With recent changes to the names of women’s studies programs across Canada, students are getting a better understanding of gender.
Some universities, such as Queen’s University, went so far as to completely take “women” out of the program’s title and re-brand it as “gender studies.”
Nipissing University made a similar move, renaming its program gender equality and social justice. Carleton simply added “gender studies” to the end of its Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s Studies.
Although it’s just a change in the name, it symbolizes a drastic, positive step in the academic study of women.Broadening the discipline reflects society’s growing acceptance of all genders and sexual orientations.
By joining women’s studies with gender studies, the discipline gives students a chance to contemplate diverse perspectives when studying gender issues. It also lends these programs more academic credibility because students are able to critically examine gender’s role in society from different points of view rather than from a single angle.
The renaming of these programs might also attract a wider variety of students, of both sexes and all gender identities.
While feminism might still warrant a place on campus, with women still fighting for equality in certain spheres, there should at least be inclusiveness in gender-related program titles.