Tuesday, October 27, 2009
With sunglasses perched atop his head and tattoos covering his arms and legs, it may not be obvious that Milton Wendland is a lawyer, teacher and feminist. His carefree persona, however, is a key way in which he fulfills these duties and motivates students.
“His background and the way he expresses his passion for what he does inspires me to act the same in my life,” Maddie Davis, Scottsdale, Ariz., junior, said.
Contributed Photo
Milton Wendland is a teaching assistant in women, gender and sexuality studies. He uses service learning to teach about related issues.
Wendland, a KU alumnus, left the University in 1999 with a bachelor’s in sociology and a law degree.
He moved around the country, from New York City to Key West, to practice law, but returned to the University to finish his doctorate in American Studies. While working on his research, Wendland took a few undergraduate women, gender and sexuality studies classes and developed an interest in this area of study as well.
Now a graduate teaching assistant for the WGSS department, Wendland teaches courses in women’s studies, American culture, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history.
Wendland also uses service learning to teach students about issues of gender and sexuality.
“This time we are working with the Douglas County Community Aids Project because there are all these new statistics about HIV not just in Africa, where it is a pandemic, but in the U.S.
“It is actually rising even though HIV/AIDS has been around since the mid-80s and we have had all this education,” Wendland said.
Douglas County AIDS Project, a sub-group of the United Way of Douglas County, provides services — including counseling and HIV testing — for people affected by HIV/AIDS.
One of its main goals is to raise awareness to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Stacey Burton, the education and outreach coordinator for DCAP, said that Wednland had had his students volunteer for the annual DCAP Art Auction.
“Milton is offering them a more hands on, real world experience and it gives students a way to become involved in the community,” Burton said. “I think what Milton is doing is great.”
Between service learning and real life experience, Wendland also works to break down stereotypes about those who study WGSS.
“I think it is important to see a male that claims to be a feminist doing that sort of work in a classroom setting because it gives students a different sort of role model,” Wendland said.
Wendland said his goal was not about becoming a noteworthy, award-winning professor, but rather, someone who has influenced his students’ lives.
“I don’t really care what my students’ opinions are about abortion or same-sex marriages, but what I really want to do is to get every student that leaves my class to think about an issue differently,” Wendland said. “I just want to give everyone the chance to think a little more broadly about the world because when I got that chance, from my mom and KU, it changed my life.”
— Edited by Sarah Kelly
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