Wendy McKeen
Associate Professor
Office: Ross Building, S874
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext: 70625
Email: wmckeen@yorku.ca
Dr. McKeen’s goal as a scholar and teacher is to create and encourage intellectual creativity but with an eye to the human conditions and the injustices and hardships faced by particular groups and individuals, locally and globally. Her research has a strong interdisciplinary character, and lies at the intersection of Canadian political economy, political sociology, public policy, and feminist theory.
Dr. McKeen’s goal as a scholar and teacher is to create and encourage intellectual creativity but with an eye to the human conditions and the injustices and hardships faced by particular groups and individuals, locally and globally. Her research has a strong interdisciplinary character, and lies at the intersection of Canadian political economy, political sociology, public policy, and feminist theory. Her overarching interest is in showing how state policy and public policy are implicated in conditions of inequality based on gender, class, and race. She is concerned with analyzing the impact of policy changes on conditions of equality and justice, understanding how dominant cultural understandings of social issues and solutions are shaped and transformed in the context of policy debate and struggle, and more generally, the nature of the transformation of the Canadian welfare state in the contemporary period. Much of her research has been in the area of welfare state restructuring and the feminist voice in social policy debates. Her 2004 book, Money in Their Own Name: The Feminist Voice in Poverty Debate in Canada, 1970-1995, examines the relationship of the Canadian women’s movement to contemporary social policy development in Canada in the field of federal benefits for families and children. It was awarded the 2004 Canadian Women’s Studies Association book award. Dr. McKeen’s previous appointments include Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Dalhousie University (2001-2006); Researcher and Policy Analyst, Student Assistance Directorate, Federal Department of the Secretary of State (1987-88); Researcher, Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women (1984-87); and Consultant/Researcher for several federal government departments in Ottawa (1982-84).
Degrees
PhD in Sociology (1998), Carleton UniversityMA in Sociology (1991), Carleton University
MSW (1984), Carleton University
BA in Sociology and Law (1977), Carleton University
Community Contributions
Dr. McKeen is a long-time member of the editorial board of the Canadian Review of Social Policy. She has served on the Adjudication Committee for the Canadian Women’s Studies Association Book Award, as a Research Associate and Member of the Research Advisory Committee for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Nova Scotia, and as a member of the National Ad hoc Advisory Committee on the Women in Public Policy Initiative, Nova Scotia (funded by Status of Women Canada).
Research Interests
Current Research Projects
Standard Research (SSHRC)
McKeen, W. (2007) The Politics of the National Children’s Agenda: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Neo-liberal Social Policy Change, in Public Policy for Women in Canada: The State, Income Security, and Labour Market Issues, edited by Marjorie Cohen and Jane Pulkingham, University of Toronto Press, in press.
McKeen, W. (2004) Money in Their Own Name: The Feminist Voice in Poverty Debate in Canada, 1970-1995, University of Toronto Press.
McKeen, W. and A. Porter. (2003) Politics and Transformation: Welfare State Restructuring in Canada, in Changing Canada: Political Economy as Transformation, edited by Wallace Clement and Leah F. Vosko, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 109-134.
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McKeen, W. (2008) CWSA/ACEF Annual Book Award – 2006, Interview with Author, Wendy McKeen talks with Jennifer A Stephen, Atlantis, 32.2.
McKeen, W. (2007) The National Children’s Agenda: A Neo-Liberal Wolf in Lamb’s Clothing, Studies in Political Economy, 80, Autumn 2007, 151-173.
McKeen, W. (2006) Diminishing the Concept of Social Policy: the Shifting Conceptual Ground of Social Policy Debate in Canada, Critical Social Policy, 26 (4), 865-887.
McKeen, W. (2004) The Shifting Discourses of the Progressive Social Policy/Child Poverty Advocacy Community: Whither Social Justice? Canadian Review of Social Policy, No. 53, Spring 2004, 88-107.
McKeen, W. (2001) Shifting Policy and Politics of Federal Child Benefits in Canada, Social Politics - International Studies in Gender, State, and Society, Special Forum on “Gender and Welfare State Devolution: How Are Women Faring?” Summer, 186-190.
McKeen, W. (2001) The Shaping of Political Agency: Feminism and the National Social Policy Debate, the 1970s and Early 1980s, Studies in Political Economy, 66, Autumn, 37-58.
McKeen, W. (2001) ‘Writing Women Out’: Poverty Discourse and Feminist Agency in the 1990s National Social Policy Debate, Canadian Review of Social Policy, No. 48, Summer/Fall, 19-33.
McKeen, W. (2000) Vertical Equity Versus Women’s Autonomy: The Politics of Feminism in Canadian Income Security Policy in the 1970s, Canadian Review of Social Policy, 43, Spring, 77-99.
McKeen, W. (1994) The Radical Potential of the European Community's Equality Legislation, Studies in Political Economy, 43, spring, 117-136; also published as a book chapter in Feminism, Political Economy and the State: Contested Terrain, edited by Pat Armstrong and Pat Connelly, Canadian Scholars Press, 1999.
McKeen, W. (1994) The Wages for Housework Campaign: Its Contribution to Feminist Politics in the Area of Social Welfare in Canada, Canadian Review of Social Policy, 33, Spring/Summer, 21-43.
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Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | GS/SOWK5040 3.0 | A | Social Welfare and Social Policy | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4000 6.0 | E | Practicum in Social Work I | PRAC |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4001 6.0 | A | Practicum in Social Work II | PRAC |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2025 | AP/SOWK3110 3.0 | N | Policy Frameworks | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4000 6.0 | E | Practicum in Social Work I | PRAC |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4001 6.0 | A | Practicum in Social Work II | PRAC |
| Winter 2025 | GS/SOWK5932 3.0 | M | Studies in Social Policy | SEMR |
Dr. McKeen’s goal as a scholar and teacher is to create and encourage intellectual creativity but with an eye to the human conditions and the injustices and hardships faced by particular groups and individuals, locally and globally. Her research has a strong interdisciplinary character, and lies at the intersection of Canadian political economy, political sociology, public policy, and feminist theory.
Dr. McKeen’s goal as a scholar and teacher is to create and encourage intellectual creativity but with an eye to the human conditions and the injustices and hardships faced by particular groups and individuals, locally and globally. Her research has a strong interdisciplinary character, and lies at the intersection of Canadian political economy, political sociology, public policy, and feminist theory. Her overarching interest is in showing how state policy and public policy are implicated in conditions of inequality based on gender, class, and race. She is concerned with analyzing the impact of policy changes on conditions of equality and justice, understanding how dominant cultural understandings of social issues and solutions are shaped and transformed in the context of policy debate and struggle, and more generally, the nature of the transformation of the Canadian welfare state in the contemporary period. Much of her research has been in the area of welfare state restructuring and the feminist voice in social policy debates. Her 2004 book, Money in Their Own Name: The Feminist Voice in Poverty Debate in Canada, 1970-1995, examines the relationship of the Canadian women’s movement to contemporary social policy development in Canada in the field of federal benefits for families and children. It was awarded the 2004 Canadian Women’s Studies Association book award. Dr. McKeen’s previous appointments include Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Dalhousie University (2001-2006); Researcher and Policy Analyst, Student Assistance Directorate, Federal Department of the Secretary of State (1987-88); Researcher, Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women (1984-87); and Consultant/Researcher for several federal government departments in Ottawa (1982-84).
Degrees
PhD in Sociology (1998), Carleton UniversityMA in Sociology (1991), Carleton University
MSW (1984), Carleton University
BA in Sociology and Law (1977), Carleton University
Community Contributions
Dr. McKeen is a long-time member of the editorial board of the Canadian Review of Social Policy. She has served on the Adjudication Committee for the Canadian Women’s Studies Association Book Award, as a Research Associate and Member of the Research Advisory Committee for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Nova Scotia, and as a member of the National Ad hoc Advisory Committee on the Women in Public Policy Initiative, Nova Scotia (funded by Status of Women Canada).
Research Interests
Current Research Projects
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Standard Research (SSHRC)
All Publications
McKeen, W. (2007) The Politics of the National Children’s Agenda: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Neo-liberal Social Policy Change, in Public Policy for Women in Canada: The State, Income Security, and Labour Market Issues, edited by Marjorie Cohen and Jane Pulkingham, University of Toronto Press, in press.
McKeen, W. (2004) Money in Their Own Name: The Feminist Voice in Poverty Debate in Canada, 1970-1995, University of Toronto Press.
McKeen, W. and A. Porter. (2003) Politics and Transformation: Welfare State Restructuring in Canada, in Changing Canada: Political Economy as Transformation, edited by Wallace Clement and Leah F. Vosko, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 109-134.
1
1
1
1
McKeen, W. (2008) CWSA/ACEF Annual Book Award – 2006, Interview with Author, Wendy McKeen talks with Jennifer A Stephen, Atlantis, 32.2.
McKeen, W. (2007) The National Children’s Agenda: A Neo-Liberal Wolf in Lamb’s Clothing, Studies in Political Economy, 80, Autumn 2007, 151-173.
McKeen, W. (2006) Diminishing the Concept of Social Policy: the Shifting Conceptual Ground of Social Policy Debate in Canada, Critical Social Policy, 26 (4), 865-887.
McKeen, W. (2004) The Shifting Discourses of the Progressive Social Policy/Child Poverty Advocacy Community: Whither Social Justice? Canadian Review of Social Policy, No. 53, Spring 2004, 88-107.
McKeen, W. (2001) Shifting Policy and Politics of Federal Child Benefits in Canada, Social Politics - International Studies in Gender, State, and Society, Special Forum on “Gender and Welfare State Devolution: How Are Women Faring?” Summer, 186-190.
McKeen, W. (2001) The Shaping of Political Agency: Feminism and the National Social Policy Debate, the 1970s and Early 1980s, Studies in Political Economy, 66, Autumn, 37-58.
McKeen, W. (2001) ‘Writing Women Out’: Poverty Discourse and Feminist Agency in the 1990s National Social Policy Debate, Canadian Review of Social Policy, No. 48, Summer/Fall, 19-33.
McKeen, W. (2000) Vertical Equity Versus Women’s Autonomy: The Politics of Feminism in Canadian Income Security Policy in the 1970s, Canadian Review of Social Policy, 43, Spring, 77-99.
McKeen, W. (1994) The Radical Potential of the European Community's Equality Legislation, Studies in Political Economy, 43, spring, 117-136; also published as a book chapter in Feminism, Political Economy and the State: Contested Terrain, edited by Pat Armstrong and Pat Connelly, Canadian Scholars Press, 1999.
McKeen, W. (1994) The Wages for Housework Campaign: Its Contribution to Feminist Politics in the Area of Social Welfare in Canada, Canadian Review of Social Policy, 33, Spring/Summer, 21-43.
1
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | GS/SOWK5040 3.0 | A | Social Welfare and Social Policy | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4000 6.0 | E | Practicum in Social Work I | PRAC |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4001 6.0 | A | Practicum in Social Work II | PRAC |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2025 | AP/SOWK3110 3.0 | N | Policy Frameworks | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4000 6.0 | E | Practicum in Social Work I | PRAC |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/SOWK4001 6.0 | A | Practicum in Social Work II | PRAC |
| Winter 2025 | GS/SOWK5932 3.0 | M | Studies in Social Policy | SEMR |
