there are more than 900 programs in the U.S., boasting well over 10,000 courses and an enrollment larger than that of any other interdisciplinary field.

These programs are important for women and men to critically examine the gendered structures in our world today. Often, they allow individuals to discover agency and create social change.

This spring's issue of Ms. Magazine (available now at your local newstand) offers an excellent guide to women's studies programs throughout the U.S. A more comprehensive list than even the print version is available online.

With budget cuts looming at nearly every university in this country, my guess is that women's studies programs will feel the brunt of the economic downturn. But my hope is that justice-minded folks (and even those non-justice minded folks who accidentally stumble into a women's studies class for a core requirement) will continue to dedicate their undergraduate and graduate years to unmasking gender constraints that cripple both women and men. And while most of these programs aren't located in a picturesque Oregon valley, they are still quite beautiful in their commitment to empowerment and scholarly inquiry.

New study says a nation's stability is based on how it treats its women

I started this blog because I felt that I was continuously receiving the question, "Why does gender matter?" Now, a new study seems to be answering that question by suggesting that gender matters because peace matters.

Researchers at BYU (fascinating in itself) published a study in the Harvard journal, International Security, on the correlation between a country's overall stability and its treatment of women.

The writers conclude that the best predictor of societies' peacefulness is how well they safeguard the interests of women. To determine that, researchers looked at data on such factors as women's voice in government, access to victim services, crime statistics, maternal health, and laws and social mores regarding women's rights.

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune that reports on the study, From the overall data, it's clear that where there is devaluation of females in the society, there is a greater tendency for conflict, both inter- and intrastate conflict," says Ballif-Spanvill, a psychology professor who directs BYU's Women's Research Institute. "We want people to study these issues through the lens of gender.

The other incredible result of this study is the creation of a comprehensive database of qualitative statistics about women thoughout the world. Instead of relying on statistics about domestic violence and abuse, these researchers interviewed women about the nuances of their conditions.

It seems that gender not only matters to this individual blogger, but to the stability of nations themselves. Who knew?