This course is designed as a survey of the diverse anddeveloping field of Gender and Politics within the discipline of Political Science. It will also serve to introduce graduate students to the breadth of expertise in this field housed in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University. For doctoral students, this course serves as background to the Gender and Politics graduate qualifying examination, with a view to preparation for advanced specialized research and/or university-level instructional qualification. It is also offered as a graduate level course for MA students, and with permission, to a limited number of fourth year Political Studies undergraduate students (note registration details).

“Gender and Politics (formerly called ‘Women and Politics’) is the Department of Political Studies newest graduate field. The debates regarding Gender and Politics have captured the imaginations of social and political actors over recent decades with increasing vigour, affecting every discipline in the social sciences. Today, Gender and Politics is one of the most energized fields in the discipline of Political Science. The field explores power relations and governance from aperspective that recognizes gender as a politically and socially constructed category.

“Some of the questions that are addressed in the field of Gender and Politics include: the unequalstatus between men and women in political, economic and social affairs and processes; the nature and implications of same-sex marriage rights and related debates; the relevance of feminist theory to an understanding of historic and contemporary questions of justice, authority and power; the meaning and significance of identities regarding gender, transgender, sexual orientation and sexuality; the implications of a gendered analysis of institutions such as the state, international organizations, bureaucracy, the military, political parties, social movements and trade unions; the impact of a gendered analysis of development and underdevelopment, international conflict, globalization, migration and citizenship; and representation and public policy regarding gendered responses, and responses about gender, in Canadian and global politics.

“The Department of Political Studies at Queen’s is pleased to have among its faculty some of the most engaged scholars in this field, who are collectively part of a growing community of researchers and educators in Canada and internationally.” 

Contributions of Darwinian evolutionary theory to the understanding of contemporary culture. Through seminars, essays, and group discussions, students explore ideas, research objectives, and recent discoveries in applying Darwinism to the interpretation of cultural products like art and literature, socio-cultural institutions like religion and marketing, societal problems like war and environmental conservation, and emerging designs for new models of sustainable civilization in the 21st century.