Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2023 - GSWS 830 G200

Selected Topics Graduate Seminar I (5)

The Sexual and Gendered Relations of Property

Class Number: 3284

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Aug 4, 2023: Tue, Thu, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Selected Topics

COURSE DETAILS:

Property impacts every aspect of our lives and how we live them. Myriad social practices and relations inform its design and distribution. Sexual and gender politics are ever present in relation to property yet often rendered invisible. Beginning from the imposition of private property as central to the Canadian process of colonization, this course examines major themes in relation to the ownership of people, animals, land and things within the Canadian settler state.

In this course, we unpack ideas of land and property and their implications. Divided into three sections: (1) Histories and their Present Consequences, (2) Contemporary Properties and their Consequences, and (3) Resistances, we examine themes including settler colonialism and dispossession, enslavement and the “ownership” of other humans, resource extraction, gentrification, public space, big data and intellectual property, property crime, drug possession, reproduction and social movements. This course will consistently attend to how property intersects with gender, sexuality, Indigeneity, race, disability and class, including how property is used to uphold oppressive social relations.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

For more detailed information please see the GSWS website:
http://www.sfu.ca/gsws/graduate/courses/Educational_Goals.html

Grading

  • Participation 10%
  • Seminar Leadership 10%
  • Topic Proposal 10%
  • Media Analysis 15%
  • Paper 35%
  • Final Discussion 20%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All texts will be available online and publicly available accessible through the SFU Library system. 


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.