THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE FACULTY SENATE Senate Document Number 1991S Date of Senate Approval 2/14/91 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Statement of Faculty Senate Action: UPC #4/APC#17 PROPOSAL FOR A WOMEN'S STUDIES MINOR AT UNCA I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Since the early 1970's, the American academic community has witnessed an explosion of interest in Women's Studies. In response to growing student and faculty demand, 519 Women's Studies programs have been established. While the programs are wide-ranging in their requirements and organization, all have been dedicated to the promotion of interdisciplinary study and research focused on the experience of women of all races and classes. A Women's Studies program seems particulary well-suited for a university such as UNCA with a commitment to a liberal arts curriculum and fostering interdisciplinary approaches to scholarship and learning. The creation of a Women's Studies minor at UNCA will serve two primary purposes, First, the program will act as a "second home" for students and faculty strongly committed to acquiring in-depth knowledge in Women's Studies and will permit them to pursue their academic interests in a structured and supportive environment. Second, the program's director, faculty and students will act as advocates for the integration of Women's Studies into the general curriculum. The Women's Studies Program is intended both to provide a new academic option for interested students and to stimulate an increased awareness of social and cultural diversity throughout the university community. The introduction of a Women's Studies Program at UNCA will accomplish this dual mission in several ways. For students who choose to minor in Women's Studies, an integrated course of studies will allow them to make Women's Studies an important focus of their academic experience and enable them to work with faculty who are committed to teaching and research in this field. In regard to the interests of the larger community, the Women's Studies program will sponsor a wide-range of activities including lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences, and other cultural activities relevant to Women's Studies. The Director of the Women's Studies program will organize these activities and will coordinate initiatives designed to make Women's Studies a vital part of university life. In these efforts, we can rely on advice and experience from sister institutions in North Carolina and a larger network of Women's Studies Associations. Many of our sister institutions such as Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, and ASU have Women's Studies programs of some longevity. In addition, many area private schools including Wake Forest and Davidson either have established programs or are in the process of establishing programs. The Southeastern Women's Studies Association (SEWSA), whose past president Sue Rosser (University of South Carolina) has already visited UNCA, is also a valuable source of guidance. SEWSA's newly elected President Pat Del Ray (University of Georgia) has already expressed interest in holding the 1993 SEWSA annual conference on our campus. At UNCA, we will begin Women's Studies when it is no longer considered experimental. The field has an established track record of sound scholarship and extraordinary interest in making that scholarship available to students and the wider community. One of the most important goals of the Women's Studies Program will be promoting the development of a more "gender-balanced" curriculum. This will entail encouraging research in Women's Studies, organizing faculty development seminars, making relevant Women's Studies literature available to interested faculty, and fostering informal discussion groups. We also expect that the Women's Studies Director will work closely with the Directors of Humanities, Honors and the MLA to aid in the integration of gender, race, and class into the traditional curriculum. The Program Director will also encourage the development of specialized courses in all of our interdisciplinary endeavors. Faculty teaching in Women's Studies will also be available as advisors for students interested in pursuing undergraduate research in Women's Studies in the context of traditional majors. II. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE The Women's Studies program will follow the lead of other interdisciplinary programs at UNCA, such as the Humanities, the Honors Program and the MLA Program. Faculty from many departments will be involved in the development and teaching of courses and Women's Studies minors will be drawn from a diverse group of majors. The Director of the Women's Studies Program will be housed in a academic department and be re-assigned time to direct the program. (See attached Position Description submitted to VCAA and Council of Chairs for details.) The Director will consult with the Women's Studies Advisory Committee in all matters, particularly the selection and approval of the Women's Studies' elective courses. The Advisory Committee will consist of three faculty members appointed by the VCAA in consultation with the Chair of Faculty Welfare and Development and the Director of Women's Studies. Ideally members of the advisory committee will have scholarly interests in Women's Studies research and pedagogy. In addition, a student representative will be appointed by the VCSA in consultation with the President of SGA and the Director of Women's Studies. The Director of the Women's Studies Program will report annually to the VCAA on the status and progress of the program. III. ESTIMATED COST AND ENROLLMENT The impact on institutional resources is difficult to predict, but since the Women's Studies minor relies on discipline-based courses, costs should not be substantial. In the formative years of the program, the Director will need six hours re-assigned time each semester for Women's Studies administration and teaching. This reduced departmental course load will be the largest cost. We anticipate offering the introductory course and the senior seminar course once a year. The Director would teach one of these course each year and one would be taught by another faculty member. Other offerings would be departmental courses (such as Soc 252 Gender and Society) which would serve as Women's Studies electives. At least one Women's Studies elective would be offered each semester. At present, we have limited experience with Women's Studies classes. However, two classes which will serve as Women's Studies electives are being taught this semester. HIST 373 Women in Modern Europe taught by Professor Nilan has 28 students enrolled and Professor Rackham's LIT 359 Major Women Writers has 18 enrolled students. Interest in Women's Studies is high and we expect the introductory course to enroll 25 next year. Even though the minor does not yet exist, there may be sufficient demand to offer the senior seminar next year. We anticipate 10-15 minor declarations in Fall 1991, many of them juniors and seniors who may desire an advanced course. At least one elective course a semester would have to be offered by departments to make the minor viable. Since this is offered for departmental credit, it represents no increase in cost to UNCA. The Women's Studies elective designation may allow courses which had low enrollment previously to be taught on a more regular basis. Many departments are already offering these courses to meet the demands of students and in anticipation of the Women's Studies Minor. Next spring, Professor Yeager will be teaching LIT 245 Women in Literature, Professor Mitchell will be teaching MCOM 373 Nineteenth Century Newspaperwomen and Professor Ashbridge will be teaching an Honors course Women in Management. As the program develops we hope to involve more departments and develop more courses. Naturally, departmental resources, faculty interest and commitment to Women's Studies will drive these offerings. SUMMARY OF FACULTY REQUIREMENTS FOR WOMEN'S STUDIES DIRECTOR: Nine hours reassigned for administration in the first year. Six hours (yearly) reassinged for administration thereafter. The director will teach one WMST course in the first year, two thereafter. One WMST course per year from another faculty member. TOTAL RE-ASSIGNED TIME: 5 COURSES YEARLY. For budget purposes this is valued at adjunct rate: $7500. In the fall of the third year of the program, the VCAA will review the use of reassigned time for teaching and administration in the program. Two other budget items are crucial to the success of the program: printing and travel. We estimate yearly printing costs to be at the level of the Honors Program. The honors program is budgeted for $500. Travel funds are particularly important to faculty just beginning to teach Women's Studies. In the past, this travel has been funded by departments, the Humanities Program, the MLA program and the VCAA. Thus 1travel expenditures would represent a continuation of past funding. This funding as averaged approximately $1500 per or $500 per trip. Secretarial services are always a problem. It seems unfair to load already overworked departmental secretaries with yet another duty, yet in these difficult budget years, other solutions are hard to find. A one-time expenditure for a computer and printer ($3000) would make life a little easier for all concerned. Under normal circumstances the secretarial support will be provided by the home department of the director. SUMMARY BUDGET FOR FIRST THREE YEARS FACULTY COST $ 7,500 EACH YEAR PRINTING $ 500 EACH YEAR TRAVEL $ 1,000 EACH YEAR COMPUTER $ 3,000 FIRST YEAR ONLY OFFICE SUPPLIES $ 500 EACH YEAR PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS $ 250 EACH YEAR TOTAL PROGRAM BUDGET (FIRST YEAR) $12,750.00 TOTAL PROGRAM BUDGET THEREAFTER $ 9,750.00 Naturally, the Director will also be seeking funds when available from faculty development for workshops. We anticipate that workshop activity will not start until the second year of the program. If budgets remain tight, we may be able to utilize our own faculty as workshop leaders. The timing of the proposal for this minor in Women's Studies is demand driven. UNCA has a history of discussions of a Women's Studies Program but busy research schedules, other commitments, and lack of institutional support have prevented a program from materializing. The driving force behind this proposal is students who are demanding courses about women. WOMEN'S STUDIES DIRECTOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Develop, implement, evaluate and review Women's Studies curriculum in cooperation with various departments offering Women's Studies courses. 2. Co-ordinate in consultation with department chairs, the scheduling and staffing of Women's Studies courses. 3. Work with individual faculty members to create Women's Studies courses. Evaluate faculty members' performance in Women's Studies courses. 4. Teach and conduct professional research in Women's Studies. 5. Give academic advice to students minoring in Women's Studies and post- graduate advice to students planning to enroll in an advanced degree in the field. 6. Co-ordinate staffing and scheduling with other interdisciplinary program directors, particularly the directors of the Arts, Humanities, Honors and MLA programs. 7. Encourage, support, participate in and disseminate research, scholarship, and creative expression pertaining to Women's Studies through interdisciplinary cooperation. 8. Encourage and/or participate in community activities which serve to generate and disseminate information on the nature of Women's Studies and issues relevant to women including the organizing of an annual Women's Studies workshop for the community. 9. Promote faculty and curriculum development in the area of Women's Studies. 10. Publicize Women's Studies to the external community. Create brochures, news letters. 11. Seek outside funding for Women's Studies activities. 12. Co-ordinate (in consultation with other UNCA activities, such as the Humanities Lecture Series and the Cultural and Special Events Committee) the presentation of Women's Studies oriented speakers and performances. 13. Take an active role in the planning of Women's History month events. 14. Co-ordinate activities of the Women's Studies Advisory Committee. APC#17 Catalog Copy for a Women's Studies Minor at UNCA WOMEN'S STUDIES (WMST) The Women's Studies Minor at UNCA allows students to supplement existing UNCA majors. Women's Studies courses offer an interdisciplinary exploration of the experiences of women and perspectives on women. Courses investigate the role of women in society and culture and the phenomenon of gender in psychological, sociological, biological, literary and humanistic terms. Women's Studies Minor 18 hours distributed as follows: WS 100, 400, and 12 hours elected from the list below. Additional special topics courses may count as electives in the Women's Studies Minor with approval of the Women's Studies Program Director. Women's Studies electives must be distributed across the offerings of at least two different academic departments. WMST 100: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S STUDIES (3) An interdisciplinary introduction to Women's Studies examining methodological perspectives and writings in Women's Studies from the humanities, social sciences and sciences. WMST 171-3, 271-3, 371-3, 471-3 SPECIAL TOPICS IN WOMEN'S STUDIES (1-3) Courses not otherwise included in the catalog but for which there will be special needs. May be repeated for credit as subject matter changes. WMST 400: SENIOR SEMINAR IN WOMEN'S STUDIES (3) Advanced readings in Women's Studies focusing on topics of current interest and debate. Readings will emphasize the interdisiplinary nature of Women's Studies. Prerequisite: Completion of 12 hours in women's studies. Women's Studies Electives LIT 245 Women in Literature LIT 359 Major Women Writers PSYC 368 Psychology of Close Relationships SOC 251 Gender and Society SOC 352 Sociological Perspectives of Women MCOM 364 19th Century Newspaperwomen MCOM 362 Women and Minorities in the Media Rationale The concept of Women's Studies as an academic discipline has been well established in America's colleges and universities over the last 20 years. UNCA prides itself on being an institution working on the cutting edge of the liberal arts curriculum. The time has come for UNCA to join the established mainstream of Women's Studies which includes programs operating successfully at such nearby institutions as UNC-Charlotte, Appalachian State, UNC-Greensboro, Duke, Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, and the University of South Carolina. Women's Studies in the curriculum provides an interdisiplinary perspective on traditional disciplines by showing how traditional gender roles have developed and the impact these roles have had on women and men and their societies. Courses in Women's Studies explore the histories and traditions of women in western and nonwestern civilizations. Too often the contributions of women have been ignored or trivilized by traditional curricula. Women's Studies provides a valuable intellectual lesson to students and scholars by examining the values that shape traditional curricula, canons and scholarship. Women's Studies is squarely in tradition of the Liberal Arts in enabling students to think analytically and critically about the sociocultural origins of their ideas and belifs about gender and gender roles. These courses can lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of cultural differences. At UNCA there is a great deal of student interest in taking Women's Studies courses. This semester Literature 359 Major Women Writers has an enrollment of 18 and History 373 Women in Modern Europe, which will become a regular history offering, has an enrollment of 30 students. In addition, many faculty are interested in teaching courses in the area. The UPC has unanimously approved the creation on a Women's Studies Minor at UNCA. The minor is modeled after already existing interdisciplinary minors in health promotion and in humanities with an introductory and capstone course specifically for students in the minor and other courses elected from departmental offerings. The course listings for this minor are not as extensive as we would like. However, they compare favorably with offerings at sister institutions. In addition, several departments at UNCA are now developing courses which would be appropriate for inclusion in the listing of electives in the minor. The following individual faculty members have expressed interest in teaching the following courses either as Special Topics courses or as a regular addition to departmental offerings: Women in Modern Europe, Cat Nilan Women in Science, Debra Van Engelen and Larry Wilson. Women in Theatre, Pat Snoyer. The Political Economy of Women and Work, Pamela Nickless. Contemporary German Women Writers, Charlotte Goedsche. Gender Identity in the Romantic Age, Cat Nilan. Methodologies in Women's History, Cat Nilan. Women and Revolution, Cat Nilan. A Social History of Women in America, Milton Ready. Women in Management, Donna Ashbridge. Philosophy of Feminism, Ileana Grams. Philosophy and Human Sexuality Anthony Coyne. Women in Politics, Dolly Mullen. Naturally, these courses would be taught as department and university resources permit. The decision to make a course a permanent addition to a department's curricula would be a departmental and APC decision.