Courses Offered at Thorneloe College, by core Women’s Studies faculty:
WOMN 1005 E Introduction to Women's Studies
This course introduces students to the critical study of gender and how it has increased our understanding of women, men, and their changing roles. Recognizing the diversity of women's experiences, the course examines the historical and contemporary contexts of social injustices facing women in Canada and globally. (lec 3) cr 6
WOMN 2005 E Women as Visual Artists
This course studies women as visual artists in the Western art tradition and the contemporary scene, with particular emphasis on Canadian woman artists. The course examines basic assumptions concerning the institution of art and the ways in which feminism has challenged these assumptions. Students may not retain credit for both WOMN 2005 and WOMN 2006 or WOMN 2007. (lec 3) cr 6
WOMN 2006 E Women as Visual Artists I: A Women's Art History
This course presents an overview of a women's art history in the Western art tradition from its beginnings to Modernism in the 1960's. It examines significant women artists and the issues that impacted their lives as artists; factors that mitigated against women becoming practicing artists; and the development of scholarship devoted to a women's art history. Students may not retain credit for both WOMN 2005 and WOMN 2006. (lec 3) cr 6
WOMN 2007 E Women as Visual Artists II: Contemporary Art and Contemporary Issues
This course studies women as contemporary artists as well as the issues that inform their art. Emphasis is placed on Feminism and its impact on women's art and imagery. The work of Canadian women artists is included in the course content. Students may not retain credit for both WOMN 2005 and WOMN 2007. (lec 3) cr 6
WOMN 2016 E The Production of Knowledge
This course examines theories of women’s studies and familiarizes students with basic tools and research skills of the discipline. Other topics to be considered will include feminist critiques of knowledge production in the academy, feminist pedagogy, and feminist research methods. As part of the requirement for the course, students may be asked to design and carry out a simple research project. Prerequisite: WOMN 1005 or permission of the department. (sem 2, lec 1) cr 3
WOMN 2036 E Gender, Work and Families
The focus of this course is on understanding "women's work" and "men's work" as gendered practices. Economies of paid and unpaid work at various scales of production and reproduction including the family and the nation state are examined. Students cannot retain credit for both WOMN 2036 and WOMN 3035 or WOMN 2035. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2106 E Representations of Women and Gender in the News
This course examines the work of women in news journalism; assumptions, purposes and practices regarding the representation of gender, class, and sexualities; and the extent to which these are being challenged by feminist writers and activists. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2107 E Women and Popular Culture
This course studies representations of women in popular art forms such as television, film, music, and pulp fiction. The course considers images of women in advertising and in narrative story lines and how they influence the status of women in contemporary society. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2296 E Gender Issues in Education
This course introduces students to gender critical approaches to teaching, learning and transformative pedagogies. Historical and contemporary perspectives and debates on schooling and the education of women and men will be addressed. (sem 1, lec 2) cr 3 This course is not open to first year students.
WOMN 2356 E Reproduction and Mothering
This course examines the reproductive role of women and its relation to their status in society, as well as ideologies of motherhood and their implications for women’s experiences and understanding of themselves. Selected contemporary issues arising out of women’s experience of reproduction and mothering will be explored, and may include such issues as the medicalization of childbirth, contraception and abortion, infertility, law and social policy, and the diversity of experiences based on race, class, sexual orientation and disability. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2357 E Women and Aging
The focus of this course will be on the problems women face as they age. Included in the course will be topics such as widowhood, poverty and the double standard of aging. Students will also consider the adequacy of initiatives which attempt to address the problems. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2406 E Violence Against Women
This course examines a number of different forms of violence against women and its emergence as a social problem. Students will become familiar with different theoretical approaches that shape the way men's violence against women is understood, studied and debated, including suggested causes and solutions. Students may not retain credit for both WOMN 2406 and WOMN 3405 or WOMN 2405. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2456 E Women’s Health Issues
This course explores issues of importance to women as providers and recipients of health care. It will consider various models of physical and mental health and analyse the origins and perspectives of the women's health movement. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 2906/7 E Selected Issues in Women's Studies I/ II
This course will develop a particular area of interest not covered in existing courses, which will vary according to the specialization of the instructor. Topics will be proposed by faculty members teaching in the program, or others with expertise in an area of women's studies, and approved by the program committee. Students will be limited to two such seminars in the degree program in Women's Studies. (sem 3) cr 3
WOMN 3015 E Feminist Theories
This course introduces students to the development of feminist theories in the modern era. It examines various theoretical frameworks and contemporary debates and dilemmas within feminism. Prerequisite: WOMN 2xx6 or permission of the department. Students cannot retain credit for both WOMN 3015 and 3125. (sem 1, lec 2) cr 6
WOMN 3035 E Women and Work
This course studies women's work in the home and in the labour force, taking into consideration changes in the nature and character of women's work since the Industrial Revolution. Prerequisite: 6 credits of WOMN courses. Students cannot retain credit for both WOMN 2035 and 3035.(lec 3) cr 6
WOMN 3037 E Gender, Work and the Global Economy
The focus of this course is on work as a gendered practice that is integral to the global economy. Paid and unpaid labour at various scales of production and reproduction including national, global and transnational circuits of power will be examined. Students cannot retain credit for both WOMN 3037 and WOMN 33035 or WOMN 2035. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 3306 E Female Sexualities
This interdisciplinary course explores the complexities of female sexual identities, experiences, and practices. Beginning from an understanding that sexuality is culturally and historically constructed, topics studied may include: historical, medical, and scientific discourses of female sexualities; female sexualities at the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, and dis/ability; sex and representation. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 3316 E Women's Activism, Global and Local
This course examines the strategies that women have used and are using in struggles for social justice and broad social change. With illustrations from women's movements and present, and from the contemporary global context, the course evaluates and critiques different strategies for structuring organizations, publicizing issues, interacting with the state, and resisting oppression. A practical component may be included. Students may not retain credit for both WOMN 3316 and WOMN 3235. Prerequisite: 6 credits of WOMN courses. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 3326 E Girl Cultures
This course examines the challenges that girls and young women face in current society and their ways of identifying and acting upon issues that are relevant to their lives. Students will examine young women's engagements with feminist and cultural theory in ares such as fat politics, music, literary and popular culture. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 3405 E Gender and Human Violence
This course provides an overview of women's experience of violence, examining the causes and interconnectedness of specific issues, the methodological and ideological assumptions of various sources of information, and the effectiveness of proposed solutions. As well as exploring violence against women, this course will consider women's own violent behaviour and the extent to which global violence may be understood in the context of gender differences. Prerequisite: 6 credits of WOMN courses. Students cannot retain credit for both WOMN 2405 and 3405. (lec 3) cr 6
WOMN 3407 E The Gendered Construction of Violence
This course examines the gendered nature of violence, considering how the social construction of masculinity and femininity informs violent behaviour as well as differences in motivation, response and the perception of violence by men and women. In particular, it focuses on forms of violence that women commit and how a focus on gender can illuminate broader systems of violence such as racism, militarism, and the destruction of the environment. Prerequisite: WOMN 2406 or permission of the department. Students cannot retain credit for both WOMN 3407 and WOMN 3405 or WOMN 2405. (lec 3) cr 3
WOMN 4005 E Directed Reading and Research Seminar
Students in this course are expected to produced a major research paper. Readings related to research or other topics will be chosen by professor and students for discussion in the seminar class. Only students enrolled in a four-year specialization in Women’s Studies are eligible. Prerequisite: WOMN 3015 or permission of the department. (sem 2 tut 1) cr 6
WOMN 4095 E Independent Study
This course will provide an opportunity for qualified students to undertake a major project based on independent enquiry. The project may include a practical or artistic component. The project will be supervised by a faculty member who is qualified in the student’s area of study. Prerequisites: written permission of the department and the consent of the supervising professor. cr 6
Courses offered by other departments at Laurentian that may be counted as elective credits in Women’s Studies:
CLAS 2095 E Women in the Ancient World
A focus on the development of attitudes towards women and their place in the ancient Near East and the Classical World. A wide variety of literary and archaeological evidence is used to investigate such topics as marriage, divorce, adultery, lesbianism, witchcraft, female infanticide, and the classical roots of attitudes towards women in Western society. (lec 3) cr 6
ECON 2235 E Women in the Canadian Economy
A study of the economic circumstances of women in Canada with a particular emphasis on women in northern Ontario. The course begins with an analysis of the determinants of women’s labour force participation and human capital accumulation. This provides a framework for systematically calculating the female-male gap in wages, business, investment and property income. Next, it considers economic relations within the household, examining the sexual division of household labour and the allocation of resources within families, and computing the contribution of housework to GDP. Finally, it examines public policy issues affecting women, especially pay and employment equity, poverty and social assistance, taxation, and daycare. PREREQ: ECON 1005. (lec 3) cr 6
ENGL 3706 E 18th Century Women of Letters
A study of the emergence of professional women writers in the 18th century, with emphasis on their works, the conditions of the literary marketplace and their relationship to it. Representative works are examined in detail. (sem 3) cr 3
ENGL 3707 E Women of Letters of the 19th Century
Focuses on writing by women in a period which saw a proliferation of their contributions to and establishment of their place in the literary world. A selection of novels, poetry and short stories by significant women writers such as Eliot, Dickinson and Rossetti may be considered. (sem 3) cr 3
ENGL 3726 E Modern Women’s Writing
A selection of works by women, containing significant commentary on the status and experience of women including such issues as race, class and sexual preference, from 1900 to about 1950. Works are drawn primarily from British and North American literature, as well as from other emerging English literatures. (sem 3) cr 3
ENGL 3727 E Contemporary Women’s Writing
A selection of works by women, containing significant commentary on the status and experience of women including such issues as race, class and sexual preference, from about 1950 to the present. Works are drawn primarily from British and North American literature, as well as from other emerging English literatures. (sem 3) cr 3
ENGL 3747 E Women’s Writing in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Considers literary and cultural concerns of women’s writing from the 16th through the mid-17th centuries in both manuscript and print. It examines the many modes in which women write; constructions of literary tradition and authority; responses to early modern gender ideology and theories of women’s education; and relations among gender, sexuality and economics. Students cannot retain credit for both ENGL 3737 & ENGL 3747 E. (sem) cr 3
ENGL 3807 E The Writer’s Voice
This course examines the work of writers who have succeeded in more than one genre or voice. The focus of study is on how writers create distinctive voices through, for example, tone, figurative language, diction, syntax, theme, sense of audience, point of view. Such writers as the following may be included: Mary Wroth, Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, Vladimir Nabokov, Adrienne Rich, Tomson Highway, Anne-Marie MacDonald. (sem 3) cr 3
ENGL/FILM 3836 E Women and Film
This course will deal with the roles of women in film, women behind the camera, and women who write about film. The course will make use of examples from the silent period to the present. PREREQ: a previous film course. Students may not retain credit for both ENGL/FILM 3836 and FILM 3136. (sem 3) cr 3
ESPA 3516 N Women in the Hispanic World
A study of woman as cultural protagonist in Spain and Latin America, this course considers women in literature both as character and author, in film both as actor and director, and in art both as subject and artist. Outstanding figures such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (poet and thinker), Emilia Pardo Bazán (novelist and critic), Frida Kahlo (painter), and María Luisa Bemberg (filmmaker), among others, are studied. PREREQ: ESPA 2005 or equiv. (may be taken concurrently). Students may not also retain credit for ESPA 3505 or 2516. (lec 3) cr 3
HIST 2216 E History of Women and the Family in the pre-Industrial Era
An overview of women’s history and family history in their economic, social, cultural and political contexts. Special attention is given to ideas about women’s role inside and outside the family and how this relates to the realities of women’s experience. (lec 2, tut 1) cr 3
HIST 2217 E History of Women and the Women's Movement in the Modern Era
An examination of the changing concepts of women’s rights and women’s roles in the domestic and public spheres with special attention to the rise of the suffrage movements and the economic, social and political foundations of modern feminism. (lec 2, tut 1) cr 3
HIST 3306 E History of Women in Canada
An overview of women’s experience in Canada up to contemporary times. Emphasizes the social, economic and political changes made in women’s private and public roles, responsibilities and rights. (lec 2, tut 1) cr 3
HIST 3307 E Themes in Contemporary Women's History
An examination of the major trends in modern women’s history in its global context. Particular attention is paid to the women’s movement and the variety and complexity of its impact upon women’s position in various societies. (lec 2, tut 1) cr 3
HIST 4215 E History of Gender Relations in Modern Canada
Traces the history of gender relations in Canada during the 20th century. The changing roles of women and men are examined in areas such as the family, work, politics and public policy. Attention is given to shifts in public attitudes and changes in private behaviour throughout the past century. PREREQ: related 3000-series course or dept.’s permission. (sem 3) cr 6
HIST 4505 E Public and Private Life in Pre-industrial Europe
This seminar explores changes in law, thought and practice regarding private life and public standards for women and men in medieval and early modern Europe. Pre-requisite: a related 2000 level course or the approval of the department. (sem 3) cr 6
JURI 3506 E Legal Regulation of Close Adult Personal Relationships
This course will look at the legal regulation of close adult personal relationships from an historical and theoretical perspective. Students may not retain credit for both JURI 3505 and 3506. PREREQ: JURI 1105. (lec 3) cr 3
JURI 3606 E Legal Regulation of Parent-Child Relationships
This course will look at how and why the law regulates parent-child relationships and the competing interests of parents, children and the state in such regulation. Students may not retain credit for both JURI 3505 and 3606. PREREQ: JURI 1105. (lec 3) cr 3
JURI 3706 E Rights and Law
Examines rights-oriented approaches to law. Topics may include: theoretical and historical foundations of rights-oriented approaches, the evolution of charters, declarations, and bills of right, and critiques of rights-oriented approaches. PREREQ: JURI 1105. (lec 3) cr 3
MUSC 3056 E Women and Music
Examines the roles that women have played throughout the history of music, focusing on the contributions they have made as composers, conductors, teachers, performers, instrument-makers and patrons. (lec 3) cr 3
PHIL 2126 E Philosophy of Sexuality
The students are directed to a variety of philosophical perspectives to examine critically such issues as: love, desire, sexual orientation, perversion, rape, prostitution, loyalty, friendship, instincts, repression and privacy. (lec 3) cr 3
PHIL 3026 E Feminist Philosophy
Examines a number of issues in feminist philosophy, which may include some of the following: issues of gender, feminist ethics and ethics of care, feminism and language, feminist critiques of science, feminist political philosophy. (lec 3) cr 3
POLI 3536 E Gender and Politics--Concepts
An examination of conceptual issues relating to the study of gender and politics, including the debate about gender as an analytic category, feminist critiques of how political science defines politics, and an introduction to feminist political theory. Intended for 3rd-year students. PREREQ: POLI 1005, WOMN 1005 or instructor’s permission. (sem 3) cr 3
POLI 3537 E Gender and Politics--Debates and Decisions
An examination of women’s participation in politics and governmental institutions, the construction of “women’s issues,” and (usually using case studies) an examination of how the political system deals with women’s issues. Intended for 3rd-year students. PREREQ: POLI 1005, WOMN 1005 or instructor’s permission. (sem 3) cr 3
RLST 2245 E Women, Religion and Spirituality
This course examines the religious and spiritual experiences of women in a variety of religious traditions and cultures. The emphasis of the course is to uncover the multifaceted aspects of women’s religous lives through a careful study of scriptural texts, writings and stories. Central themes will include religious education and leadership, women’s interior and spiritual lives, reformation of patriarchal traditions, mystic contemplation and the life of virtue. The first half of the course will focus on women in western religious contents, particularly Judaism and Christianity, while the second half of the course will look at women’s religious experiences in other world religions such as Islam, Jainism, Baháí and Taoism. Students may not retain credit for both RLST 2395 & 2216. (lec 3) cr 6
SOCI 2636 E Desire, Love and Work: Part One - The Social Making of Gender
The primary objective of this course is to develop an understanding of the social making of gender in contemporary society. As a basis for this, anthropological and historical perspectives will also be covered. The focus of this course will be on a critical investigation of the social creation of gender and of the gendered division of labour and patriarchal social organization. The social making of normality and deviance in relation to gender will be explored. Students may not retain credit for SOCI 3626, 3627 (3625) and 2636. PREREQ: SOCI 1015 or instructor’s permission. (lec 3) cr 3
SOCI 3636 E Desire, Love and Work: Part Two - The Social Making of Sexuality
The primary objective of this course is to develop an understanding of the social construction of sexuality in contemporary society. As a basis for this, anthropological and historical perspectives will also be covered. The focus of this course will be on denaturalizing gender, sexuality, desire, masculine and feminine sexualities, heterosexualities and homosexualities to understand how these create and sustain, and are created and sustained, by the gendered division of labour and patriarchal social organization. The social making of normality and deviance in relation to desire and sexuality will be explored. Students may not retain credit for SOCI 3626, 3627, 3625 & 3636. PREREQ: SOCI 1015 & 2636 or instructor’s permission. (lec) cr 3
SOCI 4086 E Organizing the Nature of Work: Class, Race,
Gender and Ethnicity in the Workplace
Traditionally, the workplace has been organized and segregated on race, gender and ethnic lines. This course examines the way these social variables affect the contemporary workplace. PREREQ: SOCI 3015, 3716 or instructor’s permission. (lec 3) cr 3
SOCI 4157 E Critical Analysis of Global Health Issues
Examines global health issues using class and gender analysis. The health impacts of colonialism and capitalism on Third World countries are examined, as are the health impacts of capitalist-patriarchy’s worldwide appropriation of women’s productive and reproductive capacities. PREREQ: SOCI 2127, 3015 or instructor’s permission. (lec 3) cr 3