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A Chronology of the Development of Women's Studies in Canada: the 1970's

[ 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 ]

1990

	Création de l’Institut de recherches et d’études féministes de l’UQAM (IREF). La création de l’IREF officialise l’importance du champ des études féministes à l’UQAM et constitue une innovation dans la vie universitaire francophone. Reprenant et élargissant le mandat du GIERF, l’Institut a pour objectif de favoriser le développement de la formation et de la recherche féministes interdisciplinaires à l’UQAM et de contribuer ainsi à l’approfondissement, voire au renouvellement des analyses, des problématiques théoriques et des catégories mêmes du savoir à travers lesquelles ont été pensés les rapports hommes-femmes et les rapports femmes-société. Chaque session plus ou moins 500 étudientes et étudients s’incrivent aux cours offerts par I’REF.
	L’UQAM est l’hôte de l’événement Femmes en Tête. Le protocole UQAM/Relais-femme participe activement à la réalisation de cet événement célébrant le 50e anniversaire du droit de vote des Québécoises. Plus de 3 500 personnes ont participé aux activités qui se déroulaient à l’UQAM.
	Of More Than Academic Interest: Women at UNB. A Progress Review of the Decade Since the 1979 "The Status of Women at U.N.B.: Task Force Report to the President" and Discussion of Priorities for the 1990's. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, 1990. Rev. ed. 1991. Produced by the President's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women, 1989-90; the members are Karen-Jean Braun, student; June Colwell, staff; Anne Compton, UNBSJ faculty; Jennie Hornosty, AUNBT Status of Women Committee; Sheila Laidlaw, Senate; Marie MacBeath, UNBF faculty; Nancy Nason-Clark, Women's Studies; Wendy Robbins (Chair). It contains statistics, recommendations, and an interesting "Milestones" section.
	At the University of Regina, "the proposal for the establishment of Women's Studies was submitted to the Faculty of Arts in spring 1990, and the files for fall 1991 are filled with letters of support from politicians, women's groups, and influential citizens supporting this initiative."
	The fall issue of Atlantis (16.1) carries "The Reports of the Canadian Women's Studies Project," a cross-Canada analysis headed by Margrit Eichler, with Rosonna Tite and Rhonda Lenton. Its components include "On Doing the Splits Collectively: Introduction to the Canadian Women's Studies Project," "Women's Studies Professors in Canada: A Collective Self-Portrait," "Our Universities' Best-Kept Secret: Women's Studies in Canada," "What's in a Name? Women's Studies or Feminist Studies," "Academic Feminists and the Women's Movement in Canada: Continuity or Discontinuity," "An Awkward Situation: Men in Women's Studies," and "Influential Feminist Thinkers for Academics in Canadian Women's Studies."
	The Senate of Brock University approves the Centre for Women's Studies in December; it is dedicated to the memory of the 14 young women killed at the Ecole Polytechnique whose death in 1989 dramatized the need for more understanding among women and men. It offers a combined Majors program and provides an environment supportive to women in the university and the community at large.
	Lakehead University, in keeping with their “Northern Vision,” establishes a Women’s Studies Minor Program which focuses on northern women’s issues within a global context.
	St. Thomas University begins successful tradition of holding a Gender Studies week of activities to celebrate and highlight Gender Studies on campus.

	In fall 1991, the University of Saskatchewan offers for the first time its course, at the second-year level, WGSt 200.6 (currently listed as part of a 4-year program as WGSt 110.6) "Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies," offered by the College of Arts and Science, taught by Professors Susan Gingell and Lesley Biggs.
	A Women’s Studies Minor in the BA program is now offered at Brandon University.
	A Major in Women’s Studies is offered at the University of Victoria.
	The Centre for Women’s Studies and the Women’s Studies undergraduate program at the University of British Columbia are approved, with Tannis McBeth (Psychology) as the Chair of the undergraduate program and Veronica Strong-Boag (History) as the Director of the Centre.
	The York graduate Program in Women's Studies provides students with both part-time and full-time options for working toward MA and PhD degrees. York offers the only freestanding PhD in Women's studies in Canada.
	St. Thomas University initiates a Gender Studies Majors or Honours through an interdisciplinary program. The name is chosen to encourage a broader focus of inquiry encompassing class, race, and sexual orientation.

Professor Diana Relke is appointed the first Co-ordinator of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Simultaneously, the University Senate approves a proposal for a Department of Women's and Gender Studies. Within two years, a total of 9 courses are offered and a second permanent full-time faculty member, Professor Pamela Downe, is employed.

	Établissement d’une concentration de deuxième cycle en études féministes. La concentration est offerte en lien avec les départements de communications, d’études littéraires, de science politique, de sexologie, de sociologie, des sciences des religions et de travail social. Destinée à celles et ceux qui veulent approfondir leurs connaissances dans le champ des études féministes, la concentration, dont le profil est de deux cours et des crédits affectés au mémoire de maîtrise, permet l’acquisition d’une spécialisation en études féministes à l’intérieur des programmes de maîtrise ciblés et favorise le recours à une approche féministe dans la réalisation des projets de recherche des étudiantes et des étudiants. urs de l’UQAM auxquelles s’ajoutent une cinquantaine de membres associées provenant de l’extérieur de l’UQAM
	Affiliation du CINBIOSE (Centre d’étude des interactions biologiques entre la santé et l’environnement) à l’IREF. La programmation du Cinbiose n’est pas uniquement centrée sur les questions relatives à la santé des femmes, mais il est l’un des rares centres de recherche en Amérique du Nord à avoir identifié la santé des travailleuses parmi ses axes prioritaires de recherche.
	Création du Fonds Anita Caron destiné aux étudiantes et étudiants de l’IREF. Le fonds a été créé pour offrir des bourses d’études aux étudiantes et contribuer au financement de leur participation à des activités scientifiques et para-académiques.
	Wilfred Laurier University offers a Joint Major with the University of Waterloo.
	Queen's University’s Women’s Studies Program changes its name and becomes the Institute of Women’s Studies with two coordinators, Sue Hendler and Catherine McKenna. There are now 31 cross-listed courses offered.
	The University of Regina establishes its first Women’s Studies courses in the Faculty of Arts. Elizabeth Newton, the first Coordinator of WS, is hired half-time to teach WMST 100, Introduction to Women’s Studies, and to develop further courses in Women’s Studies.
	Athabasca University introduces a BA Major in Women’s Studies.
	Memorial University initiates its interdisciplinary undergraduate Women’s Studies Program. Its first co-ordinator, Ellen Balka, is the first Women's Studies Co-ordinator to have herself graduated from a Women's Studies program.
	University of Northern British Columbia establishes its undergraduate Women's Studies program with the first two courses being offered in 1993-94, "Introduction to Women's Studies," Parts I and II. Julia Emberley is the first to be hired, followed by two other full-time staff in 1994. (Cutbacks in the year 2000 reduce the program from its original autonomous status to a "distributed model," with faculty cross-appointed with their respective discipline-based programs.) UNBC prides itself on having teaching and research strengths in First Nations' issues, given the expertise of faculty and its location. This same year it also sets up its graduate program in Gender Studies which was run by the Chair of Women's Studies until 1997, when the position of Director of the Gender Studies program was created.
	At St. Thomas University, the first stand-alone Gender Studies course, "Introduction to Gender Studies," is taught by Marilee Reimer, Sociology.

	Institute of Women’s Studies at Queen's University is included as part of the University’s base-budget and is no longer funded by soft monies. Audrey Kobayshi is hired as first Head (not Coordinator) for a five-year term (no longer a one or two-year term).
	Efforts to meet the need for graduate studies in Women’s Studies at the University of Toronto result in the creation of the Graduate Collaborative Program in Women’s Studies.
	University of Prince Edward Island creates a Minor in Women’s Studies.
	The first graduates from York University's Graduate Women's Studies Program, earning an MWS., are: Karen-Lee Miller, "Narratives of Conflict: The Feminist Penal Reform Movement and the Correctional Service of Canada"; Susan Carter, "(re)Producing Discourse and Economy of Heterosexual Dating Violence"; Sylvie Coté, "A Slim Chance for Health: The Medical Perception of Fat Women"; and Elaine Cairns, "Meeting (the) Grounds: Refugee Women and Feminist Protection.

	Parution du premier numéro de la revue étudiante FéminÉtudes. La revue publie depuis un numéro annuellement sous l’entière responsabilité d’un comité étudiant.
	University of Victoria offers an Honours Program in Women’s Studies.
	University of Ottawa creates a Collaborative Program in Women’s Studies at the Master's level. This is the first bilingual Master's program in the field, and is the third Master's program in Canada, after York (1991) and U of T (1994).
	The University of Saskatchewan approves a Minor in Women's and Gender Studies, and approves a Major the following year.

	By now, the University of Regina’s Faculty of Arts approves the awarding of BA degrees with a Major or Minor in Women’s Studies. BA Honours is also available, but on an individual basis.
	The first MWS at Memorial University is awarded.
	University of Toronto creates the first online directory of Women's Studies programs in Canada; http://www.utoronto.ca/. There are 41 undergrad and 16 grad programs and research institutes.
	The University of Northern British Columbia becomes the first (and only) university to set up a graduate program in Gender Studies. The MA in Gender Studies program includes the following areas: Feminist Literary and Cultural Studies, Feminist Postcolonial and Critical Theory, Feminist Jurisprudence, First Nations Women, Feminist Ethics, Lesbian and Gay Studies, and Feminist Perspectives on Science and Technology. [Checking date and director with Julia Emberley.]
	University of Saskatchewan establishes a Department of Women's and Gender Studies in December 1996 after a long struggle.
	University College of the Fraser Valley tries unsuccessfully in 1996 and for three years in a row to establish a Minor in Women's and Gender Studies, although it does offer individual courses which focus on women and gender.
	A three-year General Major is approved in Women's Studies at the University of Waterloo; a four-year General Major is approved the following year.

	Bishop's University offers a Major in Women’s Studies (now called a Major Sociology/Women’s Studies Option).
	The University of Saskatchewan appoints Professor Louise Forsyth to the Women's and Gender Studies Department (two-thirds time), and Professor Lesley Biggs is elected to the Headship. Professor Forsyth goes on to become President of the Humanities and Social Science Federation of Canada.
	In December, the School of Women’s Studies at York University was established, linking together, under one administrative structure, the undergraduate and graduate programs, the non-credit bridging program, and the Centre for Feminist Research/Le centre de recherches féministes à York.
	"Women's Studies is the critical examination of women's lives, which places women's own experiences at the centre. The central objectives of this revisioning are to expose, critique and change elements which subordinate women in all areas of life such as family, work, sexuality and spirituality. Women's Studies attempts actively to transform discriminatory laws, practices and customs. By studying women in a multiplicity of settings, divergences of race, class and sexual orientation are highlighted. Students are encouraged to join in the transformative process of feminist scholarship aimed at recapturing, recreating, and revaluing women's knowledge.
	Women's Studies is both a complement and a corrective to established fields at York and a new academic discipline of its own. Until recently, both the humanities and the social sciences reflected predominantly male perspectives. Women have been largely invisible in literature, art, history, philosophy, politics, social sciences and law. Through cross-cultural and disciplinary assessment, Women's Studies exposes misconceptions about women expressed through myth, ideologies, teachings and writings. It replaces negative cultural images of women with visions that reaffirm women's strength, capability and intelligence."
	Katherine Side becomes the first woman in Canada to graduate with a doctorate in Women's Studies. She graduates from York University with a thesis entitled "In the Shadow of the Family: Women's Friendships with Women."

	At the University of Waterloo, a Women's Studies Minor is approved.
	The four-year Women’s Studies program is offered at Laurentian University for the first time.
	At the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, approval is given to a Certificate in Family Violence Issues--unique in Canada, and possibly in North America. It came about largely through the efforts of the Director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, Sandy Byers, and Associate Director, Rina Arsenault. It is a 30 credit hour program comprised of 10 courses and aimed primarily at people who deal with family violence in their work (e.g. transition house workers, police, clergy, health-care professionals, legal professionals, teachers, military personnel, and others).

	Mise sur pied de l’Alliance de recherche IREF/Relais-femmes (ARIR) dans le cadre du programme des Alliances de recherche communautés/universités (ARUC) développé par le Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH). Sous le thème « Égalité, pluralité et solidarité : nouveaux défis des rapports sociaux de sexe », l’Alliance de recherches IREF/Relais-femmes (ARIR) vise à contribuer au développement de nouvelles connaissances, de modèles d'analyse et de stratégies d'action axés sur le changement social au regard des nombreux défis que pose l'évolution des rapports sociaux de sexe. Une trentaine de chercheures de l’UQAM et une vingtaine de groupes membres de Relais-femmes sont associés à cet important projet de recherch e-action, de formation et de transfert des connaissances autour des trois axes suivants : l’axe famille, sous l’angle de la socialisation et de la division sexuelle ; l’axe économie, sous l’angle de l’insécurité financière des femmes et de leurs pratiques; l’axe politique et citoyenneté, sous l’angle de la participation au pouvoir démocratique.
	Création d’une Mineure pluridisciplinaire en études féministes Ce programme est offert dans le cadre des programmes de Majeure en études urbaines, géographie, histoire, histoire, culture et société, philosophie, sociologie, sciences des religions, science politique, et sciences, technologie et société.
	The Institute for Women’s Studies at the University of Toronto is established with Margrit Eichler as Director.
	Simon Fraser has over 40 Women’s Studies courses to offer. Almost 650 students are enrolled in the programme.
	The University of Ottawa recreates its Women’s Studies program as it establishes the Institute of Women’s Studies.
	Mt. Allison University establishes a Women's Studies Minor program, administered jointly by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The program honours the memory of Grace Annie Lockhart, whose Bachelor of Science degree was the first Bachelor's degree awarded to a woman in the British Empire (1875).