Posted on 03/07/2006 9:53:55 AM PST by presidio9
Students at DePaul University in Chicago, the largest Catholic university in the United States, can minor in Queer Studies through their College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as of this year. While DePaul has set an example for other Catholic institutions, administration and students say this minor probably won't appear at Marquette.
"The minor is in response to student demand and also because of an increase in academic demand from faculty to teach the subject," said Gary Cestaro, assistant professor of modern languages at DePaul. He is the program director of the new minor and was part of the six-person faculty group that spearheaded the minor's creation.
Cestaro said that Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, Queer (LGTBQ) Studies is a grounded interdisciplinary academic field that emerged in the 1980s. DePaul has been increasingly offering individual LGTBQ courses for the last 10 years, Cestaro said.
He said this is the first year the minor is established. The only new addition is the minor's mandatory introductory course, offered for the first time this quarter, which ends next week.
Barbara Speicher, chairwoman of DePaul's communications department, said the Queer Studies minor has received a generally positive reaction. Not everyone at DePaul approves of the Queer Studies minor, however.
"It has certainly faced some disagreement, as one would expect," Speicher said. "But it hasn't been anything too awful."
Speicher said DePaul has always been open to new minors.
"We are viewing it as it is, an academic course. The university has always been open to new innovations, not putting up blocks."
Critics and supporters alike wonder what this means for other Catholic universities, such as Marquette.
Director of University Communication Brigid O'Brien Miller said she is not aware of any proposal for a Queer Studies minor at Marquette.
Heather Hathaway, associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, said she does not see a Queer Studies minor in Marquette's future.
"It is unlikely that Arts & Sciences would develop a major or minor in the field, but not because we see it as necessarily contradicting the message of a Catholic university," she said.
Money, not message, restricts this minor, according to Hathaway.
"We simply lack the financial resources, or the money required to hire faculty experts in the field, that would be necessary to create a cohesive and substantive major or minor," she said.
Hathaway said that because a Queer Studies field focuses on subjects such as literature and art produced by gay men and lesbian women, gay and lesbian history and the social constructions of gender, it is too broad to attempt at Marquette.
"Ignorance breeds injustice," said Jess Cushion, a junior in the College of Communication and president of Marquette's Gay/Straight Alliance. "I applaud DePaul for taking the step to fuel acceptance of the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual community by educating people about discrimination and hate that homosexuals endure on a daily basis."
Cushion said that LGTB issues are often ignored at Marquette.
"I feel like the administration goes out of its way to come up with excuses for excluding (LGTB) issues. It's always 'We don't have the budget,' or 'It's not the right time,' when in reality it's 'This is Marquette, and if you're gay, we're going to silence you as best we can,'" she said.
Cushion said she would like to see a Queer Studies minor at Marquette.
"There might not be a demand for such a minor here, but it would be extremely beneficial," she said. "We have minors surrounding the studies of other racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. What makes (LGTB) issues any different?"
Get back to me when they get rid of all of the homosexuals that are already priests, and the homosexual priests aren't the ones deciding whether or not the about-to-become-a-priest is a homosexual or not.
Don't have to. They aren't getting rid of homosexual priests. Clearly, they have decided that the ones that are already in are just fine. They are paying out judgments and not clearing out their ranks. I cannot accept that apparent church-wide policy is all just one big accident.
Whoever you paid for your logic lessons, you should demand your money back.
By the way, stop with the “asshole” and “stuff it up your butt” comments. You’re really creeping me out.
You're defending queers, and you don't know the difference between a hard-core conservative a DU'er. I'm just trying to give you language that commies and queers like you understand.
I hope that they do. BTW, I have been on this forum for nearly three years, and I am a very hard-core conservative. If you want a mean (or even vile) response from me instead of debate or discussion, start your side of the conversation out by calling me a DU'er, or a liberal, etc. I don't take it.
I would be perfectly happy to discuss things rationally with you or anybody else, but when somebody starts out with totally off-base insults and ad hominem attacks, I respond accordingly. I can hurl insults with the best (or worst) of them. If that's what you want, that's what you'll get.
I don't think that anybody would disagree with you there, including me. %-)
I'm not sure why Catholic universities continue to marginalize one of their selling points. There are plenty of people out there who still want to attend a school that adheres to some sort of moral standard.
I certainly hope so. Stuff like this allows people to make the same connection that I did. It's too easy. If they come right out and condemn it, and pull the accreditation from that school, that takes ammunition out of people's hands. The bad jokes stop. More importantly, kids stop getting hurt, and the Church gets their reputation back.
That’s it?! That’s your response? Here’s how our argument has gone: By saying queer studies would be good for those entering the priesthood, you insinuate that all or a great majority of priests are queers. I point out your fallacious reasoning through argument and example; that any organization can be painted as scandalous if you look only and the worst exceptions. Then you call me a commie and a queer.
I’ve always held that the libs react emotionally to any situation and, when cornered, resort to name calling and other ad-homonym attacks. You fall right in line with Leftist tactics. You call yourself a conservative but I see otherwise.
"I don't think that anybody would disagree with you there, including me. %-)"
LOL. At least someone on here isn't so uptight they can't joke at themselves. :)
Your lame joke was about prospective priests. As such none of your points are relevant.
Of course you are. And it is your right to do so. Just be honest about it. I'm assuming that you aren't THE Wyatt Earp, so what are you worried about?
In other words you lied to make your point.
How did you discover this, PTD? Have you gone over to the dark side? 8)
LOL! I have not gone over....just doing research! Being Catholic, and from San Francisco this was a natural to catch my eye!!
I swear i thought it was a joke....QUEER studies!!
Hmmm, I thought that it would be more objective in nature:
http://www.narth.com/docs/whitehead.html
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0075.html
http://www.cathmed.org/publications/homosexuality.html
http://www.islamonline.net/english/Contemporary/2003/02/article01-7.shtml
Islamic Stance on Homosexuality
http://www.islamonline.net/english/Contemporary/2003/02/article01-1.shtml
Islamic Ruling on Anal Sex
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543832
Haven't a few colleges lost their Catholic status recently for things such as this?
And yet, you just can't stop yourself from replying to them. ;-)
I exaggerated. ;-)
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