New gender and body studies major proposed

Dr. Michelle Filling-Brown, chair of the English department, has set a proposal for a new major for students interested in body image and learning about gender, race and sexuality.
On April 9, the faculty assembly meeting will be discussing a new major proposal for the college. This new major and minor is called Gender and Body Studies, which will fall under the department of English and courses will be in the category of ENG. This new major will cover body studies and feminist theory classes throughout a student’s journey in this major. Not only will it be covering women, male body study classes such as Masculinity and the media classes will be taught within this major.
“I am so passionate about these topics and have been energized by students’ enthusiasm over the past few years as I’ve added new courses,” Filling-Brown, said.
The major will also require general education courses in the biology category such as health and the human body and genetics and heredity.  This whole major would include 36 credits and the minor would be 18. With this being said, all the courses for this major besides two are already in the catalog, so English majors who are just starting out may be able to switch to this major if desired, if the proposal gets approved.
The Gender and Body Studies major and minor will ultimately teach students about gender, race and sexuality and the impact on social justice. The major is said to be “reading and writing intensive,” which means students will have to dive into the course content and learn about all different topics.
“So much of this new major/minor proposal should be attributed to the dedication of students and alumni whose commitment to women’s studies and body image issues helped to grow this program over the past five years,” Filling-Brown said.
Along with this major, a new Living and Learning Commmunity, will be available for first-year students who are interested in joining.  The new LLC launches next fall and will help promote positivity of body images on campus. “This will be a strong new addition to the LLC line-up and will support the culture of promoting positive body image on our campus,” Filling-Brown, said.
Students have been widely involved in body image clubs and events around campus and have engaged in spreading the message. “I think it is really amazing how the LLC will be launching in the fall. Freshmen will really want to be involved with it,” Malley DeSanto, sophomore digital communications major, said.
The English department and Filling-Brown have high hopes about launching a new major and minor at Cabrini if approved. This major will enhance how people think about body image and gender equality.