As Boston College introduced its new interdisciplinary Catholic studies minor and other universities around the country present students with various approaches to studying religion, the century-old Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary looked to the past for spiritual direction, reintroducing a discipline that has lain dormant for decades: home economics.
Sometimes referred to as "family and consumer science," home economics is an academic discipline originated at Kansas State University in 1882, intended as an option for women who wanted to pursue university studies. In the 20th century, many high schools offered "home ec" and "shop" simultaneously, originally attaching gender restrictions but later allowing students to enroll in either. In the 1950s and 1960s many women received bachelor's degrees in the science. Many students of our generation, in a measure meant to give us practical skill sets and to acknowledge modernized gender standards, were required at some point in our pre-university education to take both.
It is safe to say that few of us ever believed would major in it.
What makes Southwestern Baptist's program unique is one specific guideline: It is only open to women.
Similar to a major, the program is designed to help women become good wives and mothers following guidelines for these roles found in Scripture. A recent article in the L.A. Times featured Ashley Smith, a guest lecturer for Southern Baptist home economics. Students noted that she is sometimes frustrated that her husband has the opportunity to advance his career while she remains at home with their children. She believes, however, that there is a biblical argument for this arrangement, citing Ephesians, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord," and noting that in Genesis, God creates Eve to serve as a "suitable helper" for Adam.
Southwestern Baptist's Web site, which has a special link for "Women's Programs," encourages female students to "come and find genuine freedom and empowerment" and to "study the Creator's design for biblical womanhood." The new concentration for women offers courses and lectures in baking chocolate chip cookies, stain removal, table settings, and dinner conversation.
The importance of the role of "family and consumer science," or home economics, or homemaking, or however one chooses to label the myriad collection of tasks and responsibilities that come with having a home and a family, can never be overstated; ultimately, "helper" seems to be a totally inadequate label. Whether it is one's primary focus or is coupled with employment, running a home is arguably the most demanding and complex occupation one can have and it is uncertain whether four years of courses would even adequately prepare someone for the task.
I find the idea of preparing a meal for multiple people totally unmanageable, the prospect of ironing an oxford shirt terrifying, and, as there may be some point in the future when I am compelled to do these activities successfully and on a regular basis for myself and others, there is a large collection of people who frequently tell me they can't wait for the entertainment. I would definitely benefit from a course such as "planning a meal" or even "remembering to remove the precooked meal from the plastic before microwaving."
But the idea of a program in which students will spend their entire undergraduate careers studying only the side of homemaking seems slightly inconsistent with the demands of contemporary culture, even the parts that aren't over-sexualized, media-driven, and consumer-based, and raises some important questions. What, for example, about men who fulfill the role of homemakers? Are we to believe that because there is no apparent biblical model for this role that it is somehow impossible? Or what about the archaic but somehow relevant concept that first led to the creation of women's education programs - in order to be good wives and mothers, women must also develop their minds intellectually? And where is the course - no, the academic concentration - reliant on traditional gender roles that teaches men to be good husbands and fathers?
Perhaps it is comforting to think that there is a world where the issues facing wives and mothers today are actually things like dinner conversation and darning socks. It seems inconceivable that Jesus - "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me" - would be concerned with the skill with which women are baking for their own children while the children of other women throughout the world go hungry. In our current climate, the most important preparation we may be able to make is for a future as individuals and family members who are educated and aware, who are committed to creating safe and adequate homes for our own children and for the children throughout the world.
Kathryn Dill is a Heights staff columnist. She welcomes comments at kdill@bcheights.com.
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