Who-Stole-Feminism.-How-Women-Have-Betrayed-Women

126 WHO STOLE FEMINISM?The transformation of the philosophy major at Mount Holyoke Collegeis an example of change as it may affect an individual scholarly department.In the late eighties Mount Holyoke College was given funds by theDonner Foundation to conduct transformation seminars. Next it acquireda provost of the right consciousness, Peter Berek, who had been at WilliamsCollege. In the spring of 1992, this little item appeared in thecollege newspaper, under the headline "Philosophy Transforms Major":In an unusual move, the Philosophy Department has broken awayfrom traditional requirements for philosophy majors and minors.... [As a result] students will be able to pursue in depth an area ofspecial interest, including contemporary topics of philosophicalthought—such as feminist philosophy, the philosophy of racism,and the philosophy of film.The article noted the support the administration had given to thetransformation of the philosophy major. Here is how the philosophymajor was described before the transformation: "The major in philosophyis designed to provide the student with a broad understanding of thehistorical background of contemporary philosophical thought. ... It shallconsist of at least eight courses, including one each in the history ofancient philosophy, the history of modern philosophy, and logic." Hereis the new description: "A major in philosophy should provide the studentwith a broad understanding of the background of contemporaryphilosophy. . . . Because philosophy admits of a diversity of sometimescompeting conceptions of what philosophy is, the Department encourageseach major to articulate her own major program."The catalog does say that "most students" will be "encouraged to include. . . courses that provide an historical background for her area ofspecial interest." But the old requirements are gone, and philosophy as atraditional major at Mount Holyoke no longer exists. Having broken awayfrom the historic "phase one" demands that required the student to becomethoroughly conversant with such "geniuses" as Plato, Descartes, andKant, the rules now allow a philosophy student to get her degree bytaking such courses as "Developments in Feminist Philosophy: Rethinkingthe World" (which explains how feminists reconstruct their "own . . .version of philosophy"), "Philosophy and Film" (including a special studyof films that feature an "unlikely couple"), "Film Comedy" (which includes"feminist approaches to screwball comedy"), and "Feminist ScienceFiction as Feminist Theory." 19Some colleges have instituted policies to screen out phase one "un-