Gender and Women's Studies Program

Women's Studies began at Oberlin College in the early 1970s as an organized effort when the College Faculty, following a recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Status of Women, 1971-1972, developed additional courses relating to Women's Studies within the respective college departments. Since this beginning there have been three developmental phases: early curricular and governance initiatives, 1973-1974; the Women's Studies Committee, 1974-1982; and the Women's Studies Program, 1983 to the present.

During the first phase three faculty wives and a part-time faculty woman taught five Women's Studies courses: Children's Literature, Women and the Arts, A History of the Nineteenth Century American Woman, The Rhetoric of Social Movements and an Advanced Creative Writing Workshop. Oberlin Women's Studies Planning Collective (a subcommittee of the Committee on the Status of Women), the Women's Advisory Council and a Women's Studies Planning Committee all worked throughout 1973-1974 on developing a curriculum and gaining financial support for Women's Studies. Between 1972-1974 these committees worked with an interim Special Consultant in Women's Studies, Ellen Henle (nee Lawson) and two different associate deans, Zara Wilkenfeld and Paula Goldsmid (b. 1943), who were responsible for developing an interdisciplinary approach to Women's Studies. The latter served until June of 1981.

In 1974 the Women's Studies Committee became a standing committee of the College Faculty. It was responsible for "coordinating curricular offerings in the area of Women's Studies, including the possibility of drawing up guidelines for a major in Women's Studies." From 1974 until 1976 the committee membership included four representatives from the College faculty; four students; the Associate Dean responsible for women's concerns; and two other individuals interested in Women's Studies. The latter were appointed by the first nine members and approved by the College Faculty. In the spring of 1976 the committee's composition consisted of five faculty women and two men, and seven students.

Outside of the College the Women's Studies Committee was active in chartering the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA); for it sent a representative to the founding convention in January 1977. Oberlin's membership in the Women's Studies of the Great Lakes College Association (GLCA) not only fostered the development of the GLCA's program but also it stimulated Oberlin's own Women Studies Program. During 1978-1979 the Committee responded to the Educational Planning and Policy Committee (EPPC) questionnaire on long-term needs and Florence Howe's (1929-) evaluation.  These documents recommended the development of the "Program with Coordinator" model, which solidified the long term development and plans of the Women's Studies Committee.

The committee achieved a major goal when the EPPC passed a resolution in 1982 that made Women's Studies a program. By this time the curriculum included twenty seven "core" courses (not all taught annually) and forty one "related" courses. These cross-listed courses were mostly taught by tenured or tenured track faculty members. The introduction of Women's Studies 100 in 1981-1982 constituted the first program class offering.

From the beginning financing and staffing problems plagued the Women's Studies Program.  In early years of Women's Studies funds were gathered from different internal sources to underwrite isolated projects. Later it obtained outright grants, from the college and the National Endowment for the Humanities, to develop a core curriculum. Like the program itself the staffing patterns evolved inadvertently to meet the needs of the program.  After ten years of using faculty from other departments or programs a Women's Studies position, for three to five years, was authorized in 1982. Two years later Micaela di Leonardo was hired for a three year term but left after only one year. Again a period of two years elapsed before another person was hired to fill this position (a part-time professor was hired for the interim).

Parallel development occurred in the administration of the program. Over a two year period the position of the coordinator was filled by three people, two hired administrators and one student intern. Included among the duties and responsibilities were researching of information for program development; scheduling and arranging events; coordinating publicity and a program brochure; and special handling routine of administrative duties.

From 1989 to 1993, the Women's Studies Program participated in the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) project "The Courage to Question: Women's Studies Programs and Student Learning." Under this project the role of Women's Studies programs was evaluated and studied through a series of assessments and surveys focusing on student perceptions.

In March 2003 the program’s name was changed to the Gender and Women’s Studies Program.

Note written by Pam Kirwin.