On September 12, 2000 the Style section of the Washington Post carried a story titled, "In Academia, Males Under a Microscope."(1) The thrust of the article is whether universities should continue to develop and expand programs in men's studies, as many of them have for women's studies. Quoting a student at Amherst (that has since adopted several men's studies courses), "why do women get their own academic programs while men are left to shrivel in the darkness beyond the university spotlight," the article goes on to explore the legitimacy of women's and men's study programs.

At the present time, about 200 American universities offer courses on masculinity and or manhood. Professor Michael Kimmel of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and co-editor of the text Men's Lives explains that "masculinity studies continues the goal of women's studies: to understand gender inequalities." Like Kimmel, other founders of men's studies emphasize that "the men who enroll in these courses are not chauvinistic, promise-keeping, frat-joining-- for the most part they are feminist men."

Why do we need special programs in women's and Men's studies? Any comprehensive course in sociology, social Psychology, and Anthropology should, and I believe do, include sections on Gender, Gender Relations, Gender Role, Gender Conflict and Gender'Issues. Establishing special areas of study devoted to men and women politicizes what should be treated as social science. We have all heard horror stories of how men have been asked to drop out of women studies courses and of how women who do not adhere to the "party line" on women's issues are ostracized. Research and discussion of gender, race, and ethnicity are major components of the subject matter of many of the social sciences. They should be taught in the context of the larger issues concerning social organization, social stratification, social conflict and socialization. Separating out women's, and more recently men's studies, and making them special units de-intellectualizes their content and puts them clearly in the political correctness category. They also suggest conflict between women who specialize in women's studies, and men who specialize in men's studies. These women are often viewed as not liking men, and for men, their views on women are seen as hostile and/or defensive. Universities should not be in the business of establishing politically correct behavior.

Of course, everything I have written about women's and men's studies applies to "Black Study Programs" as well.