Women's Studies Project on Teaching, Curriculum & Scholarship

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History

The Women's Studies Project on Teaching, Curriculum and Scholarship (formerly the Gender Scholarship Program) began in 1984 as a result of a grant written by Dr. Patsy Boyer, a professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Colorado State University. The SIROW grant (Southwest Institute for Research on Women), under the U.S. Department of Education, provided support for the first three years of the Project.

The goal of the project was to integrate teaching and research about women into undergraduate international studies and foreign language courses. Of the seven participating universities in the original SIROW Program based in Arizona and Colorado, only Colorado State University continued the Project after 1987 by funding it internally. In 1987, the Project became an ongoing program within Women's Studies funded by the Provost/Academic Vice President's Office. The Project has expanded across the curriculum and now includes participants from the sciences and engineering as well as the applied human sciences, social sciences and liberal arts. To date there have been 121 faculty participants representing 32 departments in all 8 colleges.

Project Description

Each year a small group of faculty members are invited to participate in the Project from a list of those self-nominated or recommended by prior participants or department chairs. Participating faculty meet throughout the academic year with the designated Project Coordinator(s) to explore new approaches in the design/redesign of a course of their choice that they will teach in a subsequent semester. Together they engage in activities that include: the discovery of content about women in the various disciplines; the acquisition of scholarly work by women that is appropriate for inclusion in the course, and the introduction of and dialogue about pedagogical practices that serve to create a more inclusive classroom with the full participation and inquiry by all students. Participants are also supported in exploring new research questions and methodologies and identifying new avenues of funding, publication and recurrent professional involvement related to their area of interest. Participants are awarded a stipend to purchase materials that support their work.

Awards

1989 The Colorado State University Diversity Award
1993 The Progressive in Equity Award from the American Association of University Women

Contact Information

If you are interested in learning more about the Women's Studies Project on Teaching, Curriculum and Scholarship or participating in future related events, call the Office of Women's Programs and Studies, (970) 491-6384