Women's Studies hosts panel

The word 'feminism' carries with it strong connotations of bitter, man-hating women, according to Demie Kurz, co-director of the Women's Studies Program at Penn. But Kurz is working to change this stereotype. Kurz, joined by Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi, Women's Studies lecturer Kristine Rabberman and Women's Studies Professor Vicki Mahaffey spoke to an audience of more than 20 students and faculty members Wednesday night at a panel discussion about the future of women's studies at Penn. The discussion was organized by the Perspectives in Humanities Program, a living-learning program located on the fourth floor of King's Court/English House. "Until fairly recently, the study of academia, as well as psychology, was male dominated," Kurz said. Penn's own women's studies program did not originate until the early seventies. Penn's Women's Center was created in 1973 as a result of several rapes on campus, according to DiLapi. The Women's Studies Program was introduced soon after, one course at a time. "Today, 1,500 undergrads are enrolled in courses cross-listed as women's studies," Kurz added. Penn also offers a Women's Studies Program for graduate students. Rabberman said she has seen a positive change in the approach to women's studies. "Though we still have a long way to go, I see some very good signs," she added. The Women's Studies Program poses new and exciting questions for both males and females, according to the panelists. Its purpose is to better inform students of women's role in society and to paint a clearer picture of past generations. "Men who take women's studies classes are usually glad they did," Kurz said. Though women's studies programs have been implemented in nearly every national university, the world largely has still not bought into women's activism. Mahaffey, a professor of English and women's studies, teaches a class called "Feminist Fairy Tales." "I told someone I was teaching [the] class, and they said 'Oh, that's right up there with basket weaving,' " Mahaffey told the audience. "What people don't realize is that women's studies is not only about what you teach, but how you teach it." Many others still do not accept the idea of women's studies as a separate part of the curriculum. "I think concentrating on liberalizing the core curriculum rather than concentrating on women's studies might be more profitable," said College freshman Andrew Melbourne, who attended the event. Part of the function of the Women's Studies Program is to remind professors that they do have a responsibility to present women and their work in classes, Rabberman said. "I would rather that the focus not be on consensus, but a free interchange of idea and emotions," Mahaffey added. This new incorporation of women into formerly male-dominated classes raises the question of whether there is still a place for women's studies at the University. "We're not in gender heaven yet," Kurz said. "The program is still moving slowly."