On Women: A Critical Introduction to Women's Studies

"There comes a time when one must push off from the wharf of safety into the sea of chance."

Maya Angelou.

Women have been the objects of study for centuries and there is a long tradition of male theories about woman's nature and women's place in society. With the development of feminism and the women's movement, women have challenged the 'malestream' ideas about women, asking even if it is meaningful to talk about women. This led to the development of Women's Studies, where women investigate their own experiences -- revealing patterns of subordination of women as well as the ways in which women themselves are very different. In developing these new approaches, feminists challenge more than just existing ideas about women; they also challenge traditional methodologies and question the appropriateness of existing discipline divisions. As a result, Women's Studies is resolutely cross- disciplinary and interdisciplinary in its orientation.

This course introduces students to Women's Studies by examining topics such as: what is Women's Studies? What are the various realities for women, for lesbians, aboriginals, blacks, immigrants, disabled, elites, and workers? What do we know about herstory and women's responses to their situation: forms of accommodation, strategies of resistance and change? What is involved in building sisterhood and solidarity while struggling against class inequalities, racism, homophobia, ageism and all the forms of discrimination women face.

Students will explore how social, political and economic relations variously shape women's lives and their own lives more specifically. Films, guests, presentations, debate, field work, the use of photography and other aesthetics, self-directed inquiry and full class participation rounds out this feminist learning collective rich in thematic dialogue.

"The first thing I want to say to you who are students,
is that you cannot afford to think of being here to receive
an education. You will do much better to think of yourselves
as being here to claim one."
Adrienne Rich

Course Concepts

Feminism, Feminist, Feminist Theories
Feminist Research Methods/Feminist Education
Women's Studies as a Discipline
Medicalization, Pathologization
Power, Marginalization, Oppression
Misogyny/Sexism/Androcentrism
The intersectionalities of gender, race, class, abilities,
sex and sexualities, age, religion, etc.
Sizeism, Heterosexism, Classism, Racism, Ableism, Eurocentrism
Gender as a Social Construct
Women's Bodies as Capitalist Interest
Equity/Postmodernity/Justice
Power/Freedom/Agency/Authenticity
Intersectionality
Consciousness Raising
Thinking Upstream
The Personal is Political

Learning Objectives

- critically analyze current conceptualizations of women
- explore the discipline of women's studies and the various women's movements in Canada
- examine a cross-section of the issues and subjects examined in feminist scholarship across both the Humanities and the Social Sciences, with some attention to research from areas such as visual arts, the sciences, and environmental studies.
- examine how the intersectionalities of gender, race, class, abilities, sex and
sexualities, age, religion, etc., are central to contemporary Women's Studies.
- study current feminist research methods and theories from across the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
- explore the historical context of current feminist issues, practices, challenges and struggles.
- Become acquainted with the School of Women's Studies: the faculty members,
graduate student research, the Nellie Langford Rowell Library, the Centre for Feminist Research, Canadian Woman Studies/cf, the Women's Centre and other services for women at York University.
- beginning in the context of oneself, students will develop an understanding of their own experience and upon reflection of this understanding; students will be invited to explore, in reflective journals, the meaning of this experience as it relates to course themes.
- develop skill in the development of a scholarly photo essay pertaining to a women's issue of your choice and as applied to our core course concepts and course literature
- participate in a public photo exhibit for The Faculty of Liberal and Professional
Studies

Read Adrienne Rich's Famous Address on "Claiming an Education"

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