Updates on Vanier’s Women’s and Gender Studies Major
As most of you may or may not know, Vanier offers a variety of majors that you can complete along with your DEC by taking calluses that count towards both your DEC and a major of your choice. Sustainability, Indigenous Studies, as well as Women’s and Gender Studies are a few examples.
Completing a certificate in one of these majors not only benefits students in terms of having something extra to add to their CVs and university applications, but they also become exposed to a new perspective from which they can understand the content of their program of study.
As for Vanier’s Women’s and Gender Studies Major, students seeking it need to complete the credits for an equivalent of five classes, chosen from categories A through C, which are defined in the women’s and gender studies brochure here.
Initially, those who were undertaking the major had to complete two classes from category A, and the rest of the three classes from categories B and C. However, recent changes make it such that students can now replace one of their category A classes with two category B classes.
In addition, new classes were added to the major, specifically relating to the disciplines of science, anthropology, and business administration, to name a few. This effectively allows for those who are in a career program to also pursue a Women’s and Gender Studies Major.
Reflecting on the growth of the major at Vanier, Maggie Kathwaroon, teacher and coordinator for Women’s and Gender Studies, says, “This is the first time that I’ve also noticed so many young men who actively select these classes and self-identify as feminists.”
Post-colonial feminism’s concept of intersectionality accounts for the multiplicity of contexts within which issues pertaining to gender can manifest themselves differently and alongside other issues as well. This idea is certainly evoked in this new structure, as gender studies isn’t only a discipline in itself, but a lens from which topics in other fields can be discussed.
For more information on this, those who are interested in pursuing a Women’s and Gender Studies Major can visit the page on Vanier’s website and/or MIO Maggie Kathwaroon.
By Mel Spiridigliozzi
