A Question for Professor Benanti...

What do you like about teaching Intro to Women's Studies? Why do you think it is an important class?

Women's Studies is an eye-opening, exciting adventure into a world that has long been hidden from traditional scholarship. The introductory course provides a lens into that wondrous world that instinctively we knew existed somewhere, because we as women felt it in our psyche: "Surely I am not alone in my feelings. Somewhere in the universe this must reverberate with others like me." Once we open the magic door to that special place, it will never close back on us again. We will understand why we sometimes feel as we feel, think as we think, understand what we have been questioning and then we will question even more. Even though the introductory courses are a broad-brush of interdisciplinary research in many fields, they provide students -men as well as women - a grounding and a jumping off place for further investigation of the world around them as they learned it, know it, feel it. As a teacher, I never fail to feel the adrenal rush of being part of this new journey with every class of students whether they are online or in a traditional setting. Students challenge us in their comments and reflective writings and we teachers challenge them to see this world. When I read comments from my students -men and women -that say, "I learned so much," OR "I now understand myself better and am stronger for it," I am humbled and grateful to have been a part of that journey.