Degree Students

Courses are first come, first served—there are no waiting lists for courses that are full! We strongly advise you to register in your General Education course as soon as possible. This list of courses does not update when courses are full. When completing your registration you may need to try several courses before you find one that still has room for you to register. 

Please note: Course options are subject to change without notice due to changes in planning. Please double-check course lists prior to completing your registration to ensure specific courses are still offered. 

HUMA-7029 – Culture of Genius

Degree Level: Intro

This is a course on the persistent cult and culture of genius. We will examine questions surrounding the definition, function, purpose and politics of genius through a variety of media. Students will gain an appreciation for how and why the concept of the 'genius' is deployed, both in child and adult contexts. Materials on this course range from documentary, films and children's books/toys to television, philosophy and psychology.

PHYS-7011-60

Cosmic Extremes

Degree Level: Upper

This course will take you on a thrilling tour of the birth, evolution and death of stars, culminating in a space-time bending encounter with the most monstrous of all universal phenomena - black holes. You will travel to the event horizon of these cosmic oddities and bask in their Hawking radiation. You will explore the hearts of the most massive galaxies where the hungriest of these cosmic leviathans lie and witness the violence wrought by their insatiable gravitational appetite. Beware, this is a one-way trip; not even light can escape!

SOSC-7043-60          
The Big Lie 

Degree Level: Upper

The North American disinformation ecosystem actively subverts the so-called four corners of deceit: government, academia, science, and media. The goal of this course is to arm students with historical examples, along with a toolkit of strategies taken from philosophy, as well as social and political thought, to help them examine and understand the following topics: post-truth, cognitive dissonance; cognitive bias, misinformation and disinformation; the history of conspiratorial thinking in popular culture; and the algorithmic ease with which social media exacerbated the spread of disinformation.

All students can choose an online General Education elective course. International students should verify they have the appropriate number of in-person hours before registering for an online course. 

Courses are first come, first served—there are no waiting lists for courses that are full! We strongly advise you to register in your General Education course as soon as possible. This list of courses does not update when courses are full. When completing your registration you may need to try several courses before you find one that still has room for you to register. 

Please note: Course options are subject to change without notice due to changes in planning. Please double-check course lists prior to completing your registration to ensure specific courses are still offered. 

All students can choose an online General Education elective course. International students should verify they have the appropriate number of in-person hours before registering for an online course. 

Courses are first come, first served—there are no waiting lists for courses that are full! We strongly advise you to register in your General Education course as soon as possible. This list of courses does not update when courses are full. When completing your registration you may need to try several courses before you find one that still has room for you to register. 

Please note: Course options are subject to change without notice due to changes in planning. Please double-check course lists prior to completing your registration to ensure specific courses are still offered. 

GBLC-7012-40

Green Revolutions

Degree Level: Upper

The twentieth- and twenty-first centuries have undergone what some environmental scholars call a "green revolution." We have all heard the buzz words-sustainability, "going green," global climate change, renewable energy-but rarely do we consider how environmental science influences history, social movements, and cultural output. In other words, how does all this eco-friendly terminology impact societies at an individual and cultural level? This course will consider the larger social and cultural implications of environmental science, particularly, how environmental concerns shape politics, culture, and the arts. We will consider not only how the green revolution has influenced various film genres (e.g., fantasy and science fiction), but also how individuals participate in constructing the mythological components of the science.

GBLC-7015-40

Environment and Culture

Degree Level: Intro

The goal of this readings-based course is to provide students with a framework for understanding their local, national, and global environments, and especially the environmental challenges we presently face as people living in Canada and in the world at large. We will examine the interrelations of nature, technology, and culture by analysing what it means to live at the tolerance margins of our uses of fossil fuels, water, modern food systems, and pollutants such as plastic. We will also examine past environmental collapses and survivals to learn for the future and research communities engaged in environmental activism today.

HUMA-7026-40

Role of Garbage in Society

Degree Level: Upper 

Garbage is all around us. We create and dispose of it every day. Yet for the most part we do not pay much attention to the material and symbolic role it plays in human society. This course begins with the following question: can garbage tell us something about ourselves? Through academic essays, popular articles, documentaries, television shows and commercials, artwork, literature, and Hollywood film, we will study trash from numerous perspectives to account for its prominence in our daily lives and understand its relationship to our contemporary society.

HUMA-7043-40

Narratives of Travel & Tourism

Degree Level: Intro

This course is concerned with the way contemporary travel writing engages with and tries to reconcile socio-political struggles, such as the protection of human rights, the promotion of democracy, the management of equality within multiculturalism, and the reduction of inequality, that continue to persist despite the forces of globalization. In their attempt to combat regimented and outmoded ideas of foreignness, travel writers continue with these struggles and stereotypes that shape the experience of modern travel. Narratives of Tourism and Travel is a thoroughly interdisciplinary course that draws from international relations, literary theory, political theory, geography, anthropology, and history.

HUMA-7059-40      

Indigenous Literature 

Degree Level: Intro 

This course introduces students to literature written by Indigenous authors across geographical borders, including authors from a variety of historical, political, and cultural contexts. Students will study works selected from various genres and mediums, including oral and written storytelling, fiction and non-fiction, short stories, and poetry. They will write reflective and academic analyses in response to criticism by Indigenous and Western scholars. Students will demonstrate critical appreciation of the meaning, style, theme, and appeal of each selection.

SOSC-7011-40 

Social Implications of Addictions

Degree Level: Upper

As an introductory and interdisciplinary survey of the role of addiction in human cultures, this course is designed to expose students to how narcotic as well as non-narcotic- related addictions manifest themselves within various individual and institutional practices. In particular, students will explore the major biological, psychological and social/cultural theories applied to addiction. Focus is given to the nature of drug use, conceptions of 'the addict,' how drugs impact the brain, the impact on family, and consequences for changing social drug behaviors. This course also explores current theoretical and practical treatment approaches and education and prevention strategies. Emphasis will be given to special issues and hot topics in drug addiction, including youth, women, media portrayal of drug use and current debates on the war on drugs. Finally, understanding common perspectives on treatment and prevention strategies related to drug dependence and education will be studied.

SOSC-7012-40        

America & the Bomb 

Degree Level: Upper 

The nuclear bomb cast a long shadow over American culture throughout much of the twentieth century. In this course, we will examine the historical aspects of this phenomenon and imaginative responses to it; these responses include science fiction, film, poetry, short stories, and Dr. Seuss. The students in this course will gain an appreciation for the degree of fear generated by the Cold War, and for how this fear shaped artists, including those who were racially marginalized.

SOSC-7030-40

Anarchism

Degree Level: Upper

What is anarchism? Often misrepresented as being equated with chaos, vandalism and terror, anarchism instead is a political philosophy with a particular view of human nature and particular visions around political, economic, and social organization. It began in the 19th century in response to slavery, authoritarianism and capital exploitation, and has over its history had supporters around the world. Direct expressions of anarchist ideas have re-emerged in recent years, through the sharing economy, the Occupy movement, popular culture depictions (e.g. Mr. Robot, Rage Against the Machine), and the development of cryptocurrencies. Today, anarchism is often focused on corporate capitalism, environmental sustainability, indigenous rights, and sexual freedom. This course will explore the diversity of anarchist ideas, anarchist critiques of political power and hierarchy, and review concrete examples of anarchism in practice.

SOSC-7040-40        

Miskâsowin and Ethics 

Degree Level: Intro 

Framed within the Truth and Reconciliation process underway in Canada, this course utilizes the Cree concept of Miskâsowin to convey the responsibility one must understand oneself in relation to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. The interconnectedness of the truth of Indigenous people's experiences and the call for creating ethical relationships through Miskâsowin are integral to this course. Concepts of equity (inequity), justice (injustice), and intent vs impact as they relate to the determinants of well-being are discussed within Indigenous understandings of wholism, interconnectedness, and relationships. Relevance of Miskâsowin to accountability and responsibility offer a pathway of reciprocity in relationships with all one's relations.