Lise's Lens: March 23, 2023

Lise contemplates the supposed “end of the English major,” reflects on her recent trip to California, and considers the definition of gender in the context of historically gendered educational institutions. 

WHAT I’M READING
 
  • This New Yorker article announcing “The End of the English Major" was a fascinating read. On the one hand, as a humanities scholar myself, it is sad to think that interest has been steadily waning for these areas of study. At the same time, I think this moment presents an amazing opportunity for scholars of history, literature, language arts and the like to reassess and reinvent what material is studied and how that work can be applied to areas both within and beyond academia. This is something we already do at CSW and I, for one, firmly believe that the skills one learns from these disciplines remain incredibly important for anyone entering the workforce.

WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
 
  • I am thinking about my recent trip out to California to see alumni in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Regional events took a bit of a hiatus during the pandemic, but we hope to increase our travel in the years to come so that we can continue to connect with CSW community members across the US and around the world. I will never tire of meeting alums and hearing the many positive ways their CSW experiences continue to impact their lives.

WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO

  • I’ve been following along with the story emerging out of Wellesley College, an all “women’s” college, about the school’s decision not to admit trans men, despite a student vote in favor of the contrary. NPR’s “All Things Considered” recently ran a segment on the issue. There is so much to unpack here about gender, education, student voice, and the like.
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
 
I had the privilege of dropping our Mandarin students off at the airport for their journey to Taiwan! I am happy to report that they have arrived safely and are having a blast. Follow along with their travels via the Taiwan Mod Abroad Blog.

 
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