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The Red and Black
Women's studies at the University
Del Rey discusses program’s past, future
By MIRA SHAH
Contributing Writer
National Women’s History Month
is recognized annually in March,
and to kick off the observance at the
University, Women’s Studies
Director Patricia Del Rey talks
briefly about the history of her in
volvement in the discipline and
about the past and future of the
University program.
Q: How did the discipline of
women's studies really get off
the ground, and what role did
you play in its beginnings?
A: In the 1970s at institutions
across the country, faculty in differ
ent areas were deciding there
should be a study of women. I was
at the Queens College, City
University of New York, and I had
heard about someone who was
putting together a “Women and
Sport" class in Massachusetts. I
thought this was really exciting and
decided to put my own course to
gether. Well, at the same time at my
school, there was also a woman in
literature putting together a course,
so we got together and began the for
mation of a women’s studies pro
gram. When there was more than
one course on a campus, those wom
en usually got together and said
“Now what do we do? I think we
need a program here." That’s how
women’s studies programs grew.
Q: So the discipline grew out
of people who happened to have
a common interest coming to
gether?
A: Yes, these were people like
myself — my generation — who
have not actually been trained in
women’s studies but who have,
through their own reading, devel
oped not only an expertise in their
discipline, but also a unique exper
tise called feminist analysis, that
can apply to all disciplines. First in
the 1970s, for example, research
was on a male author who was ana
lyzed to be feminist in his work. It’s
only the newest generation of femi
nist scholars (who have received
their doctorates in the past 10 years)
who have actually had the opportu
nity to study with feminist scholars.
What impresses me about what
the current feminist scholars re
search is that they are actually cri-
tiouing women's work instead of
only analyzing men’s work from a
feminist perspective. This means
that Ph.D advisers are reflecting
what knowledge is worth knowing,
and now the subject of analysis can
be women’s scholarship and writing.
Q: Since this program is
growing quickly, does depart
ment status seem inevitable?
A: We’re not even sure we would
want to be a department, because a
characteristic of women’s studies is
that it is interdisciplinary, and to
me, that is one of the critical factors
that contributes to the exciting na
ture of the material. So if we are a
department, where would we be? We
don’t want to be a small department
tucked away in the College of Arts
and Sciences — what would that
mean for other schools and colleges
like Education or Family and
Consumer Sciences? Institutes,
which we already have on campus,
may be the way to go. Then we
would be able to keep that horizon
tal relationship with other programs
and departments but recruit some
core faculty. We are exploring op
tions now because we are growing so
quickly.
Q: In terms of teaching stu
dents, what does it actually
mean to be interdisciplinary?
A: It means the readings re
quired of students come from differ
ent disciplines. In the “Women and
Sport" class I teach, for example, I
assign readings from philosophy,
history, sociology, nutrition and
physiology. There is a real apprecia
tion of diversity in methods and in
content in our classes. It’s also im
portant for us to put women at the
center of the analysis, but to ask the
questions from several perspectives.
Q: Has the discipline encoun
tered many stumbling blocks in
its path to 1993?
A: The whole concept of women's
studies programs doesn’t fit into the
historical development and struc
ture of institutions, so that presents
a problem. It’s like I was saying:
women’s studies doesn’t fit into a de
partment because departments are
defined by knowledge bases. What is
a knowledge base? What we do is
very intense because it requires peo
ple to understand varieties of ways
to study knowledge. Part of what we
do is study how knowledge is con
structed.
The other thing is that we believe
in the idea of multiculturalism or di
versity in terms of people. That is
something that has not been a great
part of higher education until now.
Now everyone is talking about how
important multicultural education
is. Now that the University has be
gun to examine a multicultural core
requirement, we have had clearly
Patricia Del Rey is director of women’s studies at UGA.
explicit goals in place in terms of ex
posing students to a variety of per
spectives. We can be helpful in as
sisting the University reach its cur
rent goal.
Q: How do students entering
the workforce benefit from your
program?
A: When people ask what you can
do with a focus in women’s studies,
I say “anything you want.” The pur
pose of this program is to develop
critical thinking skills. We are very
focused on students in this program.
Teaching is just as important as re
search. We believe in the teaching
process and are very committed to it.
Many do not understand why I re
quest movable chairs and complain
that most of the classrooms have
chairs that are bolted down. It
doesn’t create a conducive environ
ment for discussion when you are
facing the lectern only. It is through
discussion that students develop
critical thinking skills.
Also, the function of the
University is to share available
scholarship with students. No one
should graduate without some un
derstanding of the tremendous
growth of knowledge in gender or
women’s studies. It would be a
skewed sense of scholarship if stu
dents didn’t have the opportunity to
gain this knowledge.
Q: Since the University is the
flagship university of the state,
how does the women’s studies
program enhance its mission?
A: I think it is absolutely essen
tial for the flagship institution to j
have a women’s studies program.
Our institution is supposed to have
cutting-edge research ongoing, and
in many traditional disciplines what
is cutting-edge is feminist scholar
ship. So we are definitely in the ap
propriate university to offer a wom
en’s studies program. Compared to
other Georgia institutions, we
should represent new and important
scholarship. In this sense, it is im
portant for recruitment of top grad
uate students that we have a wom
en’s studies program. I have re
ceived letters from students apply
ing and have been involved in re
cruitment for other units when vis
iting candidates request to know
what kind of women’s studies pro
gram we have.
Class looks at feminine side of music
Women’s studies
course is a part
of ‘history month’
By LORI WIECHMAN
Staff Writer
The University's Women’s Studies Program
will offer a class that focuses on women and mu
sic as part of its observance of National Women’s
History Month.
In WS 425/625, which is taught by music pro
fessor Nita Karpf, students will learn about the
work of women composers and look at music from
a woman’s point of view.
Karpf said when she returned to the
University last fall to teach music, she thought
students needed a class about women’s place in
music.
“Music majors don’t study about women com
posers, and non-music majors aren’t even aware
of women composers," she said. “It’s unbelievable.
There are no textbooks which talk about women
composers."
Patricia Del Rey, director of the Women’s
Studies Program, said the department had been
searching for three years for someone to teach the
course.
“We are hoping the students will learn about
music, special contributions by women to music
and women’s analysis of music,” she said. “Now
we are being true to our commitment to teach
courses in all disciplines.”
Karpf agreed with Del Rey.
“Many students always wonder why we don’t
study women in music, and the thrust of women’s
studies is to look at the role of women in various
places,” Karpf said.
She said her favorite part of the course will
deal with feminist musical criticism, in which
students will interpret music from a woman’s
point of view.
For example, she said the class will look at an
opera and not view it through the male heroes
and male central figures, but through the parts of
the female characters.
“We will look at the central things the women
will do," she said.
The class will also look at Beethoven’s 5th
Symphony, a piece Kaipf said is known for being
“very masculine, agitating, tense and energetic,”
and discuss the parts which sound more feminine.
Karpf, who received her master’s degree in
music at the University, plays a variety of in
struments, such as the viola, violin, cello and pi
ano. She also is a professional music critic for the
music magazine High Performance Review.
But Karpf said she doesn’t want people to
think the class will criticize music by male com
posers.
“I love men’s music, and that’s an important
part of my background,” she said. “But I want to
open the door on the point of view people look at
music.”
She said the students in the class must be will
ing to analyze musical pieces and their purposes
critically and with open minds. The 25-person
class includes both undergraduate and graduate
students.
“They may also need to be feminist-friendly
and receptive to exploring new ideas,” she said.
“Sometimes they may be offended and annoyed
because well be talking about controversial terri
tory."
A major part of the class will involve listening
to various compositions and seeing the progres
sion of women in music.
Students in the School of Music have differing
opinions about interest in the class.
Becky Sanders, a sophomore from St. Simons
Island, said she had seen the signs around cam
pus advertising the class and wondered what it
would be like. But she said she probably won’t
take the class.
“It would be interesting, but I’m not really
Miss Women’s Lib,” Sanders said. “But it would
be interesting for someone who’s interested in
that.”
Sanders said her music classes haven’t focused
on women composers, but because both of her
parents are musicians, she has known women in
the music field.
But Amy Crews, a senior from Jonesboro, said
she is considering the class, because she hasn’t
been taught much about female composers.
“It would be interesting because I haven’t been
exposed to it,” she said.
simui
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