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| Women's Studies Program (Barnard College) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Women's Studies Program (Barnard College) |
| Established | 1969 |
| Type | Academic program |
| Location | Barnard College, New York City |
| Parent | Columbia University |
Women's Studies Program (Barnard College) The Women's Studies Program at Barnard College is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program located at Barnard College, affiliated with Columbia University, situated in Manhattan, New York City. Founded amid late-20th-century social movements, the program connects scholarship and activism through coursework, research, and public programming involving figures from Civil Rights Movement, Second-wave feminism, Labor movement, LGBTQ+ rights movement, and Women's suffrage histories.
The program emerged during the era of student activism influenced by events such as the Stonewall riots, the Miss America protest, and campaigns led by organizations like the National Organization for Women and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, drawing intellectual influence from scholars associated with institutions including Barnard College, Columbia University, Radcliffe College, Smith College, and Spelman College. Early curricular models referenced work by theorists connected to texts like The Second Sex, debates at conferences such as the Women's Studies Association gatherings, and pedagogies developed alongside projects sponsored by foundations including the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation. During the 1970s and 1980s the program expanded through ties to activists and academics who had engaged in campaigns like the Equal Rights Amendment movement, collaborations with community organizations such as the National Black Feminist Organization, and visiting scholars from institutions including Princeton University, Harvard University, and Yale University.
The program offers a concentration that integrates courses from departments like English Department (Barnard College), History Department (Barnard College), Political Science Department (Columbia University), Sociology Department (Columbia University), and Anthropology Department (Columbia University). Core seminars examine primary texts by authors such as Simone de Beauvoir, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Judith Butler, and Gloria Anzaldúa while cross-listed electives reference work from scholars affiliated with Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and New York University. The curriculum includes methodologies drawing on archives like the Schlesinger Library, special collections at Butler Library, and oral history projects formerly coordinated with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Students may pursue senior theses supervised by faculty with appointments tied to centers such as the Barnard Center for Research on Women, the Columbia Global Centers, the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and external fellowships like the Fulbright Program and the Rhodes Scholarship.
Faculty and administrators have included scholars with joint appointments across Barnard and Columbia, and visiting professors from universities including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, Duke University, and Brown University. Leadership has worked collaboratively with directors of interdisciplinary initiatives such as the Barnard Center for Research on Women, program chairs from departments like History Department (Columbia University), and co-directors who participated in networks tied to the American Historical Association, the Modern Language Association, the American Sociological Association, and the American Political Science Association. Notable faculty have engaged with editorial boards of journals like Signs (journal), Feminist Studies, and Differences (journal), and participated in conferences at venues including the New School and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Students contribute to scholarship through senior theses, independent studies, and edited publications influenced by archives such as the Schlesinger Library, collections at Butler Library, and projects with the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Student work has been cited alongside publications from houses like Routledge, Oxford University Press, Columbia University Press, Princeton University Press, and Duke University Press. Research areas span histories involving figures and movements such as Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, Angela Davis, and scholarly debates that intersect with work by editors of journals like Signs (journal), Feminist Review, and Hypatia (journal).
On campus, programming connects to student groups and events associated with organizations including the Barnard College Student Government, the Columbia University Senate, campus chapters of national groups like NOW (National Organization for Women), and coalitions that have organized teach-ins referencing anniversaries of the Stonewall riots, commemorations tied to the Women’s March on Washington, and symposia with guests from institutions like the New York Public Library. Co-curricular offerings have included lecture series featuring speakers linked to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and cultural institutions such as Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Museum.
The program has partnered with local and national organizations including the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and community archives like the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Collaborative projects have connected students with service sites affiliated with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, legal clinics at Columbia Law School, public history initiatives with the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and advocacy campaigns associated with policy groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Alumni have gone on to roles at institutions and organizations including The Nation (magazine), The New Yorker, The New York Times, National Public Radio, U.S. Congress, United Nations, Human Rights Watch, ACLU, and leadership positions at universities such as Barnard College, Columbia University, Brown University, Princeton University, and Yale University. Graduates have been prominent in movements alongside activists like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, and in cultural fields connected to film festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and institutions like Museum of Modern Art.