Women's and Gender Studies (WGST) 305
Counselling with Indigenous Women (Revision 1)
Revision 1 is closed for registrations, replaced by current version
Delivery Mode: Individualized study online
Credits: 3
Area of Study: Social Science
Prerequisite: None
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
Women's & Gender Studies home page
WGST 305 is not available for challenge.
Overview
Welcome to Women’s and Gender Studies 305: Counselling with Indigenous Women. This course will engage you in issues and practices critical to working with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit women in culturally appropriate ways that promote principles of human dignity, decolonization, and self-sovereignty.
Counselling is one of many processes Indigenous women may turn to for support or assistance in working with difficult issues. Traditionally, problem solving and healing took a broader community focus, where supports were found through relationships of interconnection, family, friends, and community. Ceremony was one way to acknowledge important life events and offer mutual support, spiritual connection and possibilities for transformation; working with medicine healers, shamans and teachers, with nature, and with spirit offer other possibilities for problem solving and healing. Customs and cultural practices have offered community members ways to promote safety, well-being, and minimize conflict.
Outline
- Unit 1: Locating Ourselves and Indigenous Communities: Who are Indigenous Women in Canada?
- Unit 2: Violence and Trauma in Relation to Indigenous Women
- Unit 3: Theories and Approaches to Counselling with Indigenous Women
- Unit 4: Response-based Practice
- Unit 5: Working with Grief and Loss
- Unit 6: Identity, Rediscovery and Reconnection
- Unit 7: Relationships and Family Life
- Unit 8: Celebration and Ceremony
Evaluation
To receive credit for WGST 305, you must achieve a minimum grade of "D" (50 percent) on the course assignments and an overall course grade of "D" (50 percent) or better. Students will be evaluated on the basis of five assignments, the first of which consists of regular postings throughout the course in the Assignment 1 Journal Forum.
| Assignment 1 | Assignment 2 | Assignment 3 | Assignment 4 | Assignment 5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbooks
Smith, A. (2005). Conquest: Sexual violence and American Indian genocide. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Anderson. K. (2001). A recognition of being: Reconstructing Native womanhood. Toronto, ON: Sumach Press.
You will also view two home-made videos online:
Unit 4: Richardson, Catherine. (2009). A response-based interview with Audrey Chartrand.
Unit 7: Wade, Allan. (2010). An interview with Dr. Allan Wade on the origins of systemic family therapy in North America.
Other Material
All other materials will be accessed online.
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, August 16, 2011.