UT Austin Folds Gender, Ethnic Studies Into Single Department

The University of Texas at Austin will fold its gender studies and ethnic studies programs into a new department this September, The Austin American-Statesman reported. 

The newly established Department for Social and Cultural Analysis Studies will comprise African and African diaspora studies; Mexican American and Latina/o studies; women’s, gender and sexuality studies; and American studies.

In a meeting with the affected department chairs Thursday, Interim Dean David Sosa did not announce any immediate firings, faculty told the Statesman, nor did he discuss potential future layoffs. The Asian Studies and Middle Eastern Studies Departments were not included in the call or mentioned in a note to campus about the consolidation from UT Austin president Jim Davis.

“I know that the prospect of change has prompted some concern, but it is important to bear in mind that many subjects worthy of research and teaching do not necessarily need to be isolated as their own small academic departments,” Davis wrote. “Instead, these subjects can continue to be researched and taught in the broader context of other fields, classes, disciplines, and departments.”

Davis’s email also said that the Department of French and Italian, the Department of Germanic Studies, and the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies will be combined into the Department of European and Eurasian Studies.

“This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas and an attempt to appease the state’s right-wing elected officials and Board of Regents,” leaders for the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors wrote in a news release. “Any changes to [the departments] should be made with clear objectives and rationale, and through a deliberative process. In this case, there has been no such process. These changes have been rushed through with minimal weigh-in from faculty and no input at all from staff or students.”

Earlier this month, Texas A&M University abruptly shuttered its women’s and gender studies program to comply with board policies that limit discussion of race and gender. The efforts are part of a broader trend in red states to curb what conservative politicians see as “woke,” ideologically driven education that ultimately serves as censorship for academic inquiry related to race, sexuality and gender.