Gender & Women’s Studies

“GWS has completely changed the way I view the world.”

Photo taken by Kyle Burdy

“GWS taught me that it is absolutely okay to be completely myself.”

Photo taken by Kyle Burdy

Check out our courses for 2021-22!

“GWS should be mandatory for any degree or profession. “

Photo taken by Kyle Burdy

Gender & Women’s Studies (GWS) invites students to challenge prevailing notions of gender and sexualities, and to learn about gender relations as they have been constructed culturally, globally, historically, and institutionally. Through theoretical and practical investigation, students develop the critical knowledge and skills to explore the intersections of gender, sex, race, class, sexuality, (dis)ability, colonialism, imperialism, citizenship, and transnational identity while paying attention to power, oppression, and resistance. Students engage in dialogue about such topics as: feminist and queer activisms, transnational poverty and precarity, diverse masculinities, popular culture and media, reproductive justice, racial politics across borders, and war and violence.

Special Features

  • The program is interdisciplinary – we draw on courses and disciplines across the Faculty of Arts and beyond. There are many interesting core and cross-listed courses from which to choose.
  • The program is enriched by the Margaret Laurence Endowment Fund that provides funding for scholarships, visiting speakers, library resources, and grants to local organizations.
  • There are many opportunities to get involved in campus culture and the community, including Co-op and work-study placements

Sample of Available Courses

  • Making Sense of Gender
  • Girlhood and Adolescence
  • Transnationalism and Women’s Lived Experiences
  • Critical Readings in Gender
  • Indigenous Feminism
  • Women in Politics
  • Between Men: Literature and Masculinity
  • Aboriginal Women’s Writers
  • History of Sexuality in Canada
  • Art of Aboriginal Women in North America
  • Sex and the Sacred
  • Critical Encounters with French Feminism
  • Music and Gender
  • The Sociology of Sexuality
  • Sex and the State
  • Joy of Text: Sexuality and Literature
  • Reproductive Justice
  • Gender and Disaster
  • Women’s International Movements

Possible Careers

Front-line Advocacy, Community Development, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Government, Health Services, Journalism, Law, Media & Communications, Politics, Public Administration, Sexuality Education, Social Work, Graduate School.

Contact Information

Program Coordinator, Dr. Lisa Robson
Email: GWS@BrandonU.ca

Gender & Women’s Studies Program
Brandon University
Faculty of Arts