This course is divided into four parts.

Part I: Legal and Feminist Discourse. This Part provides some essential terms and concepts that will help you make sense of the course materials. Unit 1 provides a basic introduction to feminist thought, analysis and methodology; it sets out various ways of articulating feminist thinking. Unit 2 provides an overview of the Canadian legal system, constitutional law and key legal principles. Unit 3 examines an intersection between feminism and law by studying the Person’s Case litigated by the “Famous Five.” Unit 4 examines a range of critical perspectives on law and focuses on critiques of the possibility of using law (and the corollary concept of rights) to effect change in people’s lives.

Part II: The Complex Issue of Equality. Unit 5 examines different ways of understanding equality from ancient through modern times. Unit 6 situates the issue of equality in the Canadian context, paying particular attention to the evolution of equality doctrine under section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Part III: Legal Issues Affecting Women’s Lives and Feminist Equality Claims. Unit 7 examines the highly-charged issue of abortion, looking at both Canadian law and the American counterpoint found in the famous case, Roe v. Wade. Unit 8 continues with the issues arising from the legal treatment of pregnancy and child rearing. Unit 9 deals with pornography—the representation of women as sexual objects—and the public policy and competing rights issues that accompany legal challenges to pornography. Unit 10 looks at the issue of sexual violence. Here, women’s efforts to use equality principles to reshape the boundaries of criminal law (and the resulting case law) are contrasted with objections from criminal law scholars.

Part IV: Emerging Legal Controversies Within the Feminist Community. Unit 11 examines the extremely divisive issue of transgendered persons who seek acceptance and acknowledgment from feminists. Transgenderism raises fascinating questions about the stability of the category of woman. It also powerfully illuminates the debate over using the legal system to advance women’s interests.