Queen's University : Courses of Instruction

AVAILABILITY
Not all of the courses listed in the Calendar are offered every year. For the most up-to-date information on the availability of courses offered in the current year, check QCARD or consult with the departmental office.

GNDS-120*/0.5

Women, Gender, Difference

2L;1T

This course explores women, gender, and difference from feminist and anti-racist perspectives. It identifies the ways in which women�s activism, politics, and experiences intersect with other gendered identifications such as race, location, class, (dis)ability, and sexuality. Lectures and texts will introduce feminism, the body, colonialism, gender performance, and strategies of resistance.�

Also offered as a distance course. Consult Continuing and�Distance Studies.�

EXCLUSIONS�� WMNS 101*, WMNS 102*, WMNS 120*.

GNDS-125*/0.5

Gender, Race and Popular Culture

2L;1T

Explores popular culture from feminist and anti-racist perspectives, with attention to sexuality, gender, race and nation in a variety of media.
Also offered as a distance course. Consult Continuing and Distance Studies.

EXCLUSIONS�� WMNS 125*, WMNS 225*.

GNDS-211*/0.5

Feminist Histories

A study of feminist narratives and gender politics in relationship to women's lives from the 17th century forward with an emphasis upon global histories.
Also offered as a distance course. Consult Continuing and Distance Studies.

PREREQUISITE�� GNDS 120* (or WMNS 101*, WMNS 102*, WMNS 120*) or GNDS 125* (WMNS 225*) or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 211*.

GNDS-212*/0.5

Racism, Colonialism and Resistance

Decades after the formal decolonization of former colonies, the power relations of the colonial world - and the racism it engendered - remain deeply embedded in the West, and are intrinsic to contemporary relations of globalization. This course explores European colonialism; historical and social constructions of 'race'; the ongoing occupation of Indigenous peoples' territories; and contemporary racism. PREREQUISITE Second-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 212*.

GNDS-215*/0.5

Introduction to Sexual and Gender Diversity

This course is an introduction to studies in sexuality and gender diversity. It will survey the field and include topics such as classical inquiries into sexuality, contemporary theories on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer identities, sexual movements, human rights, sexual morality, pornography, global sex trade, and queer cultural production. This course is open to all students but required for students enrolled in the Certificate in Sexual and Gender Diversity. It is designed to introduce SXGD students to the field and prepare them for selecting future courses. PREREQUISITE Second-year standing, or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSIONS�� WMNS 215*, WMNS 310*.

GNDS-311*/0.5

Feminist Thought

This course examines different forms and critiques of feminism, and major issues in the development of feminist activism and feminist theory, including challenges to the colonial history of Western feminism. Students engage with current debates in feminism, gender and queer theory, and anti-racism. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing, or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 311*.

GNDS-312*/0.5

Black Feminisms

Studies in black women�s and black gender politics in Canada, the U.S.A., and the Caribbean. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 312*.

GNDS-315*/0.5

Feminist Pedagogies

This course looks at teaching and learning, in formal and informal educational settings, from feminist perspectives. Explores difference (race, class, gender, sexuality, ability), social justice and activism, power and empowerment, critique and transformation, experience, and reflexivity. Students will develop their feminist pedagogical values and skills. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 315*.

GNDS-321*/0.5

Gendering Opportunities - Women's Work

This course offers an interdisciplinary framework of feminist thought on women, work and employment opportunities. It takes a comparative look at socio-political feminist theories on work and employment in different social and cultural contexts. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 321*.

GNDS-326*/0.5

Gender, Diaspora and the Arts

This course explores transnational realities and diasporic experience, with particular attention to gender and sexuality, through the arts. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 426*.

GNDS-330*/0.5

Gender and the Global South

This course examines gender in an international context with emphasis on current global issues of women and development. Topics include gendering international political economy, women's health and sexualities, and forms of struggle, resistance and change in non-western contexts. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 330*.

GNDS-335*/0.5

Gendered Alternatives: Science Fiction and Fantasy

This course examines ways in which science fiction and fantasy writers use technology and the fantastic as tools for the deconstruction and reconstruction of gendered categories. The emphasis is on contemporary novels as offering deliberate and sophisticated interventions in major discourses in gender studies, with attention to issues of race, class, and nationhood. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSIONS�� WMNS 217*, WMNS 335*.

GNDS-340*/0.5

Indigenous Women, Feminism and Resistance

Examines scholarship, creative works, and activism by Indigenous women as a basis for introducing Indigenous feminist thought. Cases examine the many ways that Indigenous women and LGBTQ/Two-Spirit people participate in Indigenous nations, experience and resist settler colonialism, and work for Indigenous decolonization. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 340*.

GNDS-345*/0.5

Research Methods in Gender Studies

This course provides a critical interdisciplinary introduction to methods and methodological issues in gender studies research. PREREQUISITE�� GNDS 120* (WMNS 101*, WMNS 102*, WMNS 120*) or GNDS 125* (WMNS 225*) and third-year standing.

EXCLUSIONS�� WMNS 230*, WMNS 345*.

GNDS-350*/0.5

Feminism, the Body and Visual Culture

This course will explore how the visual constructs and/or subverts 'woman' as a cultural category. An emphasis will be placed upon the female body as it intersects with class and race. Readings from art history, history, cultural theory and feminist theory will be considered. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 350*.

GNDS-351*/0.5

Gender, Dress and Fashion

An investigation of gender as it is constructed in historical and contemporary dress and fashion. The focus will be upon visual culture and material culture. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 351*.

GNDS-352*/0.5

Gender, Cloth and Globalization

This course will examine the gendered history of the production and consumption of cloth, the impact of changing technologies on the textile industry since the 18th century, and the ensuing tensions between the industrial and the hand-crafted. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 352*.

GNDS-360*/0.5

Masculinities: Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Considers the main themes in the history of masculinity and male sexuality, especially 'dissident' or subaltern masculinities internationally, and women's roles in shaping ideologies of masculinity. Topics include the theorization of masculinity, initiation rituals, family and parenting, violence, sports, homophobia, sexual practices, colonialism, science/epistemology and men and feminism. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 360*.

GNDS-365*/0.5

Jewish Women in Historical Perspective

Jewish history from biblical to modern times using gender as a category of analysis; methods and sources of social history; stated and unstated constructions of gender and sexuality; use of materials written by men for pre-modern women's history; tensions between competing traditions;�influences of paganism, Islam, Christianity. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 365*.

GNDS-370*/0.5

Writing Lives: Feminism and Women's Writing

This course will explore how women writers employ narrative as a creative and political tool to dramatize subjectivity and subvert cultural constructs of womanhood. Issues to be considered include the association of an anti-narrative style with 'femininity', and the use of autobiography to position marginalized perspectives. An emphasis will be placed on narratives concerning any of gender, sexuality, 'race', class, age and ability. Fiction and poetry will be complemented by readings from feminist literary theory. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 370*.

GNDS-375*/0.5

Queer/Race Studies

This course explores current theory in queer studies by centrally examining the interdependence of race, sexuality, and gender. The course foregrounds the critical insights that follow sustained study of race in queer studies, and of queer matters in critical race, Indigenous, global, and diaspora studies. PREREQUISITE Third-year standing or permission of the Department.

GNDS-401/1.0

Debates on Feminism and Islam

This course focuses on the theories, political activities, and organizing of Islamic feminists. It situates itself in relation to contemporary debates around the status of women in Islam and problematizes the nature of feminism and its assumed relationship to Islam. The course will focus on questions of religion, race, class, and nationalism in relation to Islam and Muslim women.�This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSIONS�� GNDS 425* (or WMNS 425* (2008-2009)), WMNS 401*.

GNDS-410/1.0

Special Topics in Gender Studies

Offered when�faculty resources permit, these courses are intensive analyses of particular areas of gender studies interdisciplinary research. Details regarding specific topics will be available from the Head of the Department on an annual basis. This course contains an intensive and independent study component.�
PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 410.

GNDS-412/1.0

Seminar in Sexual and Gender Diversity

This course provides an advanced study in specific topics and theories relating to the fields of sexual and gender diversity. Topics may change from year to year. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 412*.

GNDS-420/1.0

Special Topics in Gender Studies

For a complete description, see GNDS 410. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.�� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 420*.

GNDS-421/1.0

Gender and Poverty

This course is designed to provide an indepth exploration of poverty issues in Canada. It includes discussions about working poor and welfare poor and addresses how race and sexuality can compound the issues of poverty. The course will also acknowledge how poor people are actively engaged in attempting to improve their lives through anti-poverty organizing. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSIONS�� POLS 318*, WMNS 421*.

GNDS-422/1.0

Women and Gender South of the Sahara

An interdisciplinary study of selected topics such as culture, ethnicity, health, sexuality, religion, economics, politics, African feminisms, agriculture and environment relevant to the study of women and gender in Africa south of the Sahara. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or Global Development Studies, or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 422*.

GNDS-425/1.0

Special Topics in Gender Studies

For a complete description, see GNDS 410. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 425*.

GNDS-427/1.0

Towards the Human: Race and the Politics of Expression

This interdisciplinary seminar will explore the ways in which modernity shapes cultural 'difference' and 'the human'.�Readings will focus on the racial and geographic contours of colonialism, transatlantic slavery and The Enlightenment in order to bring into focus communities that challenge racial-sexual categorization through creative expression (music, fiction, poetry, and visual art as well as theory). This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 427*.

GNDS-428/1.0

Gender Performance

This advanced seminar addresses some of the many meanings and manifestations of 'gender performance' in literature and popular culture. Primary sources include a wide variety of media - novels, plays, poems, films, magazines and cartoons. Primary material will be balanced with careful consideration of work in areas such as feminist theory, identity politics, queer and performance theory. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 428*.

GNDS-430/1.0

Special Topics in Gender Studies

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 430*.

GNDS-432/1.0

Indigenous Politics: Gender, Nation and Sovereignty

Examines critical theories and case studies of politics and governance in Indigenous and settler societies, based in Indigenous feminist thought. Cases examine the relation between nationality, gender, and sexuality within colonial relations of rule, methods of Indigenous governance, Indigenous sovereignty struggles, and theories and practices of decolonization. This course contains an intensive and independent study component. PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD, or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 432*.

GNDS-435/1.0

Special Topics in Gender Studies

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 435*.

GNDS-440/1.0

Social Justice Practicum: Learning through Community Organizing and Activism

3S/P

A seminar in which students work in and outside the classroom on community organizing projects. Students refect on how feminist, anti-racist, and queer theory can be integrated with real world practices. PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 440.

GNDS-445/1.0

Special Topics in Gender Studies

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 445*.

GNDS-465/1.0

Diaspora and Feminisms in Jewish Contexts

Using tools provided by diverse critical theories, practices, and textual traditions this course emphasizes reading for gender in Jewish contexts. We explore how these skills�transfer to personal, political or purely academic engagement with other forms of boundary-crossing. This course contains an intensive and�independent study component.� PREREQUISITE Third- or fourth-year standing in Gender Studies or SXGD or permission of the Department.

EXCLUSION�� WMNS 465*.

GNDS-510/1.0

Directed Special Studies

In consultation with the Head of the Department, students arrange their reading with individual Gender Studies faculty, and are expected to write reports on their readings and to discuss them throughout the term with that faculty supervisor. PREREQUISITES�� WMNS 101*, WMNS 102*, GNDS 120* (or WMNS 120* or WMNS 225*), GNDS 125*, GNDS 211* (or WMNS 211*) and GNDS 311* (or WMNS 311* or WMNS 210) and permission of the Department.�Open�only to students in Gender Studies degree programs with third-year standing or above.

EXCLUSIONS�� GNDS 520* and GNDS 530*, WMNS 510.

GNDS-520*/0.5

Directed Special Studies

For a complete description, see GNDS 510. PREREQUISITES�� WMNS 101*, WMNS 102*, GNDS 120* (or WMNS 120* or WMNS 225*), GNDS 125*, GNDS 211* (or WMNS 211*) and GNDS 311* (or WMNS 311*or WMNS 210) and permission of the Department. Open only to students in Gender Studies degree programs with third-year standing or above.

EXCLUSIONS�� WMNS 510, GNDS 520* (or WMNS 520*).

GNDS-530*/0.5

Directed Special Studies

EXCLUSIONS�� GNDS 510 (or WMNS 510), WMNS 530*.

Courses of Instruction in Other Faculties

The following courses may be taken for credit only by students pursuing a degree in Gender Studies.

FOUN-490*/0.5

Seminar in Social Class, Gender and Race

The goal is to develop a critical understanding of the implications for children's educational experiences of the effects of social class background, sex/gender differences and racial background by focusing on three questions: How is school experience affected by the cultural context of children's lives? How do schools respond to real or imagined differences among students? How does the culture of the school, the attitudes and expectations of teachers, the concepts conveyed by the 'hidden' curriculum contribute to the way children experience school? A critical perspective is developed which teachers might use to better respond to the diversity of student needs. PREREQUISITE Permission of the instructor.

LAW-516*/0.5

Law and Sexuality

Focusing on the legal status and civil rights of lesbian women, gay men, and other sexual minorities in Canada and other countries. Emphasis on the development of a multi-and interdisciplinary perspective.

Faculty of Law

PREREQUISITE Permission of the instructor and the Department of Gender Studies.

LAW-533*/0.5

Law, Gender, Equality

A review of the history of claims to general equality (mainly women's claims); gender theory as it relates to law and legal institutions; and a critical examination of the legal strategies relating to gender objectives (including legislative reforms, judicial decision-making, constitutional entrenchment, and human rights legislation and procedures). The objective is to introduce the curious but uncommitted student to the feminist critique of contemporary gender equality.

Faculty of Law

PREREQUISITE � Permission of the instructor and the Department of Gender Studies.

MECH-333*/0.5

Gender Issues in Engineering and Related Sciences

For a complete description, see Courses of Instruction in Other Faculties and Schools.

Faculty of Applied Science

PREREQUISITE� � Permission of the instructor.

SURP-885*/0.5

Feminist Approaches to Planning

This course emphasizes sex/gender in the context of planning thought and action. It seeks to integrate considerations of theory, practice and method. Concepts such as patriarchy, difference and marginalization, as well as equity and empowerment, are applied to planning issues. While women's needs are emphasized, there is an explicit attempt to be inclusive of matters of sexuality, (dis)ability, race, class, etc.

School of Urban and Regional Planning

THEO-442*/0.5

Women in Christianity in North America

A course combining lectures and seminar presentations which examine the experience of women in the church within the North American social context.

Queen's Theological College

PREREQUISITE�� Limited enrolment for undergraduates.

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