Women's Studies (WMST) 303

Overview

Welcome to Women’s Studies 303: Issues in Women’s Health. Your work in this course should help you to better understand issues such as gender and the politics of health care, women’s reproductive health and health care; special issues in women’s health (cancer, violence, and aging); and women’s health and the global environment.

Although the course deals with many health issues, simple time and space constraints suggest that not all health topics could possibly be covered. Women’s Studies 303: Issues in Women’s Health concentrates on the health issues that are unique to women’s experiences, on women’s status as undervalued (and sometimes victimized) consumers of health care, and on the medicalization of women’s health issues and concerns. The course stresses the potential for women’s agency and autonomy with respect to improving their health and environments.

Outline

Unit 1: Gender, Health, and the Politics of Health Care

• Section 1.1: Gender and the Politics of Women’s Health: Reform and Revolution
• Section 1.2: The Gender of Care Providers: Doctors, Nurses, and Community Care

Unit 2: Women’s Reproductive Health and Health Care

• Section 2.1: Menstruation and Menopause
• Section 2.2: Sexual Health and Controlling Fertility
• Section 2.3: Abortion
• Section 2.4: Pregnancy and Childbirth

Unit 3: Special Problems in Women’s Health

• Section 3.1: Health and Violence Against Women
• Section 3.2: Women and Cancer
• Section 3.3: Women, Health Care, and Aging

Unit 4: Women’s Health and the Future

• Section 4.1: Gender, Health, and the Environment

Evaluation

To receive credit for this course, you must achieve a minimum grade of "D" (50 percent) on the final exam and an overall grade of "D" (50 percent) or better for the entire course. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.