Posted on 04/21/2014 6:48:40 AM PDT by Academiadotorg
For decades we have devoted ample space to the deconstruction of women’s studies only to find that there is something even more inane being taught on American campuses—men’s studies.
This year, the American Men’s Studies Association (AMSA) held its annual convention in Tacoma, Washington. AMSA is dedicated to “advancing the critical study of men and masculinities.”
“Even though the association has been around for 22 years, and even though men’s studies dates back to at least the 1970s, outsiders still tend to greet it with derision and disbelief,” Tom Bartlett writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Imagine.
“Men’s studies is not men’s rights, which advocates for changes in, for example, child-custody laws,” Bartlett explains. “It is not the mythopetic men’s movement of the 1990s, though influences from that movement linger.” We missed that movement.
“The collection of researchers is highly interdisciplinary: anthropologists, professors of medieval literature, along with therapists and residence-life staff members,” Bartlett reported after attending the annual AMSA conference. “The topics they study include the very general, like ‘What Do Men Really Want in Their Lives,’ and the very specific, like ‘Diaspora in a Gendered Sport: a Study on Chinese Gay Amateur Volleyball Players.’”
You may have already guessed that, “Men’s studies tends to be light on hard science,” as Bartlett relates. “If you’re eager to learn something about the inverse relationship between cortisol and testosterone, or about gender differences in episodic memory, you should look elsewhere.”
“If you want a genuinely interesting analysis of male chastity in the Twilight series of books and how that compares with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, you’ve come to the right place.”
That’s not all:
“For example, the conference included a session on ‘Masculinity as Cruel Optimism,’ in which Jonathan A. Allan, a lecturer in gender and women’s studies at Brandon University, in Manitoba, argued that cultural theorists underemphasize the importance of the male backside and that society needs to set aside its shame and accept the symbolic richness of our hindquarters;” and “In the next room, the discussion was about what draws men to a group called the ManKind Project, in which they gather in the wilderness to find their manhood and give each other animal nicknames (like Gentle Wolf or Joyous Oppossum).” As well, “the performative aspects of men’s restrooms were discussed.”
The Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities opened at the State University of New York at Stony Brook last fall. The announced opening, according to Bartlett, “was met with some ridicule, mostly from critics who thought women like Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda shouldn’t be on the board of directors of a center dedicated to the study of men.”
Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.
If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail mal.kline@academia.org.
Any which devoted a sizable part of their faculty to such nonsense promptly went into the trash can. Of course, I was proud of her but asked her how she had arrived at that conclusion.
Her reply: "Women's studies equals Lesbian studies. I don't want to be on a campus which provides sanctuary to predators, perverts and idiots. But I repeat myself."
Further proof that a college education has become little more than political indoctrination and a parent financed four year extension of puberty.
Smart kid.
That line tells you all you need to know about the content of “men's’ studies”.
what a bright child. you should be proud of her.
Good girl...clearly, you raised her well.
Leaving libs in control of academia is like leaving a book of matches and several gallons of gasoline to a pyromaniac.
Where did your daughter end up going? What were some of the schools that passed her test?
So, mental masturbation and navel gazing from a male point of view.
How nice.
I blame the colleges and universities for creating such inane degree programs. The only possible real career from these degrees would be to get a PhD in this BS and then teach in these programs at some other university.
From the linked article, this sounds like the Department of Girly Men Studies. A real Department of Male Studies would address issues such as:
1. Why male life expectancy is so low.
2. Why do more men wind up in jail.
3. Why are there so many more women than men in college.
4. Why are men awarded custody and spousal support so infrequently.
5. Why are men subject to the military draft and not women.
6. Why are the revenue sports (i.e., football and men’s basketball) required to subsidize non-revenue sports.
7. Why do so many men become unemployed during recessions.
8. Why do “comparable worth” pay scales not take into account compensating premiums for dangerous and less pleasant work.
9. Why do they have different standards for women than for men for jobs like soldier and fireman.
10. Why doesn’t anybody report the percentage of boys who are sexually-molested.
With all due respect to the many lib arts friends I have (all of whom have forgotten a lot more than I’ll ever learn).
However, given the present situation on ANY campus - especially the ivy league ones:
IF: NOT STEM
THEN: NOT WORTH IT
Anything with “studies” in it is a pretty good sign that you’ll be throwing your money into the street.
To be better informed, I went on to the AMSA website in an attempt to learn more about the goals and insights of this organization.
I found a list of recommended areas of study:
Al Bundy: Visionary or God
Date Night: Blonde or Brunette
The ethical debate about condoms(What are those?)
The appropriate time for that deep nurturing discussion with your life partner(For Cliff Notes Users: Never)
Devoting your life to the appropriate sport.
Being Don Draper
***The Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities ****
Do they teach Welding, electrical wiring, auto repair, diesel repair, carpentry, heavy equipment operations, oil field drilling, blacksmith and horseshoeing, iron working, steel fabrication and erection, power plant operations?
If not, what good are they?
Here are some additional links to expand your search:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/most-conservative-colleges_n_1338894.html
http://www.yaf.org/topconservativecolleges.aspx
http://www.thebestschools.org/rankings/20-best-conservative-colleges-america/
http://redalertpolitics.com/2013/08/09/top-20-schools-with-the-most-conservative-student-bodies-in-the-u-s/
http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/top-20-conservative-colleges-and-universities-in-the-us/
http://colleges.niche.com/rankings/diversity/top-most-conservative-schools/?utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=GooglePPC&utm_campaign=GooglePPCSpecificRankings&source=GooglePPCSpecificRankings&reason=GooglePPCRankings&gclid=CMHNovDq8b0CFRFnOgodmxkAWA
My daughter's choice is on several, but not all of these lists. The last link is particularly useful. You probably aren't going to go wrong with any which scored at least 75% or above. That's over 200 colleges from which to choose.
Caveat: BO briefly attended Azusa Pacific University which ranks #44. So putting a liberal maggot infested brain in a good environment has its limitations.
STEM graduates may be very employable today but (depending on the specialty) be rendered redundant by the next H1b wave of imports.
Knowing how to reason, write, think and make decisions logically is a skillset in short supply in today's job market.
The STEM disciplines are very important but, by no means, the only road to employability.
Will they offer a minor in tranny studies?
White Privilege is taught at UT-Austin by a black lesbian
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