Apparently Women’s Studies is Indoctrination

It’s no big surprise that David Horowitz of the Weekly Standard doesn’t know a thing about Women’s Studies and still feels free to pontificate about why it is akin to indoctrination, but I do find it peculiar that he is such a simple thinker as to totally neglect that every academic discipline is shaped by subjective and, very often, political forces. Does he think that economics, taught from a perspective that usually privileges capitalism and free market ideology, isn’t a touch political? Has he ever been in a psychology class to witness how certain behaviors are deemed pathological and others are categorized as sane? A totally political process, I would argue.
I do have to say that dumbos like him reinforce my desire to have “Women’s Studies” departments adopt “Gender Studies” as a moniker instead. (I know there is much debate about this.) I don’t want to bow to dudes like David, but I do think it would give him less ignorance to work with if we sent a clear message to the public–as an academic community–that we are interested in looking at gender issues, not just feminism as a political movement (which is what he tries to claim when he sees that some departments adopt the title “Feminist Studies”).
For another awesome angle on this whole thing, check out Elizabeth Curtis’ blog. Thanks for the heads up.
Oh, and for my take on what feminism, not Women’s Studies, is, check out today’s New Statesman column: Is Feminism Dead?