Women's and Gender Studies

This course will offer an overview of women’s and gender studies from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will study the development of feminist movements and will examine how concepts of race, class, sexuality and ability intersect in shaping colonialism, sexual and reproductive health, violence, family relations, paid and unpaid labour, political systems and poverty. The course will consider the relationship between the local and the global through discussion of such topics as popular culture, consumerism and environmentalism. Six credits.

This course focuses on the ways that all bodies are sexualized and gendered in Western philosophical thought, biomedicine and science. Topics include Western binaries (man/woman, form/matter, mind/body), the sociocultural processes through which bodies are sexualized, the biological/medical sciences and objectivity, a critique of the dual sex model from the perspective of transfeminist theory and bodily transformations and normalizations (including cosmetic surgery, monstrosity and disability, and the feminist debate about female genital surgeries). Prerequisite: WMGS 100 or third- or fourth-year status with permission of instructor. Three credits.

This course analyzes the marriage and family life from a sociological perspective. It provides an overview of social changes over the past century, such as the falling birth rate, the rise in cohabitation and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Topics include marriage and fertility trends, the rise of intensive parenting and the dual earner family, the normalization of separation and divorce, the social cost of family violence, and how technology is influencing parenting. Cross-listed as SOCI 221. Three credits.

This course will introduce a range of topics within the broad field of gender and popular culture as well as how to study and critique genres of popular culture. Beginning with the questions, “What is cultural studies?” and “Why is it important to study popular culture?” we move on to study a range of pop culture media, including music, television, film, video games and graphic novels/memoirs through this methodological and theoretical lens. Prerequisite: WMGS 100 or third- or fourth-year status with permission of instructor. Three credits.

How can we make the world a more gender equal and socially just place? This course examines the relationships between gender, systems of inequality, and public policy. The course focuses on understanding contemporary approaches to creating gender-responsive public policy and theoretical tools for analyzing public policy. The course also explores how to apply this knowledge to contemporary social issues. Credit will be granted for only one of WMGS 304 or PSCI 398/WMGS 399 (2021-2022). Cross-listed as PGOV 305. Prerequisite: PGOV 101 or permission of the instructor. Three credits.

A critical review of the science of masculinity and recent theoretical developments on the social construction of men’s lives and masculinities. Topics include male gender role socialization; the role social institutions play in shaping masculinities; masculinity politics, men’s movement, and social change. Cross-listed as SOCI 311. Three credits.

A critical examination of the roles of the singing performer from the later 19th century to present through the development and changes of different musical styles and cultural context. Singer/audience relationships are explored as well as voal lineage and the musical contributions of key artists. The course also surveys key singers over the last 100 years, through examining ideas fame, artistry, cultural/political significance race, and gender. Cross-listed as MUSI 312. Three credits.

This course investigates women’s participation in early Christian groups from the time of Jesus to the 5th century. Ancient Jewish, Christian, and Roman Women’s experiences will be explored through texts, inscriptions, and material artefacts like mosaics. Students will learn to analyze New Testament and other ancient writings through an intersectional feminist lens and examine such issues as gendered violence, women’s leadership, and early Christian constructions of masculinity. Cross-listed as RELS 325. Three credits. Offered 2025-2026.

This course examines how past and present feminist anthropologists have used and problematized categories of difference and identity, such as, gender, class, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, religion and nationality as they pursue anthropological research. Focusing primarily on socio-cultural anthropological research, but also addressing work by linguistic and biological (physical) anthropologists and archaeologists, the course will highlight the theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions of feminist anthropologists to anthropology and to women and gender studies. Credit will be granted for only one of ANTH 323, ANTH 324 or WMGS 324. Cross-listed as ANTH 323. Prerequisite: ANTH 110 or ANTH 111/112 or WMGS 100 or WMGS 200 or permission of the instructor. Three credits.

Explores the role of women and men in sport/physical activity/recreation from a historical, philosophical, and sociocultural perspectives. This course covers embodiment, objectification, equity, racism, homophobia, politics of difference and identity. Cross-listed as HKIN 332. Three credits.

This course introduces students to the psychological literature on sex and gender. Course topics include sex differences and similarities, relationships in traditional and nontraditional families, portrayals of gender in the media, gender experiences within and outside the gender binary, intersectionality, and applied topics such as sexual harassment, violence, and the wage gap, among others. Psychological outcomes will be analyzed according to gender-role socialization and biological, sociobiological, social-psychological, and feminist theories of sex and gender. Cross-listed as PSYC 364. Prerequisite: 6 credits of PSYC at the 200 level. Three credits.

An introduction to the study of women and politics, this course has three parts: feminist political thought and the women’s movement; political participation and representation; and public policy. Topics include feminist political thought in the Western political tradition; the evolution and politics of the women’s movement; political parties and legislatures; women and work; women and the welfare state. Cross-listed as PSCI 345. Prerequisite: PSCI 101, 102 (100) or WMGS 100; 6 credits at the 200-level (211, 212 recommended). Three credits.

This seminar course offers students a survey of feminist approaches to contemporary critical race theory and sexuality studies in Canada, with a particular focus on the values of ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘tolerance.’ The course will consider the intersections of gender with such topics as colonialism, racism and immigration, whiteness, as well as homophobia and homonationalism. Prerequisite: WMGS 100 or third or fourth year status with permission of instructor. Three credits.

Recentering women in the history of art, this course critically examines the structures that excluded them and the narratives that erased them. It looks at how gender has shaped the discipline of art history and at texts that envision more inclusive methods. Students will draw on their experiments with looking techniques to write about women’s contributions to various visual and material cultures, from the discovery of butterfly metamorphosis to the secret “invention” of abstraction. Cross-listed as ART 354. Three credits.

Examines the relationship between injustice and health outcomes nationally and globally. Core social justice ideas are analyzed, including the cycle of oppression, distinctions between equality and equity, and achievement of human rights as an ethical imperative. Throughout the course, social, ecological, and structural determinants of health are explored with numerous case examples. Modern and historical contexts are explored in key justice related areas: corporatization of health care; policy-created poverty; worldwide water crisis; links between planetary health and human health; and global conflict as a key driver of injustice. Learning includes analysis of selected award-winning films. Cross-listed as NURS 364. Three credits.

This course provides a broad introduction to research and theory in human sexuality. It includes examination of fundamental topics such as the nature of human sexuality and contemporary issues. Specific topics include historical perspective, theories of sexuality, sex research, sexual anatomy, sexual variation, sexual response, gender, sexual dysfunction and sex therapy. Cross-listed as PSYC 378. Prerequisites: 6 credits of PSYC at the 200 level. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Fan Cultures and Identities. This course raises questions concerning the role of gender, sexuality, race, and desire within different kinds of media fandom. Fans have a complex relationship to both media industries and mainstream audiences. We will explore media fandom as a means of access to and transformation of culture itself, addressing fandom’s participatory tools and transformative potential. Topics include fandom history, gendered theories of fan communities, fan labour, queer and decolonial organizing in fan spaces, and online affect/ethics. Prerequisite: WMGS 100. Three credits.

Explores current theories of social difference and the personal, social, economic, and political effects of these differences in Canadian and international contexts. Topics include oppression, agency, resistance, identity politics, and discourse theory. Starting with the question, “What differences do some differences make?” students will examine how issues of difference become relations of dominance. Cross-listed as SOCI 417. Prerequisite: 12 credits SOCI. Three credits.

The topic for 2025-2026 is Representing Abortion. This course will explore how reproductive bodies have been medicalized, controlled, and defined through the lens of abortion through reproductive justice frameworks. Specifically, we will study how artists, performers, writers, activists, and abortion providers have created representations of the experience and procedure within grounded histories, politics, and social contexts. Themes that we will cover include abortion visibility and invisibility; anti-abortion discourse; pro-choice engagements with fetal materiality; personal experience; and media engagements with abortion. Prerequisite: WMGS 205 or 303; permission may be granted to 4th year students by instructor. Three credits.

A required course for students enrolled in the BA Honours with Subsidiary program. Students enrolled in this course will write a thesis about a question that is of interest to them and grounded in relevant scholarly research related to their chosen topic. Six credits. Other courses may be considered WMGS cross-listed courses with consultation.