Thirteen faculty members from a range of departments and programs met regularly in SPAN’s first year (2010-11) to expand, systematize, and rethink the coverage of sexuality studies in undergraduate classes at Northwestern, particularly within the Gender Studies Program. The Instructors’ Group was directed by Gender & Sexuality Studies Lecturer Amy Partridge. SPAN Visiting Professor Joanne Meyerowitz of Yale University also met with the Instructors’ Group during her visit in 2011 to exchange ideas about sexuality studies curricula.
These discussions not only resulted in new courses but also helped spur the movement to rename the program as “Gender & Sexuality Studies.” The revamped curriculum includes the addition of a new 200-level “gateway” class, “Gender Studies 210: Sexual Subjects: Introduction to Sexuality Studies,” offered for the first time by Professor Lane Fenrich in Winter 2012 with 87 students enrolled. The course received very positive publicity in the Chicago Tribune. Another curricular innovation from the Instructors Group was a “capstone” gender and sexuality research methods class for majors.
Participants
- Héctor Carrillo (Sociology/ Gender & Sexuality Studies)
- Nicholas Davis (English/ Gender & Sexuality Studies)
- Mary Dietz (Political Science)
- Jillana Enteen (Gender & Sexuality Studies)
- Steven Epstein (Sociology/ Humanities)
- Lane Fenrich (Gender & Sexuality Studies)
- Jeffrey Masten (English)
- Alexandra Owen (History)
- Amy Partridge (Gender & Sexuality Studies)
- Christine Percheski (Sociology)
- Kearsley Stewart (Anthropology)
- Gregory Ward (Linguistics)
- Mary Weismantel (Anthropology/ Gender & Sexuality Studies)