Women's Studies places women at the center of academic inquiry rather than at the margins. This discipline encourages women to be initiators of new ideas, creators of fine art, leaders in business.
Women's Studies invites both men and women to "fill in the gaps" of scholarship in American and world history, American politics, American and world literature, the visual arts, technology and communication, psychology and education, philosophy, and other significant academic disciplines. The contributions of women in academic disciplines have often been neglected or disregarded. Women's Studies encourages students to explore the contributions of women in all areas of education.
Women's Studies engages students in critical reading and thinking. Writing projects, reports on current issues, oral presentations allow students to perform scholarship in a variety of ways.
Women's Studies encourages global awareness. What men and women have always thought of as "women's work" and "women's place" may undergo a change of perspective, as both men and women understand that these ideas are culturally derived.
Women's Studies encourages participation in campus academic endeavors, such as the Liberal Arts Symposium in the spring semester. It also encourages participation in local and national conferences in which women's issues may be presented.
The Women Studies Minor is an 18-hour program that may e compatible with any major offered at UCO. For further information, please contact Dr. Sandra Mayfield at 974-5606 or by email at smayfield@uco.edu.