Women's Studies WMST
Instruction offered under the direction of the Faculty of Communication and Culture. For information visit the Faculty of Communication and Culture website, www.comcul.ucalgary.ca, or contact the Communication and Culture Faculty Office, (403) 220-6343.
Division Head: T. Seiler
Additional interdisciplinary courses are offered under the course headings African Studies; Canadian Studies; Central and East European Studies; Communications Studies; Development Studies; East Asian Studies; Film Studies, General Studies; Innovation Studies, Latin American Studies; Law and Society; Museum and Heritage Studies; Northern Planning and Development Studies; Science, Technology and Society; and South Asian Studies.
Junior Course
Women's Studies 201 H(3-0)
Introduction to Women's Studies
An introduction to academic feminism that critically deconstructs cultural notions of sex, gender, race, class and other social stratifiers; discusses contemporary and classical feminist perspectives; and examines feminist work and activism.
Senior Courses
Women's Studies 303 H(3-0)
Key Writings in Western Feminism: Wollstonecraft to Davis
An introduction to the key writings of the most influential theorists in the Western feminist tradition, from its beginnings in eighteenth and nineteenth century liberalism, through its suffragist First Wave in the early twentieth century, up to the maturing of its Second Wave's women's liberation movement in the early 1980's.
Women's Studies 307 H(3-0)
Contemporary Issues in Feminism
An analysis of some central and contentious issues impacting upon women's lives today. Topics include violence against women and "victim feminism"; sexual identities and transgressions; how women are differentially impacted by racism, colonialism, and economic class.
Prerequisites: Women's Studies 201 or 311, or consent of the Assistant Dean (Student Affairs).
Note: Third and fourth year students with a relevant background may apply to the Assistant Dean (Student Affairs) to have the prerequisite waived.
Women's Studies 309 H(3-0)
Topics in Feminist Community Service Learning
This course will focus on a rotating series of topics such as anti-racist feminism, women's sexual well-being, and women and leadership. Classes will provide the foundations for undertaking related community service projects that will be supervised by the staff at the Women's Resource Centre and that will require a weekly commitment of approximately 3 hours.
Prerequisites: Completion of a minimum of four full-course equivalents.
Note: Credit for either Women's Studies 401.03 or 401.04 and 309 will not be allowed.
Women's Studies 311 H(3-0)
Contemporary Feminist Theories
A comprehensive and comparative survey of the theoretical assumptions and the political stances associated with the main forms of feminist theory today - liberal, radical/cultural, socialist/Marxist, and postmodern feminisms.
Women's Studies 321 H(3-0)
Women and Health
An interdisciplinary examination of women's experience of physical and psychological health and of perceptions and treatment of women within health care systems. The role of women as health care providers in families and society. Examples will come primarily, but not exclusively, from the Canadian context.
Women's Studies 331 H(3-0)
Women, Work, and the Globalized Economy
Women's domestic labour and "double day"; employment equity; the "feminization of poverty"; the impact of globalization, post-Fordism, and information-based technologies on women's labour North and South; sex work and surrogacy in the New World Economic Order.
Women's Studies 339 H(3-0)
Gender in Popular Culture
Introduction to the analysis of gender in popular culture, focusing on representations of gender in North America in the post Second World War period.
Women's Studies 401 H(3-0)
Special Topics in Women's Studies
An interdisciplinary analysis of topics such as the following: ecofeminism, women's autobiographical writings, feminist perspectives on technology, women's sexual identities, women's roles and identities in a cultural context.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
Women's Studies 405 H(3S-0)
Seminar in Feminist Praxis
An opportunity to develop practical and political skills by engaging in feminist activism. Students will be asked to give four to eight hours per month to their chosen activist endeavours. In-class time will be spent reflecting on these experiences and critically situating them within the history and perspectives of Western feminist activism.
Prerequisites: Women's Studies 201 or consent of the Assistant Dean (Student Affairs).
Note: Students entering the Women's Studies Major or Minor program in their third or fourth year of study may substitute any Women's Studies course for the Women's Studies 201 prerequisite. For further information, contact the Assistant Dean (Student Affairs).
Women's Studies 431 H(3S-0)
Gender, Bodies, and Knowledge
How do women think about and experience their own bodies in different times and places? This interdisciplinary analysis will draw from studies in medicine, history, psychology and feminist theory, and will consider themes like sexuality, reproductivity, health care, and youth and old age.
Prerequisites: Any Women's Studies course or consent of the Assistant Dean (Student Affairs).
Note: Third and fourth year students with a relevant background may apply to the Assistant Dean (Student Affairs) to have the prerequisite waived.
Women's Studies 501 H(3-0)
Research in Selected Topics
Supervised individual study of a special topic.
Prerequisites: Consent of the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs).
Note: Students should contact the office of the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) at least two weeks prior to the first day of classes to arrange an independent study course.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
Women's Studies 591 H(3S-0)
Integrative Seminar
Advanced seminar in which students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge of feminist theory and issues to a more in-depth consideration of feminist research methodology and action.
Prerequisites: Women's Studies 405 or consent of the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs).