WGST 332 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under 3 different disciplines—LBST 332, SOCI 332. WMST 332. (WGST 332 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for WMST 332, LBST 332 or SOCI 332.)
Women and Unions is about women’s paid and unpaid work. It is about women’s struggles against the gendered division of labour, and the discrimination and exclusion that come with it. It is also about women’s struggles against employers who take advantage of women’s subordinate position in labour markets and about the fight that union sisters had, and still have, inside the labour movement to be heard and recognized as equals by their union brothers. The main focus of this course is on women and unions in Canada, but it also puts women’s struggles into a historical and global perspective.
Outline
Unit 1: Introduction—What Is “Women and Unions” About and Why Study the Topic?
Unit 2: “A Change Is Gonna Come”—Transformations of Work in Postwar Canada and the Making of a New Women’s Movement
Unit 3: “Union Maids”—Equity Struggles and Union Renewal
Unit 4: “At the Purchasers’ Option”—Unions, Housework, and Globalization
Evaluation
To receive credit for WGST 332, you must complete four written assignments and achieve an overall grade of D (50 percent) or better for the entire course. Your final grade is determined by a weighted average of the grades you receive on these assignments for credit. The weightings for each assignment are as follows:
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1: Short Essay
5%
Assignment 2: Book Review
25%
Assignment 3: Equity Struggles, Housework, and Globalization
45%
Assignment 4: Reflective Essay
25%
Total
100%
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Federici, S. (2020). Revolution at point zero: Housework, reproduction, and feminist struggle. Oakland, CA: PM Press. (Print)
Foley, J. R., & Baker, P. L. (Eds.). (2009). Unions, equity, and the path to renewal. Vancouver: UBC Press. (Print)
Sangster, J. (2010). Transforming labour: Women and work in post-war Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (Print)
All other course materials are online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the WGST 332 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the take-home assessment.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.