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Women's and Gender Studies (WGST) 332

Women and Unions (Revision 1)

WGST 332 course cover

Revision 1 closed, replaced by current version.

Opened August 27, 2010. WGST 332 replaces WMST 332.

Delivery Mode:Individualized study.

Credits:3

Area of Study:Social Science

Prerequisite:None. LBST 200 or LBST 202 is recommended.

Precluded Course: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.)

Centre:Centre for Work and Community Studies

WGST 332 has a Challenge for Credit option

check availability

Overview

WGST 332 is about the relationship between women and unions in Canada. It looks at the development of unions around the turn of the century and how they responded to women who worked for pay, and then the changes in the nature of unions over time and the impact of the growth of women members. In the current context, the course examines what unions have and have not bargained to improve the conditions of women in the labour force; the place of women inside union structures; the concerns of minority group women and how the union movement is handling those; and the question of organizing the majority of non-union women workers.

In the process of examining these issues, the course raises the major theoretical disputes that have arisen about the role of the union movement with regard to women. These revolve around the relative importance of patriarchal ideology determining the policies and actions of unions, versus the impact of economic conditions in limiting and defining union responses.

Outline

Unit 1: Women and the Early Development of Unions, 1880-1920

Unit 2: The Changing Union Movement

Unit 3: Working For Equality Through Unions

Unit 4: Women Inside Unions

Unit 5: Organizing the Unorganized

Unit 6: Minority Group Women

Evaluation

To receive credit for WGST 332, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least "D" (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Assign 1 Assign 2 Assign 3 Assign 4 Assign 5 Total
15% 15% 30% 20% 20% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

White, Julie. 1993. Sisters and Solidarity: Women and Unions in Canada. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.

Recommended Textbook

Buckley, Joanne. Fit To Print: The Canadian Student's Guide to Essay Writing. 7th edition. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2008 (or later editions).

Other Materials

The course materials also include a student manual and study guide.

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.

Opened in Revision 1, April 23, 2009.

Last updated by SAS  05/26/2015 14:36:13