This post has two parts - the first is real simple: I need to find out if any of you knows of Women's Studies courses that can be taken online.
I am currently deployed, and have had to put my studies on hold. Lately, I've felt as though I've slipped from academia, and need to continue to learn, to ready myself for my senior thesis/law school for when I get back.
So, does anyone know of any schools that'll offer women's studies online? I've done an extensive Google search, and haven't found much.
Secondly, I want to explore the areas of feminist growth: at one point can a feminist no longer learn? What are the areas in epistemology and feminist research can we start to take on, after having exhausted courses/studies academically? In short, how does one continue to learn and at the same time, contribute to feminist academia? At a certain point, it seems feminist primers and theories no longer apply, and the bodies of literature are no longer good enough to draw from, if one wishes to go on to engage a career in feminism/social justice.
So, to Women's Studies majors - what did you end up studying after graduation, and how did you continue to grow as feminists? More specifically, what are some of the challenges of continuing to learn as Women's Studies scholars? How can we expand WMST programs to feed the academic needs of students, and, lastly what areas of feminism do you think is lacking in Women's Studies?
Marc.
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i'm 99% UMASS (either Amherst or Dartmouth) offers online WOST certificates.
http://www.umassonline.net/degrees/Online-Certificate-Women-Studies.cfm
Thanks! I am trying to reach the point of contact as we speak. They have some quite interesting classes, it seems, to include eco-feminism - an area I've always fought to the teeth, and comtemporary feminist theory which, I suspect, will deal with a lot of the issues of sex work that have been discussed so much, and have been such a divide among the posters here on Feministing,
I can't help with the search for online programs, which sounds like a more pressing matter, and I'm sorry about that. But on the other front:
We always, always, always need more feminist scholars in theology/religious studies (or GWS/WMST scholars focusing on religion). Particularly important, I think, are ones who extrapolate feminism and feminist epistemology beyond stereotypical "women's rights" issues--feminist theology is often (even today) critiqued as being stuck in the Western, white, middle-class mindset. Also, and this is my chief problem with feminist theology, it tends to be pretty essentialist. There is a *lot* of work to be done here.
I think it's important to bring feminism to religious studies and to religion, but also to turn around and bring those feminist reflections on religion back to secular feminism. The feminist movement's (well, such as it can be called a cohesive "movement") general bias against religion, particularly Christianity, is a serious turn-off for a lot of women.
Dude, you can go anywhere with this.
Consider:
The women's history course I took revolved around American women, from the Pilgrims forward. The teacher of the class is proficient in all that, but specializes in the history of reproductive health issues in that time span, especially the twentieth century.
Now expand the scope of that. You have a variety of issues applicable to American women, which spans about four hundred years, but you also have the rest of the world to work with and the entire course of human history if you want to use it. And as I've been discovering, the more you delve into that history, the more it informs your knowledge of the present day (this is not always the case with historical data, and it appears to be much more the case with women's issues than most subjects). Even if you're not inclined to be a real historian- the aforementioned prof is- that kind of information can push you towards all kinds of useful contemporary knowledge.
If you're not sure where to start, I would say just pick a topic that seems kind of interesting, follow whatever sparks your interest, and keep reading until you find something you really groove with. You'll never run out of information to mine.
Congratulations on continuing to pursue your education! You may look at framing your own course. Do this at any accredited school and you will be able to transfer the credits -- at least as elective credits -- to wherever you decide to attend. Look in the course catalog for "independent study" or similar title in any department. Then you need to find an instructor who will mentor you and determine how many credit hours you will pursue. The great thing about this pursuit instead of an already-established class is that you can move towards a longer-term goal. For example, because you are interested in going to law school, you may wish to study the change in women's legal status regarding (pick your own topic here). You may want to update http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/against-the-law/Content?oid=881317. Good luck!