Welcome to WGSI
For the past 40 years, WGSI has trained students to think about the entanglements of gender, race and sexuality. Our teaching and research is distinctive for its transnational feminist approach, critically addressing how national borders, colonialisms, labour, and migration shape life, knowledge, and politics.
We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.
WGSI Statement on the CAUT Academic Censure
As of April 22, the University of Toronto has been under censure by the Canadian Association of University Teachers for its “failure to resolve concerns regarding academic freedom stemming from a hiring scandal in the Faculty of Law. CAUT Executive Director David Robinson has said that, ‘When reviewing all the evidence, CAUT Council delegates concluded that the decision to cancel Dr. Valentina Azarova’s hiring was politically motivated, and as such constitutes a serious breach of widely recognized principles of academic freedom… In a close examination of the facts of the case, CAUT Council found it implausible to conclude that the donor’s call did not trigger the subsequent actions resulting in the sudden termination of the hiring process.’ In recent memory CAUT has only imposed censure on a member institution twice – in 1979 and in 2008.”
More information can be found at the detailed document archive compiled by Ultra Vires, the Faculty of Law student newspaper.
In support of academic freedom and integrity (as set out in the University of Toronto’s Statement of Institutional Purpose), WGSI will be honouring the censure as per the suggested guidelines to be found in this living document.
Our weekly WGSI List-Serv will also not be advertising any U of T events that feature external speakers.
For more information on how you can support the censure, please visit: https://censureuoft.ca/home/
To sign up for the WGSI List-Serv please send an e-mail to wgsi.admin@utoronto.ca with “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject heading.
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For a list of on and off campus health and wellness resources compiled by WGSI faculty, staff and students, click here.
COVID-19 UPDATE
For the Summer Term 2021, WGSI department offices will remain physically closed. Our incredible staff will be working remotely during regular office hours (Mondays – Fridays, 9-5), answering emails and booking appointments if you need to speak with any of us virtually (please note that it helps if you have Microsoft Teams, as this is the easiest way for us to meet). Here’s how to find us online!
Alissa Trotz (Director)
Kerry Rittich (Graduate Co-ordinator)
Judith Taylor (Undergraduate Co-ordinator)
Paul Tsang (Business Officer)
Marian Reed (Undergraduate & Graduate Administrator)
Joanne Saliba (Administrative Assistant)
- For up-to-date information on University of Toronto’s COVID-19 guidelines and roadmap for Fall 2020, click here.
- For SGS (School of Graduate Studies) COVID-19 information and Q&A, click here.
News
- June Larkin reflects on three decades of teaching with the Women & Gender Studies Institute
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- Innovative A&S faculty and student-led courses ignited popular demand for women’s studies program 50 years ago at U of T
Upcoming Events
Featured
Congratulations Dr. Aarzoo Singh!
Thesis Blurb/abstract: My dissertation was an interdisciplinary study into unheard narratives of the 1947 Partition of India as they inform legacies of trauma, violence, and displacement for South Asian diasporic communities.
Read more about Aarzoo’s thesis and future plans here!
Congratulations MA Class of 2020-2021!
Undergraduate
Our graduates go on to do innovative work in the public service, creative, and corporate sectors, becoming everything from documentary film-makers to grassroots activists to policy analysts in economic development agencies.
Graduate
The WGSI graduate program offers its own M.A. degree, Collaborative M.A. and Ph.D. Specialization with many other departments, and a Ph.D. degree.
People
From postcolonial studies to environmental politics to militarism to queer cultures to critical development studies to health activism– our 14 core faculty and over 40 affiliated faculty offer students opportunities to critically explore how gender and sexuality shape interconnected worlds.
Health & Wellness Resources
At WGSI we recognize there are many pressures and factors that inform your experience as students at the University of Toronto. Here is a list of on- and off-campus resources to help you navigate your time with us.
Alumni
We are proud of the growth, caliber and reputation of our programs, and the contributions our faculty, students and alumni are making to build inclusive, equitable and just societies.