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                 National Women's Studies Association

                      A Report to the Profession

            LIBERAL LEARNING AND THE WOMEN'S STUDIES MAJOR

                  Completed in conjunction with the 
              Association of American Colleges National
                  Review of Arts and Sciences Majors


                              PREFACE

This report was completed in cooperation with a national review of arts
and sciences majors initiated by the Association of American Colleges as part
of its continuing commitment to advance and strengthen undergraduate
liberal learning. The National Women's Studies Association was one of twelve
learned societies contributing to this review. Each participating learned
society convened a task force charged to address a common set of questions
about purposes and practices in liberal arts majors; individual task forces
further explored issues important in their particular fields.

Members of NWSA's Task Force on the Women's Studies Major were:

Johnnella E. Butler, University of Washington
Sandra Coyner, Kansas State University
Margaret Homans, Yale University
Marlene Longenecker, The Ohio State University
Caryn McTighe Musil, NWSA Executive Director

Early drafts of the report were discussed at the NWSA National
Conference in June, 1989, at Towson, Maryland; at NWSA's National
Conference for Women's Studies Program Directors in October, 1989, in
Washington, D.C.; at the NWSA National Conference in June, 1990, in
Akron, Ohio; and widely circulated to faculty members, administrators,
and students throughout 1989-1990. The authors are grateful for the many
helpful suggestions made during the long but stimulating process of
producing this report. We would also like to acknowledge the research
and clerical support given by the National Women's Studies Association
staff, especially Melinda Berriman, NWSA's Office Manager, whose careful
eye and unending patience through many drafts were invaluable.

The Association of American Colleges has published a single volume
edition of all twelve learned society reports with a companion volume
containing a separate report on "Liberal Learning and Arts and Sciences
Majors." Inquiries about these two publications may be sent to Reports on
the Arts and Sciences Major, Box R, Association of American Colleges,
1818 R Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.

NWSA has published a longer version of the AAC text on the women's
studies major in an individual 24 page booklet available free from NWSA.
To assist in program development and design, former NWSA Executive
Director Caryn McTighe Musil also produced a third version that runs 250
pages and includes the longer text of the report along with extensive
appendixes with models of the major, sample syllabi, guides for 
cross-listing courses, internship models, and bibliographies. To 
order either the free 24-page booklet or the $10.00 (pre-paid) 250-page 
edition, send inquiries to the National Women's Studies Association, 
7100 Baltimore Boulevard, Suite 301, College Park, Maryland 20740. 
(301) 403-0424 or (301) 403-0525.

Generous funding for the project and dissemination of the reports was
provided by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education
(FIPSE) and the Ford Foundation.