Studying gender in the neoliberal, postfeminist university

Australian university students' perspectives

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2399583
AutoresHeidi La Paglia (University of Tasmania), M Nash (0000-0002-7429-4924, University of Tasmania), R Grant (0000-0003-3007-0168, University of Tasmania, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen57
Número2
Páginas380-393
Fecha de publicación2021-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Sociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1440-7833 • E-ISSN: 1741-2978
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1440783320911465
OpenAlexW3019486237
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas27

In a neoliberal environment where university students are encouraged to study subjects and courses which will lead to specific job outcomes, this article explores which students undertake Women's and Gender Studies (WGS), why they undertake the degree, and what it teaches them. Drawing on interviews with students at a regional Australian university, this qualitative study examines the extent to which the university's Gender Studies cohort is postfeminist, and the impact that this has on retention and student outcomes. Findings suggest that WGS holds an ambivalent position within the contemporary university context. While students claim that studying WGS may not directly benefit them in the contemporary job market, they choose to study it because it gives them a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. The value students place on WGS is an insight rarely recognised previously

Ambivalence · Context (archaeology) · Higher education · Neoliberalism (international relations) · Political science · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics) · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology