This is a complete list of courses offered by the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. However, not all of these courses are offered each semester. Please check with the Department to find out which courses will be offered in a particular semester.
Click here for a list of previous WS/GDST courses with new GSWS numbers.
An introduction to issues in the study of sex, sexual identity, and sexual culture. Focused on contemporary theories of sexuality as well as representations in fiction, film and popular media from diverse cultural contexts. Students who have completed GDST 200 may not complete this course for further credit.
An interdisciplinary study of the social and cultural construction of gender, and how ideas about masculinity and femininity shape current issues, knowledge, popular culture, and social policy. Students who have taken GSWS 100 (or WS 100) at SFU may not take GSWS 101 (or WS 101) for further credit. Breadth-Social Sciences.
An historical and comparative survey of feminisms and feminist activism in Western European, North American, and Global communities. Breadth-Humanities.
The focus will be on the situation of women in cross-cultural perspective using literary, historical, anthropological and other appropriate sources.
Examines the lives of Canadian women in the colonial context, including the role of women in European-Aboriginal relations, the founding of New France, and settlement in British North America. Themes such as sexuality, race, work, religion and politics will be explored through the study of primary documents and historical literature. Students who have taken WS 201 under the title Women in Canada, 1600-1920 may not take this course for further credit.
Selected topics on the sexual politics of urban space. May be organized by region, critical approach, or genre.
A study of women's place in society as revealed through the analysis of a variety of media.
An examination of women's autobiographical writings, focusing on self images, self presentations and world views. Prerequisite: 30 units including three units in GSWS.
Explores the nature and conditions of women's paid and unpaid labour in the economy as well as various theories which explain labour market discrimination, the impact of national public policies on women's labour and the transnational interconnections that affect women's paid and unpaid labour. Prerequisite: 30 including three units in GSWS. Students who have completed SA 335 or WS 310 under the title Women and Work may not complete this course for further credit.
Examines from interdisciplinary and international perspectives how development is gendered and creates differential impacts, meanings and processes for women and men around the world. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students who have taken GSWS 310 (or WS 310) Special Topic: Women and Development or GSWS 301 (or WS 301) Special Topic: Gender and Development or GSWS 309 (or WS 309) under the title Gender and Development may not take this course for further credit.
Examines the historical development of women's experiences and identities in Modern Canadian history. Looks closely at the ways in which ethnicity, race, class and sexuality have shaped women's lives, and examines the continuity and changes in work, sexuality, politics and domesticity over the 19th and 20th centuries through the study of primary documents and historical literature. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students who have taken GSWS 202 (or WS 202) may not take this course for further credit
Examines the global division of labor where migrant women as well as immigrant women tend to be exploited in numerous forms, ranging from lack of citizenship rights and erosion of skills to the risk of sexual assault, due to immigration/migration and social policies of various countries. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students with credit for WS 320 Special Topics: Immigrant Women and Economic Security may not complete this course for further credit.
An examination of feminist, Marxist and anti-racist theories pertaining to the historical development, social construction, and interactive nature of race, class and gender relations. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students who have taken either GSWS 301 (or WS 301) or GSWS 310 (or WS 310) as Special Topics: Race, Class and Gender may not take this course for credit.
Conceptualizations of sex have played a fundamental part in the development of evolutionary theories in biology and psychology. At the same time, feminist critiques of these conceptualizations have been a major factor in the development of Feminist Science Studies. The interactions amongst these three approaches are examined, including methodologies, communities of practice and societal implications. Prerequisite: 30 units. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences/Science.
An examination of social protest from a historical perspective. Analyzes the relationships between race, class, gender, sexuality and religion within the formation of social movements. Focuses mainly on the North American context. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students who have previously taken GSWS 301 (or WS 301) with the same title may not take this course for further credit.
A specific topic within the field of women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant. Prerequisite: 30 units, including 3 units in GSWS or WS or GDST.
A specific topic within the field of women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant. Prerequisite: 30 units including three units in GSWS or WS or GDST.
A specific topic within the field of women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant. Prerequisite: 15 units.
A specific topic within the field of women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant. Prerequisite: 15 units.
Explores a variety of feminist research methods including the definition of feminist research, the quantitative/qualitative controversy, action research, participant observation, survey, ethnography, case study, oral history, transnational study, interviews and research ethics. Prerequisite: 30 units, including three units in GSWS. Students who have taken GSWS 208 or WS 308 may not take this course for further credit.
Themes and issues relating to the historical and contemporary experiences of aboriginal women in Canada: indigenous theories of gender; evolution and political function of stereotypes of indigenous women in Canada; history of Canadian legislation regulating indigenous identity; relevance of feminist analysis; and history of activism. Prerequisite: 45 units. Students who have taken FNST 322 under this topic may not take this course for further credit. FNST 327 and GSWS 327 (or WS 327) are identical and students may not take both courses for credit.
Maps the field of masculinity studies and explores its intersections with feminist, postcolonial, queer, and critical race theories. Prerequisite: 15 units.
Introduces students to current debates on gender identity and gender difference from the perspectives of queer subjects. Explores recent theoretical and cultural works on gender from queer, transgender, and feminist perspectives, while examining the challenges they pose to current understanding of sex, gender, sexuality, and the body. Prerequisite: 30 units, including three units in GSWS. Students who have taken GDST 301, or WS 301 Special Topics: Theorizing Queer Genders may not take this course for further credit.
A special topic in women's or gender studies, to be offered by the Woodward Chair. Prerequisite: 30 units including three units in GSWS.
Overview of theoretical perspectives and available research on debates linked with human reproduction. Reconsideration of the effects of legislation, social policy and social change on contraception, birth, abortion, adoption, eugenics policies, new reproductive technologies, sexualities, and other topics. Historical and contemporary examples will be used. Feminist perspectives will be featured along with other approaches to human reproduction. Prerequisite: this course is identical to CRIM 334 and students may not take both courses for credit. Students who have taken CRIM 416, 417, 418 under the title Law and Reproduction may not take this course for further credit.
Examines issues where ideas about males and females either explicitly or implicitly influence policy makers. Focuses on current public policies and their relationship to women on topics such as sexuality and violence, economic security, race and inequality, and climate change. Prerequisite: 30 units. This course is identical to POL 350 and students may not take both courses for credit. Students who have taken this topic under GSWS 320 (or WS 320) may not take this course for further credit.
Explores recent debates and future directions of feminist thought and introduces students to different models of feminist writing. The writing-intensive component of the course trains students to develop analytical, writing, and research skills through a variety of writing activities and assignments. Prerequisite: 30 units including three units in GSWS. Writing.
Through an examination of the social construction of numeracy, this course will provide an introduction to measurement and difference issues within social justice movements. In analyzing such topics as the relationship between professional, state and community conceptualizations of mathematical competence, students will make use of introductory statistical concepts, methods and argument. Prerequisite: 30 units. Quantitative.
Individual or small group studies of community problems. The students will submit a prospectus for the project at least two months before the study is undertaken. The project will be directed by one of the faculty members of the program. Prerequisite: nine units in women's studies including GSWS 101 (or WS 101) and/or GSWS 102 (or WS102); permission of instructor; approval of course proposal by department.
Provides opportunities for individual tuition at an advanced level. Prerequisite: nine units in women's studies including GSWS 101 (or WS 101) and/or GSWS 102 (or WS102); permission of instructor; approval of course proposal by department.
Provides opportunities for individual tuition at an advanced level. Prerequisite: nine units in women's studies including GSWS 101 (or WS 101) and/or GSWS 102 (or WS 102); permission of instructor; approval of course proposal by department.
A study and critique of feminist theories as they apply to the study of women. Each offering of the course will focus on a particular subset of feminist theories and applications. Prerequisite: 45 units including six units of GSWS or WS or GDST. Students with credit for GSWS 311, 411 or WS 311 or 411 may not complete this course for further credit when subtitled Feminist Psychoanalytic Theories.
A specific topic within the field of women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant. Prerequisite: 45 units, including 6 units in GSWS.
An examination of film theory and practice from a feminist perspective. Prerequisite: 45 units including six units in GSWS or WS courses. Students with credit for GSWS 311, 411, WS 311 or 411 may not complete this course for further credit when subtitled Feminist Psychoanalytic Theories.
First term of work experience in the Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies co-operative education program. Units from this course do not count toward the units required for an SFU degree. Prerequisite: 30 units with a CGPA of 3.0. Students should apply to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences co-operative education co-ordinator by the end of the third week of the term preceding the employment term.
Second term of work experience in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies co-operative education program. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an Simon Fraser University degree. Prerequisite: 45 units with a CGPA of 3.0. Students should apply to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences co-operative education co-ordinator by the end of the third week of the term preceding the employment term.
Third term of work experience in the Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies co-operative education program. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an Simon Fraser University degree. Prerequisite: 60 units with a CGPA of 3.0. Students should apply to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences co-operative education co-ordinator by the end of the third week of the term preceding the employment term.
Fourth term of work experience in the Women's Studies co-operative education program. Units from this course do not count towards the units required for an Simon Fraser University degree. Prerequisite: 90 units with a CGPA of 3.0. Students should apply to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences co-operative education co-ordinator by the end of the third week of the term preceding the employment term.
Examines the globalization of sexual cultures and the emergence of queer cinema and screen culture outside of North America and Europe. Prerequisite: 45 units including six units in GSWS or WS or GDST.
An interdisciplinary examination of North American gender relationships, sexuality, social movements, counterculture, and popular culture in the postwar era, with an emphasis on the 1960s. Prerequisite: 45 units including six units in GSWS.
A seminar-based, interdisciplinary course providing a gendered analysis of violence and resistance, to violence, focusing on political states, conflict and war, individual experiences, and institutional situations through feminist and critical masculinities lenses. Prerequisite: 45 units, including six units in GSWS. Students with credit for special temporary topics (STT) course GDST 303 Gender, Violence and Resistance may not complete this course for further credit.
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Page Updated November 4, 2011