ASSESSMENT PLAN
WSTD 420: Senior Seminar in Women's Studies allows students to pursue individually
their major field of study in relation to women's studies. Under faculty direction,
students read independently, undertake field work, research, and write on a topic of
interest. Members of the seminar meet to share research and to explore the larger issues
of feminist theory. |
1999-2000 ASSESSMENT
The student who completed the capstone course in Women’s Studies during the 1999-2000
academic year wrote a paper combining Women’s Studies and Sociology (her major). Her
research examined the content of articles in women’s glamour magazines from the 1960s
through the 1990s and showed a clear familiarity with the main issues and themes relating
to gender and communication. |
1998-99 ASSESSMENT
Three students completed the Women’s Studies capstone course during the 1998-1999
academic year. All three successfully integrated a feminist perspective with their major
field (two in Sociology and one in Family and Consumer sciences) to produce a research
paper of solid academic value. |
1997-98 ASSESSMENT
The student graduating in the spring of 1998 wrote a paper entitled “Power and
Dominance in Gender Communication” which successfully combined expertise in the field
of communications with the analytic skills regarding differences based on gender developed
as a women’s studies minor. The paper analyzed differences between male and female
communication techniques and how they are differently valued in American society. The
student concluded that although biology may play some role in male and female
communication patterns, most differences are a direct result of environmental
conditioning. This student’s paper clearly showed familiarity with the main issues
and debates about issues of gender in the field of communications. |
1996-97 ASSESSMENT
The student project submitted for 1996-97 successfully integrated research from literary
journals, sociology and psychology to provide a better understanding of fictional
characters in terms of motivation and interpersonal relationships. The combination of
various disciplinary approaches employed in this research project reflected the
interdisciplinary nature of Women's Studies and the breadth of feminist theory. |
1995-96 ASSESSMENT
The student in 1995 Fall brought together sociology and women's studies in a paper that
examined violence against women. The paper took an inter-disciplinary approach and
displayed the student's familiarity with the academic disciplines of both sociology and
women's studies, suggesting that our program is succeeding in its goals. |
1994-95 ASSESSMENT
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1993-94 ASSESSMENT
The student was able to integrate a feminist perspective into her own discipline and into
the research strategy utilized to write her thesis. She made the focus of her work
interdisciplinary which adhered to the philosophy of women's studies -- which is an
inter-disciplinary area. The
program is will continue to encourage students with regard to the interdisciplinary
approach to their works. |
