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November 18, 2005 > News > Women and Gender Studies adds ‘sexuality’ to its title

Women and Gender Studies adds ‘sexuality’ to its title

By Julia Bursten | Thresher Editorial Staff

One of Rice’s majors just got a little sexier.

The Program for Women and Gender Studies will inaugurate its new name, the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality, with a reception and guest lecture this afternoon.

Helena Michie, the program’s director, said the name change was made to better depict the program’s scope and direction.

“[The program] already has an Introduction to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender studies course and Queer Theory course,” Michie, an English professor, said. “We hope to see more courses on sexuality in the future, so it makes sense to change the name now.”

Michie said no new sexuality-related courses will be offered next semester, but she hopes some will be developed for Fall 2006. The program is currently offering its students and faculty monetary incentives to create such courses, Michie said.

“It takes a lot of work to create a curriculum from scratch,” she said. “We are willing to reward our members who provide us with those resources.”

In addition to looking for new courses, the program is currently searching for a new director. Michie said she is holding the position only temporarily, after former director Lynne Huffer left Rice at the end of Spring 2005 for a position in Emory University’s women’s studies department. Michie said a new director should be chosen by Fall 2006.

Michie said the program is also looking for other new faculty affiliates both within Rice and outside the university.

Michie she said she expects the change to attract more undergraduate students to the major.

Lovett College sophomore Annie Conderacci said she thinks the change has been needed.

“It’s ridiculous that I am taking WGST courses now that are more about sexuality and race than chicks versus guys,” she said. “Adding sexuality to the program name can only make things better.”

Michie said the change will benefit the department, even though it makes the program title more clumsy.

“When we first started the program, there was a struggle over the name,” Michie said. “The acronym is already awkward, and with the change we are probably going to be the most awkwardly named program at the university.”

The inaugural event will include a lecture by Emory University English Professor Richard Rambuss, entitled “Indicatively male.” The lecture and reception will take place in the Humanities Building, room 117, at 4 p.m.

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