A Gender Studies Requirement?
On Tuesday, November 15, Dr. Warren Rosenberg, along with students Reed Hepburn and Devin Kelley, delivered the 2011 Bankart Gender Talk, titled, “Either I’m the Bitch, or He’s the Bitch: Why Wabash Needs a Gender Studies Graduation Requirement.” The talk received quite the attention. The talk was held in Center Hall room 216 and by the time the presentation began, there were people practically sitting on one another, eager to hear what Dr. Rosenberg had to say in regard to an enforced gender studies requirement. The talk was a way for the feelings of many of the faculty to be expressed. The reception by the students that were there seemed to be of understanding, but not necessarily of agreement, toward all that was said. The argument made as to why Wabash, specifically, needs a gender studies requirement was based largely off the fact that we are an all-male school, and there are problems to address in the area of gender.
Dr. Rosenberg started his talk off with a very true statement, and one that probably drives this entire controversy. “I don’t know if it’s the ‘B’ word or the ‘R’ word, if it’s the ‘B’ word or the requirement, either one, it’s stimulating a lot of interest.” He went on to say how a great deal of the teaching staff here at Wabash have been discussing their courses and are trying to figure out what the “next iteration of their curriculum will be.” Something that has come up is this issue of “masculinity and gender studies” as a requirement. Dr. Rosenberg restated his feelings toward the subject in his opening statements: “I gave the first Bankart lecture in 2009 on roughly the same subject, so this will be a reiteration but with a bit of variation…I have been talking about teaching gender since 1980, when I first came to Wabash.” Believe it or not, this whole question of gender studies is not a new one, just one that seems to come up every so often. In fact, the Bankarts, who used to teach here at Wabash before retiring, had a large role in pulling gender studies onto the table for discussion during their time as professors. This time there is greater support from the teaching staff; Dr. Rosenberg is not alone in his desire to have a gender studies requirement, and there are many professors in agreement with him.
Part of Dr. Rosenberg’s argument, and a view shared by many, is that because Wabash is one of the few all-male colleges in the twenty-first century, gender needs to be taught intentionally. If Wabash is to remain all-male, it should adopt a gender studies program that is required for graduation. Dr. Rosenberg put a lot of emphasis not on female gender, but on masculinity and the problems we face as men. “Men define themselves, in essence, against women…and that’s a process that starts early. There’s a term called ‘policing,’ when gender roles are ‘policed.’” This is something even Wabash College students have faced. Rosenberg elaborated on how one of his students came to him and told him that when he was younger he enjoyed the color pink and playing games that were traditionally “girl games.” When the young man’s mother noticed this “irregular behavior” she had him get therapy. This is one of the examples Dr. Rosenberg gave to illustrate how gender has a role with Wabash students and why there is a justification for a requirement in the area of gender studies.
“Wabash defines itself by gender. We are a college for men; asking and understanding why makes sense.” Dr. Rosenberg claimed that part of his core argument is that we need to be asking ourselves why we are a college for men. Does gender have a huge role in making Wabash what it is? “If we think about the college’s mission, to think critically, act responsibly, live humanely, and lead effectively, there is actually a gender component to each of those things.” Rosenberg looked at requirements such as freshman tutorial and now EQ and asked why the study of gender is not paired into those required courses. If Wabash, as a place more or less centered on the very definition of gender, is not requiring a course focused on such a crucial area, we must ask ourselves why. “So many people are scared of the word requirement,” and this is the problem a lot of students have with a gender studies requirement. “We feel that being required to do something takes away from our masculinity, but that’s not the case. There are so many things we are required to do in our lives. We require you students to do a lot, actually.” Rosenberg argued that students are fearful of the course being a requirement for no reason.
Another issue many are facing is this fear of feminism taking over and dominating the gender study courses. Reed Hepburn ’12 addressed this issue by saying, “There’s a lot of false assumptions we are operating on here…gender is not simply masculinity [or femininity]; gender is gender. A lot of students also think that gender equates to feminism, but this is totally untrue; gender is gender…there’s also this idea that feminism equals this anti-male propaganda…this is not true either.” Hepburn elaborated on the false notions that some form of militarized feminism would take over the course. He described some of the things he has experienced personally from taking some gender studies courses and completely rejected such a notion: “We need to get past the stereotypes we have concerning masculinity, feminism, and gender studies.” Hepburn argued that by taking courses revolving around gender, he saw past the stereotypes and has now come to support the idea of Wabash requiring its students to take a gender studies course. “These classes are not being dominated by one ideology, but are simply pulling these issues onto the table for us to discuss.” Dr. Rosenberg and Reed Hepburn both argued that it is a false belief to say that one particular ideology will overshadow others within the courses.
The argument Rosenberg proposed is one that is becoming a large topic of discussion on campus and is one that will surely be debated among the student body and the faculty. Whether Wabash will or will not ever require course credit in gender studies is unclear, but it is definitely a question that should be asked. If you have any comments you would like to propose on the subject feel free to email me at editor@wabashunion.org.
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