Kent State University Offering 2017 Course on Hillary Clinton

KENT, OH - Kent State University will offer a Hillary Clinton-centric class in spring 2017. The class, titled “Hillary Clinton Case Study: Perspectives on Gender and Power,” will be offered in spring 2017 and will explore the cultural perception of the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state. The class is part of a special topics course offered by the Women’s Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, both in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Clinton was chosen as the subject of the class due to her long career in the public eye, which provides a wealth of material for analysis, and her historical candidacy for president of the United States, the university said. Molly Merryman, director of Kent State's Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, sees the center as being well-suited to teach a course on Hillary Clinton, particularly in the context of this year’s election season.

“I think that from time to time there are these social situations that arise where we don’t fully understand what’s happening to women,” Merryman said. “Without the discourse that women’s studies provides us, we’re left with no answers because at face value, it doesn’t make sense until you look at it through that lens.”

The course will be led by Suzanne Holt, director of the Women’s Studies program and professor in the Center for Comparative and Integrative Programs at Kent State. While the course materials will likely span Clinton’s entire career, this election will provide a large amount of information as well. Holt cites press coverage of the election, exchanges between the candidates during the debates and social media venues as providing key reference points for the class.

“It will probably be the largest record of any women’s thoughts and positions on this range of issues,” Holt said.

In addition to Clinton’s own work, she has been a flashpoint for conversations from outside perspectives as well. Holt describes the course as being a “perfect mirror for us to see ourselves” in regards to women’s issues. By highlighting Clinton as both a cultural and political figure, she hopes that students will be able to better recognize the deep, historical roots of sexism and the struggle for women, even powerful women, to overcome ingrained ideas of what women are capable of.

“Our culture’s deep suspicions of women are suddenly becoming validated in the person of Hillary Clinton,” she said.

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch