It used to be ‘one of the largest’ gender studies departments in the country, according to the university
After 50 years, the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California Santa Cruz plans to disband, it announced this week.
“Feminist Studies will always have a home at UCSC, but the current department formation has proven unsustainable and inadequate for providing a responsive space for intellectual exchange and connection on our campus,” the department stated Sunday on its website.
The faculty recently voted to shut down the department as of the end of the current school year, according to the announcement. However, UCSC still plans to offer a feminist studies degree, it stated.
“After a series of discussions over the past two years regarding the future of Feminist Studies at UCSC, the faculty have made the difficult decision to transition away from departmental status,” according to the statement.
On its “About” page, the department website states it is “one of largest departments focused on gender and sexuality studies in the United States.”
Over the past few years, however, faculty have been leaving for other universities and “other pursuits,” according to the announcement this week.
“This reduced capacity has made it difficult to maintain a robust curriculum .. [and] has placed an enormous strain on the remaining faculty …” it stated.
In a subsequent statement published Monday, the university stated: “UC Santa Cruz faculty remain committed to investigating how gender impacts our world and shapes social, political, and cultural formations. Indeed, this new formation is an extension of new directions in feminist studies on our campus, not a foreclosure.”
Professors and alumnae expressed disappointment at the news on X.
“As an alum, I’m in disbelief,” Alice Malmberg, a political science Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis, wrote. “This is one of the first/ most influential gender studies departments, which sends a dire signal about the humanities in higher ed — even in blue states like CA.”
“It is not hyperbole to say that the Feminist Studies Dept at @ucsc completely changed my life. Profoundly saddened by the news that it is closing!!!” alumna Maya Novak-Herzog, a Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University, wrote.
“This seems like a harbinger of not good things to come. Especially since it is happening at UC Santa Cruz,” Cal Poly Pomona sociology Professor Philippe Duhart wrote.
Meanwhile, a Kansas university also plans to shut down its women’s studies department. Wichita State University announced the decision this summer, citing continuously low student interest, The College Fix reported.
MORE: University of Utah to close women’s, LGBT centers to comply with DEI ban
IMAGE: UC Santa Cruz Feminist Studies Department
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