Women's Studies
| WMST 100 | Introduction to Women's Studies | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course will examine the status and role of women in Canadian society within a global context. Topics include the impact of Women's Studies on traditional academic disciplines, the nature and origins of patriarchial practices, gender role divisions in the family and other social institutions, women and work, reproductive rights, violence, communication/media/art, the social and legal status of women, and issues of power focusing on "race"/ethnicity, class and sexualities. | ||
| WMST 102 | Gender, Jobs and Globalization | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course will examine women's work from the pre-industrial time until today. Topics such as participation in the workplace, inequality in the labour markets, exclusion of household production in the system of National Accounts, and attempts to measure unpaid work will be covered. The course will also examine the impact of free trade, technology, privatization, and economic restructuring on women. Topics will also include an examination of the effects of the mounting debt and economic crisis on women in the developing countries. Issues of current interest such as the comparable worth movement and the child care industry will be discussed. | ||
| WMST 104 | Women's Fiction | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| Prerequisite: Eligibility to register for ENGL 100. See English Diagnostic Test in the Registration section of the University Calendar. | ||
| A discussion-oriented course using a feminist analysis intended to broaden the students' awareness of, and appreciation for, literature produced by women writers with emphasis on contemporary writers. | ||
| WMST 106 | Contemporary American Women Writers | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| A discussion-oriented literature course intended to broaden and intensify the student's awareness of an appreciation of contemporary and recent important American women authors. There will be brief consideration of 19th and early 20th century works, but the focus will be on works published since WWII, including works of the 1990's. Although the focus will be on plays, stories, novels, and poetry, there will be some exploration of those biographical matters and issues of critical status that mark the rise of women's writings from a sub-genre to full status acceptance by the best critics today. | ||
| WMST 108 | Women and the Law | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course explores the history and development of equal rights for women through the lens of the Canadian legal system. Using feminist legal analysis, students will learn about sex discrimination and the interrelationship of it with "race"/ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability. | ||
| WMST 110 | Women and Psychology | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| In this course we examine the psychological construction of gender roles, their development in childhood and maintenance in adulthood. The course will examine current research in biology, socialization, personality and mental health, and will include issues of current interest such as sexuality, aging, violence against women, gender relations, and the workplace. | ||
| WMST 113 | Women in Politics | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This introductory course in Women's Studies will examine women's political participation in the political process from a multidisciplinary feminist format. The course will focus on Canadian examples and encourage students to examine the difficulties that affect women in particular. Students will be encouraged to research possible solutions to increasing women's political participation. | ||
| WMST 115 | Women and Geography | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course uses a feminist perspective to examine how societal notions of maleness and femaleness shape our built environment and colour our perceptions of the world around us. Gender differences are apparent in how we live, work, travel, and explore. Drawing on geographical topics ranging from our everyday home and work experiences to the trafficking of women across borders, this course explores gender roles and patterns from cultures past and present. | ||
| WMST 122 | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Women | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| In this course the anthropological perspective will be applied to women in different cultures of the world: their role in economic, political, religious, kinship, and expressive systems; exploration of the work of women anthropologists and the effect of theory on understanding women; women's experience in cultures of the world. | ||
| WMST 124 | Women and Health | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| An overview of women's health issues, across differences of race, class, sexuality, ability, and age. Topics include approaches to health care, sexuality and reproduction, and occupational and social issues. | ||
| WMST 126 | Women and Religion | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course will examine ideas about and roles of women in the major religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism) as well as native religions, Wicca and goddess religions. We will look at how women have been shaped by religious traditions and at women as agents of resistance and social change, and as spiritual leaders, past and present. | ||
| WMST 130 | Women and Art | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course surveys the history of women's involvement in Western art. The position of women in the visual arts and art history will be discussed and the methodological issues involved in reclaiming the history of women artists explored. Women's role as producers of art will be considered from Antiquity to the 20th century and the social, cultural and economic background of each period will be examined in order to understand the conditions under which these artists worked. The image of women in art will be looked at to reveal the underlying ideologies of each period. | ||
| Note: Credit will only be granted for one of AHIS 109 or WMST 130. | ||
| WMST 140 | Women, Science and Technology | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course will provide an insight into the role that science and technology play in our society and their impact on the lives of women. Topics will include an historical review of the role women have played in the development of science, investigation of the reasons for the traditionally low participation of women in scientific and technical fields, the relationship between science and gender, and discussion sessions on a variety of topics, such as ecofeminism, ecology and the environment, reproductive technologies, sociobiology, and information technology. | ||
| WMST 150 | Popular Culture and Gender | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| This course will explore the relationship between gender and popular culture using a feminist analysis. | ||
| WMST 220 | Women and the Past: A Historical Survey | |
| 3.00 credits | (4,0,0) hrs | 15 wks |
| We will examine the lives of women in the western world from ancient times to 20th century North America. Private lives as well as public and political activities will be studied. Topics will include the role of women in the early Christian church, women in monasticism, women and the family in pre-industrial Europe, the impact of industrialization, pioneers and path-breakers, and the rise and nature of women's movements. | ||