Planning your degree electives

This high beginner course reinforces student’s knowledge of the Pinyin system, which will allow them to express themselves more freely. Students will develop academic and professional listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. This course will be taught mostly in English to facilitate learning of Chinese.

This intermediate course builds on Chinese Language and Culture II. Students will continue to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with a focus on academic and professional communication within the Chinese language and workplace cultural context. This course will be taught in both Chinese and English, with students gaining more fluency in Chinese.

This high intermediate course builds on Chinese Language III. Students will refine Chinese language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing with a focus on academic and professional communication. This course will be taught in Chinese with English as needed with the expectation that students are using more and more Chinese to communicate.

This course will explore Canada's First Nations people's relationships with land, resources, cultures, and each other, as well as historical and contemporary relationships between Aboriginal people and settler governments in Canada. The course will provide a study of Indigenous cultures, colonialism, cultural and political re-emergence, and the importance of the wampum belt. The Truth and Reconciliation Report, UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal people, and the Ipperwash Inquiry will serve as core learning tools. Supporting the maintenance and revitalization of traditional Indigenous values, languages, cultural identity and spirituality will be highlighted.

This high beginner course builds on the Introduction to the French Language and Culture. The course is designed to further enhance beginner level language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students will also explore numerous facets of French Canadian culture. This course will be taught mostly in French with English used to facilitate learning in French.

This intermediate course builds on French Language and Culture II. Students will continue to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with a focus on academic and professional communication within the French language and workplace cultural context. This course will be taught in French.

This high intermediate course builds on French Language III. Students will refine French language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing with a focus on academic and professional communication. This course will be taught in French.

This course reinforces students’ knowledge of the German language and the cultural variety in the German speaking world. Students will develop academic and professional listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. This course will be taught mostly in German with English used to facilitate learning in German.

This intermediate course builds on German Language and Culture II. Students will continue to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with a focus on academic and professional communication within the German language and workplace cultural context. This course will be taught in German.

This advanced course explores the integrated facets of German language and culture. Students will attain a more thorough knowledge of the German language to communicate in all situations within German speaking countries, converse with native speakers and follow debates on a wide range of issues as well as express themselves with more complex and linguistically accurate structures. The course will be taught in both German and English to facilitate learning German. This advanced-level course is intended for students with the necessary prerequisites. Interested students are encouraged to contact the School of Interdisciplinary Studies to determine if the course is suitable.

This beginner course introduces students to the Chinese language and culture. Students will develop reading, listening, speaking, writing, and cultural awareness. Students will also learn the fundamentals of Chinese character writing. This course will be taught in both Chinese and English to facilitate learning of Chinese.

This beginner course introduces students to standard French as well as Canadian French nuances. It is designed for students to develop basic French skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students will also study French culture in various contexts around the world. This course will be taught in both English and French to facilitate learning in French. ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

This beginner course introduces students to German and the cultural variety in the German speaking world. Students will develop listening, speaking, reading and writing. This course will be taught in German and English to facilitate learning in German.

The method of leaning in this course is designed to be highly participatory and self-reflective, combining individual and group work with in-class discussion and on-site observation opportunities. Students will apply theories and concepts gained through lectures to practical interpretations of real-world planning conditions and local policies and applications. ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

This high beginner course reinforces students' knowledge of the Spanish language and reinforces the cultural variety in the Spanish speaking world. Students will develop academic and professional listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. This course will be taught mostly in Spanish with English used to facilitate learning in Spanish.

This intermediate course builds on Spanish Language and Culture II. Students will continue to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with a focus on academic and professional communication within the Spanish language and workplace cultural context. This course will be taught in Spanish.

This high intermediate course builds on Spanish Language III. Students will refine Spanish language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing with a focus on academic and professional communication. This course will be taught in Spanish.

World cultures both broadly and deeply affect and are affected by globalization in ways that unify and divide as well as produce equities and inequalities among people and nations. In this course, students will focus on topics pertaining to similarities and differences in world cultures and societies. Incorporating varying perspectives on diversity, students develop an understanding of the impacted groups, develop strategies that demonstrate respect for diversity, and critically examine social change performed on a world stage.

The purpose of this course is to introduce some of the main problems of philosophy, including: Are ethical principles relative? Are all persons really at heart egoistic? Does God exist? What is good? What is evil? How can truth be established? Are there causal determinants of choice? What is real? Are ethical and artistic judgments subjective? What kind of society promotes the best life? What is the purpose and meaning of life? The answers to these questions are not obvious. Wars have been fought and continue to be fought over these questions. One might make the case for seeing the history of human cultures as an ongoing attempt to answer these questions. This course you will help students to inquire into complex problems and begin to formulate their own philosophy. Students will learn effective methods of inquiry, analysis, and criticism. The study of philosophy develops one's ability to think carefully and critically. The objective of this course is to enable students to be reflective about the beliefs that they or their society have developed. The ability to think reflectively does not develop independently from the ability to read critically and perceptively or the ability to express ourselves. Thus, in this course we will seek to advance our reading comprehension as well as our communication skills, both oral and written.

This course will trace the modern world (including current events and social and cultural problems) by examining the foundation of Western civilization by ancient Greek and Roman explorers, colonists, political leaders, conquerors, scholars, playwrights, artists, and artisans. Located at the crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa, ancient Mediterranean civilizations; created fundamental drivers of world history and left a legacy of important ideas, practices, and deeply-rooted values that have lasted for more than 3500 years. Emphasis will be on ethnic migrations, social movements, political reforms, economic upturns, geographical discoveries, and pivotal military conflicts in Antiquity; influenced hybridization and globalization in cultural tradition, materiality of life, and intellectual advancement. Also, priority will be given to mnemonic hands-on activities, problem-solving case studies, debates, reflective narratives, as well as to relevant approaches for tackling primary sources, such as ancient poetry and prose, epigraphic documents, maps, numismatic and archaeological materials.

This course provides students with an exciting exploration of the universe of mythological thinking from Mediterranean prehistoric times through the Classical Greco-Roman tradition down to its reception in the present day. Emphasis will be placed on ancient literary and visual narratives conveying messages on universal human themes such as creation and fertility, friendship and trust, love and sexuality, heroism and violence, death and the afterlife. Students will explore the historical meaning and cultural significance of some of the most popular symbols, archetypal images, and compelling mythical narratives in their authentic contexts through discoveries in archaeology, ancient history, religious studies, cultural anthropology, psychology, and natural sciences. Examining the Classical canon of mythological thinking, the course aims at a deep understanding of the universal appeal of myth to contemporary society, along with enduring insights into the way we conceptualize and explain our human condition, social and the natural environment through art, literature, and scholarly study.

This course examines the essential elements of both critical and creative thinking, with their application to the solution of problems. It describes the nature of evidence, sound arguments and valid conclusions, faulty reasoning, convergent and divergent thinking, and the creative process. Critical and creative thinking are then applied to problem solving, and both the discussion of ideas and the presentation of information to an audience.

Starting with a close reading of 'The Song of Songs' and at least one other ancient text, the course will examine the representation of desire in Western literature from its Biblical beginnings to its contemporary forms. A weekly one-hour lecture, focusing on the essential theoretical concepts and historical coverage, will be complemented with a two-hour discussion/seminar session, devoted to analysis of key works. Five of the two-hour sessions are designated as screening times.

This course is a study of recurrent themes in public affairs within the historical context of development of Canada from Confederation to the present. It is designed to increase the student's understanding of how our past conditions our present and to develop an appreciation of the forces which will shape our future.

Fear and Fiction explores the primary literary genres that depict and elicit fear to assess how scary stories signal social and cultural desires, anxieties, and prejudices. Students will reflect on ghosts, monsters, and nightmares both classic and contemporary to evaluate historical fears, the fears of our time, and what makes their own skin crawl.

The stories we tell and the stories we make popular say much about who we think we are: what makes us human, what makes us individuals, and what gives us value. Postmodern narratives demonstrate an interesting shift in the ideas about what it means to be human. Students in this course will learn to describe postmodernism, understand a variety of psychological and sociological theories about identity, and recognize changes to how humans value themselves and their qualities. Within this postmodern historical context, students will analyze how human identity is constructed and presented in narratives. The narratives chosen will provide a survey of different media, from short stories to graphic novels to film and television. In each medium, fictional identities such as gaming avatars, ghosts, vampires, and werewolves will provide clues to the puzzle of what it means to be human. ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

This course is intended to acquaint students with the intellectual tradition of moral philosophy and help them develop practical analytic and critical skills through reading, writing, and discussion. This course focuses on ethical issues faced by individuals in Canadian society. It helps students to clarify their values and establish a framework for ethical decision making. Students will explore a variety of moral issues such as euthanasia, abortion, minority rights, racism, bio-medical technology, capital punishment, pornography, discrimination, poverty, environment and war. These questions do not admit of easy answers, because there are often plausible-sounding moral reasons to be given on each side of the matter. In part because of this, there is a tendency to want to set them aside as unanswerable, as just a matter of opinion. Yet they cannot be ignored. Rather, these questions require that we think hard about them and address them carefully, and that we explore various underlying presuppositions that we often accept uncritically. As a result, this is a course in which we will focus on and practice the skill of critical thinking, and learn to express carefully, verbally and in writing, our reasoning for a given position.

This course introduces students to the underlying philosophies of Eastern Religions. We will study the origins, development, beliefs, sacred writings, mythical images, and practices of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto. We will also briefly analyze a selection of alternative Eastern religions. In addition, the method of learning in this course is participatory; students will select, explore and report on specific theoretical issues in Eastern Religions. The issues examined will be diversification of tradition, contemporary challenges to monastic and ascetic life, and the effects of colonialism, globalization, modernity and religious pluralism.

Western Religions continue to hold a dynamic position in the lives of many people in the world today. This course will expose students to the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (with a small study of Zoroastrianism). We will evaluate each of these religions in terms of their historical emergence, doctrinal development, and interaction with various world cultures. We will also briefly analyze a selection of alternative Western religions. In addition, the method of learning in this course is participatory; students will select, explore and report on specific theoretical issues. The issues examined will be gender and the role of women, sexuality, religious violence and non-violence, diaspora, the modern atheistic critique of religion, globalization and the effects of modernity, religious plurality, environmental and technological concerns. 

This course analyzes science fiction, an imaginative genre of fiction which explores science and technology and the effects of those on human beings and society as a whole. Drawing on literature, film, T.V., and other aspects of popular culture, students will examine themes such as utopias, dystopias, space travel, artificial intelligence, aliens, gender roles, etc. and develop an awareness of both the implications of the transformation of our present technological knowledge and the ethical issues which will face us all. Students will examine the role of science fiction as one of the most popular and thought-provoking genres of this century and the next generation. We will use a variety of theoretical and historical frameworks to interpret science fiction and decode the social and political contexts.

At a time when genetic research continues to narrow the gap between us and our closest animal relatives, laughter is emerging as the one uniquely human trait we all possess. Why do we laugh, and what is it that engages our sense of humour? This course will explore comedy and satire as two related, powerful artistic forms, but also as ways of being in the world. Taking off from some key theoretical perspectives on laughter (Hobbes, Freud, Bergson, Bakhtin, etc.), we will focus on comedy and culture; satire and ideology; comedy, satire and gender; comedy and subversion; comedy and the forbidden; comedy and love. The basic premise of the course is that the comic form is many things: a literary genre, a cultural expression, a therapeutic/healing art, a means of liberation (and oppression), and a way of conceiving the world around us. The course will cover works ranging from ancient Greek comedy to contemporary film and fiction, as well as readings from psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists and neurologists. Students who complete this course will have a good working knowledge of the history of comedy and satire, their characteristic features as genres, and their social and psychological functions. Reading selections may vary from year to year.

In this course, students will explore how humans have historically expressed their social anxieties through references to the undead. The course will begin with a discussion of the anthropology of zombies and their current popularity and what this reflects about our culture and civilization. From this foundation, students will examine historical, psychological, scientific, medical, philosophical and cultural implications. Readings, films and discussions will focus on critical evaluation and reflection about the zombie trope and include lessons about racism, slavery, anxiety about the body, cannibalism, genocide, panic and plague, gender, war and social-economic structures. Students will have the opportunity to explore in depth contemporary and historical representations of zombies and develop conclusions about the significance of those representations in the search for meaning.

This course will survey world literature in the modern period (19th - 21st century). We will explore how to read and enjoy a broad range of modern and contemporary authors from around the globe, as they wrestle with the reality of colonization in the 19th century, the violence and horrors of the 20th century, and the postmodern world. Plays, poetry, short and long fiction, as well as a variety of literary expression – including popular culture, global music, and the influence of the world wide web will be discussed. We will sample from all of the continents. Some theoretical texts will be read to establish some tools for analysis.

This course will argue for the interconnectedness of the world’s systems, linking Earth’s large-scale processes to specific environmental phenomenon. Topics include: our use and allocation of energy and mineral resources; urban environmental management, human population growth and its effects on food accessibility, desertification and loss of biodiversity. We will also analyze new and emerging environmental toxins and how they are impacting our ability to ensure clean water and soils for future generations. Research will be focused on understanding specific method for understanding scientific and policy literature, problem solving with an eye on all potential stakeholders. ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

This course examines several areas in the natural sciences including astronomy, earth sciences and biology. In the astronomy section, students acquire a basic understanding of the universe, its origins and composition, and the inter-relationships between galaxies, stars and planets, including those in our own solar system. Cosmology and current ideas regarding space and time are also discussed. In the geology section of the course, students acquire a basic understanding of various geological principles, techniques used in the study of geology and the economic benefits that can be derived from knowledge of geology. In the biology section, students explore basic concepts of various sub-disciplines of biology, thereby gaining an understanding of the nature of life and its complex interactions with the biotic and abiotic environments. Throughout the course, students develop critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills. Students also assess the impact of current research in the Natural Sciences on contemporary society. Practical laboratory and field exercises reinforce the lecture material.

This course will provide an overview of archaeology. Students will learn how the use of analytical methods in archaeology helps us to understand past human cultures. The course will also connect students to archaeologists as guest speakers in order to help interpret preserved artifacts. Students will explore ethical issues relevant to preservation by engaging in debates and other active learning opportunities.

This course examines the ethnic and multicultural diversity of Canadian society including a historical look at immigration and how the Canadian government has treated its inhabitants. Integral to the course is an overview of the emergence of Canada as a model of cultural pluralism. Students will also explore how Canada and more specifically Ontario, has attempted to protect the rights of its citizens. In addition, attention is paid to the challenges that are faced by newcomers and Aboriginal people. This course also provides an opportunity for students to look at a variety of different world religions and to share their own experiences. ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

Cyberpsychology is the study of what happens to the human psyche, human emotions, behaviours, 'selves' and group dynamics when engaging with online technologies. Students will be introduced to current online technologies and how they influence attitudes and behaviour. Topics related to this concept include: beliefs about the self, identity formation, self presentation, social comparison, and interpersonal relationships (e.g., friendship development, romantic relationship development – jealousy and dating). Emphasis will be placed on applying social psychological principles to understanding behaviour in online settings, with particular 'emphasis on development of the self. ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

This seminar style course is designed to facilitate critical discussion of the social construction, causes, and consequences of a range of social problems in Canadian society, and evaluate the policy responses, or lack thereof. The course includes the application and integration of sociological theories. Students will learn to use the sociological imagination, how to analyze social problems systematically, and will explore whether individual or societal solutions are needed. The topics will provide opportunities to challenge hidden assumptions, and includes focus on the significance of age, class, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Problems will include alcohol and drug abuse, family problems, poverty, education, health and illness, work, and the urban environment.

This course provides an introductory overview of the role of the major news/information media within a democratic society and their impact upon the ability of its citizens to make informed decisions. It considers the historical context of journalism in Canada, the major influences affecting the function of the news media and their evolution in a digital age. The course is also designed to enable the student to recognize bias in the news and evaluate news as a social construction.  ONLINE - ASYNCHRONOUS DELIVERY ONLY

This course involves the systematic study of human interaction. Sociology offers a unique perspective for examining social issues, understanding cultural diversity and the way socialization shapes personality. The student will also investigate areas such as deviant behaviour, the nature of social change, family structure and social organization. The course will analyze Canadian social institutions, emphasizing the pluralistic nature of Canadian society.

This course is designed to introduce students to the study of politics within the Canadian context. Students will examine and discuss the most important political institutions in Canada in order to better understand the issues that have both united and divided the country.

This course introduces the student to scholarly and scientific research concerning genetics and behaviour, followed by an examination of development throughout the life span. Further topics include: gender and sexuality, sensation and perception, learning, thinking and intelligence, motivation and emotion, and stress, health and human flourishing. Students explore the research process and apply psychological concepts to their lived experience.

Psychology is the scientific study of human thought processes, emotions and behaviour. Topics of interest to psychologists include all aspects of everyday life, from simple to complex thought processes to behaviours that might surprise us. This course introduces students to the basic processes of human behaviour. The course begins with a brief history of psychology and its emergence as a science. Areas of study include: the biological bases of behaviour; memory consciousness; social psychology; emotion; personality and psychological disorders and their treatment.

This theme-based course aims to provide an understanding of the historical, social, economic and political context within which scientific and technological advancement takes place. Innovation is a social product, often an expression of current ideas or a response to a social need. Conversely, technological and scientific innovation can transform the structure of society, its value system, and institutions. Through a series of lectures and student-centered activities, this course will assess the impact, benefits, consequences and implications of the inter-relationship between science, technology and society.

This course will present an overview of social scientific methods. The course will address the major components of the research process, including development of theoretically informed hypotheses, implementation of theoretical concepts, development of data collection instruments, testing of hypotheses through data analysis, and the presentation of research results. The student will develop the skills necessary to read and critically analyze social science research and discuss the ethics of social research.

Are you normal? Who hasn't, for many reasons, asked themselves this question at some point, or many points, in their lives? "Am I normal?" seems to be a defining question in modern Western culture, across every area of human life and experience, in health and illness. But has this always been the case? And who gets to say what's normal anyway? Psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists have all been eager to have their say on this matter. This course will examine various historical approaches to people with disabilities and the concepts of normal/abnormal that have emerged. We will challenge the whole idea of what is "normal" and we will attempt to demonstrate that normality is a problem to be struggled with, to be resisted, and ultimately, an idea to be rejected and replaced.