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First Women's Studies Department In Nation Celebrates 50 Years

A gathering of the women at SDSU in the 1970s.
Courtesy of SDSU
A gathering of the women at SDSU in the 1970s.
SDSU educators are marking the 50th anniversary of the women's studies department.

Over the weekend women around the world took to the streets to mark International Women’s Day. Many of those parades turned into protests as tens of thousands of women called for an end to violence against women and an end to financial inequality.

Those same goals were in the forefront 50 years ago, when San Diego State University founded the first women’s studies department in the country. This spring semester, SDSU educators are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the department.

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And, while there’s much to celebrate, there’s still a long way to go — in the workplace, in the home and in politics — for women to take their rightful place in present-day culture.

Doreen Mattingly, professor and chair of the women's studies department, and Huma Ahmed-Ghosh, a professor in the department and former department chair, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss this milestone and what they expect of the department in the next 50 years.