Women's & Gender Studies

Faculty: Faculty of Arts
Degree options:  

• Bachelor of Arts (BA), major or honours
• Any degree, minor

The Women’s and Gender Studies program at Mount Allison teaches with a focus on anti-racism, feminist theory, queer and trans studies, and social justice. 

This innovative field is dedicated to developing new research and perspectives. Courses focus on issues of:

• gender
• ability
• religion
• sexuality
• race
• class
• ethnicity
• age
• colonialism

The women’s and gender studies program includes several core courses which provide an introduction to the principles of women’s and gender studies as well as more advanced study of approaches to feminism.

In first year, you will take Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies, which introduces the core principles of the discipline.

In upper years you will focus on issues of gender, identity, and culture; theories of gender and power in society; gender, science, and research; and contemporary issues in feminism and gender studies.

You choose the remainder of your courses to complete your minor from a broad range of electives in the following disciplines:

• Canadian Studies (gender in Canada)
• Classics (women in antiquity)
• Commerce (gender and work)
• Drama (contemporary drama)
• English (literature by women; sex, gender, and literature)
• Fine Arts (women, art, and society)
• Geography and Environment (gender, race, and environmental justice; gender, culture, and the city)
• History (class, gender, and capitalism; Canadian women's history; history of the American women's movement)
• International Relations (gender and international relations)
• Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (writing in the feminine, textual representations of women)
• Music (music and difference)
• Philosophy (feminist philosophy, biomedical ethics)
• Political Science (women and politics, feminist political thought)
• Psychology (human sexuality, psychology of gender)
• Religious Studies (religion, the body, and sexuality; gender issues in eastern religions)
• Sociology (gender relations, dynamics of popular culture)

The interdisciplinary nature of the women's and gender studies program brings together students from a wide range of disciplines, which promotes diverse and engaging discussions and research opportunities. The program promotes student engagement, with one another as well as with social justice issues, and fosters communication and writing skills.

Find a full list of women's and gender studies courses in the academic calendar — women's and gender studies.

Not sure about the difference between a major, a minor, and an honours?

Popular career paths for women’s and gender studies graduates include:

• community support worker
• human rights advocate
• public policy analyst
• crisis program manager
• community health co-ordinator
• social worker
• human resources diversity specialist
• counsellor
• market researcher
• non-profit organization director
• midwife
• lawyer
• teacher

Alumni spotlight

Sarah LeBlanc ('06)
Bachelor of Arts, honours political science with a minor in women's and gender studies
Social and Organizational Change Strategist; Lead, Public Engagement, Privy Council Office (GC)

Prior to moving to Montreal in early 2016, LeBlanc worked as executive director of le Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick (RFNB), an organization that aims to represent francophone women in the province.

» Organizing Change — Social and organizational change strategist Sarah LeBlanc ('06) helps organizations reach full potential

“The women’s and gender studies program challenges you to think in an entirely different way than how you once did. Critically thinking about social, economic, and political issues in a gendered way can help you approach other areas of study differently. A gendered... lens allows you to analyze all aspects of your life differently, enabling you to grow as a student and as an individual.”

Hilary Morgan
History, minors in geography, international relations, and women’s and gender studies (’14)
Port Hastings, NS

“I knew I was interested in women’s and gender studies when I came to Mount A, but I
 never really thought about making it part of my degree. After taking the intro class though, I knew it was the right fit. It also worked really well with my major, and paired with sociology it was just a really inclusive and complementary degree. The thing with women’s and gender studies is that it is so interdisciplinary — it is a subject that matters, a subject that impacts every single person.”

Courtney Young
Honours international relations, minors in women’s and gender studies and sociology (’13)
Kanata, ON

The women’s and gender studies program at Mount Allison honours the memory of Grace Annie Lockhart. Lockhart received her Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Allison in 1875 — the first Bachelor’s degree awarded to a woman in the British Empire.

Certain awards and prizes are dedicated to women's and gender studies students, including the Sheila A. Brown Scholarship and the Marie Hammond-Callaghan Women's History Prize, which is awarded in memory of the late Marie Hammond-Callaghan who developed and taught a number of the core women's and gender studies courses.

The student-run Women's & Gender Studies Society is very active on campus and in the community.

Faculty spotlight

Dr. Leslie Kern
Associate professor, geography and environment
Program director, women's and gender studies 

Urban geography and feminist geography, gender and cities

» Dr. Leslie Kern outlines ways cities sideline women and other minority groups in new book