The Birth of Women’s and Gender Studies and Who We Are Now: Your Inheritance as a Student of Women’s and Gender

Right now, your women’s and gender studies classroom probably feels like the center of the universe. You may either physically sit in a women’s and gender studies classroom or perhaps you access it as an online course. No matter how you interface with women’s and gender studies, you are likely to discover that the type of experience it provides-due to coursework, how you engage in the classes, and the material you cover-is different from your other courses. This chapter takes you behind the scenes to help you understand that what happens in a women’s and gender studies classroom is an outgrowth of activism, debate, and rich intellectual tradition.