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University Daily Kansan / Thursday, April 28, 1988
9B
Women's studies program grows despite difficulty
By Stacy Foster
Kansan staff writer
In 1972, it seemed like just another protest by students with irrational requests.
Twenty angry women, claiming that the University of Kansas had ignored their needs, took over a campus building for 13 hours. They demanded free day care. They demanded that a woman be assigned to the position of vice chancellor for academic affairs. They demanded a department of women's studies.
Sixteen years later, their struggle has become a campus legend.
But the program they helped create has had a struggle of its own in recent years. Budget cuts and inconsistent course offerings have weakened this once nationally known department. Recently, the Board of Regents suggested in its 1987 program reviews that the curriculum in women's studies be more focused.
One way the women's studies department is trying to overcome problems is by hiring more staff.
Now, the women's studies program is triving to overcome these obstacles.
New faculty
Susan Noakes, director of the program since 1986, said that hiring new faculty members and revising the curriculum would give the program more stability.
This spring, the women's studies department has searched for a new instructor who specializes in women's health. The instructor will work with Noakes to help develop the Women's Research Institute as a national leader in women's health research. The new
Regents suggestion for more focused major latest challenge for 16-year-old department
instructor will also work part time in the psychology department.
In 1981, the Ford Foundation donated $100,000 to the research institute. The money was donated with the understanding that it could be used for a research institute with its own director.
The donation came at the same time that the University started to experience financial difficulties. The institute did not develop as quickly as expected. Nevertheless, the donation has had a big effect on the program.
Noakes, director of the research institute,
said the institute had had an abundance of
research published by the Women's Studies
Advisory Board.
"We have a high level of research production, and that makes for high-quality teaching in the program." Noakes said. "Since it's a new field, you have to have people that are in the forefront to have really good courses, and that is what we have."
"At the present there is no university or research program that focuses on women's health issues." Noakes said.
This summer Nokes and the new faculty member will draft a grant proposal for funds needed for research.
University of Kansas Medical Center.
Robert Lineberry, dean of liberal arts and sciences, said he expected the new faculty member to have a dramatic effect in research areas of the University, such as in the department of psychology and at the
Noakes works part time with one other faculty member in the department. Besides being the director of the program and the institute, she also teaches French and Italian
Ann Schofield, the other faculty member in
department of computer science, professor
in the department of designtheory.
Noakes said that in the past, the curriculum had stability problems because there were no full-time faculty members. Instead, professors from other departments taught one or two courses a semester in women's studies.
The lack of full-time professors caused some courses to be offered infrequently. In one instance, a professor left for another job, and the course was discontinued
Noakes said that a larger staff, including a full-time secretary for the department, would make her job easier.
Besides having to deal with a tight budget, the department also has to deal with criticism from the Regents that the program is unfocused.
Program changes
Women's studies is an interdisciplinary major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Many of the courses are cross-referenced with other departments in the
As a result of the Regents criticism, the
department has re-evaluated its curriculum.
Nokes said that in revising the department, courses that were sporadically offered had been discontinued. An additional course in the history of the American woman has been added to the fall. The College Assembly must approve the proposal before it goes into effect.
About 10 students major in women's studies, but more than 500 enrol in the courses each semester. The Regents were concerned with the low number of majors.
Martine Hammond, Regents director of academic affairs, said the Regents questioned how the program was presented to the students. She said the program should make people aware of the career opportunities in women's studies.
Nokes said, "We have worked very hard to make the program more visible to students. When students have expressed an interest in the major, I keep in personal contact with them."
Despite the inconviences and lack of staff, the department is much better off than it was 10 years ago.
Making progress
Shirley Harkess, associate professor of sociology, was coordinator of the program from 1976 to 1979.
Harkess said that when she was coordinator, she did not have to worry about an inadequate staff because she was the only
staff member. She spent her time worrying about the future of the program, which seemed to be threatened by budget cuts.
"The time that wasn't spent explaining women's studies was spent protecting our interests," she said.
Women's studies courses have been considered a political forum for women's issues. The Institute of Women Studies has
Harkess said that KU students were not exposed to a political forum but to new ideas that many had a hard time accepting.
"The one thing that has contributed to the program's success is its academic emphasis," she said. "It is relentlessly academic."
"The whole idea here is to get people to examine their presumptions, she said. "The first thing I thought was, 'Do you want to be
Patricia Horkan, Omaha, Neb., junior is a women's studies major. She said she became interested in women's studies almost by chance. The English class about American women authors.
"I took it because it was an English class," lorkan said. "I went in there with no equipment."
"It opened a lot of new doors for me. It helps me understand my literature better. It does not mean that I love literature only by reading, but by all the kinds of literature by men and women."
Elizabeth Schultz, professor of English, teaches a literature course on American women authors. She said more students on campus should be encouraged to take women's studies courses because that would dislike some stereotypes about the program.
"I don't think people do know what women's studies is," Schultz said. "A course in women's studies leads people to see reality more clearly and in dramatic ways."
Fear of the dead not uncommon for anatomy students
By Jennifer Corser
Special to the Kansan
Human anatomy students usually experience a fear of the unknown before viewing and dissecting cadavers, an instructor in human anatomy said.
Brebecca Pyles, the instructor, said most students taking the course were uneasy about actually seeing a dead human being.
Many students either have never seen a dead person or have seen one only at a funeral, she said. As a result, they are afraid that sturding the bodies will be difficult.
The University of Kansas is one of two universities in the Midwest that uses human cadavers for dissection. That is principally because lab maintenance is difficult and because a certain amount of risk involved when using cadavers.
"It's a fear of not knowing how they're going to react." Pyles said.
The University of Kansas is one of two universities in the Midwest that uses human cadavers for dissection. That is principally because lab maintenance is difficult and because a certain amount of risk involved when using cadavers, she said.
Many universities are afraid there could be
a problem with students joking around. However, KU students realize it is a great privilege to use cadavers. Pyles said. In particular, they respect the people who have donated their bodies for the cause of education.
"The sacrifice that people have made in allowing their bodies to be used won't be willed."
At first, some students are afraid they will recognize one of the cadavers when the dissection or observation begins. Pyles said that to her knowledge this had never happened. A certain amount of discoloring of the body occurs from preservation, which
reduces the likelihood of a student recognizing a caddaver.
Lynette Michel, Downs senior, said that many students tried to mentally block out the noise and distraction.
"You can't think of them as human or you'll go nuts." Michel said.
Michel, who was a student and teaching assistant for the course last year, said that another way students dealt with using cadavers was by telling themselves that the donors wanted their bodies to be used for this purpose.
"It's not that big a deal. Most people in the class are mature." he said.
The cadavers need to be thought of as subject matter, said Ben Bengo, Lawrence
senior. Many students have to approach the cadavers as if they are not people. Gebo said he did not really have a problem when he first used the cadavers.
Geboe said that the students were nervous and excited at first. Some have to use humor to relieve the tension, but most of the students have a high respect for the cadavers. They realize how much they can learn from the cadavers, he said.
"Having the bodies there is the most important aspect of the course," Geboe said.
Instructors use the cadavers to teach the structure of the human body. The students must learn all the muscles, nerves and bones, along with the system and the important orrane. Friesa said.
abnormalities in different bodies. Studying these abnormalities is important because when many students begin their professions, they are more likely to encounter rather than ideal structures, she said.
Using cadavers is much more educational than using plastic models, Pyles said. A cadaver allows the students to see the
"There are things that we can't teach without the cadavers," Pyles said.
Janet Bradshaw, Lawrence graduate student, said the cadavers taught what books were unable to teach. Many little details exist in the brain of a cadaver, all of these details in a cadaver, she said.
The students acquire a sense of accomplishment when they use the cadaver to learn the structure of the human body, Pyles said. Studying an actual human body helps them understand how the body really works. They can apply the functions of the muscles and other systems to their own bodies and understand why the body works the way it does.
"You can make sense out of it when you see it," Pyles said.
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