Courses we offer
GSSC 1178 – Never Done: Women’s Work Around the World
Have women achieved all the workplace goals that they need to? Are women gaining or losing in the quest for equality? How does the position of Canadian women in the workforce compare to women internationally? What strategies and tools do the women of today need to take into the workplace? This course examines women's paid and unpaid work in Canada and internationally. Students have an opportunity to explore issues that affect women's working lives -- inequality of pay, the "double day" (combining work inside and outside the home), discrimination and other barriers to women's full participation in the workforce. Students also evaluate worldwide strategies to improve women's status in the workforce.
GSSC 1066 – How the Weekend Was Won: Canadian Labour History
Do you know how Canadian workers talked their bosses into giving them the weekends off? Or when it became legal to join a union in Canada? What do unemployment insurance, health and safety laws and maternity leave all have in common? This course answers these, and many other, questions about the history of working people in Canada in the past 150 years. Through readings, films, online activities and discussions, students look at how unions have helped win rights, benefits and social programs (like public health care) for today's workers. The course examines how unions are formed, how they have evolved and changed with the Canadian and global economies, and what relevance they have for young working people today.
GHUM 1169 – Hope and Hardship: A Labour History of Immigration to Canada
In this course, students analyze case studies of specific groups of new arrivals, focusing on the reasons why they came; the work they did; the struggles they encountered; and the impact of Canada's First Nations. The course links the overall patterns of immigration to Canada with the work that immigrants have done and the unions they have formed in building our social and economic base. This innovative view of Canada's working history gives students a chance to document themselves and their family within this history. They also develop a critical awareness of historical accounts by examining whose achievements, losses and disappointments have been highlighted or left out.
GHUM 1145 – From Galleries to Graffiti: Putting Art to Work
This course examines the roles of workers and the arts in our society. Examples of popular culture, visual art, textiles, film, video, music, literature and theatre give students a chance to analyze how these reflect workers' concerns. By examining contemporary art and meeting local artists, students develop a critical perspective on various social and labour issues, and they gain some tools in analyzing art, media, and our political and economic world. Students also have an opportunity to create artwork on some of the social themes discussed.
