Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2012
Poster Presentation
Consciousness Raising: Do Students’ Views Change During the Course of a
Women’s Studies Class?
Koree Read and Alicia Guzman-Riley
Faculty Mentor: Lori Baker-Sperry
Women’s Studies
Professors of women studies and advisors agree that the majority of students to enroll
in Introduction to Women's Studies (WS 190) do so to fulfill general education
requirements. This means that students in any particular course represent a wide array
of attitudes about the multidisciplinary topics addressed in the class. Therefore, the
purpose of this study is to, first, assess the students' views on core feminist issues in
multiple sections of Introduction to Women Studies and second, determine if attitudes
change through exposure to the course materials. To assess student views, students
were asked if they are feminists; if they are ever treated negatively for feminist views; if
women are treated equally to men; their views on women’s relative status to men; their
beliefs about equal opportunities regardless of race, class, and gender; about their
sensitivity to stereotypical name calling towards feminists; and if they have reproductive
freedom. We then re-measured seven weeks later in the same Introduction to Women’s
Studies (WS 190) courses to determine if students’ attitudes had changed as a result of
the course material. Data is presented in the form of recommendations for classroom
activities and strategies.