Welcome
Clark launched its Women’s Studies program in 1979. In spring 2006, the university approved the Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) major, effective fall 2006. The Women’s and Gender Studies major provides students with a solid foundation in women’s studies and gender analysis, introduces them to a range of disciplinary approaches to women and gender, and helps them to develop an area of specialization within the field. Courses stress the importance of social ideas and relationships such as those shaped by gender, ethnicity, race, and class to understand better individual and collective experiences, past and present. The major requires a minor in another field (and encourages a double major) in order to reinforce connections with existing majors.
Clark's Women’s Studies Program is part of the Worcester Consortium in Women’s Studies, comprised of seven institutions of higher education, each with their own faculty active in women’s studies research and teaching.
Women from the Worcester region, including Lucy Stone, Abby Kelly Foster, Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton have been important players in the struggle for human and women's rights. Worcester was home to the first (1850) and second (1851) National Women's Rights Conventions.
2010 Women’s and Gender Studies Award Recipients
April Lambert '10
The HAZEL: in honor of early Women’s Students Dean Hazel Hughes, for outstanding
academic work by an undergraduate student.
Carolyn Reckhow '10
The ALICE: in honor of wonderful long time Clark trustee (and WS fan) Alice
Higgins, for outstanding contributions to the Clark and/or wider community of
women and girls. Nominate a senior student who has been “out there” making a
positive difference in the lives of Clark and/or Worcester women and girls.
April Lambert '10
The CYNTHIA ENLOE Scholar/Activist Award: awarded to a student who has worked
hard to advance scholarship in Women’s Studies and has been an activist in this
cause.
Political Science
Professor and Women's & Gender Studies faculty Valerie Sperling's new
book Alter States: The Globalization of Accountability
tackles questions such as: Is globalization good for democracy? Or has it
made our governing institutions less accountable to citizens?
Located at the
intersection of international relations and comparative politics, this book
explores the effects of globalization on national governance. Under what
circumstances do the transnational forces that embody globalization encourage or
discourage political accountability? Among the transnational forces discussed in
the book are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, multinational
corporations, the United Nations, private military contractors, peacekeepers,
the European Court of Human Rights, and several transnational social movements.
Using in-depth case studies of situations in which these transnational
institutions interact with national governments and citizens, Valerie Sperling
traces the impact of economic, political, military, judicial, and civic
globalization on state accountability and investigates the degree to which
transnational institutions are themselves responsible to the people whose lives
they alter.
Listen to Prof. Sperling's radio interview at
Cambridge.org
Political Science Professor and Women's & Gender Studies Chair Kristen Williams' new book ETHNIC CONFLICT: A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO CASES OF CONFLICT bridges the subfields of international relations and comparative politics.
As
ethnic groups clash, the international community faces the challenge of
understanding the multiple causes of violence and formulating solutions that
will bring about peace. Allowing for greater insight, Jesse and Williams
bridge two sub-fields of political science in Ethnic Conflict—international
relations and comparative politics. They systematically apply a “levels of
analysis” framework, looking at the individual, domestic, and
international contexts to better explore and understand its complexity. Five
case study chapters apply the book’s framework to disputes around the
world and include coverage of Bosnia, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Northern
Ireland, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. Never losing sight of their analytical framework,
the authors provide richly detailed case studies that help students understand
both the unique and shared causes of each conflict.
For more information visit CQ Press.
