Women's and Gender Studies

Women's and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program that investigates power from critical gender perspectives on social, cultural, economic, and political issues. Drawing on a substantial body of scholarship that challenges many of the assumptions and methods of traditional academic disciplines, Women's and Gender Studies creates new perspectives from which all students may analyze such issues as work, health, sexuality, violence, family, race, class, and ethnicity. The curriculum of the Minor, Major (pending MPHEC approval), and Honours (pending MPHEC approval) in Women's and Gender Studies includes core courses in Women's and Gender Studies and elective courses in the following Departments or Programs: Anthropology, Canadian Studies, Classics, Drama, English, Fine Arts, Geography and Environment, History, International Relations, Modern Languages and Literatures, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Sociology. The core courses provide an introduction to the principles of Women's and Gender Studies as well as a more advanced study of the theoretical and methodological approaches of feminism.

Interdisciplinary B.A. Programs

MINOR in Women's and Gender Studies is 24 credits earned as follows:

3	from WGST 1001
3	from WGST 2101 or 2201
3	from WGST 3111
3	from WGST 3121 or 3201
3	from WGST 4001, 4301, 4950, 4951, 4991
9	from CANA 2311, 3301, CLAS 2521, CLAS/HIST 2051, ENGL 3651, 3661, 4921, FINH 3081, GENV 3111, 4811, HIST 1671, 3251, 3471, 3531, 3801, 4461, 4571, INLR 3001, MUSC 3231, 3261, PHIL 2301, 3741, POLS 3031, 4001, PSYC 3311, 3511, 4311, RELG 1641, 1661, 3411, 3811, 4841, SOCI 2211, 2231, 3101, 4601, WGST 2101, 2201, 3121, 3201, 4301, 4950, 4951, if not used in the 15 WGST credits above, WGST 1991, 2991, 3991, 4991.

	or from the following courses in any year when the Program Director approves that their content contains a significant Women's and Gender Studies component: ENGL 3561, FREN 3621, GENV 2221, 2811, 4821, HIST 3361, 4901, PHIL 1611, 3711, RELG 3821, 3911, 3921, 4821, SOCI 3451, 3511

Note: Other courses from the following disciplines may also be approved by the Program Director when a significant Women's and Gender Studies component can be demonstrated: Anthropology, Art History, Canadian Studies, Classics, English, French, German, Geography and Environment, Greek Drama, History, International Relations, Latin, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Spanish, and Sociology.

Students interested in using courses from other disciplines towards this Minor must receive approval in writing from the Program Director during the term in which they are taking the course.

MAJOR in Women's and Gender Studies is 60 credits earned as follows:

3	from WGST 1001
6	from WGST 2101, 2201, 2991
3	from WGST 3111
6	from WGST 3121, 3201, 3991
3	from WGST 4001, 4301, 4950, 4951, 4991
21 to 39	from CANA 2311, 3301, CLAS/HIST 2051, ENGL 3651, 3661, 4921, FINH 3081, GENV 3111, 4811, HIST 1671, 3471, 3531, 4461, 4571, INLR 3001, MUSC 3261, PHIL 2301, POLS 3031, 4001, PSYC 3311, 3511, 4311, RELG 1641, 3411, 3811, SOCI 2211, 2231, SPAN 3241, WGST 1991, 2101, 2201, 2991, 3111, 3991, 4001, 4201, 4950, 4951, 4991 if not used on previous line.
0 to 18	from CANA 2121, CANA/HIST/INDG 2801, 3821, 3831, CANA/INDG 3111, 3501, 4101, CLAS 2521, COMM 3391, ENGL 4941, HIST 1621, 3251, 3801, 3811, MUSC 3231, PHIL 3741, POLS 4141, 4161, RELG 1661, 4841, SOCI 2121, 2401, 2611, 4601, 4701, SPAN 3261

	or from the following courses in any year when the Program Director approves that their content contains a significant Women's and Gender Studies component: ENGL 3561, GENV 2221, 2811, 4821, HIST 3361, 4901, PHIL 1611, 3711, RELG 3821, 3911, 3921, 4821, SOCI 2111, 3101, 3451, 3511, 3551.

Note: At least 6 credits from the elective stream must be at the 3/4000 level.

Note: Students are responsible for ensuring that they have prerequisites for 2/3/4000 level courses.

HONOURS in Women's and Gender Studies is 72 credits earned as follows:

60	credits as in the Major, plus
3	further from WGST 4001, 4301, 4950, 4951, 4991
3	from WGST 4901, 4911
6	from WGST 4990

WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES COURSES

Note: The listing of a course in the Calendar is not a guarantee that the course is offered every year.

Note: Students must obtain a grade of at least C- in all courses used to fulfill prerequisite requirements. Otherwise, written permission of the appropriate Department Head or Program Director must be obtained.

WGST 1001 (3.00)

Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

This course introduces the core principles of the discipline of gender analysis and women-centered research and surveys key issues in current Women's and Gender Studies scholarship, including: social construction of sex, gender, race and sexuality; body politics; gender subordination; women's activism; and social change initiatives. (Format: Lecture/Tutorial 3 Hours) (Exclusion: WGST 2001)

WGST 1991 (3.00)

Special Topic in Women's and Gender Studies

This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for WGST 1991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)

WGST 2101 (3.00)

Gender, Identity, and Culture: Sexing The Body

Prereq: Second-year standing; or WGST 1001; or permission of the Program Director
This course examines human bodies in historical and contemporary socio-political contexts, investigating gender and embodiment both as an expression of individual identity and a production of complex social processes. Drawing upon scholarship on body politics in the interdisciplinary fields of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, it explores how bodies are simultaneously gendered, raced, classed, sexualized, and politicized through interpersonal, social, and institutional processes, including culture, science, medicine, and globalization. (Format: Lecture/Tutorial 3 Hours)

WGST 2201 (3.00)

Gender and Science

Prereq: Second-year standing; or WGST 1001; or permission of the Program Director
This course focuses on the relationship between scientific institutions and communities that are marginalized by gender, race, colonialism, class, disability, and other social markers. It explores the structural forces that contribute to exclusion and the effects of being seen as an object of scientific inquiry through feminist intersectional and decolonial approaches to the practices of scientific knowledge production. Finally, this course addresses current efforts to create a more inclusive scientific community. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusions: WGST 3991 Gender & Science)

WGST 2991 (3.00)

Special Topic in Women's and Gender Studies

This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for WGST 2991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)

WGST 3111 (3.00)

Feminist Theories

Prereq: WGST 1001; 3 credits from WGST 2101, 2201; or permission of the Program Director
This course provides a comparative and critical analysis of various feminist theories developed as explanatory frameworks for the understanding of gendered and other divisions within society. It surveys a range of feminist theoretical traditions, traces the emergence and transformation of central feminist concepts, and investigates the connections between theory and political practice. It examines theoretical frameworks that may include: Black feminist thought, anti-racist and postcolonial feminism, queer theory, trans theory, theories of embodiment, transnational feminist theory, psychoanalytic feminist theory, and decolonial theory. (Format: Seminar 3 Hours) (Exclusions: WGST 3101; WOST 3001)

WGST 3121 (3.00)

Feminist Research Methods

Prereq: 3 credits from WGST 2101, 2201; or permission of the Program Director
This course examines feminist critiques and strategies relating to the production of knowledge, with an emphasis on epistemology, decolonization, and community-based research. It introduces the methods, techniques, and ethics involved in feminist research and analysis. The emphasis is both theoretical and practical; students therefore engage in the process of assessing and conducting feminist research. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusions: WGST 3101; WOST 3021)

WGST 3201 (3.00)

Gender and Work

Prereq: WGST 1001; 3 credits from WGST 2101, 2201; or permission of the Program Director
This course applies a feminist analysis to the study of people at work with the premise that the workplace and the labour market cannot be understood in isolation from the private spheres of the household and the labour of social reproduction. It focuses on different experiences of work across gender, race and ethnicity, and class using an intersectional approach. It draws on interdisciplinary studies in industrial relations and feminist research practice to explore experiences of paid and unpaid work and labour. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

WGST 3991 (3.00)

Special Topic in Women's and Gender Studies

This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for WGST 3991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)

WGST 4001 (3.00)

Contemporary Issues in Feminism and Gender Studies

Prereq: 3 credits from WGST 3101, 3111; or permission of the Program Director
This course provides opportunity for students to study in considerable depth and detail selected contemporary issues of feminism and gender in a global context. The course may focus on issues such as gender and social movements, politics of difference, theory and praxis debates, anti-feminist backlash, women and social change, feminities and masculinities, and feminist explorations of the body. (Format: Seminar 3 Hours) (Exclusion: WOST 4001)

WGST 4301 (3.00)

Gender and Settler Colonialism

Prereq: 3 credits from WGST 3101, 3111; or CANA 3301 and 3 credits from CANA at the 3000 level; or permission of the Program Director
This course focuses on the gendered, racialized, and sexualized dimensions of settler colonialism and Indigenous resurgence. It begins with the recognition that all of our learning takes place on the lands of the Mi'kmaq and Wolastoquyik peoples, and with the acknowledgement that we all have different and specific relationships to this land and these nations. Attending to these relationships and the responsibilities they entail, the central questions this course examines include: How do Indigenous thinkers conceptualize identity, land, and belonging? How do they think and talk about gender, sexuality, and difference? [Note 1: This course is cross-listed with CANA 4301 and may therefore count as 3 credits in either discipline](Format: Seminar 3 Hours) (Exclusions: WGST 4001 18/WI and 19/WI)

WGST 4901 (3.00)

Directed Reading in Women's and Gender Studies

Prereq: WGST 3111; and permission of the Program Director
This course is designed for honours students. It promotes bibliographic skills, information literacy skills, and additional research design skills for students who will be completing an honours thesis. (Format: Independent learning)

WGST 4911 (3.00)

Feminist Praxis Studies

Prereq: WGST 3111; and permission of the Program Director
This course is designed for honours students. Students will investigate key parts of the history of feminist activism and examine the links and gaps between feminist theories and feminist practices. In praxis, theory and practice come together to create informed, conscious, and self-conscious action. Critical reflection on the histories of feminist praxis and on students' own honours projects is a core element of this course. This course will prepare students pursuing an honours in women's and gender studies for the praxis element of their honours thesis project. (Format: Seminar)

WGST 4950 (6.00)

Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies

This course permits senior students, under the direction of faculty members, to pursue their interest in areas not covered, or not covered in depth, by other courses through a program of independent study. [Note 1: Permission of the Department/Program Advisor. Students must obtain consent of an instructor who is willing to be a supervisor and must register for the course prior to the last day for change of registration in the term during which the course is being taken. Note 2: A program on Independent Study cannot duplicate subject matter covered through regular course offerings. Note 3: Students may register for WGST 4950/51 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Independent Study)

WGST 4951 (3.00)

Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies

WGST 4990 (6.00)

Honors Thesis

Coreq: 3 credits from WGST 4901, 4911; or Permission of the Program Director
Supervised by a faculty advisor appointed to or approved by the program. The subject must be approved by the advisor. The candidate will receive instruction in the techniques of research methods and thesis writing. (Format: Thesis)

WGST 4991 (3.00)

Special Topic in Women's and Gender Studies

Prereq: Second-year standing; or permission of the Program Director
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for WGST 4991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)