The Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies (GSFS) program is a diverse and interdisciplinary program that recognizes social justice as a driving concept inherent to the study of gender, sexuality, and feminism. Social Justice frameworks incorporate critical race studies, disability studies, and Indigenous studies into the examination of gender, sexuality, and feminism.
This is a complete list of all GSFS courses offered in the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies (GSFS) program. For more information about course requirements for the GSFS programs, visit the GSFS program requirements pages. The list of complementary courses offered in 2022-23 is now available.
GSFS 200
Feminist and Social Justice St
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Introduction to the key concepts, issues, and modes of analysis in the interdisciplinary fields of feminist and social justice studies. Emphasis on the intersections of gender, race, class, sex, sexuality, and nation in systems of power from historical and contemporary perspectives and the means for collectively transforming them.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 200.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 250
Sexual and Gender Diversity St
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Introduction to the interdisciplinary fields of sexual and gender diversity studies from a range of theoretical, historical, and contemporary perspectives with an anti-oppressive and intersectional emphasis on marginalized identities, communities, practices and expressions.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken SDST 250.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 300
Research Inquiry in GSFS
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Practices and methods of research inquiry in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies with a particular emphasis on feminist epistemologies, research methodologies and methods in interdisciplinary contexts.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 301
Current Topics 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Consideration of contemporary issues in gender, sexuality, feminist, and social justice studies. Topic and approach will vary from year to year.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 302
Current Topics 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Consideration of contemporary issues in gender, sexuality, feminist, and social justice studies. Topic and approach will vary from year to year.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 303
Gender and Disability
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Focus on critical theories of impairment and visions of social justice from gender and disability studies perspectives.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 302 when topic was “Gender and Disability”.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 304
Postcolonial Feminist Theories
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Critically examines bodies of postcolonial feminist theories from a variety of cross-disciplinary and transnational perspectives.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 401 when topic was “Women and the State in India: Colonial and Postcolonial Perspectives”.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 305
Crit'l Race&Soc Just Theories
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: An examination of critical race feminisms and social justice theories in historical and contemporary perspectives, exploring how critical race, transnational, and indigenous feminist theorizing inform social justice, liberation struggles, and other activism.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s):GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 402 when topic was “Anti-Racism and Activism in Canada”, or WMST 301 when topic was “Women of Colour in Canada”.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 306
Queer Theory
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Examines the emergence of queer theory in the context of major social movements and key bodies of theory such as women of color feminisms, poststructuralism, performativity, affect and psychoanalysis. Engages with contemporary queer critiques such as queer of colour, transnational, and Indigenous perspectives.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 307
Indigenous Feminisms
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Explores Indigenous feminisms in historical and contemporary contexts, with a critical focus on the tensions between feminist and Indigenous epistemologies. The relationships between feminisms, settler-colonialism, nation-building, and Indigenous social justice struggles will be emphasized.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 302 in Winter 2014 when topic was “Indigenous Women of the North”.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 308
Sex & Gender Minority Cultures
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Examination of cultural expression associated with non-normative and minoritarian gender, sex, and sexualities as shaped by local, regional, and global ideologies, economies, and social practices.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 301 when the topic was “Queer Cultures: Gendered Systems and Sexual Meanings in a Modern, Global World”.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 400
Capstone:Engag'gFields of GSFS
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Examines the current state and debates within the interdisciplinary fields of Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies. Emphasis will be placed on how students can situate their knowledge and scholarship within and beyond these fields.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250 and GSFS 300
- Restriction(s); Open only to students in the GSFS Major Concentration, Honours, or Joint Honours.
- This course is only open to students in the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies (GSFS) Major Concentration, Joint Honours Component, and Honours. It is required for Major Concentration students in their final year of study, and optional but recommended for Joint Honours Component and Honours.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 401
Special Topics 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Advanced seminar in selected themes and issues in gender, sexuality, feminist, and social justice studies. Topics and theoretical or disciplinary approach will vary from year to year.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 or GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course
- Restrictions(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 401 or WMST 402 with the same topic.
- Note: Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 402
Special Topics 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Advanced seminar in selected themes and issues in gender, sexuality, feminist, and social justice studies. Topics and theoretical or disciplinary approach will vary from year to year.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 or GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 401 or WMST 402 with the same topic.
- Note: Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 403
Feminisms and the Law
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Examines the relationship between feminisms and the law by drawing on feminist legal theory, feminist theories of jurisprudence, post coloniality, critical race epistemologies, and decolonizing methodologies for studying legal culture and law as a site of social struggles.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 501 when the topic was “Feminist Legal Theory”.
- Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 404
Politics of Identity
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Examines the emergence of identity politics as a corrective to the erasures of gender, sexed, and raced differences in class-based struggles, and to feminist complicities with racism, heterosexism, colonialism, and transphobia. The course engages contemporary debates on identity politics and subjectivity formation, the psychic life of power, struggles for recognition, and solidarity politics.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 301 or WMST 402 as the topic Feminist Theories of Identity.
- Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 405
Social Justice and Activism
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Develops frameworks for understanding the relationships between critical knowledge production, activism, and social justice. Emphasis on activist strategies, social change initiatives, and their underlying theories and methodologies. Explores the emergence of social justice frameworks in response to ongoing histories of colonization, imperialism, and alternative world making.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course. Recommended GSFS 305.
- Restriction(s):Not open to students who have taken WMST 401 when the topic was “The Women’s Movement in Canada”.
- Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 406
Trans*Feminisms
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Contemporary debates in the field of trans*feminist studies, with an emphasis on the historical emergence of trans studies in relation to feminist and queer scholarship and activism. Consideration of the politics of sex/gender transformation vis-à-vis race-racism, sexuality, class, culture, nation, and social justice.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 401 when the topic was “Trans*Feminisms”.
- Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 407
Sex and Gender: New Directions
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Examines the latest critical scholarship in sexual and gender diversity studies.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 OR GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course. Recommended GSFS 306
- Restricion(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 402 when the topic was “Advanced Theories of Sexuality”.
- Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 450
Independent Reading & Research
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Advanced reading course and independent research project under the supervision of an instructor on aspects of gender, sexuality, feminist, and social justice studies.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 or GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course.
- Restriction(s): Open only to students registered in the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies programs. Chair and adviser approval required.
- Note: Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level. Students can consult the IGSF Internships page at http://www.mcgill.ca/igsf/academic-resources/internships for current internship opportunities.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 495D1
Honours/Jt Honours Colloquium
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Students will research, discuss, and present their thesis topics.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250, GSFS 300.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 495D1/D2. Only open to Honours/Joint Honours students in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies.
- Note: GSFS Honours/Joint Honours Colloquium must be completed concurrently with either Honours Thesis or Joint Honours Thesis course in the students’ final year of study.
- Students must register for both GSFS 495D1 and GSFS 495D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both GSFS 495D1 and GSFS 495D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 495D2
Honours/Jt Honours Colloquium
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Students will research, discuss, and present their thesis topics.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250, GSFS 300.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 495D1/D2. Only open to Honours/Joint Honours students in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies.
- Note: GSFS Honours/Joint Honours Colloquium must be completed concurrently with either Honours Thesis or Joint Honours Thesis course in the students’ final year of study.
- Students must register for both GSFS 495D1 and GSFS 495D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both GSFS 495D1 and GSFS 495D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 496D1
Honours Thesis
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Supervised reading and preparation of an Honours Thesis under the direction of a faculty supervisor.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250, GSFS 300.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 496D1/D2. Only open to Honours/Joint Honours students in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies.
- Note: GSFS Honours Thesis course must be completed concurrently with GSFS Honours/Joint Honours Colloquium in students’ final year of study.
- Students must register for both GSFS 496D1 and GSFS 496D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both GSFS 496D1 and GSFS 496D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 496D2
Honours Thesis
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Supervised reading and preparation of an Honours Thesis under the direction of a faculty supervisor.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250, GSFS 300.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 496D1/D2. Only open to Honours/Joint Honours students in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies.
- Note: GSFS Honours Thesis course must be completed concurrently with GSFS Honours/Joint Honours Colloquium in students’ final year of study.
- Students must register for both GSFS 496D1 and GSFS 496D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both GSFS 496D1 and GSFS 496D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 497D1
Joint Honours Thesis
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Supervised reading and preparation of a Joint Honours thesis under the direction of a faculty supervisor.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250, GSFS 300.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 497D1/D2. Only open to Honours/Joint Honours students in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies.
- Note: GSFS Honours Thesis course must be completed concurrently with GSFS Honours/Joint Honours Colloquium in students’ final year of study.
- Students must register for both GSFS 497D1 and GSFS 497D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both GSFS 497D1 and GSFS 497D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 497D2
Joint Honours Thesis
1.5 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Supervised reading and preparation of a Joint Honours thesis under the direction of a faculty supervisor.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200, GSFS 250, GSFS 300.
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken WMST 497D1/D2. Only open to Honours/Joint Honours students in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies.
- Note: GSFS Honours Thesis course must be completed concurrently with GSFS Honours/Joint Honours Colloquium in students’ final year of study.
- Students must register for both GSFS 497D1 and GSFS 497D2.
- No credit will be given for this course unless both GSFS 497D1 and GSFS 497D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
GSFS 499
GSFS Internship
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Gender,Sexuality,Feminist,and: Internship with an approved host institution or organization.
Offered by: Inst for Gender, Sex & Fem St
- Prerequisite(s): GSFS 200 or GSFS 250 and any GSFS 300 level course.
- Restriction(s): Open only to students registered in the Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies programs. Chair and adviser approval required.
- Note: Students are required to take the intro course(s) and one GSFS course at the 300 level before taking GSFS courses at the 400 level. Students can consult the IGSF Internships page at http://www.mcgill.ca/igsf/academic-resources/internships
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Note: Students must find their own faculty supervisor for GSFS 450, GSFS 496D1/D2, GSFS 497D1/D2 and GSFS 499. The faculty supervisor cannot be a course lecturer. Please see our list of potential supervisors. Please contact andrew.folco [at] mcgill.ca if you have questions about these or any other course.