Overview of Women's Studies Women's Studies explores women's roles, women's work, and women's past and present contributions to society in Canada and around the world. Until relatively recently, the bulk of scholarship has reflected a male perspective on the world and has focused on the activities and experiences of men. Women's Studies aims to redress this by providing new perspectives on women's activities and experiences. These perspectives are interdisciplinary in nature, drawing on work in such areas as Anthropology, Sociology, Literature, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Visual and Performing Arts, Environmental Science and International Development Studies. Women's Studies courses, then, deal with topics such as women's work and women's roles in the family in different times and in different societies, the development, transmission and perpetuation of ideas and attitudes about women, women's contributions to culture, and the particular concerns and problems of women today. Emphasis is placed on the diversity of women's lives around the world, particularly as these are shaped by race, ethnicity, class, age, sexual orientation, and disability. Women's Studies at UTSC puts special focus on women as members of different communities, such as neighbourhood communities and ethno-cultural communities, and an important aim of the Major and Minor Programs is to provide students with practical skills for working on women's issues on the community level. Students who are interested in a career in research, teaching, administration, government, law, journalism, or social work are encouraged to consider enrolling in a Women's Studies program; since these careers involve consideration of equity issues and often involve work on the community level, a background in Women's Studies would be a strong asset.

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