Gen&WS 103 (Honors): Gender, Women, Bodies, and Health

Examines both physiological and social processes relating to gender and health across the lifespan among cisgender, transgender, and non-binary individuals. Examples of topics include hormonal processes, reproductive anatomy & physiology, sexuality, sexual pleasure, chronic illness, depression, and sexual violence. A primary course objective is for students to connect information about their bodies and personal health to larger social and political contexts. In particular, considers how health and health disparities are shaped by multiple kind of social inequalities, particularly inequalities based on gender.

File: GenWS-103-Honors_Ward_Syllabus_Spring-2023.pdf

Gen&WS 103: Gender, Women, Bodies, and Health

Examines both physiological and social processes relating to gender and health across the lifespan among cisgender, transgender, and non-binary individuals. Examples of topics include hormonal processes, reproductive anatomy & physiology, sexuality, sexual pleasure, chronic illness, depression, and sexual violence. A primary course objective is for students to connect information about their bodies and personal health to larger social and political contexts. In particular, considers how health and health disparities are shaped by multiple kind of social inequalities, particularly inequalities based on gender.

File: GenWS-103_Ward_Syllabus_Spring-2023.pdf

Gen&WS 104: Gender, Sexuality, and Global Health

Giving an introductory overview to critical global health studies by linking past trends to current research and health inequalities, this course examines current trajectories in global public health interventions through a gendered lens, with a solid grounding in the historical context. We will explore social, demographic, political, economic, and ecological determinants of global health, and the ways that these factors interconnect with biomedicine to create and affect health outcomes, both within and across countries. Global Health is a diverse and sometimes contradictory field, with an ever-growing number of multilateral, non-governmental, philanthropic and academic enterprises dedicated to improving the health of the global population. But what does health mean for different people across the globe?

File: GWS-104_Final-Syllabus-version_2024.docx

Gen&WS 200: Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies

A multidisciplinary introduction to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) studies, including theories of identity formation, different societal interaction with LGBTQ communities, LGBTQ cultures in history, and contemporary legal and political issues. Course materials explore the intersections between LGBTQ identities and other socially marginalized identities, including (but not limited to) those based on race, ethnicity, religion and disability.

File: GenWS-200_McMaster_Fall-2022_Syllabus.pdf