Institute for Gender and Development Studies

From
Professor Emeritus Patricia Mohammed
Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies

August 2014

Once you catch the bug of graduate studies, the pleasure gained from hours of sharing ideas and banter of discussion, the immeasurable returns from mental labour involved in “reading for a degree” as academic qualifications were correctly described many years ago, you are beginning to be a scholar, thinker and opinion leader of the present and the future. The role and value of education in building community must never be underestimated.

The area of gender offers a still relatively new approach to learning and knowledge building. By definition gender is inter-, intra- and trans-disciplinary. Thus it invites the widest range of those students who are eager to blend disciplines and to widen and sharpen their lenses, who intuitively recognize that disciplinary boundaries need to be fluid to accommodate the creation of a gendered knowledge of phenomena around us.

In our classes and programmes you will encounter a network of feminist graduate scholars who come from a range of occupations and disciplines. You will be exposed to the operations of gender in the labor market, the family, political systems and cultural production. Our interdisciplinary courses critically examine social categories of analysis of gender, race, class and sexuality in ways that will contribute to your personal and professional development, equipping you to engage with contemporary issues in the widest social context.

Today, the workplace needs employees who understand gendered issues such as sexual harassment, flex-time, work-life balance, parental leave, pay equity, and equal employment opportunities. The demand for expertise on gender issues is growing in the professions of law, medicine, nursing, social work, teaching, counseling, and government service.

Most importantly, Women’s and Gender Studies graduates report that their education has given them the support and courage they needed to pursue their dreams. We invite you to join us to help you realise your intellectual potential and your future visioning.