Welcome to the Women's Studies Program!
Spring 2010
Message from the Director/Chair:
Dr. Loretta Kensinger
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the website of the Women's Studies Program at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State). On behalf of the entire Program, I hope that you find our online home informative and exciting. We hope this site is useful to students and the wider community, in their efforts to find useful information on the status of women on a regional, national, and global level. Providing this outreach was one of the goals of our Initiative for Women’s And Gender Equity in the San Joaquin Valley.
As a field, Women’s Studies presents an exciting opportunity to anyone who wants to know more about the impact of gender on their lives and the world. The focus on a core aspect of all our identities makes the field personally rewarding and socially important. Attentiveness to diversity, power, and women's unique creative contributions to human experience are central aspects of this training. Our faculty work closely with students in order to help foster their success. Students also find a sense of community and leadership opportunities through participation in P.O.W.E.R.: The Women’s Studies Student Organization.
The program at CSU Fresno offers both a major and minor. Many of our students choose Women’s Studies as their primary field. Other students choose Women’s Studies as a double major to complement a primary field or discipline. Double majors say their first major defines the field in which they work, Women’s Studies gives them a special focus and edge within that field. A good starting point for a career in Women’s Studies is to enroll in one of our General Education (GE) offerings. WS 10, Introduction to Women’s Studies (GE Area D3), WS 12 Critical Thinking: Gender Issues (GE Area A3), or WS 18 Women and Aging (GE Area E) offer excellent choices for entering first or second year students. For those transferring with their lower division GE completed, WS 110, Representations of Women, WS 120 Women of Color in the U.S., and WS 135 Women in Other Cultures (all in GE Area M/I) offer good upper division GE opportunities. Each will familiarize you with the field. And some GE course can dual count toward a major or minor in Women’s Studies. Students declaring a primary major, double major, or minor in Women’s Studies are encouraged to meet with an advisor in the program as soon as possible once they are on campus to create a comprehensive plan toward graduation.
Women’s Studies students find their education valuable to a variety of educational and career goals. Many Women’s Studies students report their classes enhanced their self-esteem and confidence. Nationally, Women’s Studies students have established successful careers in a variety of fields from diversity studies to law, k-12 to graduate studies, biology to nursing, the creative arts to telecommunications, criminology to victim services, business and management to social change organizing, history to philosophy, and health and human services to social services. At CSU Fresno, among a sampling of our recent graduates you will find those who have been accepted into prestigious national Ph.D. programs, established businesses, work as community organizers, become teachers, raise children, and developed professional careers in a variety of social services.
Please, take time to explore our website and learn more about the faculty expertise, on-line resources, and scholarship in the field of Women’s Studies. And remember, take some time to think about women and gender, for a change!
Sincerely,
Loretta Kensinger, Ph.D.
Women’s Studies Program Coordinator and Professor