MEN'S STUDIES AND FATHERHOOD PROGRAM - Personal Issues - Discussion Forum

Akamai University's Men's Studies Programme

The information necessary to create a male is encoded in our DNA, but it takes all the institution of a culture to produce a man. The male body is the biologically given "hardware," the myth of manhood is the "software" inserted by society through a series of formal and informal rites of passage. - - - Sandor McNab

The Women's Movement, the Peace Movement, and the Industrial Revolution, all have made sweeping cultural changes that have gravely affected the lives of men, generally redefining "male" identity. Some men have welcomed these changes and made the adjustment. Others have actively resisted the forces intent upon redefining them. In the wake of this cultural evolution, many men find themselves lost and confused, angry and alienated. Most of the changes have come about so rapidly that orderly social adjustment has been impossible. Cultures forced to abandon a tradition must replace it with a new tradition of equal value, or find expression of such loss in violent substitutes. It is not surprising then, at a time when many men experience a loss of power, identity, self-worth and purpose, that we are witnessing an upsurge of crime, addiction, divorce, and chronic illness. Proactive solutions are few, in part, because men are under organized, confused about what is happening, uninformed about their rights and their situation, or just resistant to change. Even major men's organizations established to effect change, such as, Promise Keepers, The national Organization for Men Against Sexism, and New Warriors, receive little ongoing attention from the media, and have been ineffective at rallying many constituencies of the wider society.

The Men's Studies Program is designed to investigate, in a gender-specific manner, the many forces and issues affecting men in today's society. The mission of the program is to prepare and empower graduates to make far-reaching contributions in a variety of professional settings. The program will explore the spiritual, cultural, social, familial, tonic, political, economic, historical, philosophical, medical and psychological aspects of "being male" in modern society. This program will undertake to fill the knowledge gap in these areas by engaging students through course work, research, fieldwork, and self-examination. We will strive to empower our students with the knowledge and capabilities needed to effectively manage the resulting changes in men's roles and responsibilities. This program will help develop leaders and mentors who can work effectively and responsibly within the diversity of the men's movement, affecting social policy, and building a broader base of knowledge for the study and research of both genders.

The program is designed to serve the professional needs of social and political advocates, public and private policy makers, educators, therapists, personnel directors, ministers, human right's advocates and EAP counselors. This program focuses on the spiritual, cultural, social, familial, ethnic, political, economic, historical, philosophical, medical and psychological aspects of "being male" in our modern society. Our aim is to develop leaders and mentors who can work effectively and responsibly within the diversity of the men's movement, affecting social policy, and building a broader base of knowledge for the study and research of both genders.

Studies include male psychology, men's and father's rights, masculine spirituality, models and roles of masculinity, contemporary issues facing men, early childhood development, new roles for fathers, the modern family, gender and power, the challenge of marriage, issues in men's physical health, gender and politics, ancient and modern rites of passage, life stages, Jung's contributions to male psychology, family violence, men in literature, war and trauma, the men's movement, new models of male leadership, and issues in male sexuality. In addition, students will be engaged in a local Practicum that brings together learning with action, research with practice.

Regards, John L. Laughlin, Ph.D.

PROGRAM AUDIENCE The Men's Studies Program seeks participants from policy and lobbying organizations, human rights organizations, social services, environmental and consumer groups, business and industry, governmental and nonprofit sectors, research centers, unions and trade associations, think tanks, and advocacy groups, communications, education, law enforcement, corrections, employee training, international rights, ministry, reproductive rights, research, health care, counseling and the helping professions.

This program undertakes to fill the knowledge gap in these areas by engaging students through course work, research, fieldwork, and self-examination. Through its Men's Studies and Fatherhood Program, Akamai empowers its students with the knowledge and capabilities needed to effectively manage the resulting changes in men's roles and responsibilities. Akamai's Men's Studies and Fatherhood Program is committed to developing leaders and mentors who can work effectively and responsibly within the diversity of the men's movement, affecting social policy, and building a broader base of knowledge for the study and research of both genders.

Studies include male psychology, men's and father's rights, masculine spirituality, models and roles of masculinity, contemporary issues facing men, early childhood development, new roles for fathers, the modern family, gender and power, the challenge of marriage, issues in men's physical health, gender and politics, ancient and modern rites of passage, life stages, Jung's contributions to male psychology, family violence, men in literature, war and trauma, the men's movement, new models of male leadership, and issues in male sexuality. In addition, students will be engaged in a local Practicum that brings together learning with action, research with practice.