Educating New Generations: Standpoints in Women's and Gender Studies and Implications for the Inclusion of LGBTQ Studies in Italian University Courses

J Homosex. 2020 Jun 6;67(7):990-1012. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2019.1582219. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Abstract

It should not be surprising that in Italy, one of the latest European countries to recognize same-sex couples, LGBTIQ+ concerns are not included in students' academic curricula. Therefore, following the historical path of gender studies (GS) and women's studies (WS), this article explores the current feminist and gender discourse in order to catch a glimpse of what will be needed to fill this gap. To clarify which women's and gender studies standpoints are taught to new generations in Italy, lexicometric and correspondence analysis were performed on the descriptions of universities courses teaching WS and GS perspectives. Although the international spread of these two perspectives in academia is still wide, the results indicate a consistent lack of these courses in Italian institutions of higher education and, moreover, separate viewpoints associated with the two perspectives.

Keywords: Gender and women’s studies; Italian academia; Italian feminism; LGBTQ studies; lexicometric analysis.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Curriculum
  • Europe
  • Female
  • Feminism / history
  • Gender Identity*
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Male
  • Sexual and Gender Minorities / education*
  • Sexual and Gender Minorities / history
  • Students
  • Universities*
  • Women