This course examines the paradoxical relationship of the erotic in Sanskrit poetry with its opposite—renunciation and the technologies of asceticism involving a rejection of sexuality. While the treatment of these themes reflects a deeper civilizational history emblematized by the figure of Śiva, the erotic ascetic, Sanskrit courtly poetry allows us to examine problems peculiar to courtly life and kingship. Did the aestheticization of power in Sanskrit poetry conflict with transcendental ideals? How was the legitimacy of pleasure seen as both autonomous from and concurrent with other legitimate human ends? We will read all works in translation, and no familiarity with Sanskrit is presumed.

This course studies the religious life of the Sasanian empire that ruled over Iran between 224 and 651 CE. It analyzes how different religions coexisted and interacted in the territory of the empire, including Zoroastrianism (the official religion of the empire), Manichaeism, Christianity, Judaism, and Mazdakism.

A critical exploration of selected topics in the history of Buddhism.

Student-initiated project of reading and research, supervised by a member of the Department. Primarily intended for students in Specialist or Major programs. After obtaining a supervisor, a student must apply to the Department of Historical Studies. A maximum of 1.0 credit in a reading course is permitted.

Student-initiated project of reading and research, supervised by a member of the Department. Primarily intended for students in Religion Specialist or Major programs. After obtaining a supervisor, a student must apply to the Department of Historical Studies. A maximum of 2 reading courses, amounting to 1.0 credit, is permitted.

For senior undergraduate students who have developed some knowledge of a discipline and its research methods, this course offers an opportunity to work on the research project of a professor. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, develop their research skills and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Project descriptions for the following fall-winter session are posted on the ROP website in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.

What does it mean to be human? We will explore South Asian food, music, poetry, and objects to understand human experience through the lived practice of South Asian communities in historical and contemporary contexts. This course uses South Asian texts and practices as theory--as usable tools that help us become better readers of the cultures we study and of ourselves.

This course introduces students to the basic grammar of the classical Sanskrit language. Students will engage with its phonology (including pronunciation, sandhi, and metrics) and morphology (including word formation, nominal declension, and verbal conjugation). Students will apply their grammatical knowledge and analytic skills to the reading of basic Sanskrit texts. By the end of the course, students will be able to read simple, narrative Sanskrit.

This course is a continuation of Introductory Sanskrit. It deepens students' knowledge of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of classical Sanskrit using both western and Indian linguistic terminology as descriptive devices. Students will apply their deeper grammatical knowledge and sharpened analytic skills to the reading of a variety of Sanskrit genres. This course counts towards LIN Major and Minor programs.

An introduction to the conceptual and empirical foundations of the discipline intended on providing a foundation for subsequent Sociology and Criminology, Law and Society courses and programs. Students will learn the sociological approach of theory and inquiry to a range of topics.

This course provides an introduction to the overlapping areas of “criminology” and “law and society” within the Criminology, Law & Society (CLS) stream. The goal of the course is to provide a sociological foundation for subsequent CLS courses. In addition to a criminological/socio-legal introduction to theory and methods, topics may include law, inequality, intersectionality, legal institutions, legal professions, crime, criminal justice, and punishment.

Note: This course is required for Criminology, Law and Society Major and Specialist programs.

This course introduces students to the field of cultural sociology, which seeks to understand how ideas, meanings, values and beliefs are created, and how they are also implicated in foundational sociological issues such as inequality, identity, social change, and social organization. These linkages are examined through topics such as popular culture, the mass media, science, religion, art, language, knowledge, public opinion, food, advertising and consumerism.

This course will cover major theoretical paradigms in the field of criminology included, among others, classical, positivist, strain, control, social learning, critical, feminist, postmodern and critical race theories. Students are required to take this course upon entry to the Criminology, Law and Society Major and Specialist programs.

This lecture course will lead students through an in-depth consideration of why genocides occur.

An analysis of the intersection between crime and organizations. This course introduces students to various organizational theories and examines crime by organizations, crime within organizations, and crime that is "organized."

This course provides an introduction to sociological and criminological analyses of crime, law, and the operation of the Canadian criminal justice system, with emphasis on how law and criminal justice are shaped by social, political and economic considerations. It will also consider how social identities such as race, class and gender influence individuals' perceptions of, and experiences in, the Canadian criminal justice system.

This course investigates the role of law in shaping social norms and regulating behavior.

Major theoretical and substantive debates in the sociology of law. How race, gender and social inequality shape legal institutions, the law and the broader social context.

This course explores how masculinity and femininity shape and are shaped by offending, violence, and victimization. Possible topics may include the gender gap in crime, intersectionality, gender diversity, victimless crimes, survival crimes, gender-based violence, and missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Logic of Social Inquiry compares the logic of quantitative and qualitative research. Key topics include the relationship between theory and research, conceptualization and measurement of sociological concepts and sampling strategies in the quantitative and qualitative traditions. Students are introduced to a range of data collection methods. Students are required to take this course upon entry to the Sociology and Criminology, Law and Society Major and Specialist programs.

This course addresses how we are able to measure social concepts such as social characteristics, social attitudes, and social actions. Descriptive statistics and their presentation in tables and graphs will be presented in some detail. A very basic introduction to inferential statistics and sampling will also be presented. Students are required to take this course upon entry to the Sociology and Criminology, Law and Society Major and Specialist programs.

This course examines what some of our key sociological thinkers have said about the role of education in society, from socialization to sorting students into different opportunities, including along the lines of race, class and gender. The course also covers the development of the education system in Canada, the career of teaching, curriculum development, and standardized testing. Students will have the opportunity to apply sociological insights to contemporary issues in education.

This course covers work and post-industrialization in Canada today. It considers labour force participation, and social differences and inequalities across different groups, including gender, class, and ethnicity/race. It also examines managerial cultures and styles, and workers' responses and resistance to managerial control.

This survey course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of Indigenous Studies. Students will explore the themes, theories and methods of the discipline, and develop a foundational knowledge about Indigenous history, peoples, cultures and societies in Canada.

This course builds on SOC100H5 through a deep engagement with 4-5 significant new publications in Sociology, typically books by department faculty and visiting scholars. By developing reading and writing skills through a variety of assignments, including reflections, and experiential learning in classroom debates and simulations with the researchers who produced the publications, students will learn to "think like a sociologist". Possible topics covered include race/ethnicity, gender, work, immigration, political sociology, cultural sociology, and criminology, as well as other major subfields within the discipline.

This course presents a discussion and analysis of classical sociological theory including such luminaries as Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Dubois among others. Students are required to take this course upon entry to the Sociology Major and Specialist programs and the Criminology, Law and Society Specialist program.

How do individuals relate to the complex and over-used concept of "globalization"? This course will explore major theories and controversies in the field of globalization scholarship, looking at the phenomena from the perspective of global capitalists, anti-globalization social movements, consumers, states, and citizens. Students will critically evaluate common claims made about globalization, and acquire tools to assess the validity of competing perspectives.

This course examines the social causes of illness and disease, the sociology of illness experience, and the sociology of risks to health. The course addresses only peripherally issues related to formal health care provision, health care work, and the structure of health care systems.

This course will examine how human needs are met by states. It focuses on the sociological, political and economic forces that help create new policies and reshape existing social policies. The course will provide a survey of welfare state policies, economic policies and family policies. It will also focus on the outcomes of social policy as these affect various constituencies and social groups such as the economically underprivileged and disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minority groups, and people with disabilities.

The development and variation in contemporary families will be presented. Topics may include cross-cultural comparisons, the impact of legal, economic and political factors as well as change in the meaning of the term "family".