OK, what kind of major is Womens Studies?

fishy fishy fishy fishy wrote:

And what the heck can you do with the degree? Why is there no Mens Studies major? More title IX garbage?

There is a Mens Studies major. It is called History.

deleuze wrote:

benedetto BROce wrote:Though often enough having any degree can come in useful, I agree that you should definitely major in something you can put to good use.

The only thing you learn as an undergraduate that you can immediately "put to good use" is the ability to write and communicate, to think critically, to reason mathematically, to argue logically, and to disagree with civility.

You can pick those things up (or not pick them up) in any major. The major is almost entirely irrelevant. The student's attitude towards his or her studies is not.

Majoring in something that can't be put to immediate use (e.g. accounting, engineering) is a questionable choice. Learning "to write and communicate, to think critically, to reason mathematically, to argue logically, and to disagree with civility" are important. The question, however, is whether such things are worth the outrageous tuition being charged at many universities, especially when such things can be acquired for "a buck fifty in late chahges at the public library." It's also worth considering that any number of people don't learn those things in college anyway.

optional wrote:

"...or become a CPA majoring in physics.

This is where your premise falls apart. Measuring the velocity of numbers is a big part of a CPA's repertoire.

The real answer took way too long to appear; meet chicks. No real need to study them when all one really needs is access.

fishy fishy fishy fishy wrote:

Now that you mention it, there was a fishy smell in the women's studies class I took.

Srsly wrote:

I hear majoring in Women's Studies is a good way to meet girls.

DUDE!!! Yoga classes are where it's at.

optional wrote:

Yes I know english majors have to take a basic math and science class. That does nothing to refute my point or support yours.

You could support your point by explicitly pointing out how majoring in, say, Chemistry actually gives you skills that can immediately be "put to use" to anything besides going to graduate school in chemistry or working in a chemistry lab.

The broader skills that the humanities--and yes, the sciences as well--give you are the things that will be immediately put to use in 95% of the jobs that undergraduates get right out of school. That's why those degrees are so damn expensive--they provide great value.

I was a double major in physics and philosophy. Both of these courses of study helped me in general ways in my careers afterwards. I did not put to use the knowledge that I learned in my physics classes or my philosophy classes. However, the skills I picked up under the general bachelor's degree have proven invaluable.

I realize you disagree with me. However, employers want to know a couple of basic things: do you know how to learn? Can you play nice with others? Can you think creatively in response to problems? Can you articulate your ideas in ways that others understand? These are the basic skills that a bachelor's degree gives you. The major is unimportant.

To put a fine point on it: how many people in the working world ask you what you majored in after you've gotten your first job. The answer is likely approximately zero. Why? Because it doesn't matter.

The genesis of women's studies and all of the other slice and dice demographic studies began in the 70s, when colleges were told they needed more women and minorities.

The point of women's studies was to create a department chock full of women which allowed them to check the box and get the diversity police out of their hair. Same thing with queer / african / native american, etc etc. The point is it allowed the university to hire a bunch of non-white guys pronto.

The point of studying it as a student? Well, if you want to write for the Nation, or knock on doors for NOW, or teach it, it is probably okay. But don't expect anyone in the real world with a real degree to take it seriously.

Socially Ambiguous wrote:

There is a Mens Studies major. It is called History.

History is the study of significant events that have happened to shape the world we live in.

Women's Studies is the study of how being a woman affects and is affected by characteristics of religion, psychology, history, sociology, etc. It is concerned less with what women have done, and more with what it means to be a woman.

A Men's Studies department would not study what men have done, but rather what it means to be a man. Your quip, though amusing in implication, is without substance.

Don't forget Science and Math as well.

Socially Ambiguous wrote:

There is a Mens Studies major. It is called History.

Women's studies major = Lesbian

Woman studies major = enlightened

fishy fishy fishy fishy wrote:

And what the heck can you do with the degree?

Head coach of a D1 Cross Country program?

sold2u wrote:

The genesis of women's studies and all of the other slice and dice demographic studies began in the 70s, when colleges were told they needed more women and minorities.

The point of women's studies was to create a department chock full of women which allowed them to check the box and get the diversity police out of their hair. Same thing with queer / african / native american, etc etc. The point is it allowed the university to hire a bunch of non-white guys pronto.

The point of studying it as a student? Well, if you want to write for the Nation, or knock on doors for NOW, or teach it, it is probably okay. But don't expect anyone in the real world with a real degree to take it seriously.

This comment just lacks imagination. How could anyone believe that studying women is useless? Half of humanity is female. If you know what women are like, what they want, what political battles they are fighting, what sort of world they want to live in, then you are cash money to any potential employer.

I've heard that you can go all the way to the OLYMPICS with a women's study degree!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_Rowbury

I also heard that women's studies (or gender studies as it's sometimes called) will become much less popular when hating women goes out of vogue. I heard a similar thing about Race Studies, but it turned out to be a terrible conspiracy whereby black people created entire fields of knowledge in order to further consolidate and defend their economic and political power. What a minute, something's fishy here...

First of all, "Women's Studies" in and of itself is seldom a major- rather, it is often a category under either "Women and Gender Studies" or simply "Gender Studies" which in turn is a subcategory of Biology, Psych, Anthro, History, etc., (I hope you're getting the point)

Secondly, as a former Religious Studies major with a concentration on Women and Gender in Religion I could easily spew off at LEAST 10 different things one could do with such a degree- but I won't bother because it tends to be only closed-minded people that question such degrees (aka: the entire liberal arts education to begin with).

And there are no "Men's Studies" because, as already pointed out, that is in fact called "History".

You're still in college, aren't you?

Trust me, it is worth exactly zero to roughly 99.999% of profit-minded companies out there.

deleuze,Let's go back to what you said earlier:

I agree that these are valuable things that can be learned in any major and immediately put to use in any field. I agree that 10 years down the road experience outweighs your major, and those things are more important to your overall success. What I disagree with is when you say these are the ONLY things you learn that can be used immediately.

Let's use your chemistry major example since you brought it up. If you take a job immediately out of school that requires a heavy dose of chemistry (water treatment, forensics, or one of the many varieties of actual chemists)you will be able to (and required to) immediately apply specific knowledge that goes well beyond what is quoted above. You will not get those specific skills in every major.

Believe it or not some people actually use what they learn in college even if you didn't.

Yes employers search for those qualities (duh), but those things are learned in high school.

People don't ask me, but they don't have to. It is generally understood that, being an engineer, I have an engineering degree.

Your Next Bold Move wrote:

First of all, "Women's Studies" in and of itself is seldom a major- rather, it is often a category under either "Women and Gender Studies" or simply "Gender Studies" which in turn is a subcategory of Biology, Psych, Anthro, History, etc., (I hope you're getting the point)

Secondly, as a former Religious Studies major with a concentration on Women and Gender in Religion I could easily spew off at LEAST 10 different things one could do with such a degree- but I won't bother because it tends to be only closed-minded people that question such degrees (aka: the entire liberal arts education to begin with).

And there are no "Men's Studies" because, as already pointed out, that is in fact called "History".

Thanks for the point of clarification. Don't confuse my terseness for a supposed lack of rational thinking or open-mindedness. I asked a few questions, largely to stir up conversation, but also to learn more. Yet after all of your pontificating, condescending rhetoric I still have not learned one thing:

What have you done with your major? Answer honestly now...

deleuze wrote:

You could support your point by explicitly pointing out how majoring in, say, Chemistry actually gives you skills that can immediately be "put to use" to anything besides going to graduate school in chemistry or working in a chemistry lab.

Going to graduate school in chemistry is a job - you get a stipend! Once you have a PhD in a hard science you can go out and generally make large amounts of money. It's true that you can't do a whole lot with just a bachelors in the sciences, but that's because it's a very skill-intensive area. To discount the first half of your education just because it doesn't immediately lead to a job is silly.