WGS - Women's and Gender Studies

An exploration of the impact that cultural representations of gender have on the political, economic, and social lives of girls and women throughout the world.

Examines social and cultural constructions of gender, sexuality, race, class, and disability as well as visions for social justice.

Selected cultural forms from feminist perspectives. The focus is both on developing a feminist critique of cultural representations of women, and on considering the possibilities of feminist intervention in and production of popular culture.

An interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of sexual consent. Topics covered may include: the role of sexual violence in colonization, feminist law reform, unwanted sex, sexual agency, sexual fraud, and the limitations of consent- based prevention.

Introduction to food justice and feminist food politics.

Introduction to social and cultural models of disability, with an emphasis on intersections of disability with race, class, gender, and sexuality.

Interdisciplinary exploration of gender and science, with an emphasis on intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and politics in historical and contemporary scientific practices.

Historical and contemporary survey of ideas about, and practices relating to, gender and sexuality in world and Indigenous religions.

Introduction to how women experience political conflicts, either in contemporary or historical contexts, focusing on how violence, access to resources, public decision-making, and social security impact women during and after conflict.

Approaches to, and key debates about, sexuality. Topics may include: sexology; critiques of heterosexuality; political lesbianism; queer theory; transgender and intersexuality; prostitution and sex work.

Explores the ways in which Indigenous women have resisted colonial constructions of race and gender through autobiographical expressions and life writing. Includes study of memoirs, journals, confessions, diaries, personal essays, oral histories, and visual art.

Feminist contributions to animal ethics, critical animal studies, and animal-focused work in feminist environmental humanities and social sciences.

This course offers an introduction to select issues in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. A variable content course, which may be repeated if topics vary.

Historical study of selected feminist writers and activists. Emphasis is on European and North American feminist thought up to the mid twentieth century. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Exploration of feminist modes of research inquiry, feminist ethics in research, and critiques of traditional disciplinary approaches to research. Students will develop an understanding of theoretical issues involved in feminist research and will gain practical research skills. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or departmental consent.

The lives of men and women in contemporary Africa, focusing on their experiences in the family, school, paid work, and the market, and on such development issues as health, environment, and human rights. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Introduction to a range of practices and ideas concerning women, gender, and kinship that characterized societies and cultures around the globe before the twentieth century. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Feminist analysis of gender, sexuality, ability, race/ethnicity, and class/status in film. Content will vary in terms of genre, production, and language. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

The origins and evolution of various schools of contemporary western feminist thought. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Historical, contemporary and comparative perspectives on the interaction of race, class, and gender experiences. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

The analysis of gender in international relations, drawing from literature on conflict and post conflict relations. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS or W ST course, or consent of Department.

A survey of core texts and key debates that have shaped queer theory. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or departmental consent.

An examination of contemporary feminist activisms with an emphasis on second- and third-wave feminisms. This course may be offered as a Community Service Learning course. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Addresses issues of environmental racism, sexism, and ableism, feminist approaches to environmental ethics, and social justice responses to climate change. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Open only to Women's and Gender Studies honors, majors and minors. Normally may be taken only once. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Prerequisite: WGS 302.

Prerequisite: WGS 302.

A focus on the fundamentally contradictory role of law for women in Canada, building upon role of insights offered by feminist cross-disciplinary legal scholarship. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or departmental consent.

Interdisciplinary consideration of conceptual, political and legal strategies that feminists have deployed to confront sexual coercion with an emphasis on contemporary North American context. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or departmental consent.

An examination of contemporary theoretical approaches to bodies and embodiment, with particular emphasis on the ways that race, class, sexuality, gender, and (dis)ability shape bodily experience. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

This course engages in women's issues globally and across nations. Topics may include feminist theorizing, women's movements, development, human rights, reproductive politics and social governance. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS or consent of department.

Ways in which adherents of world (Eastern and Western), Indigenous, and neo-pagan religious systems have advocated for social justice. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

This course surveys the status of masculinity and the emergence of contemporary masculinity studies. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

This course offers advanced examination of selected issues in sexuality studies. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Exploration of gender diversity and sexualities from Indigenous and Indigenous feminist worldviews, including critical examination of colonial constructions of gender and sexuality. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or departmental consent.

Draws on Indigenous theoretical frameworks, epistemologies, community expertise and knowledge to understand Indigenous women's participation in political movements and land and environmental activism. Students are strongly urged to complete 3 units in NS before registering in WGS 480. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.

Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or departmental consent.