The Daily Pennsylvanian
Heather Love wants students to think beyond traditional topics like biology, economics and history.
The English professor spoke about once-unconventional fields of study that are emerging at universities across the country at a dinner discussion last night.
More than fifteen students attended the event, which took place in Hamilton College House.
The discussion focused on the emergence of new fields, specifically "identity" -- which encompasses topics of race and gender.
In identity fields, you are representing your own interests, she said.
"Real bodies and real inequalities are at stake," Love said.
The emergence of new fields requires people to think differently about what is okay to talk about and presents a challenge to the very idea of what knowledge is, she said.
Love also delved into issues of higher education and academia -- specifically addressing her own quest to make sexuality-based studies a more integral part of Penn's academic offerings.
She explained the two different approaches she takes when arguing for the inclusion of sexuality-based studies in the curriculum.
There is the civil rights approach , which says that gays and lesbians are minority groups that need to be represented. The other approach appeals to sexuality's universal nature.
"Everyone has a sexuality. It cuts across history and culture," Love said.
Love compared the current movement to incorporate sexuality-based studies to a period during the 1960's when people began to push for fields such as Women Studies and African-American Studies.
The students in attendance seemed impressed with Love's remarks.
"She presented a whole new way of thinking about things and creating our own knowledge about gender and sexuality," College senior Michelle Chikaonda -- who has taken two classes with Love -- said.
College freshman Lizzie Frasco, who is taking Love's Gender and Sexuality class this semester, said she appreciated the timeliness of the issues Love focuses on.
"It's exciting to be in a class where I am learning something new, which is also gaining publicity and political support," she said.
The dinner was sponsored by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education as part of its Education Week. The program invites students that might not have the opportunity to take a class with a professor to meet and have a discussion with them.
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