Oregon State to Offer Social Justice Course on ‘Fat Studies’

Oregon State to Offer Social Justice Course on ‘Fat Studies’

Sometimes the progressive curriculum is beyond parody. This is an apt example of that.

Campus Reform reported:

‘Fat Studies’ course deems ‘weightism’ a ‘social justice issue’

Oregon State University will offer a spring course on “fat studies” in order to teach students how “weight-based oppression” is a “social justice issue.”

According to a syllabus for the course obtained by Campus Reform, students will examine “body weight, shape, and size as an area of human difference subject to privilege and discrimination that intersects with other systems of oppression based on gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation, and ability.”

The course will be taught by Professor Patti Lou-Watkins, who has written extensively on “body image disorders, particularly as they relate to weight bias and physical activity” in academic journals and books.

In a 2013 article in European Health Psychologist, for instance, Lou-Watkins argues that the growing “war on obesity” has actually caused more harm than good, saying many who attempt to lose weight suffer psychological consequences.

“Indeed, as the ‘War on Obesity’ has escalated, so has weight-based bias and discrimination,” Lou-Watkins adds, noting that “weight bias is particularly evident among healthcare professionals, compromising the well-being of their patients.”

Similarly, in an article called “Teaching about Eating Disorders from a Fat Studies Perspectives,” Lou-Watkins discusses the sorts of “pedagogy” she now applies in her courses.

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