College appoints new WAGS chair

Author: Kimberly Schrimsher

When Middlebury College students consider the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, they are not likely thinking about the vastly different effects the disaster had on men and women in the region. Yet that is precisely what the College's new chair of Women's and Gender Studies (WAGS) hopes to address. Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies Sujata Moorti believes a WAGS perspective will help students understand why this natural disaster disproportionately affected women. "It will also help relief agencies and governments understand the ways in which male and female victims need to be differently addressed," she said.

While numerous colleges and universities offer WAGS programs, Moorti says few women and gender studies programs in the United States have international perspectives.

"I want Middlebury to be on the cutting edge," she said.

Moorti's multidimensional awareness impressed Middlebury's search committee last spring when it reviewed a dozen candidates for the new tenured faculty position.

"We were looking for exceptional candidates with proven records of excellence in teaching, scholarship and service," said Vice President for Academic Affairs and search committee member Alison Byerly. "Because the position was intended to bring leadership to the program, we wanted someone of broad-ranging interests who would be able to work collaboratively with colleagues across campus in a variety of fields."

Until this point, according to Professor of Theatre and Women's and Gender Studies Cheryl Faraone, faculty members in other departments rotated in holding the title of WAGS director. "It was difficult for WAGS to operate with the same level of ongoing departmental thinking as other academic programs," said Faraone.

The arrival of Moorti from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia promises enriched course offerings, a stronger international component in the program, symposia and the integration of feminist scholarship into the social science and humanities disciplines.

"A liberal arts school is closer to what I want as a professor," said Moorti, who says she came to Middlebury because of the students. "If a liberal arts education is designed to help us become active participants in community, gender becomes an integral variable one has to take into account. [It] saturates every aspect of our lives and must be considered by all scholars irrespective of their own sex."

While living in India, Moorti worked as a journalist for national newspapers before moving to the U.S. to earn her Ph.D. in WAGS from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her appointment as Middlebury's WAGS chair is already transforming the department.

"In the two weeks since she has been directing the program, she has brought forth a number of initiatives and has begun collaborative ventures with other departments and institutes," said Faraone. Others have commented on her energy and enthusiasm.

"I plan to diversify the range of courses offered under the WAGS designation. This should allow students understand the important interventions feminist scholarship has made in academia and help them grasp the multi-and inter-disciplinary nature of this field," said Moorti.

This semester, Moorti is teaching two classes: "Foundation of Women and Gender Studies" and "Mobile Women," a class that focuses on women who migrate in search of jobs.

"Bringing a gendered perspective to the analysis of any situation can offer a richer and more nuanced account than one that is gender blind," said Moorti. "In the arena of social policy, gender is an essential category that must be considered to ensure the larger social good."

With Moorti in charge, colleagues have great hopes for the future of the WAGS department. "We were impressed by the breadth of her interests and research, and the way in which her work connects gender issues with questions of race, class, ethnicity and nationalism," said Byerly. "We felt that she would be an excellent teacher who could expand our course offerings in WAGS and connect the program to International Studies, Film and Media Culture and other areas of the curriculum."

A reception was held in honor of Moorti's arrival on campus at Chellis House last Thursday afternoon from 4:30 to 6 p.m.