Center for the Study of Women in Society facts for kids

The Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS) is a special group at the University of Oregon in the United States. It helps people learn more about women's lives and supports ideas that help women. CSWS supports feminist research, teaching, activism (working for change), and creative projects.

It started in 1973. It is a non-profit group that works with the University and its student groups. Many people see CSWS as a very important place for studying gender and women.

How It Started

In 1970, a study looked at how women were treated at the University of Oregon. It found that only about 10% of the full-time teachers were women. Because of this, some teachers, like Joan Acker, asked the university to create a plan. This plan was called affirmative action. It aimed to make sure women had fair chances.

This plan became a rule after a law called Title IX was passed in 1972. Title IX is a law that stops unfair treatment based on gender in schools that get government money.

At that time, a small Women's Research and Study Center got some money for research. Even though there were budget cuts for schools, the university held a meeting in 1972 called Women on the Move. This meeting helped inspire people at the University to push for more changes for women. It also led to the idea of creating a center to study women from many different subjects.

In 1973, the university president, Robert D. Clark, helped Joan Acker and other teachers start the Center for the Sociological Study of Women. It was first called "Sociological" because only the Sociology department agreed to the idea. The Center's first budget was small, and it didn't have much money for its first ten years. Joan Acker became its first director.

Acker remembered an early research project. It was about a "Feminism Scale" with Miriam M. Johnson. A funny question on the scale that showed if someone identified with feminism was "do you shave your legs?" They found this amusing because it showed how ideas about feminism were changing.

A Big Gift

Around the same time, a librarian named Edward Kemp was collecting old papers about women's roles. He became interested in the papers of Jane Grant. She was a writer and helped start The New Yorker magazine.

Kemp contacted Jane Grant's husband, William B. Harris. Harris wanted to give money to honor his wife. In 1976, Harris gave Jane Grant's papers to the University. Later, after his death, Harris left a huge gift of US$3.5 million to the University in 1983. This was the largest gift the university had ever received from one person at that time!

Expanding Its Work

In 1983, the Center changed its name to the Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS). This new name showed that its work had grown. It now aimed to create, support, and share research about women in many different fields.

The large gift from the Harris-Grant family made a big difference. It allowed CSWS to give out US$100,000 each year. This money helped teachers and students with their research. It also helped bring visiting scholars, hold conferences, and plan new courses.

With this new money, CSWS started to focus on research about women from many different subjects, not just sociology. They supported studies on women in science, the arts, and law. By the late 1980s, CSWS was working with the art museum, women's studies classes, and the library. CSWS also created grants for women of color and graduate students who were studying women.

What CSWS Has Done

Cheris Kramarae, who was the director of CSWS in the late 1980s, talked about the many different projects the Center helped with. These included:

• A film about women farm workers and the dangers of chemicals.
• Studies on the lives of Macedonian women.
• Research on how women and nature are connected (ecofeminism).
• Studies about women in literature.
• Support for women facing difficult situations.
• Research on health for children and low-income women.
• Helping women get housing and financial help.
• Education about health in Africa.

In the 1990s, CSWS continued to support research. It also held meetings for scholars to share their ideas. One project, "Women in the Northwest," got a US$100,000 gift in 1997. This helped with ongoing research about women, work, families, and laws in the Northwest region.

CSWS also started research groups in the 1990s. These groups focused on topics like women in the humanities (arts and culture), technology, and women's health and aging. By 2009, CSWS had given over US$2 million to support research by teachers and students in more than 20 different departments.

In 2013, the Center started a special award. It was called the Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship. This award gives US$3,000 to help people travel to research and work with the papers of feminist science fiction writers.

CSWS is a member of the National Council for Research on Women. It is one of the oldest centers in the United States that studies women.