Women’s Studies &
Gender Relations:
getting the basics

Over the last 25 years, Women’s
Studies in Canada have come a long way:
from initial resistance to what Mary Daly
called “‘malestream” studies to a new
academic tradition built from the rich
diversity of women’s lives. Thanks to
cooperative faculty efforts at Douglas
College, that tradition is about to get even
richer.

Since 1993, the Ad Hoc Committee on
Women’s Studies and Gender Relations
has been a strong voice in favor of
increased curriculum in this area. At the
moment, English and Psychology offer
courses thematically linked as
“Reflections on Gender,” and History,
Philosophy and Sociology offer related
courses. But so far, no free-standing
courses have been available.

In the winter semester of 1996,
Claudia Beaven of Psychology and Meg
Stainsby of English were granted
educational releases to develop course
outlines, suggested texts, sample
assignments and team-teaching strategies
for two new foundational courses:
Women’s Studies & Gender Relations
100 and 101.

“We are currently among only a few
colleges in BC not offering such courses,’
says Stainsby. “All of our students will
benefit from increased alternatives to
existing course selections. But with the
development of these two courses, we are
now able to package a complete thematic
option for students pursuing an Associate
Degree in Arts.”

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Stainsby adds that because of its
traditional history of attracting returning
students from local communities,
Women’s Studies and Gender Relations
will also serve as an integrated link
between academic, university-transfer and
continuing education students. She also

sees laddering-in and block transfer
initiatives as possibilities for future
development.

First-semester study, with a strong
focus on literature, is meant to introduce
the fundamental issues of feminist
thought, to encourage self-reflection and
to provide a critical framework for
advanced work.

Taking as its rubric “‘Silences, Voices
and Experiences,” this course will lead
into the more historical, political and
sociological content of the second
semester, which explores contemporary
feminist issues in Canada. Both courses
will emphasize community involvement
as a key component of the learning
experience.

Based on their examination of how
other institutions have treated the dual
focus of Women’s Studies and Gender
Relations, Stainsby and Beaven have
decided on the former as the organizing
principle for first-year offerings. Stainsby
points out that since the field has been
developing for almost three decades, it’s
necessary to provide an overview of the
established Women’s Studies canon as
well as a grounding in feminist
methodology. In addition, students will
gain from initial exposure to a wide range
of current issues, perspectives and
approaches before moving on to Gender
Relations and related curricula.

“We’re excited to be developing these
new courses,” she concludes. “One of the
real strengths of the interdisciplinary,
collaborative approach is building
something that both draws from and
merges the strengths of traditional
academic disciplines.”