History

Greta Nemiroff and Christine Allen Garside (later Sister Prudence Allen) began teaching the course “The Nature of Woman” at the Sir George Williams University’s Philosophy Department.

In 1972, the course was divided into two courses under the heading “The Nature of Woman”:

• Historic Attitudes
• Recent Approaches

Four new courses were introduced in 1971 and 1972 on the topic of women, including:

• an Interdisciplinary course called Social Change, Women in Modern Society, taught by Margaret Anderson, from the French Department at Loyola College
• Women and Literature taught by Katherine Waters in the English Department at Loyola College
• The Sociology of Women, taught by J. Tarlo in the Sociology Department
• History of Women, taught by M. Porter in the History Department. 

Other Women’s Studies courses quickly follow in other disciplines

Susan Hoecker-Drysdale, from the Department of Sociology, organized a Women’s Studies Concentration within the Interdisciplinary Programme of the Loyola Faculty of Arts & Science. She would be named Coordinator of Women’s Studies for Loyola College in 1974-75.

Soon after a Women’s Studies program was introduced at Loyola College, the newly-formed Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at Sir George Williams University (SGW), in the Faculty of Arts, launched their own program.

The SGW Women's Studies Committee was formed and Vivienne Walters was named the Coordinator of Women’s Studies at SGW University.

A joint major in Women’s Studies was introduced, which was removed in 1975-76 after it was replaced by a minor in Women’s Studies.

By August 1974, Concordia University was inaugurated through the merging of Loyola College and Sir George William University. The campuses would continue to keep the names of their former institutions.

Despite the merger of the two institutions, both campuses held their own Women’s Studies minor programs:

• the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at SGW campus
• the Loyola Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies.

Susan Drysdale remained coordinator of the Loyola program until Allannah Furlong replaced her in 1976.

In 1977, Christine Allen replaced Vivienne Walters as Coordinator of Women’s Studies for the SGW campus.

In March 1977, a Women's College Committee was formed to start working on a proposal for a new college. The Committee was co-coordinated by both Christine Allen and Allannah Furlong and included faculty, students and staff from both campuses as well as individuals from other Montreal institutions and community organizations.

On Dec. 20, 1977, the Committee submitted its proposal to the Concordia Senate to establish a Women’s College.

Concordia’s Senate approved the establishment of the Institute for Women’s Studies on February 24, 1978, followed by approval by the Board of Governors on March 9, 1978.

“I have no doubt that the women’s college will stir up a lot of trouble in the university, but I think that’s good – that’s a sure sign of health”, said Bob Wall, Provost of Colleges at Concordia, in an interview with the Montreal Gazette on May 19, 1978.

The Senate approved the major in Women’s Studies on May 26, 1978, but tabled a resolution to establish a Specialization in Women’s Studies. 

On June 8, 1978, the Board of Governors approved a name change; the Institute for Women’s Studies became the Simone de Beauvoir Institute (SdBI). 

By September, the Simone de Beauvoir Institute opened its doors under the leadership of the SdBI’s first principal, Maïr Verthuy, who was appointed from June 1978 to May 1983. Sheila McDonough and Katherine Waters were appointed appointed as Vice-Principals.

Although the new Women’s Studies program had 27 students enrolled, more than 100 students became members of the SdBI. 

The SdBI established its Reading Room to house books, magazines and other documents relevant to women’s lives. The Reading Room helped build strong community relationships through services available to students, staff, faculty and the broader Montreal feminist community.

The SdBI published its first Bulletin, edited by Professor Greta Hofmann Nemiroff, with the help of students and SdBI community members.

The Institute sponsored a talk by French feminist Hélène Cixous.

Conflict arose over the direction and orientation of the Women’s Studies Programme and the Simone de Beauvoir Institute.

When Greta Nemiroff was not re-hired, members of the community protested and disrupted activities at the SdBI. Members voted to dissolve the Institute.

Despite divergences of opinion about the role, goals and structures of the Institute, new structures were eventually put into place to comply with the university’s requirements.

Principal Maïr Verthuy and Professor Patricia Morley organized Parlons-en/Talking Together, the first Canadian national conference on Women’s Studies.

Thérèse Casgrain was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

The Women’s Studies Students’ Association (WSSA) was founded to represent student voices and perspective in the SdBI’s programmes, events and research.

The SdBI hosted a writing workshop with Québécoise writer Louky Bersianik.

Prior to her death in November 1981, the SdBI named Thérèse Casgrain, feminist, reformer, politician and Senator, Honorary Principal of the SdBI.

Principal Maïr Verthuy, with the help of students and faculty, organized a 10-day international conference on teaching and research related to women. Participants from more than 80 countries were involved.

A group of First Nations women organized an evening featuring a film by Alanis Obomsawin, the well-known Abenaki filmmaker.

The SdBI offered the first ever university course on the history of Black Women in Canada; Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill taught “Black Women: the Missing Pages in Canadian Women’s Studies”.

Elizabeth Sacca became the new Principal of the SdBI, until 1986.

Feminist scientist, Ursula Franklin, spoke at the SdBI on peace, disarmament and women.

A group of women graduate students at Concordia hosted an Open House.

The SdBI offered the first Lesbian Studies course in Canada, taught by Yvonne Klein during the summer session.

On April 14th, the Institute’s namesake, Simone de Beauvoir, died in Paris at the age of 78. In June, Concordia University posthumously confered an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters to Beauvoir.

Students associated with the SdBI advocated for the introduction of a women’s centre on campus and organized to secure funding for the new campus resource.

Arpi Hamalian began her term as Principal of the SdBI, a position she held until 1989 and then again from 1990-1991.

The Concordia Women’s Centre opened its doors.

Although the Center would change names through the years, today, it continues to open its doors to the wider community under the name The Centre for Gender Advocacy.

In Oct. 1987, the SdBI welcomed the “International Forum on Maternity in the Laboratory,” a conference on New Reproductive Technologies organized by the Quebec Conseil du statut de la femme.

Regular meetings of the Lesbian Studies Coalition of Concordia took place at the SdBI lounge.

These meetings honoured the history of the SdBI building, which housed Madame Arthur’s, a lesbian bar, from 1973 until 1975.

Arpi Hamalian, the SdBI Principal, organized the Conference of the Committee of 200, an international organization bringing together top women entrepreneurs and executives, representing more than 70 industries. 

Elizabeth Henrik, a psychologist, stepped in as SdBI’s Interim Principal from 1989 until 1990

Feminist scholar Sherene Razack joined the SdBI, teaching courses until 1991 including Feminist Theory and Feminism Applied to the Law.

Chantal Maillé joined the SdBI as a full-time faculty member. The SdBI also welcomed Lucie Lequin, who held a joint appointment with Études françaises. 

A new course on Coloured Women Writers was taught by Gillian de Gannes.

Marianne Ainley was named SdBI Principal. She left the SdBI in 1995, after being appointed Professor and Chair of Women’s Studies at the newly established University of Northern British Columbia.

Ainley died of cancer in 2009.

The SdBI hosted a public event with feminist writer Nicole Brossard.

One of the SdBI’s former students, feminist scholar and activist Carolyn Gammon, lobbied the university to change the names of degrees granted at Concordia. Arguing that the title “Master of Arts” was gendered, Gammon’s efforts resulted in Concordia students being able to elect to receive a degree with gender-neutral terminology: baccalaureate, magisteriate or doctorate.

SdBI students and faculty were involved in La Ville en Rose, an international conference on Lesbian and Gay Studies held at Concordia University and UQAM.

Kaarina Kailo joined the SdBI as full-time faculty member

The SdBI invited American feminist and political activist Gloria Steinem, in collaboration with Cole’s bookstore. The event raised $3000, which was distributed to two local women’s shelters:

• Auberge Transition
• Logifem

Sunera Thobani, the president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, spoke at the SdBI during an event co-sponsored by the South Asian Women’s Community Centre.

Alanis Obomsawin was confered an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

Dorothy Smith gave a talk, co-sponsored by the Sociology Graduate Students’ Association, on feminist sociology research and post-modernism.

SdBI staff Belinda Bowes, DiAnne Robin and Susan Sullivan were recognized for their administrative and logistical work related to teaching, curriculum, community events and media relations.

Chantal Maillé began her term as SdBI Principal, until 1999. She served a second term as principal from 2008 until 2009. 

The SdBI sponsored Janine Fuller and Stuart Blackley’s book launch, Restricted Entry: Censorship on Trial. The book documents the censorship of sexually explicit materials by Customs Canada.

The SdBI sponsored When Sex Works/Quand le sexe travaille, an international conference on sex work and prostitution that included the voices of women working in the industry.

This conference connected to the history of the SdBI building, which was reportedly once a brothel.

Anne Sylvestre was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

Esmeralda Thornhill was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

From January to June, Kaarina Kailo served as acting SdBI Principal during Chantal Maille's six month sabbatical. Kailo, a native of Finland, became a candidate for the 2007 European parliamentary elections.

The Canadian Human Rights Foundation brought a delegation of feminists from western Africa to the SdBI for a seminar on Human Rights Development in Africa.

Françoise David, then President of the Fédération des femmes du Québec, attended the event.

The SdBI hosted a symposium on bell hooks, organized by Professor Brenda Rowe.

Concordia’s College Visiting Lecture Series included a talk on Women’s Rights as Human Rights, delivered by Her Excellency Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In 1998, the SdBI Reading Room boasted 920 loans and 1242 visits, thanks to the work of SdBI documentalist, Carol Mitchell.

Fran Shaver was appointed as SdBI Interim Principal, a position she held until 2000.

Folk singer and activist Faith Nolan gave a talk and concert at the SdBI.

Lillian Robinson, left her position as Professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina to join the SdBI as Principal in 2000. She held this position until she passed away in 2006.

The SdBI offered its first course on South Asian Women.

Viviane Namaste joined the SdBI as a full-time faculty member.

The SdBI offered a course on Women and Disability.

Assia Djebar was confered an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

The SdBI offered courses on Women in the Muslim World and Jewish Women in North America.

Roksana Bahramitash began her postdoctoral research at the SdBI on women and employment in the Muslim world. Bahramitash was the recipient of the SSHRC Eileen Ross Award, an award given to the highest-ranking postdoctoral project in the area of women and poverty.

SdBI Principal Lillian Robinson performed in a Concordia staging of The Vagina Monologues.

Ashanti Alston, former member of the Black Panthers, was invited to the SdBI to give a talk named Counter-Power: The Black Panther Party Experience.

Shirin Ebadi was confered an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

Colleagues, students and activists mourned the loss of Lillian Robinson, who died on Sept. 20, 2006 of ovarian cancer.

The Lillian Robinson Visiting Scholars Program was inaugurated in honor of her memory.

Viviane Namaste was appointed Interim Chair, a role she held until 2008. 

Marc Lafrance, after completing his doctoral degree at Oxford, arrived at the SdBI to complete his postdoctoral research on the relationship between body image, body modification and mainstream media.

Lafrance is now a full-time faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Concordia.

The SdBI produced Reasonable Accommodations – A Feminist Response, a collective statement involving students, faculty and staff, which raised critical questions about the framing of the reasonable accommodation debate in Quebec

Former Principal Maïr Verthuy received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case for her outstanding feminist activism.

Gada Mahrouse joined the SdBI community as a full-time faculty member.

Geneviève Rail left her position at the University of Ottawa to join the SdBI as Principal, a role which she held until 2015.

The SdBI issued a public statement on Projet de loi 94, a proposed law that would have prevented women who wear the burqa or the niqab from accessing public services and working in the public sector.

Professor Chantal Maillé and SdBI Fellow Rachel Berger co-taught, in collaboration with faculty from the Kamala Nehru College, Narrating Women’s Lives: India and Canada, a course at the University of Delhi, which included 16 Concordia students.

The SdBI published a position statement on the Bedford case at the Ontario Superior Court. This ruling examined the ways in which Canadian criminal laws harm women working in the sex trade.

Viviane Namaste won the Grand Prize from the Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians.

Read our May 2020 and our November 2010 eSimone newsletter.

Thanks to a grant from the Faculty of Arts and Science and help from Concordia librarian Susie Brier and documentalist Laura Copeland, the SdBI Reading Room was refurbished, with new acquisitions added to the collection and digitized resources.

Former Principal Maïr Verthuy was inducted into the Order of Canada for her work on Quebec women writers and the advancement of women.

Read our institutional highlights in our 2009-2011 report. 

Read our March 2011 and our November 2011 eSimone newsletter.

The SdBI published a position statement against the tuition fee increase in Quebec and its impact of on women. Meanwhile, the Women’s Studies Student Association was the first group of students to go on strike at Concordia during the 2012 Quebec student strike.

Belinda Bowes, longtime staff member of the SdBI, celebrated 25 years of service to the SdBI and Concordia.

Jane Doe was confered an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Concordia University.

Read our May 2012 eSimone newsletter. 

The SdBI issued a statement in solidarity with the Idle No More movement and commited to anti-colonial work in teaching and learning.

The SdBI hosted an international conference entitled Rethinking Race and Sexuality: Feminist Conversations, Contestations, and Coalitions, to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

The SdBI was an intervenor at the Supreme Court in the case R. v. Bedford, on prostitution laws and the harms they cause women. These hearings led to the Supreme Court striking down a number of Canada’s prostitution laws because they do not respect Charter rights, notably the right to security of the person.

The SdBI submited a brief in French and English condemning Bill 60, Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men and providing a framework for accommodation requests.

The SdBI’s position argued that the bill would restrict rather than enhance the rights of women. The statement pointed to the exclusionary nature of the bill and the false assumptions it supported.

See our institutional highlights in SdBI’s 2011-2013 report.

Read our December 2013 eSimone newsletter.

Concordia University celebrated Chantal Maillé’s 25 years of contribution to the SdBI and the university.

The SdBI co-presented the following events:

• Imagining the future of LGBTQ Human Rights, a two-day international symposium in collaboration with the Trudeau Foundation
• 25 ans après Polytechnique: contrer l’effacement, créer sa place, a one-day colloquium to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Polytechnique Massacre

SdBI Principal Geneviève Rail, in collaboration with other feminist leaders in Quebec, received $1.2M in funding for a FRSCQ “regroupement stratégique” called the Réseau québécois en études féministes (RéQEF).

Read our December 2014 eSimone newsletter.

Dr. Gada Mahrouse served as Interim Chair.

The SdBI invited the government to take part in a public dialogue about the impacts of government reforms on women.

See our institutional highlights in SdBI’s 2013-2015 report.

Dr. Kimberley Manning joined the SdBI as chair, serving in this role until 2021.

Dr. Viviane Namaste was awarded the FAS Curriculum Innovation Fund grant to develop new interdisciplinary teaching for HUMA students.

Dr. Gada Mahrouse was recognized by The Women’s and Gender Studies/Recherches Feministes Association (WGSRF) and was awarded the Outstanding Scholarship Prize for her 2014 book, Conflicted Commitments.

Arpi Hamalian, Honorary Fellow of the SdBI and former Principal, received the Lifetime Achievement Award as a multilingual champion for learning from the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education.

The SdBI released a statement of Feminist Solidarity with the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.

On Sept. 26, Concordia Professor Homa Hoodfar was released from the notorious Evin prison in Iran, following an international campaign which included the SdBI. Dr. Hoodfar was arrested for "dabbling in feminism".

The SdBI launched the C-FAR (Critical Feminist Activism and Research) project, under the leadership of Principal Kimberley Manning, Outreach Coordinator Annick MF and Project Coordinator, Meghan Gagliardi.

C-FAR was a community-building, research and training initiative emerging from an intersectional feminist framework anchored in anti-racist and anti-oppressive approaches to equity, inclusion and representation on campus and across communities.

Annick MF launched the Black Perspectives Initiative in 2019 and was the founding coordinator and manager of the Black Perspectives Office at the Provost’s Office in 2020.

Read our January and October 2016 eSimone newsletter.

The SdBI issued a statement in solidarity with the Indigenous women who spoke out about their experiences of sexual and physical abuse suffered at the hands of Sûreté du Québec.

Beverly McLachlin was awarded the first Simone de Beauvoir Institute Prize.

See our institutional highlights in SdBI’s 2015-2017 report.

Read our March 2017 and our September 2017 eSimone newsletter.

The SdBI welcomed two new full-time faculty members: Dr. Genevieve Painter and Dr. Natalie Kouri-Towe. 

The SdBI celebrated its 40th anniversary with a conference, “Unsettling Feminisms: Mobilisation, resistance, creation”, where Alanis Obomsawin was awarded the Simone de Beauvoir Institute Prize.

The conference featured a plenary session by Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel.

Read our March 2018 and our October 2018 eSimone newsletter. 

The SdBI welcomed Dr. Nathalie Batraville as a new full-time faculty member.

The SdBI also launched its new major in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality.

Dr. Natalie Kouri-Towe won the Sexuality Studies Association Inaugural Award for Academic Leadership in Sexuality Studies.

The SdBI’s first principal, Maïr Verthuy, was inducted into the Ordre national du Québec.

Marlihan Lopez joined the SdBI as a full-time staff member and was awarded one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) Under 40.

To celebrate the launch of the Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality program’s new major, the SdBI hosted an inaugural lecture by Dr. Jasbir Puar.

Dr. Natalie Kouri-Towe received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Academic Service.

The Simone de Beauvoir Institute and Office of Community Engagement partner with HoodStock to launch HoodStop, a project support survivors and prevent sexual violence in Montreal North, under the leadership of SdBI’s Program and Outreach Coordinator, Marlihan Lopez and faculty collaborators Natalie Batraville and Natalie Kouri-Towe.

Chair Kimberley Manning was awarded the Concordia Academic Leadership Award.

Prof. Genevieve Painter won the President's Excellence in Teaching Award for New Teacher.

Dr. Gada Mahrouse served as Interim Chair.

The SdBI moved into its newly renovated space on the 6th floor of the ER Building.

The SdBI community paid tribute to the life and work of bell hooks, following her death on Dec. 15.

Dr. Carolina Cambre was appointed Chair of the SdBI. 

Dr. Kimberley Manning served as Interim Chair of the SdBI.

The SdBI celebrated its 45th anniversary!

Dr. Kimberley Manning was appointed Chair of the SdBI.

SdBI Outreach and Program Coordintaor, Marlihan Lopez, launched Harambec: Reviving the Black Feminist Collective, a Black feminist advocacy project supported by Concordia’s SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation, with Jade Almeida, a former part-time faculty member and Research Affiliate and Pauline Lomami, a graduate student at Concordia.

Belinda Bowes, longtime staff member of the SdBI, celebrated 35 years of service to the SdBI and Concordia.

The SdBI awarded the Simone de Beauvoir Institute Prize to Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to education, equality and social justice on Oct. 25.

Flame Keeping! Unearthing, Preserving, and Ensuring the Legacy of Montreal’s Black Women’s Groups, an event organized by Harambec and the SdBI, celebrated Dr. Thornhill for the 40th anniversary of Black Women: the Missing Pages from Canadian Women’s Studies, the first course in Canada on Black women, originally offered at the SdBI in 1983

The SdBI launched the Dr. Esmeralda M.A. Thornhill Black Feminist Speaker Series, in honour of Dr. Thornhill, who gave the inaugural lecture on Oct. 25 during the SdBI Prize award ceremony.