Bringing majors together

By: Ashley Allen

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 12:28 AM

The College of Liberal Arts is now home to a new program — the gender, race and identity program, which formed from four previously independent programs within the university.

The program change started when holocaust, genocide and peace studies director Viktoria Hertling retired in the spring. Budget cuts made it impossible to hire a new director for the program, forcing the university to find a new way to run the program.

“We decided that the degree should be in gender, race and identity rather than in women’s studies,” Mary White Stewart, women’s studies director, said. “Our program was devoted to developing a more interdisciplinary vision for women’s studies.”

Stewart said that since the master’s degree was named gender, race and identity, it made sense to have similar programs in the university fall under the umbrella of their diverse topic.

When Hertling retired and left holocaust, genocide and peace studies without a director, Stewart saw the opportunity to bring that program together with women’s studies.

But holocaust, genocide and peace studies wasn’t the only program that women’s studies was interested in.

“Women’s studies was increasingly moving in the direction of identities and the intersections of race, class and gender,” Stewart said. “We thought that our new gender, race and identity program really reflected the programs that were focused on marginalized identities. Holocaust, genocide and peace studies has a natural link to religious and ethnic studies.”

Stewart said the College of Liberal Arts was interested in diversifying its list of programs. By bringing ethnic studies, religious studies and holocaust, genocide and peace studies together with women’s studies to form gender, race and identity, they were able to do that.

Under the gender, race and identity program, students can now minor in any of the four areas and also major in women’s studies. A 12-credit certificate program is also available for master’s and Ph.D. level students.

The program has about 50 faculty members who teach courses, work with students on theses, do research or give speeches. Faculty members are drawn from other departments all over campus: everything from geology to English.

“It was really good to take four smaller programs in and bring them together under a broader umbrella with more students and a broader curriculum,” Provost Marc Johnson said.

Before the move, ethnic studies was a small minor overseen by a committee of faculty and two co-chairs, Stewart said. When it came into the college, it kept its assets, but also gained a person to help the program grow by adding more courses and building academic diversity.

Religious studies was previously run by an advisory board of faculty and community members. Now, the board is just faculty and they’re much more focused on program development. The program is even adding new courses.

“Now that religious studies is part of the gender, race and identity program and the College of Liberal Arts, it’s supported like an academic program,” Religious Studies Committee Chair Deborah Achtenberg said.

Achtenberg, who is also the philosophy department chair, said that with the support religious studies now has, they are able to promote the minor program available to students by attending religious events held on campus and distributing literature about the minor to get more students aware that it is available.

“The gender, race and identity program is great because there is now one program to help other programs that were unrelated,” Achtenberg said.

With academic support, Stewart plans to add new curriculum and develop programming to get the community involved in issues concerning marginalized identities. She also would like to add new courses.

The program also has a committee that is looking at the expansion of the program into the areas of a disability program and a sexualities program.

“It was a real creative response to an economic problem,” Stewart said. “I don’t think we could have done it with any more creativity or with any more enthusiasm than we did. It’s going to be a lot happier place.”

Ashley Allen can be reached at news@nevadasagebrush.com.