“Literature By and About Men” is a course offered at Monterey Peninsula College by English professor David Clemens that focuses on “depictions of maleness, manhood, and masculinity in essays, films, short stories, and poetry either by men or about men.”

Aaron Graham, an English major, transferred to the University of Wyoming this year and requested transfer credit for having taken this class. Unsurprisingly, his request was denied along with an explanation from a faculty representative saying, “List II courses should be on literature by and about women, not men” (emphasis added) (see refused petition).

An NAS article describes his ordeal, which he is planning to appeal.

Back in 2004, the University of California rejected the transferability of the same course, saying that it had a “narrow focus” and that there was “no comparable course in lower division” at any of the University of California’s campuses. This bizarre reasoning was noted by Professor Clemens on the NAS online forum:

While I don’t question U.C.’s woeful admission that not even one campus offers a course in literature by and about men, U.C. does accept, for lower division transfer from community colleges, such English courses as “Images of Women in Western Literature” from Saddleback…and “Literature By and About Women” from Shasta, among dozens of other clearly gender specific literature surveys.

By what process can U.C. analysts find “Literature By and About Men” not comparable to “Literature By and About Women”? Apparently, U.C. sees comparability as defined only by gender, not by level or type of course, thereby applying a standard of gender discrimination that produces an inequitable, politicized curriculum and differential treatment based solely on sex.

Clemens’ appeals to the UC administration were ignored, but the university later reversed its decision after NAS and NoIndoctrination.org drew attention to the matter. Clemens’ course may still be the only one in California higher education to focus on literature by and about men.

It’s remarkable how feminists can simultaneously lament being powerless while selectively obstructing the transferability of courses that don’t conform to their dogma. Such is the power of feminism in academia — even a single course that focuses on men will not be tolerated.