Major Service: Combining Academic Disciplines and Service-Learning in Women's Studies

by Stephanie Y. Evans, with Jennifer Ozer anad HavreDe Hill


Between Spring 2004 and Spring 2005, I transformed my "Interdisciplinary Perspectives of Women" class by incorporating community service-learning (CSL) in order to improve student participation, enhance my approach to feminist pedagogy, effectively partner with local community agencies for mutual benefit, and strengthen the students' quality of scholarship in the course. Here, I chronicle insights gained through transforming an introductory women's studies (WST) course at a large research university in the South and provide tips for incorporating students' academic majors and CSL into a traditional WST foundation course. First, I discuss the disciplinary focus of the class and show the advantage for students who consider their own chosen academic major through a "gendered lens." I then highlight how incorporating community service-learning enhanced the students' academic and critical perspectives by offering an applied setting in which to observe how gender and their major intersect. With this joint approach, the classroom discussion and community experiences reinforced student interests and exponentially expanded understanding about the practicality and gender dynamics of students' chosen academic disciplines. I document how these two complementary components enhanced the course and created a stimulating environment not present in my prior women's studies foundation classes.