The GCWS Course Development Process:
TEACHING TEAMS

Since GCWS courses are uniquely team-taught, interdisciplinary, and cross-institutional, creating a team is the critical first step in the course development process.  Our policy states:

Courses will be team-taught by faculty trained in different disciplines and affiliated with at least two different member institutions.

With the exception of the Dissertation Writers Workshop, which is facilitated by one faculty member, GCWS courses are collaboratively developed and taught in teams of either two or three instructors, among whom disciplinary and institutional diversity must be demonstrated.

The GCWS draws primarily on full-time tenured or tenure track faculty from its nine dues-paying member institutions for teaching teams.  All teams must include at least one such faculty member from a contributing institution. 

Full-time faculty who are not tenured or tenure track but who hold long-term appointments (at least 3 years and/or on-going) at member institutions, distinguished scholars with visiting appointments at member institutions, and Emerita faculty from member institutions can teach as part of a GCWS team of either two or three instructors.

In a team of three, the third person could be full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty, Emerita faculty at institutions which are not dues paying members of the GCWS, or scholars with non-teaching appointments such as directors of institutes at member institutions.

All potential GCWS faculty should fill out a Statement of Interest form, available on the GCWS website or from Andi Sutton, the GCWS Coordinator.  Teams come together through personal contacts, course development conversations and other GCWS networking events, or with the targeted assistance of the GCWS Board of Directors and Coordinator to develop a course on a particular topic.  Course development is a collaborative process, including all members of a teaching team as well as input from the GCWS Board of Directors.  Teams submit a course proposal, which is reviewed and must be approved by the GCWS Curriculum Committee.  Once a course is approved for development, the team creates a detailed first draft syllabus, which is discussed by the GCWS Board of Directors.  The Chair of the Curriculum Committee or another designated Board Member offers a written summary of comments and suggestions for further consideration by the team.  After a revised draft of the syllabus is submitted, the team meets with the Board to discuss any further questions or ideas.  Though the GCWS is committed to the courses it approves for development, normally courses are not officially accepted and scheduled for a particular year or semester until this discussion takes place and the syllabus is complete.

Teaching teams meet with the Board of Directors at least one more time, in a welcome and orientation gathering at the start of academic year in which the course will be taught.

All course proposals and inquiries should be sent to:

Andi Sutton, Program Coordinator
Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Building 16, Room 287
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
Ph. (617) 324-2085
Email: gcws@mit.edu

The Consortium

The Consortium is a pioneering effort by faculty members of nine graduate degree-granting institutions in the Boston area and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The program is designed to help realize the full potential of the new scholarship in women's studies by advancing theoretical developments in women's studies, by strengthening and supporting the development of participating faculty, and by enriching the graduate preparation of future faculty from a range of disciplines. The Consortium will provide an institutional context for scholarly collaboration in graduate seminars designed to expand the frontiers of this important and exciting interdisciplinary field.

Participating Institutions

• Boston College
• Boston University
• Brandeis University
• Harvard University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Northeastern University
• Simmons College
• Tufts University
• University of Massachusetts, Boston

2008-09 Consortium Board of Directors

• Faith Smith , Brandeis University
• Caroline Light, Harvard University
• Hilary Poriss , Northeastern University
• Ian Condry , Mass. Institute of Technology
• Sonia Hofkosh, Tufts University
• Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Boston College
• Sarah Leonard , Simmons College
• Amani El-Jack, University of Massachusetts, Boston
• Barbara Gottfried, Boston University