To be or not to be? The place of women's studies in the lives of its students

This article draws on my research work with women's studies students throug hout the three years of their degrees at a 'new' university in London. In e xamining the place of women's studies in the lives of its students, it cons iders four broad areas: why women choose to study women's studies; the ques tion of men in the women's studies classroom; difference and diversity; and the connection between women's studies and feminist politics. It concludes that women find themselves constantly challenged in exciting ways by the i deas they encounter in women's studies. The place that women's studies occu pies in the lives of its students is central and powerful.