Drake Women’s and Gender Studies

The state capitals, how to write an essay, the lyrics to Remix to Ignition. I’ve learned a lot of important things in my educational career so far. From the tangible and concrete to the purely theoretical, my time at Drake has allowed me to expand my intellectual horizons. And while I’ve had the opportunity to experience a wide range of academic subjects, I can confidently say none has been more important that my foray into Women’s and Gender Studies.

If you’re picturing barefoot women parading around in the grass, reading Gloria Steinem, you’re completely off base…okay, so maybe not completely. But the point is that Women’s and Gender Studies at Drake is complex and multi-faceted. It’s more than reading the theory of Betty Friedan, Simone de Beauvoir, and Judith Butler. It’s Beyoncé, it’s Portlandia, it’s Britney Spears. Issues of feminism and the performance of gender are in the very fabric of our culture, economy, and political system.

It wasn’t until I came to Drake that I was really able to grasp that truth. Until I took classes about Women’s European History, Feminist Theory in Popular Culture, and the Salem Witch Trials that challenged the way I thought about gender and made me question my own thoughts and beliefs. I really can’t overstate how important this has been in my college career. I mean, after all, what is higher education for if not to provoke growth, spur discussion, and develop new perspectives?

Now, Drake is not Oberlin. The University strives to prepare students with a mix of liberal arts skills, but also focuses heavily on professional preparation. And while that’s great and important, I think it can sometimes take too much precedence. You’ll have the rest of your life to work in Excel spreadsheets, memorize chemical compounds, or refine your journalism skills. But you may only have one opportunity to have a big, fascinating discussion about what gender means, where our ideas originate from, and the reality of equality.

Sorry if I’m a liberal arts student cliché right now, but I firmly believe that Drake would be an even better place to learn if everyone had the opportunity to experience at least one Women’s and Gender Studies class. I mean, it’s not my job to tell people what to learn, but I guess I’m telling everybody what to learn right now. As a senior, I have that authority, right? So do it. Take a Drake Intro Gender Studies class. And watch it transform the rest of your life.

In Defense of University Liberal Arts

The joke is a familiar one: University liberal arts provide students the opportunity to grow uselessly knowledgeable about esoteric (usually left-leaning) subjects all while pouring thousands of dollars the drain. Okay, I didn’t say it was a particularly funny joke. But as someone who entered into college a devout English major at Drake, you better believe I’ve heard all the criticism before. Things like ”Why are you paying to read books? Wouldn’t a business degree be more helpful? So are you a socialist now? Who even cares about these old dead guys?” Although that last question has the hint of a valid point, overall, I’ve dismissed these challenges because I believed firmly in the value of my liberal arts education. And as a senior, I now stand vindicated in my beliefs. I mean, I haven’t gotten a job yet, so maybe I should hold off on the parade, but I do believe my humanities education has served me pretty well so far.

The thing is that as a Drake English major, I don’t learn facts or readings or poems or even novels. I learn new ways to think about the world around me. I’ve had my notions challenged, and have grown as a person because of it. I know the term “critical thinking” is a buzzword or sorts that gets thrown around a lot these days, but my Drake humanities classes really have helped me to critically consume information and express my thoughts about it. Although I don’t want to disparage the benefits of professionally-targeted degrees (I am also a journalism major after all), I know that because I chose to study liberal arts, I can now look at things from different points of view instead of just one. I’ve experienced philosophy, gender theory, history, politics, pop culture, science, classic literature, sociology, and a whole lot more in my Drake classes.

Because I’ve had these educational opportunities, I feel like I’m more engaged in the world. I’m a better citizen, a better person, and I’m even infinitely more prepared to enter the real world after college. It may sound counterintuitive, but my humanities classes are the reason I can problem solve, empathize, communicate with others, and approach issues from new perspectives. I’m not saying that I’ll get a job because I’ve studied the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, but I am saying the skills I used to read, understand, and discuss Heidegger should serve me well in whatever my future endeavors are.

So my advice? Study the liberal arts in some way, shape, or form. I was lucky because at Drake it’s easy to pick up a double major. I’ve gotten both some great practical experience from being a journalism student and all the other benefits of my English degree. But whatever the situation, just take liberal arts classes you’re interested in, even if, and especially if, they’re something new and challenging. I promise, it’ll serve you well in the long run. And as to those people who criticize your foray into the humanities? Well in the words of another brilliant philosopher, Miss Taylor Swift, “Haters gonna hate, hate, hate.”

Hawke From a Handsaw

I love Hamlet. A lot. And I know that’s a strange thing to say because so many of my comrades drudged or sparknoted their way through the play in high school, but it’s always been one of my favorites. Hamlet honestly has everything you could ever want in a piece of literature: violence, romantic drama, existential angst, and of course, pirates. It’s not a perfect play by any means, but it is a beautiful, deep, and dark one, and that’s just great for me.

The problem was that until I came to Drake, I had a hard time finding others who understood my love for Prince Hamlet (my love for Prince Harry, on the other hand, was very well appreciated). Even in my excellent English classes, it was difficult to fully connect with other students over the play. And while there were a few other Shakespeare-fanatics, I just always assumed I was a little strange for spending my free time reading sonnets and watching the complete works of Kenneth Branagh. And, yes, I probably am still strange, but at least I now know that I’m not alone.

At Drake, I’ve found some incredible friends and English majors who feel the same way about Shakespeare as I do. In fact, I’m currently in a Shakespeare class where we’re spending a couple weeks studying the rotten state of Denmark. We’ve read the play, looked at some adaptations and scholarship and even just watched my all-time favorite film version of Hamlet staring the artful, angsty Ethan Hawke.

And while I’ve read the play a million times before, it makes all the difference in the world to share the experience with other passionate Shakespeare fans. We can talk about the heavy stuff that goes on in the play, but also just joke around about Polonius or discuss the pros and cons of Julia Stiles’ baggy pants in the film. I really am in a community of learners who understand me, and for that alone, the college experience has been worth it.