25 Years of Women's Studies at ETSU
Over twenty-five years ago, the Women’s Studies Program established its roots at East Tennessee State University.
Since its inception, the program has sought to provide feminist education on this campus and throughout the region through scholarship, activism, and community building.
The Foremothers of the Women’s Studies Program, along with the Women’s Studies Steering Committee, fought diligently to institute and grow the Women’s Studies Program. One of the Women’s Studies Foremothers and current Professor in ETSU’s Sociology and Anthropology Program, Dr. Martha Copp, recalls many of the faculty who supported Women’s Studies being “fired up about supporting students who wanted to take feminist courses.”
Since the creation of the minor in 1993 and after many years of successful growth, the Steering committee was urged to build a Bachelor’s Degree in Women’s Studies. Under the leadership of founding director, Dr. Amber Kinser, the new major became official January 25, 2007, and students started declaring their majors the very next day. From 2007 to 2020, Women’s Studies graduated majors who are focused on civic engagement, social justice, and change and who can help to satisfy the continuing need locally, nationally, and globally to improve the lives, opportunities, and futures of women. Today, the Program offers exciting courses ranging from “Sex, Gender, and the Body” and “Feminist Thought and Practice” to “Men and Masculinities.”
To commemorate this noteworthy milestone, the Women’s Studies Program will hold a celebration at 3:30 p.m. on April 26, 2021 via Zoom. The public is invited to attend this commemorative occasion as Women’s Studies honors their past at ETSU and looks forward to their exciting future. The meeting ID is 912 6374 5117 and registration is required.
The 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Women’s Studies Program will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will feature foremothers of the program. A timeline will be on display for attendees to “walk through” the program’s history and learn about major events in Women’s Studies past.
For more information, email womenstudies@estu.edu or call 423-439-4125.
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