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New gender studies class now offered

    If you are looking to expand your knowledge on the world in which we live today, have an interest in gender studies, or simply want more credits, then the new Introduction to Gender Studies course is the class for you.
    Starting next fall, MCCC will be offering a course that analyzes the role that gender plays in society. It is a social sciences course that will be taught by three different professors, breaking down the semester into five weeks per professor.
    The three professors are: professor of history Edmund La Clair, professor of psychology Melissa Grey, and professor of English Carrie Nartker.
    La Clair and Grey are both new professors at MCCC, transferring from colleges such as Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and the University of Michigan-Flint. Nartker has been a professor at MCCC for several years and is currently on maternity leave.
    La Clair developed the idea for this class when a student approached him and asked if he could teach about the history of gender.
This sparked La Clair’s interest and he decided the course would be best taught with three teachers instead of just himself, due to the fact that there are different viewpoints on the topics being taught.
    Three teachers for the course are necessary because there are many different aspects that pertain to gender, he said.
    La Clair will be teaching on the history of gender, Grey will teach on the study of scientific examination of sexuality and how gender is a part of it, and Nartker will be teaching the literary and sociological treatments of gender.
    If this course is successful for two semesters, then it will be offered as a permanent course. The course is open to any student currently, but eventually there will be a reading requirement put in place.
    Since there will be different opinions presented throughout the course, students may have different beliefs towards the facts being taught. However, the course is not meant to be a controversial one.
    “You’re entitled to your own beliefs,” Grey said.
   Grey also said she thinks it is necessary to know different beliefs and views so that way people have a better comprehension of others around them.
   “Gender is the building block in which human society is organized,” La Clair said.
   La Clair said he believes that studying gender roles helps people understand expectations in society and how society operates.