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-7033-60 

Short Fiction

Degree Level: Upper

Short stories and a graphic novel introduce readers to a variety of characters who aspire to a life of meaning and inclusion: some swim, some dive, some fly, some go on journeys. During this course, students will examine a number of life searches and moments of insight presented in stories ranging from ancient myths and folk tales to contemporary stories. What typical events and transitions exemplify the search for meaning? How to characters know if their search has been worthwhile? What questions do they ask? What choices do they make? What journeys do they take? These questions will be explored through analysis of course readings. This course will expose students to key works and themes in literature, and to a variety of literary genres, symbols, and story-telling techniques typical of shorter fiction. Students will add to their skills in critical analysis, essay writing, and presentation. 

PHYS-7008-60

The Martian Way

Degree Level: Intro

Exploration is the driving force behind scientific advacement but it constantly seeks new frontiers for inspiration. Mars in the ideal Terre Nouveau - a literal 'new Earth' where the spirit of exploration, coupled with enterprise, could fuel the next giant leap in the evolution of our scientific knowledge. This course will enable the student to form a vision of Mars based on up-to-date exploratory missions and appreciate the scale and variety of the challenges we could potentially face in taming the Martian wilderness, using existing and probable future technologies. The student will also have the opportunity to analyze the portraits of Mars that exist in literature, documentaries and films, and understand the difficulties in transforming scientific fantasy into reality. The Martian journey began distinctly with the search for extraterrestrial life; it is leading us to the bring of realizing the potential of transfusing our own species on a new world. 

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-7001-40

Global Pop Culture 

Degree Level: Upper

What discipline examines cars, khakis, non-fat lattes, viral videos and zombie-infested medieval fantasies as correlated events? Popular Culture Studies is the answer, and if the question seems more like a set-up for an old joke, that too falls under the scope of the discipline -- jokes as survivors of folk culture. Our diverse nationalities and background notwithstanding, we are surrounded by the same products of popular culture, from video games and Reality TV to "X", fan-fiction-turned-bestsellers, superhero franchises and the transient royalty of pop music. We depart from a Starbucks in Country A, and arrive in a far-away Starbucks in Country B. In any mall anywhere, we will eventually find the food-court since mall architecture is standard. In addition to the world's six thousand languages, most people speak in Smartphone and Facebook fluently. Our goal is to examine twelve such products or phenomena of popular culture as assemblages of distinct lifestyles and spaces, in their aesthetic, economic and ideological relations to commodification, visualization, technology an entertainment. Ultimately, the study of Popular Culture illuminates the construction of everyday life -- the medium we live in as global citizens. 

GBLC-7003-40

Sociology of World Religions

Degree Level: Upper

What is religion? Who is God? In this upper-level religions studies course, students will learn about our global world religions. This course will allow students to study religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Christianity and many more. Each student will learn about and present a religion through its history, literature, traditions, customs and rituals. The goal of this course is to introduce the academic study of world religions. Students will not engage in personal religious dialogue; instead they will study religion from a critical and academic perspective. In this course we will engage the study of religion with the goal of being open-minded and seeing the world from a more complex and humanitarian perspective. 

GBLC-7004-40

People, Politics and Power 

Degree Level: Upper

The study of politics is the study of conflict. This course will explore the competing interests that struggle for dominance in political systems across the globe. A variety of questions will be explored including: can different institutions shape public policy outcomes? What can be done to salvage failed and failing states? How can states protect themselves against international terrorism? Assignments and material will critically explore the ideas and ideals that underlie contemporary political issues. 

GBLC-7011-40

A Global Slapshot of Hockey Culture

Degree Level: Upper 

For 100 years, Canadian have thought of hockey as "our game." But is it? This course will begin with an examination of hockey's surprisingly complex roots before exploring the growth of the sport in a variety of countries and its link to national identity, including (and especially) our own. From hockey at the grassroots level all the way to the Olympic and World stages, how does the sport serve to define an every-changing global community? 

GBLC-7014-40

Technologies of State Torture 

Degree Level: Upper

The brazen bull, the rack, tongue clips, electro-shock weapons: all technologies of torture ancient or modern, deadly or not, attest to the dark side of human creativity. Since recorded history, those in power have examined the human body and mind in order to discover the most effective methods of violating both. In this course, we will compare past technologies of torture to present ones in an attempt to shed light on crucial transformations in the manipulation of power. We will also be exploring representations of torture in diverse cultural productions (literature, film, television, and other contemporary media) in order to open up a critical debate over the interplay between technology, torture and power. 

HUMA-7028-40      

Fantasy Genres

Degree Level: Upper

Why do critics refuse to take the fantasy genre seriously-despite the fact that fantasy movies, novels, games, etc. rake in millions of dollars every year? Fantasy encompasses a variety of traditions, time periods, cultures, themes, and conventions. This course will examine excerpts from novels, contemporary films, and video games and will investigate the social, political, and intellectual agendas of fantasy authors, creators, and readers. 

HUMA-7054-40      

Genuis, Creativity & Innovation 

Degree Level: Intro 

This course gives students the freedom to explore the history of genius, creativity, and innovation in any way that suits their learning interests. Structured in a non-linear way, the course reflects on the greatest innovations in human history, from the telescope to human rights to Greek philosophy to the internet. Students will learn about a range of interdisciplinary topics centered on specific events, inventions, and historical figures as a way of gaining fuller understanding of the nature of creativity: how does innovation happen? What are the myths and facts behind creativity? How can we encourage and nurture our own personal creativity? What has creativity and innovation made possible in our contemporary and past human societies? 

PHYS-7007-40 

Nanotechnology

Degree Level: Intro

Want to improve your golf game? Make your car drive faster and be more fuel efficient? Want the colour of your clothes to be more vibrant? Due to the advancements in nanotechnology all of this can now be achieved. Nanomaterials have unique chemical and physical properties that can be utilized to make things lighter, faster, and more durable. This course will introduce different nanomaterials and discuss the difference between nanosized and bulk objects. This course will also illustrate the advancements over the past few centuries in nanotechnology and explore their current and potential applications. 

SOSC-7002-40        

Perspectives on Sport

Degree Level: Upper 

In this course we will examine the vital place of sport in modern societies. We will explore spots in relation to other social institutions such as the media, education, and government; we will examine sport in relation to aspects of social difference and inequality such as gender, race, class and age; and finally we will study sport and social processes such as socialization and deviance. We will also look at how sports help promote a particular system of values, shape national identity, and contribute to economic development. This part of the course provides students with an understanding of the relationship between sports, economy, and the political system. Students explore both government approaches to sports and political issues related to sports. 

SOSC-7018-40

Psychology of Tabletop Games

Degree Level: Intro

There is something distinctly human about gathering together to play a game. Early evidence suggests that we have been doing this for millennia, as board games like Senet and Mehen appear in Predynastic Egypt (approx. 3000BCE). Games are more than entertainment as they help develop practical cognitive, social and analytical skills. This course is a psychological analysis of modern and classic tabletop (board, card, dive, role-playing, tile-based and miniature) games, investigating them through the lens of recent cognitive, social, personality, developmental, and positive psychology research. 

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.