Legal Studies (LGST) 390

Overview

LGST 390 is designed to introduce you to the history of women's engagement with the law as a tool to achieve social change. In this course, you will examine both traditional women's issues (abortion, pornography) and more cutting-edge issues (transgendered persons) which exemplify the feminist legal movement in Canada.

Outline

LGST 390 is divided into four parts.

Part I: Learning the Language: Feminist, Legal Discourse

• Unit 1: An Introduction to Feminist Discourse
• Unit 2: Basic Legal Principles and the Canadian Legal System
• Unit 3: Women's Legal Personality: A Test Case
• Unit 4: Critical Perspectives on Law and Rights

Part II: Equality

• Unit 5: The Concept of Equality
• Unit 6: Section 15 of the Charter: A History and Overview

Part III: Case Studies

• Unit 7: Abortion
• Unit 8: Pregnancy and Child Rearing
• Unit 9: Pornography
• Unit 10: Sexual Violence

Part IV: Emerging Women's Issues

• Unit 11: Who is a Woman? Transgendered Persons

Evaluation

To receive credit for LGST 390, you must complete two written assignments and a final essay with a précis, and obtain a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

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