Gender, Religion, and Critical Studies Courses

RLST 100

Introduction to Religious Studies

An introduction to the academic study of religion; a survey of the thought and practices of major world religions; the impact of religion on society and culture.

RLST 181

Classical Chinese for Religious Studies

This course provides an introduction to the Classical Chinese, used for readings of the texts of Confucianism, Taoism or Chinese Buddhism. Classical Chinese is also used for reading ancient scholarship in China dealing with the above areas.

RLST 184

Introductory Sanskrit for Religious Studies

This course is an introduction to the classical Sanskrit languages. Emphasis will be on grammar, syntax, and elementary translation practice. This course is useful for students in South Asian religion (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism) and culture.

RLST 188

Introductory Coptic for Religious Studies

An introduction to Sahidic Coptic for reading knowledge. This course will be useful for students wishing to do detailed work in ancient Christian Gnosticism, and in late antique Egyptian Christianity.

RLST 201

Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons

This class explores cross-cultural practices, representations, and beliefs concerning various kinds of monsters, ghosts, and demons. Focus will be on what these different entities have in common (as well as where they differ), with a view to sketching out shared human perspectives on the monstrous, the fearful, and the uncanny.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 201 or RLST 290AS.*

RLST 202

Approaches to the Study of Religion

This course explores some of the more influential modern theories about why human beings - across different cultures and in different historical periods - have practiced religion and believed in supernatural entities. The class will focus on explanations for the origin and existence of religion that have developed in the social sciences and humanities from the 19th century to the present, and will examine their strengths and weaknesses. Students will learn the basics of social, cultural, cognitive, and psychological approaches to religion. No specific background knowledge of individual religious traditions is required.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 202 or RLST 300.*

RLST 203

Hinduisms

This course situates 'Hinduism' in the context of the culture of South Asia and examines texts, beliefs and ritual practices of various traditions which fall under the 'Hindu' rubric. The perspective is historical and social. This course also explores the impact of colonialism upon contemporary religious practice in India.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 207

Buddhism

The course will provide a basic introduction to Buddhism, dealing with its origin, development, doctrines, and practices. Special emphasis will be given to developments in interpretation of the founder's teachings.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 209

Japanese Religions

The course provides an overview of the major religious traditions of Japan from earliest times to the modern era: Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and the New Religions. Topics to be explored include religion and the state, Buddhist-Shinto interaction, "this worldly" material benefits, pilgrimage and popular culture.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 211

East Asian Religions

An introduction to the essentials of the East Asian religious traditions. The course will deal with basic beliefs and practices of Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese Buddhism, with the emphasis on their influence on the formation of such East Asian cultures as those of China, Korea, and Japan.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 215

Religions of Greece and Rome

This course will examine the various religious practices encountered in the Archaic and Classical periods of Greece, the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean world, and the religious practices of the Roman Empire. The religions will be studied primarily in connection with the categories of myth, symbol, and ritual.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 219

Judaism

A survey of the principles of Judaism, their historical development, and their impact on the Jewish way of life.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 227

Jesus the Christ

This course examines the centrality of Jesus the Christ for Christian practice and belief. Topics covered include the background to early belief in Jesus, his presentation in Christian scriptures, the development of Christian claims about him, as well as past and contemporary representations of him in ritual, theology and/or art.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 228

Christianity

An introduction to the foundations of Christianity dealing with topics such as the centrality of the story of Jesus, its roots in Judaism, its sources of authority, characteristic practices, historical and theological development, major denominational families. Some contemporary issues may also be briefly outlined.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 230

Religion, Spirituality and Health: Belief, Practices, Impacts and Implications

An exploration of beliefs and practices regarding health, disease, healing and mortality in a variety of religious traditions, and how these affect individual and community health. Includes an examination of empirical studies of religion and health outcomes and concludes with the implications for health care policy and practice.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 230 or RLST 290BB.*

RLST 241

Islam

An introduction to the foundations of Islam, including the life of the prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, beliefs and practices, and the development of fundamental Islamic ideas and institutions. Emphasis will be placed on the contemporary faith of Muslims as they deal with these primary themes.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 245

Bible: Old Testament/Tanakh

A survey of the various books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament or Tanakh) from historical, literary, and theological perspectives.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 248

The Beginnings of Christianity

This course explores the earliest evidence for Christianity: the writings that eventually made up the Christian “New Testament.” We will reconstruct how first and second century writers transmitted and creatively shaped the figure of Jesus, and how Paul and other figures played a central role in role in this process.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 267

Religion in Canada

This course is a survey of significant religious traditions in Canada, their intellectual background, development of their faith and practice, and their interaction with the Canadian context.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 268

Cults or New Religious Movements

This course examines beliefs and practices of some emerging new religions including New Age, Wicca, Neo-paganism, Scientology, Unification Church, UFO groups, Solar Temple, Transcendental Meditation and Soka Gakai. The emphasis will be upon the historical roots and teachings of new religions, and issues related to their popularity and interpretation.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 268 or RLST 390AX.*

RLST 273

Issues in Religion and Science

This course will examine the interface between religion and the natural and social sciences, beginning with a historical, methodological and philosophical overview. Current issues such as genetic engineering, population control, evolutionary theory, environmentalism, technology and values, and the ethics of scientific experimentation will be studied.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 275

Women in World Religions

This course surveys the role and religious experiences of women in various world religions. Lecture material will cover the accumulated traditional teachings on women and the feminine in each religion, with attention to specific historical developments. Contemporary scholars and issues will be highlighted with an emphasis on feminist methodologies.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100 or WGST 100.***

RLST 284

Intermediate Sanskrit for Religious Studies

Emphasis will be on advanced grammar and translation practice in Sanskrit language. This course will engage students in reading selected excerpts from the Mahabharata, Hitopadesa and the Puranas. This course is useful for students in South Asian studies in religion, history, classics, and linguistics.
***Prerequisite: RLST 184, or permission of the Department Head.***

RLST 288

Intermediate Coptic for Religious Studies

An intensive continuation in the instruction of the Sahidic dialect of the ancient Coptic language, with special emphasis on the reading of actual ancient Coptic texts. Special emphasis will be placed on the Coptic Gnostic literature and on Egyptian Patristic apophthegmata.
***Prerequisite: RLST 188, or permission of the Department Head.***

RLST 290AD

Modern Christian Social Thought

The History of Christian Social Teaching from the mid Nineteenth Century to the present. Special references will be given to the several individuals and events in the Catholic, Anglican and Protestant Churches which contributed to the development of modern Christian Social Thought in Europe and Canada.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290AD or HIST 290AB.*

RLST 290AJ

Fundamentalism

A study of “fundamentalism” including its definition and social impact. Beginning with Christian Fundamentalism (& Evangelicalism) in the USA, similar movements in other religions and countries are covered. Subtopics include the interpretation of scripture and religious law, gender and race relations, and the relationship of religion to political power.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290AJ or RLST 490CG.*

RLST 290AK

Reading the Qur'an in English

An introduction to reading the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, in English translation; exploration of the Qur'an's main themes, literary structures, origins, and varieties of interpretation. No prior knowledge of the Qur'an or of Islam is required. ***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AL

Monks and Merchants: Religious Exchange along the Silk Road

The" Silk Road" was an important tie for the international trade from Changan (China) to the west; and at that same time, it was more than a route for business, the areas along this important route were the place where East met West, and the places where various religious traditions interacted and syncretised. For this course, with the cultural and historical background, we are going to exam how religions, such as Buddhism, Daoism, Manicheanism, Christianity, Islam, and local beliefs and so forth, how they influenced each other and the significance of the religious syncretism.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AM

Death & Dying

This course will explore the ways in which selected Eastern and Western religious traditions understand and negotiate death as a major life-cycle transition. Topics will include preparation for dying, funerary practices and memorial rites, nonphysical reality and the afterlife, as well as cultural variations in the expression of bereavement; varieties of interpretation.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AN

Indigenous Systems of Belief and Practice

The focus of this course is the varied ways of knowing and being of indigenous peoples through the exploration of themes such as: holistic world views, diversity, spatial and biographical understandings of land, kinship, environmental knowledge, the function of narratives, cosmology and the impact of colonization and decolonization. Special attention will be given to indigenous peoples of North America.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AP

Sex & Sexualities in Religion

Religious teachings on sexual practices, desires and orientations have regulated social norms and notions of morality. Examining a number of religious traditions, historical moments and current religious, feminist and queer movements, this course invites students to discern tropes and potentiality within the larger discourse of personal agency and social power.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290AP, RLST 390BL, or WGST 490AC.*

RLST 290AR

Intermediate Classical Chinese

This course is set up for the students who completed beginner's level (RLST 181). The main focuses are: more characters, more grammar and more passages selected from the Classical Chinese texts (from Chinese and philosophical contexts) and more exercise for translation (Classical Chinese into modern Chinese and into English).

RLST 290AV

The Prophet Muhammad

This course deals with the life-events of the Prophet as seen in Muslim writings: the Sira and the Tradition. Some films/documentaries will be viewed about this towering figure in Islam.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290AX

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: Religion and Violence

Martin Luther King Jr. adopted non-violent methods for achieving justice and freedom for Black Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. But Malcolm X, a founder of the Black Power movement, said that only violence could bring changes to the structures of racism and hate embedded in American culture. Who was right?
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 290BA

Religion and Gender, Sex and Sexualities in Historical and Contemporary South Asia

Religion contributes to the construction and understanding of gender and sex/ualities. This course examines how this happens in both historical and contemporary South Asia, for example, how Hinduism informs gender and sex/ualities in India, Islam the same in Bangladesh and Pakistan, or Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 290BA or WGST 280AO.*

RLST 290BC

Korean Religions and Popular Culture

This course explores religions and popular culture in globalized Korea. Contemporary Korea shows a dynamic growth of secular cultures and religious traditions that has a transnational impact. Key topics of this course include Tonghak (Eastern Learning), Buddhism, Christianity, folk beliefs and Hallyu (the Korean Wave) that feature Korean music, films, TV dramas and literature.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 12 credit hours or RLST 100.***

RLST 303

Deities: India

This course focuses on the role of gods, goddesses and other creatures in South Asian religion. Emphasis will be on the interrelationship of notions of the divine, colonialism, post-colonialism and the gender dimensions of religious practice. Theories of myth and ritual as they apply to religious tenets will be explored.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 311

Confucianism in East Asia

This course is an introduction to the basic ideas of Confucianism including its background and development; its concepts of the world, ethical values of its philosophy and its religious beliefs and practices. The impact of Confucianism on the East Asian societies in ancient and modern times is also covered.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 322

Origins of Modern Antisemitism and the Holocaust

The religious and cultural roots of antisemitism and its manifestations in Western civilization: the rise of racist and political antisemitism in Europe; seminal issues in the history of the Holocaust; an analysis of the various political and cultural responses to the events of this period.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 322 or HIST 390AU.*

RLST 334

Catholicism

This course examines Catholicism as a collection of churches and as a tradition within Christianity. Topics covered include: origins, history and current transformations of Catholicism; characteristic emphases on sacramentality, mediation and community and how these shape the Catholic world view, its institutions, practices, beliefs, attitudes toward other groups, contemporary challenges.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 341

Islam in the Modern World

This course explores the Muslim encounter with the modern age. It examines the traditional religious stance of the Islamic community, and the significant movements and influences that have affected it. It studies specific problems faced and decisions taken, and analyzes adaptations and tensions in Islamic faith and life resulting from the encounter.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 348

The Synoptic Gospels

The course will focus on a study of the New Testament gospels and their sources, particularly the so-called "synoptic tradition"- the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke as well as their sources, both written and oral.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 351

The Life and Letters of Paul

This course will focus on a study of the New Testament writings by and about Paul, including the "undisputed" Pauline letters (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon), the letters whose authorship is more questionable, and the narratives about Paul in Acts of the Apostles.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 352

The Birth of the Church

The main emphasis will be on a study of the later New Testament writings: those which show the first signs of the church defining itself as an institution. These writings include especially Luke-Acts, the later pseudo-Pauline letters (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus), the so-called "general epistles," and the Apocalypse (Revelation).
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 363

Storytelling in Asian Religions

This course will provide a survey of the stories told by Buddhists, Hindus, Confucianists, Daoists and the followers of Shinto in Japan. The aim of this course is to develop a deeper understanding of the religion and cultures of Asia and to explore the beliefs in popular religion.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 363 or RLST 390AT.*

RLST 372

Myth, Symbol and Ritual

This course is an introduction to the critical study of the categories of myth, symbol and ritual. To do this we will examine different theoretical approaches and engage myth, symbol and ritual as they emerge in a variety of cultural locations.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 373

Gender: Theories and Practices

This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East).
***Prerequisite: RLST 100 or WGST 100.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 373 or WGST 372.*

RLST 378

Gender in Ancient Christianity

The course will explore the elaboration of images of "masculinity" and "femininity", "male" and "female", focusing on the relationship of these discursive entities to ancient Christian practices, goals, and notions of salvation, with a view to recovering how such constructs were used to fabricate a distinctive "Christian" identity.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AM

Women in Islam

This course will examine the diverse experiences of Muslim women, with specific reference to scripture, historical contexts and selected contemporary concerns. Emphasis will be placed on the debates between traditionalists and modernists and liberals, fundamentalists and feminists.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AW

Japanese Religions II

The course provides an indepth overview of the major religious traditions of Japan from earliest times to the modern era: Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and the New Religions. Topics to be explored include religion and the state, Buddhist-Shinto syncretism, ¿this-worldly¿ material benefits, pilgrimage and popular culture. Lectures will often be accompanied by slide-show presentations illustrating the rich visual culture of Japanese religion.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AY

Yoga: Teachers, Texts, Techniques

This course is a basic introduction to the study of yoga. Students will familiarize themselves with the foundational teachers, texts, and practices of the yoga tradition.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390AZ

Zionism and the Middle East

Explores the roots of Zionism and age-old longing of Jewish people to return to land of Israel. Examines thought of Theodor Herzl the founder of modern Zionism in 18thC and the ideologies of other Zionisms. Religious and political aspects of Zionisms will be analyzed in context of current Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390AZ or RLST 490BX.*

RLST 390BD

Religion and Animals

This course is an intra-historical and cross-cultural examination of non-human animals and their signification, use, and value within differing systems of belief and practice. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, animals in ritual, animals in folktale and myth, in the cosmos, as messengers, tricksters, and helpers, animals as deities and demons, and relations between non-human animals and human animals.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BJ

Religious Syncretism and Cultural Exchange on the Silk Road

This is an advanced course for the study of religions on the Silk Road. The main focus is on the development of some religious traditions in this area: Buddhism, Confucianism, Manichaenism, some local belifs and so forth - the conflict and syncretism among them from 1st to the 10th century.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BK

Advanced Women and Religion

This class will examine the traditional roles of women in selected religions in order to map the parallel concerns, issues and actions of current feminist responses. Historical as well as contemporary resources will be examined.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BL

Advanced Sex and Sexualities in Religion

The student will examine the spectrum of ideological positions regarding sex and sexuality within selected religions in order to map distinctive and comparable patterns from theoretical positions within queer and feminist theory. Extended analysis of scriptural passages reproduced through social ritual will engage questions of text and body.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BL, RLST 290AP, WGST 280AK, or WGST 490AC.*

RLST 390BM

Introduction to Koine Greek

Introduction to the Koine Greek of the New Testament.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BM or RLST 906AD.*

RLST 390BP

Advanced Classical Chinese

This course is designed for the students who have studied RLST 181 and RLST 290AR. The course will focus on the improvement of reading and understanding of religious, philosophical and literature texts in Classical Chinese.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BR

Interreligious Dialogue and Faith-Based Activism

Students will examine interreligious dialogue for two reasons: to learn the historical and theological teachings about the religious Other from within numerous religious traditions, and to ask if it is advantageous to engage with those involved in the growing interfaith movement towards resolving social justice issues.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BS

Advanced Coptic Reading

This class continues RLST 188 and RLST 288 with advanced reading selections from the Sahidic New Testament, the Desert Fathers, and Shenoute.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BT

The History of Popular Religion in the Middle Ages (300-1400)

This course will examine, from an historical perspective, the religious beliefs and practices of medieval Europeans. The emphasis will be on Christian beliefs, but those of other religions will be considered too. Topics include: heresy; the fate of the dead; skepticism; saints; signs and miracles; good and evil spirits; holidays.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BT or HIST 368.*

RLST 390BU

Advanced study of Cults or New Religious Movements

This advanced course examines beliefs and practices of select cults and new religious movements of both Eastern and Western origins. Students will acquire some specific knowledge of the central teachings of several new religious movements and also some familiarity with what might constitute such a movement.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BV

The Gnostics: Secret Gospels from the Egyptian Desert

This course will explore the non-canonical ancient Christian writings discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. The focus will be on exploring and analyzing the theology, sources, and literary history of these documents.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BW

Jesus the Christ

This course examines the centrality of Jeus the Christ for Christian practice and belief. Topics covered include the background to early belief in Jesus, his presentation in Christian scriputures, the development of Christian claims about him, as well as past and cotemporary representations of him in ritual, theology and/or art.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course***
*Note: Students can only receive credit for one of RLST 200, RLST 227 or RLST 390BW*

RLST 390BX

Multiculturalism and Religious Literacy

The notion of religious literacy within the constructs of Canadian secularism and multiculturalism is examined historically and with comprehensive conversations regarding models of interreligious dialogue, advocacy and atheism, feminist responses, and covering the most current topics, e.g. accommodation principles, educational responsibilities, the role of Islamophobia, public space and prayer, and more.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***

RLST 390BY

The Prophet Muhammad - Advanced

Advanced studies: The course deals with the life events of the Prophet in his context of Seventh Century Arabia as seen in Muslim writings: The Sira (biographical genre) and the Tradition. Some themes and films/documentaries about the Prophet will also be part of the discussion.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BY or RLST 290AV.*

RLST 390BZ

19th Century: Religion and Literature (Victorian Gods)

Once known as "the age of faith and doubt" and later as a flashpoint for the rise of the scientific understanding and secularization, the 19th century is under scrutiny by critics who no longer take for granted religion's modern decline. This course examines the robust debates in Victorian culture and literature over religion, modernization, and secularization, as well as the internecine conflicts in Christianity itself.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 390BZ or ENGL 336AQ.*

RLST 390CA

Advanced Hinduism(s)

This course situates 'Hinduism' in the context of the culture of South Asia and examines texts, beliefs, and ritual practices of various traditions which fall under the 'Hindu' rubric. The perspective is historical and social. This course also explores the impact of colonialism upon contemporary religious practice in India.
***Prerequisites: Completion of 24 credit hours or a 200 level RLST course.***
* Note: Students may receive credit for only one of RLST 203 or 390CA.*

RLST 480AI

Adv. Gender: Theories and Practices

This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East).
***Prerequisites: RLST 100 or WGST 100***

RLST 490BK

Heresy

A reconstruction and analysis of ancient Christian factionalism in the second and third centuries, with particular emphasis on charges and counter-charges of "heresy", and the related efforts to define a stable "orthodoxy". The class will focus predominantly on the primary literature from the period.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CJ

History of Jesuits

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) left an indelible mark on the history of the Church and the modern age. This course explores the origin, expansion, suppression and return of the Jesuits, examining their impact on political, religious, socio-cultural and intellectual life in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 490CJ, HIST 390AF, CATH 390AB, or RLST 390AL.*

RLST 490CM

Ritual Studies

This advanced reading course investigates ritual and theories of ritual, providing the student with a solid background in ritual studies.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CO

Directed Readings in Sex and Sexualities

Course material will evaluate religious and secular discourse on sex, gender, sexualities, and sexual orientations culminating in a major student project.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CR

Neo-Confucianism Ideas and Pre-Modern China

This course is set up for the advanced students for their further study of Confucian concepts in pre-modern China. It will focus on the influences of New-Confucianism among the people and in the society: the positive and negative influences.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.***

RLST 490CS

Confucian Thoughts in Modern East Asia

Confucianism is still existing in China, Korea and Japan in its various forms and infuluences people's concepts and everyday life at present. The focus of this course is to give a further study of Confucianism and modernity.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credit hours. RLST 100 is recommended.*** *Note: Special approval by the course instructor.*

RLST 498

Honours Seminar

Honours seminar.
** Permission of the Department Head is required to register. **

RLST 499

Honours Essay

Honours essay.
** Permission of the Department Head is required to register. **

RLST 800

Advanced Theory

An intensive study of selected methodological approaches to the study of religion, and significant contemporary issues in the discipline.

RLST 801

Comp Religious Thought

Comparative study of a constant theme in major religious traditions, an important influence on the current development of religions, or the thought of thinkers drawn from several traditions.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 801 or RLST 490AJ.*

RLST 802

Religion After Modernity

This graduate level course examines four different theoretical locations; postpatriarchy, postmodernism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism, and their importance to the study of religion. The course engages each theoretical location according to intersections with modernity, epistemological assertions, theoretical import, and implications for the study of religion. Further to the understanding of the four 'posts' the writing of some of their more recognized proponents are read.
***Prerequisite: Permission of the Department Head.***

RLST 810

Religious Studies Research Seminar

This seminar is a critical examination of issues involved in the construction of a research project. It is designed to integrate theoretical perspectives and scientific research projects.

*** Prerequisite: Permission of Department Head. ***

RLST 840

Advanced Studies in the Religions of Asia

This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, and religious practices of Asian religions such as Hinduism, Jaininsm, Sikhism, Buddhism, Doaism, Confucianism, and Shinto through the examination of selected figures, myths, rituals, and symbols.
*** Prerequisite: Permission of Department Head. ***

RLST 843

Advanced Studies in Islam

This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, historical periods, and religious practices of Islam through the examination of selected figures, myths, texts, rituals and symbols.

RLST 845

Advanced Studies in Christianity

This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, historical periods, and religious practices of Christianity through the examination of selected figures, myths, texts, rituals and symbols.

RLST 847

Adv Studies Ancient Religions

This course will explore selected themes, movements, philosophies, and religious practices ancient religions including the traditional religions of Greece and Rome, Hellenistic religions, Hermetic materials, ancient Judaism, and ancient Christianity, through the examination of selected figures, myths, texts, rituals and symbols.

RLST 890AM

Advanced New Religions

This class will focus on new religious movements in various locations including North America, India, Japan and SE Asia. We will also explore various analyses of these regions including questions of origin, membership and teachings.

RLST 890BI

Advanced Gender: Theories and Practices

This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East).
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 890BI or WGST 372.*

RLST 890BL

Women/NorthAmerican Buddhism

This course will focus on women's role in Buddhism in North America. The Buddhist practises will be examined in the context of North American Culture and Society.

RLST 890CB

Ritual Studies

Students in this course will examine ritual theories and specific ritual practices related to their area of study.

RLST 890CY

Religion and Mobile Technology

This course provides a critical investigation of religion and online technology in the contemporary West. Particular attention will be paid to the personalization of religious spaces and experiences with the boom of mobile technology.

RLST 890DA

Storytelling in Japanese Religions

A critical examination of the form and function of storytelling traditions in pre-modern Japanese religions among various mediums (textual, visual, theatrical). Particular attention is given to the role of narratives in the construction of local religious identities and the promotion of miraculous objects of worship.

RLST 890DB

Storytelling in Asian Religions

This course is for students who wish to continue their studies in Asian religions. From the approach of textual studies, Religious syncretism among Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism will be the focus. Buddhism reflected in texts and in popular beliefs are important issues as well.

RLST 890DC

Religion on the Internet

This course examines religion on the internet in its multiple manifestations. We will take a thematic look at web sites, web pages, and applications that have religious content. We will focus our analysis on the tendency to proselytize, appeal, and currency. Theoretical perspectives will include historical, sociological, and anthropological.

RLST 890DD

Contemporary Conspiracy Culture

This course explores the nature of conspiracy theories in religion and culture as a cogent contemporary response to the fears and anxieties of living in a corporate world where no one can trust those in positions of power, whether in politics or religion.

RLST 890DE

Interreligious Dialogue and Community Engagement

This course examines how interreligious dialogue can assist with supporting recent immigrants and refugees to our Canadian, multicultural context. What roles do religions, community engagement and public policy play in this accommodation of diversity?

RLST 890DG

Narratives of the Monstrous and Supernatural in East Asia

This course examines narratives of the monstrous and supernatural in contemporary East Asian religious culture as critiques of hegemonic power both foreign and domestic.

RLST 890DH

Advanced Religion and Animals

This course is an intra-historical and cross-cultural examination of non-human animals and their signification, use, and value within differing systems of belief and practice. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, animals in ritual, animals in folktale and myth, in the cosmos, as messengers, tricksters, and helpers, animals as deities and demons, and relations between non-human animals and human animals.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 890DH or RLST 390BD.*

RLST 890DI

Representations of Death

Students examine critically representations of death as they are propagated in symbol myth and ritual in cross-cultural and transhistorical contexts.

RLST 890DJ

Pilgrims in a Foreign Land:Canadian Religious History and Immigration to the Prairies

This course will begin by offering a broad context for religious history in Canada, assessing some major writers on the subject, and then proceed to focus on a specific aspect of this history - religion's role in immigration to the Canadian Prairies. The effect of religious leaders, institutions, and discourse will be considered throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, along with the methodological differences among academics within the realm of Canadian religious history.

RLST 890DK

Advanced Myth, Symbol and Ritual

The course is an introduction to the critical study of the categories of myth, symbol and ritual. The course will examine the theoretical and socio-cultural dimensions of myth, symbol, and ritual examining each category individually.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of RLST 890DK or RLST 372.*

RLST 890DL

Muslim-Christian Relations

This is an in-depth graduate course on the historical development in the inter-religious relations between Muslims and Christians since the advent of Islam in the seventh century till contemporary time. The focus will be on the mutual perspectives of Muslims and Christians on themes like leadership, authenticity, and co-existence.

RLST 890DM

A Freudian engagement of Christian development among First Nations communities in prairie Canada

This course will explore the spread, integration, and rejection of Christian beliefs within Indigenous communities through the use of a Freudian lens. Questions will be asked about what traditional Indigenous spirituality is as well as if and how pre-contact religious expression might be meshed with a system of Christian beliefs imported from Europe.

RLST 890DN

Religion and the State in Early Japan

This course examines the religious traditions of Shinto, Daoism, and Buddhism as power structures in the formation of the imperial state in early and classical Japan (late sixth century to twelfth century).

RLST 901

Thesis Research

Thesis research. ** Permission of Coordinator is required to register. **

WGST 100

Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies

This course will examine the historical development of feminism and women's studies. Women's representation in academic practice will be analyzed using examples from humanities, the arts, and social sciences. Strategies for change and for the empowerment of women will be considered.

WGST 200

Feminisms: Feminist Theories and Knowledge

An examination of theoretical and epistemological issues related to feminist and indigenous systems of knowledge. Course materials will bring diverse theorists into dialogue with such topics as gender, identity, sexuality, the body, work, the family, language, violence, representation.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 201

Women, the Environment and Change

This course is an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exploration of issues revolving around women, the environment and change. Some topics explored will be a feminist view of the social, historical and cultural roots of the environmental crisis, environmental rights and ethics, and women's participation in environmental movements to name a few.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 15 credit hours or WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 202

Women and Reproductive Technologies: Ancient and Modern

This course is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical exploration of women and reproduction through a feminist lens. Topics will range over a broad spectrum of social, cultural and scientific issues. These may include: women's reproductive knowledge and midwifery and/or rituals and taboos surrounding conception among others.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 202 or WGST 380AP.*

WGST 203

Women, Motherhood, and Mothering

This course is a feminist exploration of the many issues revolving around women as mothers. Motherhood as a patriarchal institution has often oppressed women while women's experiences of mothering have often been empowering. Mother roles, expectations, stereotypes, and experiences will be examined from an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical perspective.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 204

Women, Gender, and Science

This course is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical exploration of diverse issues revolving around the relationship between Gender and Science. Topics explored may include a feminist exploration of women's historical and contemporary placement within science, the diverse ways women view science and are viewed within science, among others.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 204 or WGST 302.*

WGST 205

Women's Autobiography, Life Writing, and Empowerment

A feminist exploration of women's autobiographical expressions including: memoirs, journals, personal essays, autoethnography, scripts, and film. Autobiography gives voice to the way social constructions of gender, race, class, age, ability, and sexuality regulate and influence women's lived experiences. Methods of resistance and empowerment embedded in autobiography are examined as well.
***Prerequisite: 30 credit hours or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 205 or WGST 280AI.*

WGST 206

Feminism & Activism

How do feminist principles translate into political action, public policy, organizational structures, artistic or religious movements? Why have some movements been successful where others failed? We will examine this "dance" through the context and biographies of suffragette leaders, feminist global movements, and engage in service learning at successful feminist agencies.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 206 or WGST 280AG.*

WGST 207

Indigenous Feminisms

This class focuses on Indigenous women and feminist analysis, identity, activism and the interplay of gender, colonialism, racism and sexism on Indigenous women today. The parameters of Indigenous feminisms and its relevance to culture and community inside and outside of Canada are also examined.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of instructor.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one WGST 207 or WGST 280AH.*

WGST 220

The Practice of Feminist Research: Power and Inequality

This course examines the research process through feminist lenses engaging with questions about power, inequality, and positionality inherent in doing research. Considerations of how power relations inform the various steps in the research process are examined from the selection of topics to the presentation of findings.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours or WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 280AJ

Mother Nature, Natural Mothers and the Nature of Mothering

This course provides a critical interdisciplinary exploration of biological and evolutionary as well as social, historical, and cultural influences on women's mothering practises and lived experiences. Concepts considered include control of female reproduction, survival and sacrifice, cooperative breeding, allomothering, infanticide, and shared nursing in mothers across several cultures and species.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 280AK

Sex and Sexualities in Religion

Religious teachings on sexual practices, desires and orientations have regulated social norms and notions of morality. Examining a number of religious traditions, historical moments and current religious, feminist and queer movements, this course invites students to discern tropes and potentiality within the larger discourse of personal agency and social power.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 280AK, WGST 490AC, RLST 290AP, or RLST 390BL.*

WGST 280AL

Women in Christianity

This is a survey course that explores the history of women as contributors to the Christian church. From Jewish and Judeo-Christian roots, through subsequent centuries, the content will focus on women’s contributions, struggles, and evolution within and outside of ecclesiastical structures. Discussion will assess women’s contributions to the Christian tradition and how their role in leadership has been recorded from early Christian history until today.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 280AL, CATH 290AD, or RLST 290AU.*

WGST 280AM

Indigenous (First Nations, Metis and Inuit) Masculinities in Canada

This course examines how historical and contemporary constructions of Indigenous masculinity have shaped our understanding of what it means to act and be an ‘Indigenous male’ in Canadian society. It draws on critical gender theory to interrogate how issues associated with maleness interact with questions of race, class, and sexuality.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 280AN

Women in Greece and Rome

A survey of the different lives, roles and representations of women in Greece and Rome within the context of changing historical circumstances. The course examines the subject through such categories as myth, class and sexuality and draws on evidence from a wide range of cultural production.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 280AO

Religion and Gender, Sex and Sexualities in Historical and Contemporary South Asia

Religion contributes to the construction and understanding of gender and sex/ualities. This course examines how this happens in both historical and contemporary South Asia, for example, how Hinduism informs gender and sex/ualities in India, Islam the same in Bangladesh and Pakistan, or Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 280AO or RLST 290BA.*

WGST 280AP

Masculinities and Media

An introduction to the field exploring key theories and epistemologies in Masculinity Studies through mainstream and alternative media forms. Historical and contemporary masculinities will be explored.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 300

Missing Women: Decolonization, Third Wave Feminisms and Indigenous Peoples

Why are Indigenous women throughout the world more likely to "go missing"? This class will examine systems that intersect and perpetuate racism and colonialism, sexism and poverty, and the effects of globalization on the breakdown of family structures. Expertise and voices from community activists will be integral to this class.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 300 or WGST 390AF.*

WGST 301

Women and Health: Local and Global

This course examines a wide range of issues in women's health and wellness from a critical feminist perspective. It will cover a range of topics such as the ramifications of the biomedical model for women's health, disparities in women's health, AIDS, mental health, violence against women, aging, disabilities, and reproduction.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 320

Queer Studies in Popular Culture

Utilizing an interdisciplinary queer feminist approach, this course interrogates social relations of power embedded within Western popular culture. We will examine a range of cultural texts from television and film, to artistic representations and performances, to social media posts and podcasts.
The course will provide an intersectional theoretical framing to queer studies in popular culture. Central to the course are constructions of identity and processes of subjectivity and embodiment; popular culture is all around us and informs our everyday lives.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 320 or WGST 380AM.*

WGST 361

Gender, Race, and the History of Art

Seminar on the impact of feminist post-colonial critiques on the discipline of art history. Readings, discussions, and papers will focus on topics such as body imagery, the gaze, sexuality, primitivism, orientalism, the canon, and the culture wars, the studying of non-Western cultures, etc.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 362

Geography of Identities and Power

An examination and comparison of the use and perception of space and place by time-period, and culture, age, gender, race, ethnicity, class and sexuality: in homes, neighbourhoods, cities, rural areas, recreation, travel, environment, and politics.
***Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours including WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 362, GES 338, or GEOG 338.*

WGST 367

Gender and Language

A study of issues related to gender and language, including stylistic variation between genders, differing strategies for dealing with gendered interactions in a social context, the history of sexist language, and debates about political correctness and inclusive language usage.
***Prerequisite: ENGL 100 and WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 367 or ENGL 367.*

WGST 372

Gender: Theories and Practices

This course begins by examining gender/sex theories (feminist, masculinity, and queer studies) arising from a variety of academic locations. Thereafter, we analyze gender/sex ideologies shaped by and in religio-cultural practices across a spectrum of historical locations (e.g., ancient Greece, early modern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East).
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or RLST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 372, RLST 373, RLST 490AY, or RLST 890BI.*

WGST 380AB

Women's Autobiography

This course will examine varieties of women's life-writing strategies, including confessions, diaries, memoirs, and family histories. Students will also consider how life stories are told in other media, such as visual art, material culture, and oral histories.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 380AC

Queer Theory in Visual Culture

What can visual culture teach us about queer theory? Students in this class will read a diverse range of queer theories through the lens of visual culture examples. How can media, television, and film help us to understand and demystify key ideas in queer studies?
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 380AI

History of Illness in Visual Culture

What does it mean to represent the diseased body? What are the relations between health, illness, other-ness, and deviance in representation? Through a series of multidisciplinary investigations of the body in crisis this course will explore how gender and illness have been represented from the sixteenth century to the present.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 380AO

Theory of Feminisms & Activism

A variety of theoretical locations of feminisms in relationship to activist styles, methods and issues will be examined through readings, films, advanced individual research and service learning in the community.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AO or WGST 280AG.*

WGST 380AP

Women & Reproductive Technologies: Ancient & Modern - Advanced

An advanced, interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical exploration of women and reproduction through a feminist lens. Topics range over a broad spectrum of social, cultural, and scientific issues. Students will produce a major research paper and present an oral report of their research.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AP or WGST 202.*

WGST 380AQ

Women's Autobiography, Life Writing and Empowerment - Advanced

An advanced, feminist exploration of women's autobiographical expressions including: memoirs, journals, personal essays, autoethnography, scripts, and film. Autobiography gives voice to the way social constructions of gender, race, class, age, ability, and sexuality regulate and influence women's lived experiences. Methods of resistance and empowerment embedded in autobiography are examined as well.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AQ or WGST 280AI.*

WGST 380AR

Intergenerational Learning of Textile Arts in Indigenous Communities

Intergenerational learning as a form of Indigenous knowledge translation is commonly understood in Aboriginal Communities. This course will explore how such learning informs and challenges textile art production, such as beading and weaving, within Indigenous Communities. The course will explore how the creative arts experiences such as the production of textiles links to Indigenous ways of understanding.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 380AS

Women in Medieval Europe

This course will explore the roles of women in European society, economy, culture, and religion from the end of the Roman Empire to c.1400.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 380AT

Other Worlds: 18th Century Women Writers and Exploration

This class features readings from 18th century women who were engaged in various forms of scientific, geographical, and cultural exploration. We'll read pieces of early science fiction, letters from abroad, and explore the many worlds that made up 18th century London.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AT or ENGL 319AH.*

WGST 380AU

Modern British Women Playwrights

Will focus on important British plays written by women in the last twenty years, examining their response to concerns of unique to women and to larger societal issues. Will address the goals and distinctiveness of women's writing and discuss the role of the woman playwright in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AU or ENGL 319AF.*

WGST 380AV

Women, the Environment, and Change Advanced

An advanced level, interdisciplinary, cross-cultural exploration of issues revolving around women, the environment and change. Some topics explored are a feminist view of the social, historical, and cultural roots of the environmental crisis, environmental rights, ethics, and women's participation in environmental movements.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 380AW

Gender in Modern America

This course will examine the ways in which race, ethnicity, class, region, and sexuality have shaped ideas about gender and gender ideals in the United States since the Civil War, as well as how these beliefs changed over time and were contested throughout modern U.S. history.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AW or HIST 334.*

WGST 380AX

The Early Modern Play of Gender

This course examines the ways in which early modern English drama interrogates gender categories, particularly through its practice of casting boys in women's roles. We study how the one-sex model in early modern England relates to the history of cross-dressing, as well as queer performances and criticism, in five or six selected plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AX or ENGL 394AC.*

WGST 380AY

Gender, Justice & Settler Colonialism

An intersectional lens will be used to analyze how settler colonialism directly impacts justice outcomes in criminal and child welfare proceedings in Canada and other settler states. The class will include case studies and legal theory including the Gladue Principle. Students do not need to have a justice background.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 380AY or JS 398AE.*

WGST 380AZ

Espionage in Popular Culture

With a focus on gender, race, and sexuality this course explores media representations of spying, security, surveillance, transparency, secrets, conspiracy, and paranoia in popular culture.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 390AQ

Stories We Tell

Examining the stories of women from select religious time periods as told through their own words, artistry, music and the subsequent legends that followed, we ask what influenced the way they told their stories, and what influence, if any, do they have on storytellers today? Students engage in storytelling!
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 390AV

Queer Indigenous Studies

This course examines literature and studies that examine queer Indigenous systems.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 390AW

Directed Readings in Ecofeminism, Gender, Nature

An exploration of readings and studies connecting gender, nature, and environment.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 420

Queer Theory and Trans Studies: Embodiment and Representation of Gender and Sexuality

This course provides critical overview and engagement with the field of Trans Studies and Queer Theory. Central to the course is the examination and disruption that dominant notions of sex, gender, and sexuality are biological and natural as well as the assumed correlation between sex, gender, and sexuality. As part of this process, we examine the colonial, historical, and social construction of gender and sexuality, including historical interpretation of sexual acts, development of identity rights movements, impact of space and borders on gender and sexuality, and contemporary debates and activism. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the course brings together queer, trans, and feminist theory, anti-racist and postcolonial theory, and Indigenous and cultural studies.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or Permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 421

Feminism, Women, and Globalization

An examination of the conditions of women's lives in a global context. Engaging feminist theoretics within postcolonialism, anti-racism and civil rights locations, this course examines women's issues such as poverty, environmental degradation, labour, power, and so forth and subsequent feminist responses generated from a variety of geo-political locations.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and WGST 200, or the Department Head.***

WGST 480AF

Women, the Environment and Change - Advanced

This course is an advanced interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exploration of issues revolving around women, the environment and change. Some topics explored will be a feminist view of the social, historical and cultural roots of the environmental crisis, environmental rights and ethics, and women's participation in environmental movements to name a few.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100, or permission of the Department Head is required to register.***

WGST 480AG

Women and Reproductive Knowledge Advanced

This course is an advanced version of WGST 202 and is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical exploration of women and reproduction through a feminist lens. Topics will range over a broad spectrum of social, cultural and scientific issues. These may include: women's reproductive knowledge and midwifery and/or rituals and taboos surrounding conception among others.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 480AH

Racialized Policing

This class will explore the complexity of radicalized policing practices by looking at the history of policing, its roots in white supremacy, and settler colonialism in North America. The class will be organized through an intersectional lens to analyze many movements including Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter within broader discussions of justice reform including an exploration of the abolitionist movement.
*This class will be offered at the 400-level with options for 800-level modifications for graduate level instruction.*
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or completion of 15 credit hours, or permission of the coordinator.***

WGST 480AI

Women's Memoir: Theory and Practice

This seminar examines the genre of women's memoir through both a critical and creative lens. We analyze several contemporary women's memoirs while gaining practice in the craft of memoir writing. Feminist and gender theory enables us to understand as well as trouble categories such as woman, identity, memory, and narration.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Coordinator***

WGST 480AJ

Doing Women's and Gender History

In this senior level course, students learn how to “do” women’s and gender history. Through discussions about interpreting sources and disseminating historical knowledge, they acquire deep familiarity with women’s and gender historiography. As well, by applying advanced historical methods and sharing their findings, they themselves become practising historians.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 and permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 480AJ or HIST 420.*

WGST 490AB

Advanced Missing Women: Decolonization, Third Wave Feminisms and Indigenous Peoples

Why are indigenous women throughout the world more likely to "go missing"? This class will examine systems that intersect and perpetuate racism and colonialism, sexism and poverty, and the effects of globalization on the breakdown of family structures. Upper level research required.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 490AC

Directed Readings in Sex and Sexualities in Religion

Course material will evaluate religious and secular discourse on sex, gender, sexualities, and sexual orientations culminating in a major student project.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 490AC, WGST 280AK, RLST 290AP, or RLST 390BL.*

WGST 490AD

Feminist Interrogations of Violence

This course provides students with an opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of violence as it is enacted in social bodies around the globe. Subjects examined by students can be intimate partner violence, sexual violence, racial violence, violence enacted in civil conflict and war, bullying, and so forth.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 490AE

Advanced Feminisms and Activism

This course explores the myriad of ways that activism becomes a way of life. With feminist analyses applied to community organizations, literature, governmental policies and more, this course allows students to develop their own methodological approach to both feminism and activism.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 490AF

Advanced Studies in Multiculturalism and Feminism

What shape does the discourse of multiculturalism take when examined through feminist theories? What models of dialogue amongst religions and between the religious and the secular arise within our Canadian context?
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 490AG

Trans Theory and Media

This course explores key texts and media related to recent Trans theory.
***Prerequisite: WGST 100 or permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 498AA

Honours Seminar

Honours seminar.
***Prerequisite: Admission to the Honours program.***
**Permission of the Department Head is required to register.**

WGST 499AA

Honours Essay

Honours essay.
***Prerequisite: Admission to the Honours program.***
**Permission of the Department Head is required to register.**

WGST 800

Feminist Theory

This course is an examination of feminist theory from 1980s until present. Our intention is to examine in detail different epistemological positions and theoretical orientations (with some attention to methodology) such as standpoint, poststructuralism, postcolonialism, queer, and antiracist feminist theories.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 800 or WGST 880AG.*

WGST 801

Queer Theory and Trans Studies: Embodiment and Representation of Gender and Sexuality

This course examines sexualities cross-culturally and historically. Subjects such as heterosexuality, homosexuality, heterosexism, transsexuality, so-called sexual deviancy, and gay and lesbian culture are investigated. Included will be an elucidation of sexualities via recourse to social, cultural, and ritual practices.
***Prerequisite: Permission of the Department Head.***

WGST 802

Women, Feminism and Globalization--Advanced

This course will be an examination of the conditions of women's lives in a global context. Engaging feminist theoretics within postcolonialism, anti-racism and civil rights locations, this course will examine women's issues, poverty, environment, labour, power, etc. and subsequent feminist responses generated from a variety of geo-political locations.

WGST 803

Gender: Theories and Practices

This graduate level course is a comparative investigation of gender/sex ideology. Our endeavor is to isolate and examine gender/sex as a category of analysis and then analyze its deployment through sign-symbol, myth and ritual in varying geographical, historical and cultural location, e.g., modern Eurowest, ancient Greece and Rome, and Africa.

WGST 880AB

Masculinity and Gendered Violence

This course is an exploration of theories of masculinity and how masculinity is related to gender-based violence. Topics will include: construction of male identity, male hegemony, social representations of masculinities, and racialized masculinities. An in-depth literature review and theoretical paper on existing research in the area will be included.

WGST 880AI

Violence and Indigenous Women

This course will engage postcolonial, feminist, Indigenous and poststructuralist theory to examine the discourse on missing and murdered Indigenous Women. Working from our national context and moving to a global perspective, students will identify patterns of violence and resistance and become skilled at historical, political, gendered, economic and cultural analyses.

WGST 880AJ

Women, Motherhood and Mothering - Advanced

This course is a feminist exploration of the many issues revolving around women as mothers. Motherhood as a patriarchal institution has often oppressed women while women's experiences of mothering have often been empowering. Mother roles, expectations, stereotypes, and experiences will be examined from an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical perspective.

WGST 880AK

Indigenous Feminist Storytelling

This course examines intersecting methods of Indigenous storytelling and feminist methodology as intersecting and decolonizing processes.

WGST 880AL

Feminist Theories and Islamic Scholars

This course addresses contemporary social justice issues in feminist Islamic scholarship with specific attention paid to historical, socio-cultural, legal, geographical and religious discourses. Leading scholars specific to student concerns will be analyzed, and postcolonial and poststructural methodologies employed.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 880AL or RLST 390AM.*

WGST 880AM

Advance Gender, Race, and Sexuality in Popular Culture

This course interrogates social relations of power embedded within Western popular culture from a feminist perspective. It examines a range of cultural texts from television and film, to artistic represenatations and performaces, to blogs and podcasts. The course is organized around three themes of critique: representaton, consumption, and production.

WGST 880AN

Feminist Interrogations of Violence

This course provides students with an opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of violence as it is enacted in social bodies around the globe. Subjects examined by students can be intimate partner violence, sexual violence, racial violence, violence enacted in civil conflict and war, bullying, and so forth.
*Note: Students may receive credit for one of WGST 880AN or WGST 490AD.*

WGST 880AO

Racialized Policing

This class explores racialised policing practices by looking at the history of policing, its roots in white supremacy, and settler colonialism. The class is organized through an intersectional lens to analyze movements including Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter within broader discussions of justice reform and the abolitionist movement.

WGST 880AP

Women's Memoir: Theory and Practice

This seminar examines the genre of women's memoir through both a critical and creative lens. We analyze several contemporary women's memoirs while gaining practice in the craft of memoir writing. Feminist and gender theory enables us to understand as well as trouble categories such as woman, identity, memory, and narration.

WGST 880AQ

Research Methodologies

Students will develop research methods to support their graduate projects.

WGST 880AR

Reproductive Justice

This course is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and historical exploration of women and reproduction through a feminist lens. Topics will range over a broad spectrum of social, cultural and scientific issues. These may include: women's reproductive knowledge and midwifery and/or rituals and taboos surrounding conception among others.

WGST 880AS

Feminist and Social Justice Research Methodolgies

This course examines the research process through feminist lenses engaging with questions about power, inequality, and positionality inherent in doing research. Considerations of how power relations inform the various steps in the research process are examined from the selection of topics to the presentation of findings.

WGST 901

Thesis Research

Thesis Research