ANT102H5 • Introduction to Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
Anthropology is the global and holistic study of human biology and behaviour, and includes four subfields: biological anthropology, archaeology, sociocultural anthropology and linguistic anthropology. The material covered is directed to answering the question: What makes us human? This course is a survey of sociocultural and linguistic anthropology. In some years, students may have the option of participating in an international learning experience during Reading Week that will have an additional cost and application process.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT204H5 • Sociocultural Anthropology
A general introductory course emphasizing social and political organization, economics, and the development of theory. Specific cases of social dynamics are drawn from both traditional and contemporary societies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT206H5 • Culture and Communication
Introduction to linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics. This includes: the issue of meaning in language, the use of language in context, the role of language in the organization of human activity, language and identity, the sequential organization of talk-in-interaction.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT207H5 • Being Human: Classic Thought on Self and Society
The question of what it means to be human has been at the core of anthropology for over two centuries, and it remains as pressing now as it ever was. This course introduces students to some classic attempts at addressing this question with specific reference to the nature of personhood and social life. By engaging with the writings of Marx, Weber, Freud, and DeBeauvoir among other great thinkers of the modern age, students will develop deeper knowledge of the major theories guiding anthropological research. We will pay close attention to how arguments are constructed in these texts and focus on the methodologies that these pioneers of social thought developed in their inquiries. The course covers enduring topics ranging from the production of social inequality, what it means to be an individual, how collective life is shaped by economic markets, and the role of religion in shaping human experience, to develop an understanding of central issues facing the world today.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT208H5 • The Culture Machine: The Anthropology of Everyday Life
This course will introduce students to culture and social theory via the lens of popular culture. Commodities, advertising, and new technologies will be considered in light of their cultural content. The course may consider the marketing of identities, gender, sexualities, bodies, ethnicity, religion, and ideology, as well as resistance.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT209H5 • War, Trade and Aid: The Anthropology of Global Intervention
This course explores how anthropology approaches the study of various interventions into human life and society. These forms of intervention--nation building, human rights, and development--differ in the scale and scope of their projects and in what they hope to accomplish. They also have much in common. Each is explicitly concerned with improving the conditions under which people live, and yet each has also been criticized for making things worse rather than better. This course will explore why this might be the case by focusing on examples taken from around the world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT215H5 • How Should One Live? An Introduction to the Anthropology of Ethics
Few questions are more obviously important than that which Socrates poses in Plato's Republic: "how should one live?" This course considers the various ways this question has been asked and the answers it has received across a range of very different contexts. It begins with Socrates' address to the Athenian assembly in The Apology and his conclusion that the examined life is the only one worth living. We then turn to the Greek past and the Homeric background against which the reflective life, that Socrates exemplified, stood in stark contrast. With this background in place we will proceed to consider the various ways in which the question of how one should live has been answered across of a range of social settings. Drawing on ethnography as well journalism and documentary film we will consider, for instance, Rastafarianism, Jainism, living "off-grid" in North America, deaf communities in the US, transgenderism, and non-binary gender identity.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT216H5 • Racketeers, Smugglers and Pirates: Anthropology of Illegality
This course will explore anthropological approaches to the study of various forms of illegal activities. Denaturalizing the state-imposed categories of legality and illegality, the course will examine how the legal-illegal divide is constructed contingently, and unpack moralities, inequalities, precarities, and forms of politics that illegal activities both rely on and make possible. The course will bring together recent ethnographies of racketeering, gang violence, piracy, human trafficking and contraband smuggling from different world regions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT217H5 • Anthropology of Law
The course is designed to introduce the key concepts, issues, and methods of legal anthropology as a specific field of study in relation to the larger history of the discipline. The course will explore how anthropological works understand and examine the legal and social orders, political and normative authorities, frames of rights, regimes of crime and punishment, and forms of justice-seeking. Accounting for different understandings of law and everyday legal practices, the course readings include canonical texts of legal anthropology as well as recent ethnographies of law.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT219H5 • How Do We Know? The Social Anthropology of Knowledge
“How do we know what we know?” is a question that has long concerned anthropologists. And in a world like ours – where “fake news,” religious credos and conspiracy theories coexist with common sense, mainstream media and scientific truth(s) – the question seems more important than ever. This course explore anthropological insights into knowledge and the question of how we know. To do so we will examine a range of contemporary knowledge-making activities which may include surveillance, witchcraft, conspiracy, governance, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT241H5 • Anthropology and the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (in Canada)
This course will examine the relationship between the field of anthropology and Indigenous people of Turtle Island. We will examine the past, present, and future manifestations of this relationship. This course will emphasize Indigenous, decolonial, and community scholars. Students will be encouraged to think critically and reflect on their own world views.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT281H5 • Special Topics in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
Special course on selected topics in sociocultural and/or linguistic anthropology; focus of topic changes each year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT310H5 • Political Anthropology of Ancient States
Today most people live in state-level societies. But 8,000 years ago, no one did. Why such a dramatic change? This comparative analysis of ancient, complexly organized societies is focused on understanding the processes involved in the functioning of states, examining how various political, social, economic, and religious orientations affected state information, cohesion, maintenance and dissolution. What were the range of alternatives explored in the earliest and later complexly organized societies that developed around the world?
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT316H5 • South Asian Archaeology
This course surveys the archaeology of South Asia (modern-day India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and northern regions) from the Palaeolithic to the Medieval Period (+200,000 ya to ca. 1600 CE/AD) using a comparative framework. South Asia is a place where many external cultural traditions mixed with indigenous traditions to create new socioeconomic and sociopolitical entities and sequences. While we will examine classic examples of hunter-gatherer groups, early villages, urban settlements, regional polities, and large empires through time, we will also stress the contemporaneity of groups of people with very different lifestyles -- hunter-gatherers participated in trading networks with town and city dwellers, pastoral nomads moved through settled village regions during their annual migrations. The impact of archaeological research on the region today is seen through the politicization of South Asian prehistory and history that has strongly affected both interpretations of the past and modern political events. Cases such as the debate over the identity of the Harappans and the existence of the Aryans will be evaluated from both an archaeological and a political perspective.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT322H5 • Anthropology of Youth
This course will present various perspectives on the nature and dynamics of youth culture. The course will examine one or more of the following: capitalism and youth cultures, ethnomusicology, and discourses of "youth." Topics may include North American subcultures (such as punk and hip-hop) and/or ethnographies of youth from other parts of the world. The course may also use frameworks from cultural studies and semiotics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT335H5 • Anthropology of Gender
Gender concerns the ways that groups define and experience what it is to be male, female, or a gender identity in-between or outside of that binary, and in all societies the boundaries of gender categories are both policed and resisted. In this course we examine how gender is made materially, discursively, and through intersections with other structures of inequality (e.g. race, sexuality, class, etc.).
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT350H5 • Globalization and the Changing World of Work
The course uses ethnographic material to examine ways in which global forces have changed the nature of work in different sites since World War Two -- North America, Europe, and the countries of the South are selectively included.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT351H5 • Money, Markets, Gifts: Topics in Economic Anthropology
Sociocultural anthropology has, since its inception, questioned the assumption that "the economy" ought to be understood as a domain distinguishable from other fields of human interaction, such as religion and kinship, or from power, politics, affect, and morality. This class offers a set of introductory readings that range from the analysis of non-Western forms of exchange and value to the study of capitalism; from stock-markets to the anti-globalization movement.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT352H5 • Protest, Power and Authority: Topics in Political Anthropology
This course explores ethnographically the social and cultural practices through which the exercise of power is legitimized, authorized, and contested, examining such topics as nation-building, non-governmental activism, human rights, and the global "war on terror."
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT353H5 • Queer Bodies: Gender, Disability, and Illness
This course explores key concepts in medical anthropology, disability studies, and gender and queer studies by examining how gender and sexuality matter in the contexts of illness and disability across a range of institutional, social, and national contexts. Students will learn to think critically about the body as a site of power configured in the social and material fields of heath/illness, dis/ability, race, and gender and sexuality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT354H5 • Capitalism and its Rebels
This class explores different forms of rebellion, insurgency, protest and political mobilization from an anthropological perspective, focusing specifically on anti-capitalist mobilizations. Grounded in ethnographies that range from studies of piracy, hacking, and the occupy movements, to struggles against the privatization of water and social movements organizing for "the commons," this course offers key insight into contemporary social movements, their deep groundings in the past, and the implications they might have for the future.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT355H5 • Disabled Cyborgs and Racist Robots: Bodies, Technologies, and Social Justice
How does technology mediate our ideas about the social differences of disability, race, and gender? By rethinking the role of technology in reproducing social disparities and challenging bioethical debates about enhancement, students will emerge with the tools to reimagine the relationship between technology, the human body, and social justice.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT356H5 • War, Peace, and Revolution in the Middle East: Anthropological Perspectives on Political Conflicts
This course will explore political violence and social change in the modern Middle East. What forms of loyalty, authority or rivalry have accompanied political violence? What economic activities and relations have been shaped by political conflict and peace in the region? What are the historical origins of nation-states, political regimes, and social movements in the region? By taking a historical and anthropological look at political conflict and change, this course will examine the transformations of the region in the last two centuries.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT357H5 • Nature, People and Power: Topics in Environmental Anthropology
This course examines anthropological approaches to the environment and environmentalism. Through key readings on indigenous peoples and conservation, traditional ecological knowledge, community-based natural resource management, ecotourism and the human dimensions of climate change, the course explores the complex social, cultural and political encounters that produce 'the environment' as a resource in need of management.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT358H5 • Field Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology
This course investigates how sociocultural and/or linguistic anthropologists collect data, conduct fieldwork, and interpret research results. The course will benefit students who want to gain an appreciation of research design and practice and those considering graduate-level work in anthropology or another social science.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT360H5 • Anthropology of Religion
This course considers anthropological approaches to western and non-western religions and religious phenomena.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT362H5 • Language in Culture and Society
The course aims to introduce students to theoretical questions and contemporary research in linguistic anthropology. Topics include language ideologies, language and media, language and embodiment, as well as core theories in linguistic anthropology.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT363H5 • Magic and Science
What's the difference between magic and science? Is there one? This course explores anthropological approaches to magic and science and related topics, raising basic questions about the nature of knowledge: what can we know about the world, and how can we know it? Through close readings of key anthropological texts, we consider what--if anything--differentiates magic and science, belief and truth, subjectivity and objectivity, irrationality and rationality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT364H5 • Fieldwork in Language, Culture, and Society
This course will give students hands-on experience in methods for recording, transcribing, coding, and analyzing ethnographic data in linguistic anthropology. Students will synthesize weekly reading materials focused on these methods with actual, collaborative, in-class practice on a designated topic in the anthropology of everyday social interaction. Through this synthesis students will come to discern the relationship between everyday instances of communication between people and what the patterns of speech in this interaction may say about larger society. Students will be expected to develop their own analyses of the data collected under the guidance of the instructor and to formulate a final project.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT365H5 • Meaning, Self, Society
Humans, to paraphrase Clifford Geertz, are suspended in webs of meaning that they themselves have spun. This course introduces students to the tools anthropologists and others have developed in order to analyze and understand these "webs of meaning." Readings in philosophy, cultural theory and ethnography will be used to engage with questions regarding the construction of meaning in relation to ethnic identity, social structure, gender, political economy, personhood, and religion. Drawing on classic texts and the tools of semiotics, students will learn to apply the lens of symbolic analysis to interpret a range of contemporary social phenomena.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT368H5 • World Religions and Ecology
A study of the responses of selected world religious traditions to the emergence of global ecological concerns. Key concepts and tenets of the traditions and their relevance for examination of the environment crisis. In some years, students may additionally have the option of participating in an international learning experience during Reading Week that will have an additional cost and application process.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT369H5 • Religious Violence and Nonviolence
Religious violence and nonviolence as they emerge in the tension between strict adherence to tradition and individual actions of charismatic figures. The place of violence and nonviolence in selected faith traditions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT370H5 • Environment, Culture and Film
Our present environmental challenge constitutes of the most pressing areas of contemporary social, cultural, ethical and ecological concern. Acid rain, poisoned air, forest clear-cutting, ozone depletion, global climate change, toxic waste sites--the list goes on--all weigh heavily on our personal and intellectual lives. This course attempts to introduce students to both the scope and seriousness of present ecological concerns, as well as some core principles and concepts in the field of the intersection of environment and culture, through the lens of feature films. Themes such as the precautionary principle, urban/rural dualisms, ecofeminism, deep ecology, and the overwhelming burden placed on poor populations by environmental destruction are but a few of the areas which will be examined through the use of feature films, both classic and contemporary. We will do this in part by touching on some of the major writers and classic essays in the field, Class lectures will be supplemented by audiovisuals, guest lectures and class discussions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT371H5 • The Natural City: Cultural Approaches to Urban Sustainability
Since 2007, for the first time in human history, more than half the world’s peoples live in cities. It is estimated that by 2030 over 60% will be urban dwellers. This demographic shift suggests that for many (if not most) people, their primary encounter with “nature” will be urban-based. This course explores "the city" through a multispecies lens and challenges assumptions about the human-centeredness (anthropocentrism) of urban places. In this course students are invited to utilize a variety of approaches, including arts-based ethnography, journaling, archival research, photography, sound-scaping, et al., as we explore the following questions: How do ideas about nature-culture shape our interactions with nonhumans in cities? How do built environments structure human-nonhuman relationships in urban spaces? How have human-nonhuman interactions changed over time in cities? How can we foster more compassionate and caring relationships with nonhumans in cities - and how might we do this in the context of social-ecological injustices and climate change? What might a thriving multispecies city of the future look like?
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT381H5 • Special Topics in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
Special course on selected topics in sociocultural and/or linguistic anthropology; focus of topic changes each year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT397H5 • Independent Study
This independent study course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading and initial research planning on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the reading and study program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT397Y5 • Independent Study
This independent study course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading and initial research planning on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the reading and study program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT398H5 • Independent Reading
This independent reading course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the reading program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT398Y5 • Independent Reading
This independent reading course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the reading program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT431H5 • Special Problems in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
Special seminar on selected topics in sociocultural and/or linguistic anthropology; focus of seminar changes each year.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT433H5 • Advanced Seminar in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology
Special seminar on selected topics in any social science aspect of anthropology, including one or more sub-fields; focus of seminar changes each year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT455H5 • Toxicity and Environmental Injustice
The presence of toxic chemicals is a defining feature of contemporary life. But while toxicity is everywhere, it is not everywhere the same. Considering toxicity through medical and environmental anthropology, science and technology studies, and environmental justice, we will gain new perspectives on the politics of evidence, the nature of health, and the nature of nature. Creative, hands-on assignments will help us understand the toxic worlds around us at UTM.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT460H5 • Theory in Sociocultural Anthropology
Survey of major theoretical perspectives developed in social and cultural anthropology. The main ideas and underlying assumptions of each perspective will be critiqued and evaluated for their contributions to the field.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT462H5 • Living and Dying: Topics in Medical Anthropology and Global Health
This course is concerned with contemporary medical knowledge practices, with particular emphasis on Western medicine and Public Health. Through a set of key readings in sociocultural medical anthropology, students will explore topics such as the art and science of medicine, end of life rites and rituals, expertise, and the politics and perils of intervention. This is an advanced, writing -intensive seminar that will particularly appeal to sociocultural anthropology students, and those interested in pursuing a career in the health professions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT463H5 • Anthropologies of Water: On Meaning, Value, and Futures
This class delves into the topic of water from an anthropological perspective by thinking of water not only as resource but also as meaningful substance, symbol, and mediator of human and non-human relations. Class will consist mainly of discussions of ethnographic readings but also of hands-on class exercises, field-trips, and auto-ethnographic work. In some years, students may additionally have the option of participating in an international learning experience during Reading Week that will have an additional cost and application process.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT465H5 • The Anthropology of Islam
This course offers an upper-level overview of anthropological research on Islam and cultures of the Muslim world. In this seminar-style class, we will critically examine how anthropologists have approached the study of Islam and Muslim communities and whether there is something we can call the “anthropology of Islam.” We will approach these questions through the critical reading of challenging theoretical texts from the mid-20th to 21st century, but also by examining various manifestations of the Islamic tradition and the diversity and complexity of Muslim cultures around the world, including in sub- Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT467H5 • Are Media Turning Humans into Cyborgs?
The contemporary world is profoundly shaped by mass media. We might even ask if media technologies have changed what it means to be human. Democratic politics, globalized economic flows, and new religious practices all depend on modern technologies of communication, as does the discipline of anthropology. How might we make sense of how social media, television, radio, and film have shaped our lives from an ethnographic perspective? In this course, we will pursue this question through a series of studies of media use, production, and circulation in a wide range of cultural contexts, including the exploring centrality of media to the production of anthropological knowledge. Developing some of the themes that students might have been exposed to in
ANT102H5 (Introduction to Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology) and
ANT204H5 (Sociocultural Anthropology), students will also be guided in pursuing their own research interests in this upper-level seminar.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT468H5 • Anthropology of Troubled Times
Rising sea levels, unnatural disasters, global displacements, energy shortages, poverty, racism, mediated mass-surveillance, conspiracies, populism, pandemics – all provide unsettling markers of our times. As chroniclers and theorists of the contemporary, anthropologists have been keen to diagnose and engage the moment. Their efforts have yielded dividends: key insights into some of today’s most pressing problems, as well as new analytic tools with which to capture them. This fourth-year seminar will enable students to survey a range of pressing contemporary concerns and to explore some of the ways anthropologists and cognate scholars are engaging with them. Because anthropology is part of the world it seeks to understand, the seminar will also consider anthropology’s own grounds of knowledge, dwelling on some of the epistemological, ethical and political conundrums the discipline’s real-world entanglements entail. This concern takes us beyond “troubled times,” inviting reflection on that curious Western project we call “anthropology.”
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT497H5 • Advanced Independent Study
This independent study course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading, research and planning for a publishable report on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the research and study program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT497Y5 • Advanced Independent Study
This independent study course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading, research and planning for a publishable report on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the research and study program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT498H5 • Advanced Independent Reading
This independent reading course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the reading program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ANT498Y5 • Advanced Independent Reading
This independent reading course is designed to offer students advanced supervised reading on an anthropological topic not covered in other courses, or covered only briefly. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the reading program.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT109H5 • Contemporary Communication Technologies
This course examines different information and communication technologies (ICTs) through the analysis of such genres as contemporary written, visual, oral, electronic and musical forms. It illustrates a range of theoretical perspectives that seek to explain the relationship between communication and technology. This course will also examine, briefly, the history of ICTs.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT110H5 • Rhetoric and Media
This course critically examines the written, visual, aural, and dynamic rhetoric as it pertains to communications for academic and other purposes across a range of digital and interactive media discourses.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT111H5 • Critical Coding
This experiential learning course introduces students to the practice and theory of coding, programming, and basic development of user-oriented software. The lectures illustrate a core range of software development concepts that provide the foundations needed for the practical coding of front-end applications such as mobile interfaces or of back-end software such as introductory artificial intelligence or social media analysis. The practicals are lab-based and focus on applying these theoretical skills to solving problems grounded in a critical understanding of the interaction between people, culture, and society, by developing software or apps in languages such as Java, Objective C, Swift, Python.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT112H5 • Foundations of Management
This course introduces students to the foundational principles and analytical tools from the management discipline in link with today’s economic and technological advancements. Particular emphasis is given to the interconnections between information and communications technologies, innovation, the role of managers and their decision-making processes, and related social, cultural, and economic institutions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT200H5 • Race, Media and Culture
This course provides an introduction to the intersecting fields of critical race, media, and cultural studies. We will pay particular attention to dynamics of social difference and power and the communication strategies and technologies through which these are navigated, reproduced and interrupted. Students will be introduced to critical and analytical tools for understanding the cultural and media circulation, regulation and reimagination of things like race, sexuality, time, gender, class, indigeneity, space, ethnicity, ability and nationality. These critical tools equip students with the skills to write, design and build ethical innovations in new media and culture.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT202H5 • Human-Machine Communication
From voice responsive cars and virtual assistants to social robots and smart toys, people are increasingly interacting with communicative technologies in their daily lives. In this course students will consider the implications of this evolution in communication practice – informing design, ethics, efficacy, privacy, and other implications. Human-machine communication is a specific area of study within communication encompassing human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, and human-agent interaction.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT203H5 • Business Research Methods
This course provides an introduction to research design, conduct, and analysis for making informed business decisions. The course will focus on basic methodologies, qualitative and quantitative methods, data sources, reliability, validity, and other measurement issues, data collection and research design, ethics in research, and report writing and presentation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT204H5 • Design Thinking I
An introduction to the basic concepts and skills of design thinking as an interdisciplinary subject. Emphasizes creative and critical thinking in the design process; provides the student with the theory and operational skills necessary to solve design problems in the realms of symbolic and visual communication, material objects, environments, and organized services and activities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT205H5 • Digital Innovation and Cultural Transformation
This course examines a range of theoretical perspectives and worldviews that assess the cultural and social changes brought about by modern technology. These perspectives will be used to analyze the potential problems initiated by the introduction of digital and computing technologies to various contexts. Possible topics include: cybernetics; media convergence; artificial intelligence/life; smart technology; digital environmentalism and digital warfare.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT206H5 • Law, Technology and Culture
This course will provide a detailed review of copyright, trademark and patent law with a special emphasis on how they apply to digital media. This course will also review the law of contract as it applies to digital industries and investigate the relevant tort law. In addition, other regulatory issues will be discussed such as telecommunications and broadcasting law both from a Canadian and an international perspective.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT208H5 • Communications Research Methods
This course is a survey of research methodologies in the field of communication and media. A central goal of the course is to train students how to critically assess methods commonly used in social science research. Students will also become familiar with how to properly collect and interpret quantitative and qualitative social science research data.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/8TMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT210H5 • Signs, Referents, and Meaning
How written or spoken statements, gestures, and aesthetic objects come to have meanings. How we recognize and fail to recognize such meanings. The nature, systems, and processes of interpretation. The role of mental models.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT211H5 • Fundamentals of User Interface Programming
This experiential learning course introduces students to the practice and theory of coding, programming, and development of user interfaces. The lectures illustrate an advanced range of software development concepts needed for the practical coding of user interfaces across a variety of devices. The practicals are lab-based and focus on applying these theoretical skills to design, implementation, and testing of user interface software components. Students will have the opportunity to acquire project management and software engineering skills Scrum, Agile), programming languages (Java, Javascript, Objective C, Swift, and other mobile and web programming languages), and evaluation methodologies (unit testing, bug tracking).
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT212H5 • Coding Cultures
This course introduces students to the critical study of computing and its interaction with culture and society. It examines how relations between humans and technology create different kinds of technocultures. Students will explore contemporary technologies from both a technical and cultural/historical point of view, focusing on the labour of coding, the materiality of software code, the role of intellectual property, and the cultures that sustain and arise from digital media production.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT218H5 • Foundations of Media and Technology Studies
An introduction to foundational theories for studying the relationship between media, technology and society. The course presents technology as a social practice and considers a wide variety of concepts and methods for studying its cultural and political significance.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT219H5 • Media Economics I
This course presents economic principles that explain how markets help organize exchange and production among competing but nevertheless cooperating economic units. Theories of consumer demand, the economic nature and function of business firms, optimal business decision rules of monopoly, oligopoly, and anti-combines regulations, as well as game theory, are presented. Efficiency criteria pertaining to the operation of firms and markets, the role of property rights, and the scope for public policy, are also examined.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT221H5 • Digital Marketing I
Techniques for developing a comprehensive marketing strategy will be developed with particular emphasis on digital products and services. The nature of digital markets, approaches to advertising, pricing and such areas as versioning will also be discussed.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT222H5 • Political Economy of Communication, Culture, and Technology
The course analyzes the relationship between media systems, communication technologies, and power. As an introduction to a political economy approach, this course surveys how media, culture, information and technologies are produced, circulated, and consumed, with attention to both historical developments and contemporary practices in the digital era. The course provides a basic understanding of media systems, technologies, and culture production in relation to the market, the state, and civil society. Students will develop a basic understanding of the political, economic, cultural, and regulatory environment in which media, culture, and technologies are produced, and pay particular attention to the implications of processes such as globalization, digitization, marketization, and commodification for social life.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT224H5 • Organizational Studies I
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the activities and processes that take place in organizations. Major emphasis is placed on the investigation of the varied measures that can be developed to assess and subsequently improve the performance of the organization. The interpretation of measures in managerial decision-making will also be investigated in detail.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT225H5 • Information Systems
This course has been designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the role of computers and communication systems in modern organizations. Unlike programming courses, the focus here is on the application of computer-based systems to support information requirements for problem solving and managerial decision-making. Topics include concepts of information, humans as information processors, survey of hardware and software applications, introduction to information systems analysis and design.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT226H5 • Data Analysis I
This course introduces students to the basic tools of data analysis, most particularly statistics and modeling. Students are introduced to basic principles of descriptive and inferential statistics with a focus on the types of data that they will typically encounter in a digital environment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT250H5 • Foundations of Digital Design and Production
Advances in technology have provided users ready access to empowering technologies enabling creative and enterprise digital production. This course provides hands-on skills on critical design and production suites and platforms used across industries and disciplines, centred on the development of industry-standard creative design.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT260H5 • Web Development and Design I
This course will explore foundational techniques of web development and design in the context of human-centred technologies, and design of experiences, interfaces and interactions. Topics include development of semantic web properties using contemporary programming techniques; standards-based design of responsive accessible systems; and production of rich media for online displays.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT261H5 • Speculative Design I
This introductory course in information architecture is a foundation of user interface design. Information architects work in organizations to design interfaces that enable users to find and navigate complex data via technology. Using architectural and design concepts to create and organize user-friendly information structures, this course includes exploring theories and hands-on practice with information organization, structure, categorization, representation, navigation and modeling.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT270H5 • Principles in Game Design
This course will address the principles and methodologies behind the rules and play of games. It will foster a solid understanding of how games function to create experiences, including rule design, play mechanics, game balancing and the integration of visual, tactile, audio, and textual components into games.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT273H5 • Professional Practice and Communication
This professional practice course provides students with basic skills in professional communication, acumen, and problem solving that will help them develop personally and professionally.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT285H5 • Immersive Environment Design
Students will develop skills in the areas of bitmap/vector graphics, audio/visual production and editing, 2D/3D modeling and animation, and video game design. Students will produce immersive environments while addressing and engaging issues of remix culture and intellectual property.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT286H5 • Interactive Media Design
This course provides students with the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to produce responsive web content. Students will develop skills in the areas of website design, interactive and animated web content, mobile app development, and mobile game development.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT295H5 • Topics in Communication, Culture, Information and Technology
An in depth examination of selected topics in communication, culture, information and technology. Topics vary from year to year, and the content in any given year depends on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT300H5 • Critical Analysis of Media
This course offers an overview of critical theoretical concepts and applies them to contemporary media. Students will use concepts from social theory, media studies and technology studies to critically analyze the many facets of the evolution and pervasiveness of digital media.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT301H5 • Design for Online Cultures
This course builds upon the concepts introduced in
CCT218H5, Introduction to Digital Culture, through an exploration of the design and development of online information services (e.g. websites, digital libraries). It examines the standards, modeling approaches, and methods for testing. Students will experiment with different approaches to design of websites or other online services for different types of delivery devices (e.g. desktops, mobiles).
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT302H5 • Developing and Managing Communication Campaigns and Projects
Communication campaigns and projects, whether they involve marketing, politics, or advertising require the establishment of objectives, tasks, and milestones. Furthermore developing and managing campaigns requires the development of knowledge and skills relating to the management of teams. Students will acquire analytic skills allowing them to understand the development and management of communication campaigns and projects. Current theory and research will comprise an integral part of the course as will study of the appropriate software tools. A significant component of the assessment for this course will be a group project that will involve the design of a communication campaign or project which will be presented to a group of experts.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT303H5 • Communicating In and Between Organizations
This course examines the nature of communications in organizations. Communications are the glue that holds organizations together. Understanding theoretically and practically the multi-faceted functions of communication in and between organizations is essential for anyone seeking to develop a career in an organization whether it be private or public. Students will acquire analytic skills allowing them to understand organizational communication from a variety of different perspectives. They will also be required to develop and actively critique practical examples of organizational communication.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT304H5 • Visual Communication and Digital Environments
This is a project-based course that focuses on analyzing and evaluating the persuasive impact of the images we use every day to make decisions about our social networks, what we buy, how we live, what we care about, and who we are. Students will learn about rhetorical devices used in visual communications and then work in teams to create a persuasive awareness campaign for an NGO, Government Agency, Healthcare organization or other social interest group as the final project.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/8TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT305H5 • Design and Implementation of Multimedia Documents
The principles and techniques of user-centered, functional design are introduced and applied to the analysis of software interfaces and the creation of multimedia documents. The roles of shared metaphors and mental models in clear, concise and usable designs are emphasized. Students will produce multimedia documents, which make effective use of text, colour, user input, audio, still, and time-based images.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT306H5 • Interpersonal Communication
An introduction to the cognitive, social, dyadic and group factors that shape communication and relational development between people. The objective of this course is for students to learn and apply the communication processes involved in encoding and decoding messages that help us understand others around us. Students will learn concepts, theories, and skills related to interpersonal communication. Topics include impression management, interpersonal influence, relational development, and conversational skills.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT307H5 • Critical Infrastructure Studies
This course explores how infrastructures shape society, culture, and understanding of the human condition. We examine different infrastructures from electric networks to communication networks, data farms, environmental sensing systems, smart cities, and satellite technologies and our reliance on them. We will also examine how these infrastructures are sustained and maintained. By building on critical theories and approaches to infrastructures and their impact, the course investigates the power of infrastructure to establish the conditions of our daily lives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT308H5 • Advanced Research Methodologies
This course provides students with an in-depth study and critical analysis of research methodologies within the discipline of communications and new media. Students will learn to explicitly identify generalizable findings, ethical concerns, study limitations, and new contributions to the field of knowledge using existing studies in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methodologies. Students will also gain experience in identifying and assessing problems within a research design and develop the ability to recommend revisions and/or new contexts and techniques for replicating the studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT310H5 • Popular Culture and Society
How does consumerism affect symbolic production, circulation and transactions? Major modern theories of mass communication will be presented (Fiske, Bourdieu, Benjamin, Jenkins, Frankfurt school, and Marxist approaches). Students will explore new structures of mass communication in relation to popular culture systems, and their economic, technological and institutional dimensions. Topics include Disney, Hollywood, celebrity culture, social media, and user generated content in digital environments.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT311H5 • Game Design and Theory
This course provides an introduction to games studies. It reviews the history of games, from board and card games through to the latest digital games. It enables students to understand the medium of games through various lenses such as critical theory and ethnography. Students are introduced to the concepts of game narrative, the influence of technology in digital games, and the emergence of game paradigms such as casual games, serious games, game ‘modding’, and subversive play.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT314H5 • Mind, Media and Representation
This course applies a variety of theoretical and practical approaches to consider the multiple and often conflicting ways representations in media are produced and consumed. The study of representations is approached from the perspective that they are best understood as both discursive and ideological. Questions to be examined include: What does it mean for historical and contemporary representations to carry economic, ideological and discursive power? To what extent do audiences hold power to resist or negotiate with representations? How might we interrogate the notion that we live in a post-feminist, post-racialized society in which older ideas about gender, race and power no longer apply or need re-thinking?
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT316H5 • Communication and Advertising
A study of theories in communication and meaning with different reference to advertising, advertising messages, and advertising management.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT317H5 • Creative and Experimental Coding
This course will instruct students in the use of programming languages such as Python or Processing for novel applications, including cases from animation, design, and information visualization. Appropriate use of code libraries, platforms and programming techniques will be developed. Assessment will be based on both programming and the expressive use of programs in their case context.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT318H5 • Sustainability and the Digital Enterprise
This course focuses on investigating the impacts of the digital enterprise on sustainability. The course presents an overview of the sustainability challenges and the concrete approaches to solving those challenges with the use of technology. The course uses an active learning approach allowing students the opportunity to learn while working on different sustainability projects linked to digital enterprises.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT320H5 • Communication, Technology, and Social Change
This course explores how media and media technology have shifted the nature of existing political and social orders. We will focus on how social movements and political change engage media and technology to disrupt social norms and practices that perpetuate inequality. This will bring us in contact with theories of social movement mobilization, political communication, and digital media. We may also explore the ways that legacy and digital media have changed to be in service of misinformation and state repression.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
CCT321H5 • Introduction to Finance
This course will provide students with an understanding of investment appraisal from a financial standpoint. It will provide them with the necessary tools to construct the financial component of a business plan and analyze the financial performance of a company. It will examine the practical problems of capital budgeting and highlight the techniques of performing ongoing monitoring of a company's financial health and risks.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT324H5 • Organizational Studies II
Overview of individual and group behaviour in organizations, including motivation, communication, decision making, influence and group dynamics. Examination of major aspects of organizational design including structure, environment, technology, goals, size, inter-organizational relationships, innovation and change.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT325H5 • Media Economics II
This course explores macroeconomics through the analysis of national and international crises. The course begins with a discussion of the nature of economics, a brief examination of markets, and a discussion of crisis and growth. We survey the institutions and dynamics of growth in the post WWII period, their breakdown in the 1960s and the spread of international crisis in the 1970s, and the crises of various economic policy responses from the 1980s to the present. After this historical overview, we explore macroeconomic theory and its development over the last 50 years. We study the Keynesian model and its emphasis on employment and output, its crisis in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the rise of monetarist alternatives, the elaboration of aggregate supply and demand models highlighting prices instead of employment, the surge of supply-side and rational expectations economics during the Reagan administration and the continuing debates among economists over the merits and problems of the various theoretical approaches. The course closes with an examination the various forms of crises tied to the emergence of information and communications technologies and the knowledge economy.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT327H5 • Price Management
Price setting is one of the most important marketing mix decisions, which involves understanding both supply side factors (e.g., costs), and demand side factors (e.g. consumer willingness to pay). In this course, we will approach the pricing decision with a more pragmatic view encompassing a comprehensive understanding of the demand side; both at the level of individual customer values, and the more aggregate level of price sensitivities of the market. Using diverse categories, such as healthcare, industrial products and consumer packaged goods, this course will equip students with economic and behavioral approaches to pricing, value pricing, price customization, price bundling and retail pricing strategies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT328H5 • Project Management
Approaches to the management of complex technical projects will be investigated. Topics include project estimating, costing and evaluation, organizing and managing project teams, quantitative methods for project planning and scheduling, introduction to computer-based project management tools. The course may involve an applied field project.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT331H5 • Social Media and Society
This course introduces students to critical approaches to social media drawing from theories and fields including software studies, platform studies, critical theory and political economy. The course provides students with tools and theories to analyze and understand current social media connectivity, and how social media platforms function as socio-cultural systems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT332H5 • Canadian Communication Policy
This course examines the policy and regulatory frameworks that shape media, culture, and technology in Canada. The course surveys the historical development of communication policy in Canada, broadly understood, and introduces students to issues and debates in the development of communication policy for specific sectors such as broadcasting, creative industries, platforms, and the internet.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT333H5 • Social Innovation
This course introduces students to the strategies and processes of social innovation through usability studies, systems analysis, and artifact prototyping for new products or services for underserved groups. Students will learn various techniques of understanding user needs requirements and design methodologies, and apply this knowledge to create socially innovative prototypes to apply to real world situations. By the end of this course, students will have worked in groups to develop design alternatives for a technological artifact or system of their choosing, gain knowledge of human-centred design strategies and learn how to become change agents through case studies, best practice analyses, and relevant readings.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT334H5 • History and Theory of Game Production
This course will examine the principles, theory and practice behind the production of games. By examining the history and contributions of early founders such as Atari and Activision, all the way to present-day leaders such as Electronic Arts and Sony, students will gain an understanding of how the global video game industry operates. The lectures and practical work will foster an approach to the understanding of game production issues including technology, law, marketplace and audience demand.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT335H5 • Technology and the City
Technology continues to reshape the physical contours of our built environments as much as it redefines our conceptualization of how we inhabit and interact within them. This course investigates how urban form, space, infrastructure and communication are mediated by new and evolving technologies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT340H5 • Gender, Media and Technology
This course brings a gendered lens to the study of media and technology. The course explores the (re)production and (re)presentation of gender through communicative practices in a variety of mediums, including print media, TV, activist media, video games and online platforms. The course develops an understanding of gender ideologies and how media, technologies, and communication help produce gender. The course examines the way gender identities are constructed by mainstream and alternative media; gendered divisions of media and digital labour; the relationship between ICTs and the performance of gender and sexuality; masculinities, gender politics; feminist theory; and the construction and negotiation of gender in relation to mediated environments.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT341H5 • Introduction to IT Consulting
Information Technology (IT) Consulting is a growing profession that embodies the use of computer-supported collaborative tools in the execution of business functions. In this course students engage with the principles of Computer Supported Co-operative Work (CSCW) through an experiential opportunity to work with a real client. Students create an IT Consulting company and take on the role of consultants, learning core skills (soft and hard) necessary for this profession, including client management, communication, ideation, analysis and solution development, project management, presentation skills, and web design. Using case studies we discuss consulting lessons learned and problems to avoid within the context of industry best practices.
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT353H5 • Digital Media Production l
This foundational course is centred on the practical aspects of producing narrative, still, and time-based imagery in digital environments. Industry-standard workflows and delivery systems of digital media production, including photography, video, and audio production platforms will be explored.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT354H5 • Digital Marketing II
This course examines digital marketing strategies and the role of online and mobile advertising platforms. Students will explore how emerging technologies are used to facilitate B2B and B2C transactions. A number of domains will be covered (search, display, programmatic trading, mobile, social, etc.) to give students a comprehensive understanding of both existing marketing strategies and emerging trends. This class will emphasize the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to digital marketing while helping students develop a greater understanding of the different elements of marketing campaigns from formulation and implementation to integration and assessment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT355H5 • Critical Approaches to Innovation
This course provides students with a survey of critical theories appropriate to the study of technological innovation. Students will: 1) explore theories of the social, cultural, and ecological impacts of technological innovation; 2) apply these theoretical lenses to the study of trends in innovation; and 3) propose a product or approach to innovation using social, cultural, or ecological criteria.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT356H5 • Online Advertising and Marketing
This course investigates the industrial practices and tools of effectively marketing and promoting goods and services online. Topics include analysis of contemporary online advertisement design, the effective use of social media technologies in product marketing, planning online campaigns that reinforce and complement existing marketing and advertising efforts, and understanding key metrics used to evaluate a campaign's effectiveness.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT360H5 • Web Development and Design II
This course will introduce advanced standards-based frameworks that support the development of responsive front-end systems. Key concepts covered in this course include the application of advanced markup and design strategies, scripting languages applied to dynamic interactions, frameworks and code version control, and foundations of server-side implementations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT361H5 • Speculative Design II
In this course students are introduced to programming languages regularly used in management operations. Students will learn what these languages are, when and why they are applied, and how to read and write basic scripting code. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with scripting so that they can communicate more effectively with programmers in business settings.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT365H5 • Surveillance
From the Orwellian Big Brother to Foucault's panopticon, surveillance has become an everyday facet of modern life. From a surveillance studies perspective surveillance can be applied as a framework for understanding social, political, and technological interrelationships. This framework can help us study more effectively power, identity, persuasion, and control associated with the spread of Information Communication Technologies (ICT's). This course will introduce students to viewpoints, vision and visibility in surveillance studies. The class will look at a range of topics from information politics, identification, privacy, security, suspicion, social sorting, bodies, borders and biometrics to explore a range of perspectives under the surveillance studies umbrella. It will introduce students to key issues surrounding data, discrimination, and visibility in a global context to undercover the watched world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT371H5 • Sound as Media
Sound as Media will provide students with an immersive introduction to the field of sound studies. The course offers a counterpoint to surveys of visual media by exploring acoustic technologies in historical, cultural and spatial context. By considering examples such as the gramophone, public address system, boombox, and MP3 player as well as the theories that account for them, students will develop an understanding of media forms that engage the ear as well as the eye. They will in turn, have the opportunity to apply this understanding to the final project which will give them hands-on experience with creating a sound-based documentary.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT373H5 • Career Planning and Development
The transition from university studies to professional settings necessitates the articulation of how acquired skill sets, education, professional contacts, supporting resources, and related experiences connect to and influence career trajectories. To facilitate agility in navigating the ever-shifting global economy, within and outside of the classroom students are provided with a mixture of structured, self-directed, independent, and team activities that aid in the development and refinement of professional identities, community networks, communication approaches, and problem solving skills.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT374H5 • Critical Histories of Information Technologies
The course approaches current information and communication technologies from critical and historical perspectives. It investigates the interests, motives and tactics of news media, pop culture producers, amateurs, universities, corporations, and governments in promoting, sustaining, and interpreting information and communication systems. It also asks how the focus will be on media and information technologies, more theoretical or methodological readings will necessarily cover other systems. Case studies may include investigations of orality, writing, the printing press, industrialized printing, and electronic media from the telegraph and the telephone to broadcasting and the internet.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT380H5 • Human-Computer Interaction and Communication
The emphasis in this course will be on theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues in the study of Human-Computer Interaction. Intelligent interface designs, usability assessment, user modeling and the accessibility of the technology for the disabled are among the topics to be examined. Related behavioural investigations concerning the ease and efficiency of users' interactions with computerized environments will also be discussed.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT381H5 • Media Audiences
Audiences are social constructions which must be imagined to be actualized. Beginning with an exploration of the nature and role of audiences from early 20th century media, students explore how audiences make meaning of popular media platforms today. How are audiences situated within media texts, what role does this play in how media is generated and circulated, and how do audiences both enact and resist media influence? Broadcast models, interactive models, audience reading, gender, culture, race, and audience feedback are investigated.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT382H5 • Prototyping Digital Games
This course explores the fundamentals of the process of game design through prototyping. It focuses on the contexts and components of game design, such as design iteration and user testing along relevant dimensions such as art style, narrative, and game balance. Students will be introduced to design across different genres and types of digital games, including games for education, serious games, indie, and AAA games. Working in collaborative groups, students will learn and practice the appropriate methodology to design game mechanics, characters, art assets and other appropriate deliverables in order to create a game or high-fidelity prototype.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT383H5 • The Interactive Society
This course introduces students to the theoretical and practical study of how interactive digital media and systems affect, influence and reshape our society and what does it mean to be a "user" in the information-centric society. It will expose students to specific theoretical issues such as privacy by design, usable privacy, marginalized and at-risk user groups, the digital divide, behavioural modification (persuasion) through new media, ICT4D (info tech for development) and empowerment/alienation through intelligent interactive systems. Focus will be on developing skills that will enable students to propose changes (design, policy, framework) to existing and future envisioned interactive technologies that address the issues analyzed.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT386H5 • Information Practice in Virtual Worlds: Exploration of Information Environments
Virtual environments, immersive 3D environments accessed via computers or virtual reality headsets, comprise a unique and futuristic communication environment. Virtual environments have the potential to support a wide variety of activities related to information creation, distribution, and reception and can support social, economic, and cultural causes. Compared to everyday information practices, however, those enacted in virtual worlds are uniquely characterized by multimodality, synchronicity, digital embodiment and geographic distribution of users. In this course, students engage in participatory learning in virtual environments, using avatars to assess how the world's technological and social affordances support and constrain information practices. Using theories of gaming, virtuality, and information lifecycles, students critically analyse how information is produced and used in these environments.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT390H5 • Digital Media and Communications Abroad
Students on International exchange programs are encouraged to seek out courses in digital media and technologies that enrich their learning within an international context. This course is intended as an opportunity for students to study global issues and contexts abroad that provide a comparator to the Canadian media and communications landscape.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT395H5 • Topics in Communication, Culture, Information & Technology
An in-depth examination of selected topics in communication, culture and information technology. Topics vary from year to year, and the content in any given year depends upon the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT400H5 • Advanced Project
Majors and specialists are given the opportunity to develop a critical perspective on selected issues in CCIT. Students design and implement an advanced project on a topic of interest by engaging with advanced readings. A central aim is to refine the skills in critical analysis and in oral and written communication.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT401H5 • Advanced Thesis Course
Students will carry out a research project on a topic of their choosing which is related to their specific program focus in Digital Enterprise Management. Students will meet as a group for selected seminars emphasizing advanced research skills and thesis writing. Students will develop a research proposal, conduct research, and produce a research paper.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT402H5 • Creating, Protecting and Managing Digital Artifacts
Digital artifacts play an increasingly important role in our society. It is essential that in the digitization of these artifacts appropriate attention is paid to their representation, protection and management. Students will review the theories and practices of representation. They will investigate the technologies associated with the storage of digital artifacts as well as investigating appropriate legal perspectives. This varied knowledge will be integrated into a study of best practices in the management of digital artifacts.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT403H5 • Finance, Innovation and the Digital Firm
Students will learn about financial aspects of digital industries. They will gain knowledge about how financial and other incentives shape the decisions of agents in the digital marketplace. Such a knowledge helps to identify industry trends aiding their own decisions when participating in Internet related industries. Topics covered include online and traditional media industries, aspects of e-commerce and marketing, open source software and crowd-sourcing. A highly effective way to gain such knowledge is by covering a relevant topic in an academic essay. This way the students will also improve their writing skills, and learn better how to cover financial aspects of their chosen topic in a scholarly manner.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT404H5 • Remote Work, Technology and Collaboration
This project-based course aims to demonstrate how collaboration is a critical capability often overlooked. During the course students will integrate their learning and experience and first hand see how, in combination with collaboration it can lead to creatively solving problems in areas as varied as business, health care delivery, urban planning and development. In addition to lectures, students will have the benefit of a series of guest lecturers. A large, group based project will serve to integrate learning and allow students the benefit of experiential learning.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT405H5 • Individual Project
A research project carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. Students will carry out a research project on a selected topic related to CCIT. Students must obtain signed permission from the faculty member who they would like to have as their supervisor.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT407Y5 • Advanced Field Experiences in CCIT
This course provides students the opportunity to test their skills, immerse themselves within a different cultural or social context and explore communication and technology issues through an intense field experience either in Canada or abroad. The type of field experience varies from year to year and some experiences may evolve through collaborations with other disciplines or through special industry projects. The advanced field experience may involve travel and participation in international conferences or other relevant activities. Students are responsible for travel expenses.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT409H5 • Special Topics in Work-Based Learning
An advanced unpaid field placement working on specially designed projects that explore collaborative, collective and global approaches to practical knowledge application. The placements may include international internships, collaborative group internships and community-based initiatives. The projects may vary from year to year depending on the external partners. Students will engage with others in the course through an online class component and complete individual reports and critical evaluations of the work experience.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT410H5 • CCIT Internship I
This course is a practical internship and is available only upon application from students registered in the CCIT/DEM/TCS programs. Through a placement, students will apply the expertise in communication, culture, and information technology that they have gained through previous courses. Students must plan well in advance for the placement and work closely with the placement officer for CCIT to determine eligibility and suitability. A report and presentation will be required at the end of the placement. These, along with the employer's assessment, will provide the main part of the course mark.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 14SMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT411H5 • CCIT Internship II
This course is a practical internship and is available upon application from students registered in any CCIT program who have completed
CCT410H5. The course is intended for students who have the opportunity to continue their
CCT410H5 internship for a second semester. A report and presentation will be required at the end of the placement. These, along with the employer's assessment, will provide the main part of the course mark.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT414H5 • Special Topics in Knowledge, Media and Design
An in-depth examination of selected topics in interactive digital media with emphasis on knowledge, media and design. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT416H5 • Social Data Analytics
This course highlights the research in analysis for social data and builds skills to undertake those analysis. It is a lab-intensive course intended to build up data analytic skills for novice and intermediate researchers. Students look at recent studies using "big data" which are primarily theoretical, including critiques of data analytics and concerns surrounding data ethics. Students learn a programming language -- Python -- and how to scrape social data, store and collect it, run basic statistics, generate visuals, and create a report based on a project of interest.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT417H5 • Alternative Media
This course examines the history, politics and aesthetics of a range of alternative, underground and radical media, as well as their relation to mainstream media. Students will study and experiment with a range of alternative media, including zines, graffiti, hacking, and culture jamming, for example. Students will gain hands-on experience in the creation of alternative media.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT418H5 • Work, Media and Technology
The course analyses the political, historical, and technical relationships between media, technology, and work in contemporary capitalism. The course will examine the power and social relationships that structure work in contexts such as media, creative industries, and the platform or "gig" economy. The course will focus on critical theories of work and will engage with case studies of the intersection of work, media and technology. The aim of the course is to build a tool kit for encountering an increasingly casualized and digitally-mediated labour market.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT419H5 • User Experience Design - UXD and Board Games
This course allows students to explore issues related to user interface, user experience, materiality, gamification and game theory. Board games represent a space to consider social interaction, the use of materials, the role of emotion in design (UX), knowledge sharing and the role gamification plays in influencing behaviour. Students will be exposed to professional and research publications related to design, game theory, user experience and game mechanics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT420H5 • Information Technology and Globalization
The variety of ways in which various information technologies influence and are influenced by globalization will be critically examined. The class will explore metaphors or ways of thinking about society and technology to critically examine the complex process and the diverse consequences of globalization. Topics may shift focus yearly but will include the economy, culture, politics, social movements, migration, social identity, war and global conflict, etc.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT424H5 • Organizational Studies III
An in-depth study of the development of innovative strategies for organizations with an emphasis on digital enterprises. The nature of strategic innovation will be studied and a variety of analytic frameworks introduced. Concepts will be explored through a combination of lectures and case studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT430H5 • Networked Life
The rise of information and communication technologies in contemporary societies has highlighted the interdependent nature of relationships; person-person, person-machine, machine-person, and machine-machine. Network analysis offers a point-of-view with which we can analyze networks to understand the roles of people and technology, identify the source of existing or potential issues, and the exchange of resources and information. This course applies network theory and methodology to examine how technology is used to maintain and build personal networks. It will further explore how personal networks intersect with larger institutional networks (e.g. corporations and universities) and informal networks (e.g. online communities and sports clubs). In the process, students will be guided in how to identify, measure, and collect data on selected networks, how to then analyze this data using a variety of analytic techniques.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT431H5 • Drones, Robots, Artificial Intelligence
Drones, robots, and artificial intelligence are three interrelated technologies that are changing the most fundamental considerations of how society and sociality should operate. Work, war, consumption, and even love are being reconfigured. This course will address debates concerning the cultural, political, economic, military, and economic considerations surrounding the growing use of these technologies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT432H5 • Ethics and Code
A self-driving car should always protect pedestrians, even if that implies serious threat for the vehicle's passengers. Current ethical challenges within our computational cultures has brought forward dilemmas involving code such as designing killer robots, the use of technology to predict and prevent crimes before they happen, and platform surveillance in social media. Students in this course will use theories and case based examples to examine questions such as what is meant with ethics in new media and critical computing, can we program computational systems according to ethical models, and does digital culture force us to rethink what ethics are?
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT434H5 • Design Thinking II
An advanced project-based seminar on the art and creative directions of design thinking. Combining traditional and innovative creativity methods, a variety of design projects are conceptualized and drafted for proposal or implementation. This course embraces design thinking as a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that integrates methodical creativity and overarching design principles, such as aesthetics, futures-thinking, progress and metadesign.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT435H5 • Media and Outer Space
Examines the relationship between media studies and Outer Space inhabitation and exploration. Through analysis of military, technological, industrial, scientific, design, artistic, and civilian projects, films, novels, science fictions, and other media forms, the class investigates and reveals the historical, social, cultural, and political implications of our mediated relation with Outer Space. Technologies and topics include: the space race and the Cold War, space imagery, extreme environments, space travel, space suits, space vehicles, and space habitats, satellites, extra-terrestrial intelligence, mining, extraction, terraforming, radiation, gravity, and levitation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT436H5 • Cultures of Connection
This seminar course students will conduct original research to examine the role that culture plays in choosing and using communication technologies within the context of family, work, and friendship. We will focus on how individuals draw on communication technology to navigate cultural expectations and roles at home, work, and in social settings. To frame this research we will discuss various approaches to defining and understanding culture, and consider how these approaches help us to understand the use of communication technology within a variety of relationships.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT440H5 • Power, Privilege and Technology
How is social inequality reproduced and encoded in technology systems and in digital media? In what ways do technology and media creations inform and influence perceptions, beliefs, and practices that impact girls and women, communities of colour, Indigenous groups, LGBTQ+ and other minoritized people? This course will address overlapping and intersectional issues of power, privilege, oppression, and sociotechnical imaginaries - all related to networks, big data and predictive analytics, algorithms, digital gig economies, and interactive multimedia like social media and virtual reality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT460H5 • Web Development and Design III
This course builds on the front-end web development skills acquired in the Web Development and Design I & II courses by adding a server-side programming and database design component. Students will learn the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing data-driven applications, leveraging query languages, APIs and Content Management Systems for enterprise systems. Further topics include integration of analytics and search strategies in CMS systems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT461H5 • Speculative Design III
Emerging technologies have the potential to transform business models and architectures. In this course students learn the functional and technical underpinnings of selected emerging technologies and critically analyse how these technologies are impacting business functions. Students also gain hands-on experience with emerging technologies and consider how they may be applied or adapted to solve management issues.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT470H5 • Information Visualization
Visual literacy and the visualization of information are increasingly important competencies in a growing number of fields. This course will explore the history of visually representing information, consider issues related to data visualization and approaches to visually representing data. In addition, students will develop a better understanding of what visualization works best for various types of data, what makes for a strong visualization and the importance of narrative in the construction of graphic data representation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT472H5 • Media Archaeology
This course examines media as technical objects with specific histories and a contemporary presence. In the contemporary context where media technologies are programmed to become obsolete, residual forms and practices provide materials traces for analysis. The class will focus on the evolution of media forms, looking particularly at early, antiquated, and obsolete practices and technologies of communication in order to recover their material traces, and to situate them in their historical, social, cultural, and political contexts. Through texts, archival materials, and case studies, old media will be brought back to life to question notions of authenticity, authority, preservation, archiving, temporality, agency, power, evolution, decay, and death.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT473H5 • Career Strategies
In this course students will learn about various challenges that new graduates, future managers, and future executives will face in the workplace. Students will learn the theoretical as well as practical techniques that will help them succeed after graduating from their undergraduate programs.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT475H5 • Thesis in Integrated Learning in Digital Media, Communication, and Technology
This capstone project course carried out independently under the supervision of a faculty member requires students to reflect on the experiences they gained during their two work placements connected with the Professional Experience Certificate in Digital Media, Communication, and Technology, and develop a comprehensive case study that integrates theories learned within ICCIT and their work placements. Students will be required to participate in one-on-one consultations with the course instructor.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT476H5 • Foundations of Operations Management
Operations Management deals with the functions of an enterprise that create value for the customers. The scope of study covers all processes involved in the design, production and physical distribution of goods and services. With global competition continuously increasing, a firm's survival depends upon how well it integrates the operations function into the enterprise's general planning and strategy. It is thus essential for business managers to acquire an understanding and appreciation of operations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT477H5 • UX Design - Understanding Users
The focus of the course is on understanding the experiences of users and their communities as affected by their interaction with digital technologies in information-centric societies. Students will learn the theoretical framework and practical aspects of advances user-centered design principles (such as participatory design and techno-centric ethnographies). This course represents an opportunity for students to enrich their understanding of the deep interconnections between human factors, human needs, interactive technologies, information, as projected on several dimensions: cultural, societal, ergonomic, and economic.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT478H5 • UX Design - Prototyping and Evaluation
The course investigates how people interact with interactive digital systems from an evaluation and formal testing perspective, and introduces students to the methods of User Experience Assessment and User Experience Analysis (UXA). This studio-based experiential course examines how interactive systems are implemented and deployed to meet users' needs, with a focus on formal Human Computer Interaction (HCI) evaluation methods. Students will acquire the capacity to evaluate systems and to critically assess different HCI and UX validation methods which are based on industry approaches carried out by User Research Analysis.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT481H5 • Augmented Places and Social Media Spaces
Increasingly we are seeing a hybridization of information and location, where media provide a framework or environment for users (participants) to construct reality and relationships. The course explores emergence of new ubiquitous communication practices and the increasingly pervasive use of technology for the augmentation of people, places, and objects. In this course, students will explore various approaches to context-based information systems, and the shaping of social media spaces.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
CCT483H5 • Play, Performance and Community in Digital Games
Students will explore the complex relationship between games and play. Starting with an overview of the major play theories, students will learn how cognitive, philosophical and social theories of play are used to guide and inform game design. The increasingly prominent role of the player in the co-creation and performance of digital games will be examined. Students will also explore the emergence of player communities and consider the various issues that this introduces into design and management process, including important new questions about governance, player and creative freedoms, and immaterial labour.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT486H5 • Digital Platforms: A Global Perspective
From Apple, Amazon, and Facebook to LINE, WeChat and TikTok, digital platforms dominate contemporary life. This course provides an intellectual voyage of the global spread of digital platforms from the days when they were not yet recognized as platforms to the contemporary era when users can hardly think of an internet without platforms. We will explore questions concerning the penetration of platforms into the social fabric of our digital life on a global scale while paying attention to the local conditions and specificity. Students will engage with key concepts, theories, and approaches related to platform studies through readings and discussions about different types of platforms, ranging from e-commerce and social media to live-streaming and on-demand service matching.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT487H5 • Advanced Communication Policy in a Global Context
This course provides students with a theoretical and practical understanding of media, technology, and cultural policy in a global context. The course focuses on issues such as national identity and globalization, media convergence, intellectual property, global media regulation, security and privacy by examining how media, communication, and cultural policy is created, influenced, and contested by a range of actors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT490H5 • Topics in Communication, Culture, Information and Technology
An in-depth examination of selected topics in communication, culture, information and technology. Topics vary from year to year, and the content in any given year depends upon the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT495H5 • Topics in Communication, Culture, Information & Technology
An in-depth examination of selected topics in communication, culture, information and technology. Topics vary from year to year and the content in any given year depends on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT499H5 • Research Opportunity Program (ROP)
This course provides an opportunity for third or higher year students to assist with the resource project of a profession in return for 499H credit. Students have an opportunity to become involved in original research and enhance their research skills. Participating faculty members post their project description for the following summer and fall/winter session on the ROP website in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
CCT499Y5 • Research Opportunity
This course provides an opportunity for third or higher year students to assist with the resource project of a profession in return for 499Y credit. Students have an opportunity to become involved in original research and enhance their research skills. Participating faculty members post their project description for the following summer and fall/winter session on the ROP website in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
DTS201H5 • Introduction to Diaspora and Transnational Studies I
An interdisciplinary introduction to the study of diaspora, with particular attention to questions of history, globalization, cultural production and the creative imagination. Material will be drawn from Toronto as well as from diasporic communities in other times and places.
Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO101H5 • Principles of Microeconomics
An introduction to the basic concepts and techniques of microeconomic theory, including: price determination through supply and demand, market failure, microeconomic theories of households and firms, and market structure.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 26L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO102H5 • Principles of Macroeconomics
An introduction to the basic concepts and techniques of macroeconomic theory, including: the determination and measurement of national income, money and banking, monetary and fiscal policy in closed and open economies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 26L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO200Y5 • Microeconomic Theory
An intermediate treatment of the basic tools of economic analysis. Applications may include: choice under uncertainty, oligopoly, industrial organization, pricing, resource allocation, externalities, public goods, income distribution and welfare economics.
*ECO200Y5 is not open to Commerce or Management Specialist/Major students during Fall/Winter.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO202Y5 • Macroeconomic Theory and Policy
Macroeconomics studies the economy as a whole. The issues it covers include: Why are some countries much richer than others? Why do most Canadians live much better than their ancestors? Why are there recessions in economic activity? What are the causes of inflation and unemployment? What are the consequences of opening up trade and investment with the rest of the world? This course develops a series of models to answer these and similar questions. *
ECO202Y5 is not open to Commerce students in Fall/Winter
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 52L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO204Y5 • Microeconomic Theory and Applications (for Commerce and Management)
The course uses microeconomics to analyze a variety of issues from marketing and finance to organizational structure. Topics include consumer preferences and behaviour; demand, cost analysis and estimation; allocation of inputs, pricing and firm behaviour under perfect and imperfect competition; game theory and public policy, including competition policy. Business cases are used to connect theory and practice and to highlight differences and similarities between economics and accounting, marketing and finance. This course is restricted to students in a Commerce or Management program.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment in a B.Com Specialist or Major program Enrolment in Management Specialist programDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 52L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO206Y5 • Microeconomic Theory
A rigorous mathematical treatment of the basic tools of economic analysis regarding consumer and producer theory. Applications may include but are not limited to: choice under uncertainty, oligopoly, industrial organization, pricing, resource allocation, intertemporal consumption, labour supply, externalities, public goods, income distribution and welfare economics. This course is a requirement for certain Specialist Programs and is strongly recommended for students contemplating graduate school.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO208Y5 • Macroeconomic Theory
This course provides a rigorous discussion of models used in the study of macroeconomic phenomena, including business cycles, economic growth, unemployment, inflation, exchange rates, and international trade. This course is a requirement for certain Specialist Programs, and strongly recommended for students contemplating graduate school.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO209Y5 • Macroeconomic Theory and Policy (for Commerce)
This course covers macroeconomic topics relevant for commerce students. Analytical tools are used to examine various policy questions, including fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate policy, foreign trade policy, labour market policy, and government regulation of financial intermediaries.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment in a B.Com Specialist or Major programDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO227Y5 • Foundations of Econometrics
This course provides students with a rigorous introduction to statistical analysis such as probability models, random variables, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, probability theory, estimation theory, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, and simple regression analysis. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the basic tools used to model uncertainty in economics and finance, to test hypotheses, and to estimate model parameters. This course focuses on both the theory and application of these statistical methods. It provides a solid foundation for subsequent courses in econometrics. This course is recommended for students planning graduate studies in Economics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO251H5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers a special topic in Economics. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Additional details are available from the academic advisor or departmental website. Limited Enrolment. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO252H5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers a special topic in Economics. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Additional details are available from the academic advisor or departmental website. Limited Enrolment. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO299H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299H course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Project descriptions for participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions are posted on the ROP website (
www.utm.utoronto.ca/rop/research-opportunity-program) in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO299Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Project descriptions for participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions are posted on the ROP website (
www.utm.utoronto.ca/rop/research-opportunity-program) in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO302H5 • World Economic History Prior to 1870
This course will focus on the economic success and failure of several key countries and regions from the start of the second millennium up to the early twentieth century. Topics include: pre-modern growth in China & India vs. Europe, the first industrial revolution, exploitation and international trade in the British Empire, the standards-of-living debate, the second industrial revolution. This course is part of the Certificate in Global Perspectives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO303H5 • World Economic History After 1870
This course will focus on the economic success and failure of several key countries and regions during the twentieth century. Topics include: globalization, causes and consequences of interwar instability, a history of modern development (Japan, the Asian Tigers, India & China vs. Latin America), new institutional economics & new economic geography: African atrophy. This course is part of the Certificate in Global Perspectives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO311H5 • Pricing Strategies
The course studies firms’ pricing decisions drawing on tools from economic theory. Some examples of the questions that are addressed are: How does a firm determine the price for a new product? How should it optimally price to different market segments? What form do these prices take? When and how should a firm change prices overtime? When should an auction be used to sell a product? What type of auction yields greater profits? The analysis is supplemented by real world examples and case studies from the business world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO312H5 • Firms and Markets
This course studies firms’ strategies and the role of government regulators in different markets. Specifically, it studies strategic decisions that firms make when they interact with other firms. These include how to price in the face of competition, how much to invest in R&D or advertising, and whether to buy a rival (by merging, integrating). The course also analyzes the conditions under which firm’s choices require intervention by market regulators due to a tension between firms’ profits and consumer welfare. The course draws on tools from microeconomics and game theory, and the analysis is supplemented by real world examples and case studies from the business world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO313H5 • Environmental Economics
Application of economics to the field of environmental and natural resource economics. This course uses economic theory and empirical evidence to address important environmental issues, such as management of renewable and non-renewable resources, and different forms of environmental regulation and pollution control. The course will focus on market based instruments, such as tradeable pollution rights, and climate change problems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO315H5 • Economics of Poverty
This course will focus on the microeconomic analysis of the causes and consequences of poverty. The emphasis will be on developing countries but we will also draw parallels to poverty in industrialized countries such as Canada. Psychological, cultural, social, and institutional factors will be considered along with an exploration of policy solutions. Some of the topics we will cover include inequality, nutrition, health, education, fertility, credit, savings, and entrepreneurship.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO320H5 • Economic Analysis of Law: Part 1
This course examines the economic basis for law and legal institutions. The topics covered include the microeconomic analysis of property rights, contract law, tort law, crime, and the limitations of economic analysis. The appropriate economic measures of damages in tort and contract cases will be discussed. No previous familiarity with the law is assumed. (This is an economic analysis of legal issues, not a course in law.)
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO321H5 • Economic Analysis of Law: Part 2
This course is a continuation of
ECO320H5 An Economic Analysis of Law: Part 1. The topics covered include the microeconomic analysis of corporate law, law and financial markets, bankruptcy law, intellectual property law, marriage and divorce law and the choice between regulation and the common law.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO324H5 • Economic Development
Economic development and transformation of the low-income countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Theory and policy analysis relating to the following economic issues in these countries: higher rates of economic growth, the role of the government in resource allocation, the industrial-agricultural sector interface, inward versus outward looking trade strategies, and the international debt problem. The following problems will also be addressed: food supply, domestic savings, tax revenue, foreign exchange, foreign direct investment, high rates of inflation, benefit-cost analysis and economic planning.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO325H5 • Advanced Economic Theory - Macro
This course studies the economic foundations of macroeconomic theory and develops analytical skills in constructing and solving macroeconomic models. This course is recommended for students contemplating graduate studies. This course is part of the Certificate in Advanced Economics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO326H5 • Advanced Economic Theory - Micro
This course is an advanced analysis of microeconomic theory, including the behaviour of consumers under uncertainty; issues in poverty, inequality and social welfare; game theory and its applications to economics and political economy. This course is recommended for students contemplating graduate studies. This course is part of the Certificate in Advanced Economics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO333H5 • Urban Economics
This is a course on the application of economic analysis to four major areas of urban activity. The areas are land markets, housing and buildings, transportation, and public finance. In each area, we will consider the role of the government and attempt to understand the source of many current urban economic problems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO335H5 • Public Economics I: Global Warming, Biodiversity Loss and Inequality
Public Economics I focuses on contemporary public policy questions. The goal of the course is to help students develop and apply analytical tools, such as cost-benefit analysis, to examine pressing policy issues of our time. Issues include responses to global warming, preserving biodiversity, combating growing inequality, and the regulation of addictive substances. Students will learn how to use empirical evidence to examine these issues. The course places a strong emphasis on discussion, debate, and effective writing about policy issues from an economics perspective.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO336H5 • Public Economics II: Advanced Policy Analysis
Public Economics II builds on Public Economics I (although the latter is not a prerequisite). The course focuses on externalities and market failure, and the appropriate role of government in response. Students will study the actual role of government in a variety of settings, with a view to identifying ways of improving economic efficiency and the quality of the environment (among other desirable ends) through different types of policy reform. The course should appeal to students who would like to learn more about applied microeconomic analysis and/or who are interested in public policy issues. The course will provide students with a useful set of microeconomic tools for analyzing public policy questions. Students will also learn basic empirical methods, develop effective writing skills, and apply the techniques learned to examine a variety of interesting current policy issues.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO343H5 • Labour Economics and Public Policy
This course uses both applied microeconomic theory and empirical analysis to examine labour markets in Canada. The course is especially focused on the link between research and public policy. Topics to be covered include: labour supply and demand, minimum wages, immigration, human capital, education production, inter- and intra-generational equality, and peer effects. At the end of the course, students should have a firm grasp of key policy issues involving Canada's labour market and be able to critique the quality of other empirical studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO344H5 • Labour Economics and Market Frictions
This course studies the economic behaviour of employers and employees as they interact in the labour market. The class extends beyond basics of labour supply and demand to consider cases when markets are not always perfectly competitive. The course will cover such topics as segmented labour markets, unionization and collective bargaining, unemployment, monopsony, and discrimination.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO345H5 • Macroeconomics and the Labour Market
This course aims to provide students with an overview of recent macroeconomic research on the labour market. Discussion includes theoretical models as well as empirical evidence. Topics include: search frictions, labour market flows, sorting, inequality, occupational mobility, human capital accumulation, and intergenerational mobility.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO348H5 • Foundations of Money and Banking
The strategy of the course is to develop a series of models to examine the importance of money and banks. The topics examined in this framework include: the role of money and the financial system, effects of inflation, public pensions and national debt, and the role and importance of banks.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO349H5 • Money, Banking & Financial Markets
This course explores a wide range of topics on the theories of money and banking. The strategy of the course is to develop a series of models to examine the importance of money, banks, and other financial institutions in the way economies work. The topics examined in this framework include: the role of money and the financial system, effects of inflation, bond and stock markets, banks, control of the money supply, and international monetary systems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class, Hybrid
ECO351H5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers a special topic in Economics. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Students require specific prerequisites for each course. Details are available from the academic advisor or departmental website. Limited Enrolment. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO352H5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers a special topic in Economics. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Students require specific prerequisites for each course. Details are available from the student advisor or departmental web site.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO353H5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers a special topic in Economics. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Students require specific prerequisites for each course. Details are available from the student advisor or departmental website. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO358H5 • Financial Economics I
This course provides an introduction to capital markets and asset pricing. We will cover the role of financial markets, project valuation, expected utility and risk aversion, financial risk, general equilibrium pricing, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, Arbitrage Pricing Theory, derivatives, option pricing, term structure of interest rates, foreign exchange markets, and market efficiency.
Enrolment Limits: ECO358H5 is not open to Commerce students.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO359H5 • Financial Economics II
This course provides an introduction to Corporate Finance. Topics covered include: project valuation, firm's capital structure, dividend policy, management control and agency problems, public share offerings, debt offerings and auctions, mergers and acquisition, bankruptcy costs, tax-influences and bank runs. This course is the sequel to
ECO358H5.
Enrolment Limits: ECO359H5 is not open to Commerce students.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO362H5 • Economic Growth: Theory and Evidence
Differences in income per capita levels and growth rates across countries are large. Understanding the causes behind these differences is a fundamental question in economics. The main objective of this course is to apply economic theory to understand and interpret empirical observations on economic development and growth. By the end of this course students will have a basic knowledge of the main facts characterizing economic development and growth over time and across countries, as well as the ability of theoretical models to account for these facts. The topics that will be covered in the course include the role of physical and human capital accumulation in growth and income differences, the reallocation of factors across sectors (structural transformation) and aggregate productivity, the importance of the misallocation of resources across heterogeneous firms in aggregate productivity. Key empirical applications include the growth performance of industrialized countries since World War II and the productivity slowdown observed in recent decades, the stagnation of living standards in many developing countries, and the role of automation and artificial intelligence in growth and development.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO364H5 • International Trade
An analysis of the nature, effects and policy implications of international trade theory; the theories of comparative costs and reciprocal demands, factor reward equalization, international tariffs and customs unions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO365H5 • International Monetary Economics
An analysis of the nature, effects and policy implications of international finance; balance-of-payments and foreign exchange analysis; liquidity problems and topics related to current problems in international finance.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO370Y5 • The Economics of Organizations
The determinants of the boundary between organizations and markets. Problems of centralization vs. decentralization, authority, coordination and motivation within organizations. Incentives, ownership and property rights. The nature of the employment relationship: explicit and implicit contracts, compensation, relative performance evaluation, career paths, job assignments and promotion.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO373Y5 • The Environment: Perspectives from Economics and Ecology
(Formerly
ECO373H5) The course examines the basic principles of environmental economics and ecology and the interaction between ecological and economic factors. It assesses alternative criteria and objectives for environmental policy. Problems associated with the implementation of environmental policy are analyzed and examined through case studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/10TMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO375H5 • Applied Econometrics I
(Formerly
ECO327Y5) This course is an introduction to econometrics. Statistical foundations and the interpretation of multiple regression models, with an emphasis on cross-sectional data. Application of regressions to a wide variety of economic questions and data sources, including the use of statistical software. Problems in the identification of causality, and an introduction to methods of addressing common statistical issues. This course is recommended for students contemplating graduate studies. This course is part of the Certificate in Advanced Economics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/24PMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO380H5 • Managerial Economics: Competitive Strategy
This is a course in applied microeconomics. This course will use a series of real world examples, together with theoretical insights from game theory, to answer questions like, why are some industries more profitable than others? Why are some firms profitable while others are not? How can firms create, capture and maintain their profits in the face of competition? The first part of the course will be devoted to the building blocks of strategy, including industry analysis, positioning, and sustainability of competitive advantage. Next we will use game theoretical tools to analyze strategic interaction among firms, such as strategic pricing, entry and competitive bidding. Lastly, the course will cover the scope of the firm and technologic competition. Students shall learn from the course, the ability to identify and categorize major strategic problems, and suggest and evaluate candidate strategies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO381H5 • Managerial Economics: Personnel Economics
This course examines selected material on compensation and incentives in hierarchical organizations. Topics include recruitment and hiring, training, turnover, downsizing, motivating workers, teams, allocating authority and task assignment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO383H5 • Introduction to Empirical Methods of Microeconomics
(Formerly: Economics of Education) For students who would like to learn more about economics data analysis - this course provides an intuitive introduction to empirical methods in microeconomics. The class begins with a self-contained and intuitive treatment of modern methods used in microeconomic data analysis. We then go on to study some interesting current empirical research, focusing on the education field, to see how those methods are applied. The course should prepare you to read current empirical research in microeconomics -- without any preparation, empirical papers can seem rather impenetrable. This course serves as a complement to and a foundation for 'Applied Econometrics I' (
ECO375H5).
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO385H5 • Economics of Information
This course analyses how markets function when market participants have asymmetric information. We will show how asymmetric information may lead to market breakdown and how an appropriately designed contract can help alleviate the adverse effect of asymmetric information on market efficiency. We will cover three types of models: moral hazard, screening and signaling. There are a wide variety of applications, including labour contracts, price discrimination, insurance markets, and marketing.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO399H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides senior undergraduate students who have developed some knowledge of a discipline and its research methods, an opportunity to work in the research project of a professor in return for course credit. 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 participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions are posted on the ROP website (
www.utm.utoronto.ca/rop/research-opportunity-program) in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO399Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides senior undergraduate students who have developed some knowledge of a discipline and its research methods, an opportunity to work in the research project of a professor in return for course credit. 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 participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions are posted on the ROP website (
www.utm.utoronto.ca/rop/research-opportunity-program) in mid-February and students are invited to apply at that time. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO400Y5 • Economics Internship
Through a part time, unpaid, 200-hour work placement, fourth year students apply economics content and skills. Placements are made throughout the GTA in both the private and public sectors. Successful candidates gain an opportunity to enhance their University experience through on-site work placements providing the possibility to develop skill sets within a business setting. Monthly class meetings plus year-end and presentation are required. Normally, the 200 hours will be completed by attending the work placement one full day each week from September to April. Students interested in a finance-industry placement are strongly recommended to arrange their course schedule to allow for a two day a week work placement in one semester. This arrangement increases the possibility of placement and enhances the experience although careful course planning is essential. More information is available on the Department of Economics website:
https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/economics/experiential-learning.
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO401Y5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers special topics in Economics at an advanced level. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Students require specific prerequisites for each course. Details are available from the student advisor or departmental website. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 48-60 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO402H5 • Special Topics in Economics
This course covers a special topic in Economics. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. Students require specific prerequisites for each course. Details are available from the student advisor or departmental web site. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO406H5 • Advanced Public Economics
This course addresses empirical and theoretical issues in public economics. This course will be especially focused on issues related to poverty and inequality. Topics include minimum wage, social mobility, neighborhood effects, welfare, and social insurance. We will also discuss the tools economists use to measure the causal effects of policies, and consider how statistics often presented in policy debates may be biased. After this course, students should be comfortable reading research papers in economics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO411H5 • Human Capital and Education in the Economy
(Formerly
ECO412Y5) This course addresses empirical and theoretical issues in education economics. Topics will include the interaction of human capital with growth and inequality, teacher incentives and teacher quality, early childhood education, and the racial achievement gap. We will also discuss the tools economists use to measure the causal effects of policies, and consider how statistics often presented in policy debates may be biased. After this course, students should be comfortable reading research papers in economics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO420Y5 • Reading Course, Seminar or Workshop
Primarily for advanced Specialist students who have exhausted course offerings in a particular subject area. Open only when a faculty member is willing and available to supervise. Students must obtain the written approval of the chair or associate chair before enrolling. See the student advisor for details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO421H5 • Reading Course, Seminar or Workshop
Primarily for advanced Specialist students who have exhausted course offerings in a particular subject area. Open only when a faculty member is willing and available to supervise. Students must obtain the written approval of the chair or associate chair before enrolling. See the student advisor for details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO422H5 • Reading Course, Seminar or Workshop
Primarily for advanced Specialist students who have exhausted course offerings in a particular subject area. Open only when a faculty member is willing and available to supervise. Students must obtain the written approval of the chair or associate chair before enrolling. See the student advisor for details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO433H5 • Gender and Family Economics
In this course, students will examine gender and the family within modern economics. Topics include: gender wage differentials in labour markets; labour force participation; marriage markets; intimate partner violence; fertility and the demand for children; divorce; and the life cycle of the family. Concepts are applied to current topics within the development and labour literatures.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO435H5 • Growth and Development of the Chinese Economy
Both the pace and scale of China's economic transformation over the last three decades are unprecedented in human history. Understanding the nature and the sources of this great transformation is important for at least two reasons. First, it may provide valuable lessons of economic development for other developing countries. Second, the Chinese economy has become increasingly integrated with the world economy. The growth prospect of China is important for both China and the rest of the world. This course will examine China's growth and development through the lens of the modern macroeconomic theory. The topics that will be covered in the course include China's historical growth performance, structural transformation and growth since 1978, resource reallocation and aggregate productivity changes, financial sector development, inflation and business cycles in China. This course is part of the Certificate in Global Perspectives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO436H5 • Measuring Well Being
The course concerns itself with measuring societal economic well being. The historical development of the subject is considered together with the conceptual issues (and objections) associated with representing the welfare of economic agents. Different notions of welfare (Poverty, Inequality, Polarization, Equality of Opportunity) and the various empirical techniques for examining them are critically explored and applied using existing datasets.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO440H5 • Advanced Topics in Financial Economics
This course deals with the following topics in financial economics: (1) Theoretical and empirical issues concerning the relevance of corporate financial structure; (2) Interactions between corporate investment and financing decisions; and (3) The role of the financial system and the legal system in economic development and growth.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO456H5 • Public Policy Analysis
(Formerly
ECO356H5) This course provides an opportunity for students to work with real-world data to address current public policy questions. The course discusses issues that arise when analyzing non-experimental social science data and will teach students to recognize the types of research designs that can lead to convincing policy conclusions. A hands-on approach will be emphasized.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO460H5 • Introduction to Financial Risk Management
This course provides an overview of financial risks which include market risk, credit risk and operational risk. It also discusses the importance of managing these risks and introduces students to basic tools for analyzing and managing them.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO461H5 • The Economics of Financial Risk Management
This course focuses on how to use derivative securities to manage financial risks. It includes a discussion of why firms should hedge financial market risk, identification and quantification of financial risks; the value-at-risk (VaR) measure of risk; credit risk and capital allocation and difference between speculation and hedging.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO466H5 • Empirical Macroeconomics and Policy
Students will increase their data literacy and learn how to apply techniques to address policy issues. The topics covered will include the practical design of monetary policy, the rationale for current monetary policy in Canada, and statistical methods for predicting key macroeconomic variables. As part of the course, students will follow current global issues and will forecast how domestic and international events may alter the Bank of Canada's monetary policy in the short run. Students will team-up with their classmates, discuss their individual forecasts, and select one for a group presentation. Traditionally, at the end of the course, a team from
ECO466H5 is chosen to compete in the Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ECO475H5 • Applied Econometrics II
A research-oriented course continuing from
ECO375H5. The regression model is extended in several possible directions: time series analysis; panel data techniques; instrumental variables; simultaneous equations; limited dependent variables. Students will complete a major empirical term paper, applying the tools of econometrics to a topic chosen by the student.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/24PMode of Delivery: In Class
EDS377H5 • Why the First Year of University Matters: The Impact of Peer Mentoring
This course explores contemporary issues in higher education with a focus on experiences, issues and challenges commonly encountered by undergraduate students during their first year of university. Interdisciplinary in its focus, topics of exploration include an examination of adult and student development theories, models of student engagement and an investigation into mindset, levels of persistence, habits of mind and personality characteristics that impact student success. An internship component is required. Students taking the course will assume a peer-mentoring role to apply and contextualize theories and skills learned in the course. This is a closed course open only to those students who have successfully secured a peer-mentoring position with the First Year Peer Mentoring program
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV201H5 • Environmental Management
(Formerly
GGR234H5) Environmental management builds on topics discussed in ENV100 and GGR111/112, by focusing on conceptual frameworks and specific tools that can be used to formulate environmental management goals and support decision-making. Case studies will be used throughout to highlight different approaches, focusing primarily on Canadian examples. Topics include ecosystem and adaptive management, environment impact assessments, and the role of stakeholders.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/9TMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV210H5 • Sustainability
The United Nations Commission on Environment and Development popularized the term sustainable development in its 1987 report, Our Common Future. How far have we come since then, as a global community, in implementing sustainability as a model for development? In this course we will examine the history, measurement, and present-day models and applications of sustainability and sustainable development in both the public and private spheres. Sustainability is an integrative concept that addresses social, cultural, political, and economic factors within the constraints of the biophysical environment.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class, Hybrid
ENV305H5 • Sustainable Tourism
Tourism has long been an important industry around the world, but increasingly questions are being raised regarding the social and environmental sustainability of tourism. This course will look at the impacts (both negative and positive) that tourism has on the natural environment, society, and local economies. It will explore how tourism relates to mobility, globalization, recreation and outdoor activity, planning, the environment, cultural identities, protected areas, and wildlife conservation. This course begins with an introduction to tourism more generally and then focuses in on critical perspectives and the development of eco-tourism, cultural tourism, and volunteer tourism. As part of this course, students may have the option of participating in an international learning experience that will have an additional cost and application process.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV311H5 • Environmental Issues in the Developing World
The Earth is one, but the world is not. We all depend on one biosphere for sustaining our lives. Yet each community, each country, strives for survival and prosperity with little regard for its impact on others. These are the opening words from the report of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, which first popularized the concept of sustainable development. In this course we examine 'environment' and 'development' and 'human well-being' as inseparable challenges. We consider global, regional, and local environmental problems from the perspectives of developing nations, and investigate the economic, social, and political roots of these problems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/10TMode of Delivery: In Class, Hybrid
ENV320H5 • Managing Our Waste
Garbage archaeologist William Rathje once said, "Garbage isn't generic junk. It's elements of our behavior all thrown together." The history of human civilization is reflected in what societies have thrown away over the ages. But in recent decades both the quantity and types of waste generated by human activities have changed radically. In this course we will address the philosophical, social, and management challenges associated with waste in Canadian and international contexts, as well as examining some of the technological and scientific aspects of specific waste management problems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/10TMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV332H5 • Practicum in Environmental Project Management
Solutions to environmental issues depend on interdisciplinary teamwork. This course mimics the practical, multidisciplinary, collaborative work that is highly valued in the environment sector. Students work in teams on semester-long projects addressing a specific environmental issue on campus or in the local community (e.g., conducting a waste audit; developing an educational module for a local NGO, etc.). Specific skills that are developed include; project management and workflow, data collection, report writing and formal presentations. This course is strongly recommended for Specialist and Major students in any of the Environment Programs.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12P/24SMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV393H5 • Environmental Assessment
The course focuses on the methodologies for measuring and predicting the impact of development on the bio-physical and socio-economic environments. Topics include environmental assessment, law and institutions, environmental mediation; Phase I, II, III environmental site assessment; monitoring; mitigation; evaluation; and risk assessment. The types of impact assessment (IA) methods examined vary from year to year (e.g. economic IA, ecological IA, social IA).
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/6PMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV425H5 • Managing Urban Ecosystems
This course examines the ways people interact with and manage urban ecosystems. Socio-ecological systems, green infrastructure, environmental justice, ecosystems services, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and sustainability will be discussed in the context of urban ecosystems. Throughout the course, issues associated with bridging the gaps between the social and natural sciences, unique characteristics of urban ecosystems, and the role of individual decision-makers will be considered.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV430H5 • Environmental Law and Policy
This course introduces students to the challenges and opportunities of environmental law and policy. Students will learn how legal systems can address increasingly complex environmental challenges. This course will include an in-depth look at the toolbox of legal and policy instruments that decision makers have at their disposal to tackle major environmental problems. The focus is primarily Canada though international examples will also be touched upon. Case studies and examples will be used to connect theoretical and legal principals to real world situations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV435H5 • Governing the Commons: Communities and Conservation
Common-pool resources (CPRs) include pastures, forests, watersheds, ocean fisheries, traffic, the Internet, and the Earth’s climate. CPRs present a variety of social dilemmas because it is difficult to exclude and prevent resources users from accessing, using, and polluting a resource. Individual self-interest may put CPRs at risk of overuse, overconsumption, and exploitation to result in a “tragedy of the commons” scenario. However resource users across the world, have devised rules and strategies to avoid such tragedies to sustain CPRs over centuries. In this course, through playing games in the classroom, we will learn whether and how theories of collective action, cooperation, and institutions provide insight into achieving conservation of CPRs that delivers on the twin goals of social and environmental justice.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV491H5 • Special Topics in Environmental Studies
These courses highlight various topics of special interest in environmental studies. The specific focus and format of the courses will vary, depending on the chosen topic. The courses will not be offered every year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable for details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ENV497H5 • Environmental Research Project
This independent project course is designed to give students experience in the definition and execution of a one-term research study on an environmental topic, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member or who have an idea for a research project should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the terms of the project.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12PMode of Delivery: In Class
FSC360H5 • Evidence, Law and Forensic Science in Canada
This course will explore the position of forensic science within the law in Canada. The focus will be on the evolution of the acceptance of forensic science in Canadian criminal law and its current position within the legal system. Topics include: Evidence law, expert evidence law, defining the expert, differing standards of legal acceptance for police sciences and others. Important historical documents and legal advancements will be surveyed.
Enrolment Limits: Priority given first to Forensic Science Specialists and Majors; then Minors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12SMode of Delivery: In Class
FSC361H5 • Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
This course will develop students’ knowledge of forensic mental health issues throughout the criminal justice system, including the nature and extent of mental illness in our society and the various legal, social and ethical issues that arise when a mentally disordered individual comes into contact with the criminal justice system. Topics to be explored include: the medical and legal definitions of mental disorder and their relationship to each other; the criteria for state-compelled treatment and how it impinges upon individual autonomy; the changing views of the justice system’s duty to accommodate victims and witnesses with mental health issues; fitness to stand trial and the defense of not criminally responsible; and the Review Board process.
Enrolment Limits: Priority is given to FSC Specialists, FSC Majors and FSC MinorsDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
FSC420H5 • Field and Lab Methods in Forensic Psychology
This course introduces students to field practices and research procedures in Forensic Psychology. The topics in field practice may include, but are not limited to: administrating risk assessment; conducting semi-structured patient interviews; fitness to stand trial assessment; mental health diagnostics; psychological profiling in criminal investigation; administering patient records; trial preparation. The tasks related to research procedures may include, but are not limited to: research literature searches and citation management; writing ethics proposals; data collection, annotation, analysis, and storage; writing abstracts, critical analysis, and methods; writing peer-review responses; formalizing and executing research theory, hypotheses and design.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12L/36PMode of Delivery: In Class
FSC430H5 • Seminar in Forensic Science
As a capstone course,
FSC430H5 is intended to apply the unique interdisciplinary perspectives acquired by students enrolled in the Forensic Science Minor. This course will address key themes in forensics, and culminate in a collaborative course project, informed and shaped by these perspectives. Students can expect to work in partnerships, groups, or teams to investigate and discuss major issues, hot topics, historical events or growing bodies of knowledge that contribute to a broader understanding of forensic science and how it is relevant across many, if not all disciplines. Restricted to students enrolled in the Forensic Science Minor.
Enrolment Limits: Restricted to students enrolled in the Forensic Science Minor.Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR111H5 • Human Geography
The course introduces human geography through an exploration of the evolution of geography to modern traditions, the measurement of geographic space and phenomena and the spatial interactions of people with the environment. Students gain an understanding of geographic principles through lectures and course material and develop fieldwork skills through practical sessions and field exercises. This course fulfills 1 field day.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
GGR202H5 • Geography of Canada
This course will spotlight how Canada, as a nation, is constructed through historical and contemporary systems of inclusions and exclusions. Taking a geographic approach to Canada means taking a look at the social construction of ‘Canada’ through the politics and production of spaces. We will explore how landscape, borders, regions, territory, land, and environment are imagined, organized, contested and fought for by individuals and communities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
GGR207H5 • Cities, Urbanization and Development
This course will introduce students to urban social processes, urban form and urban history. A particular emphasis will be placed on global urbanization, internal spatial and social structure of cities, as well as past and contemporary urban problems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR208H5 • Population Geography
This course examines the link between people and places from a global perspective. The course will cover topics related to population patterns and processes, geographic theories related to population and sustainability, as well as the tools used by geographers to study population size, composition and migration. This course fulfills 1 field day.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR209H5 • Economic Geography
An introduction to the interaction of the economic, social and political institutions that determine the quality of life in a particular place. Subjects covered range from economic efficiency and social equity to the location dynamics of value chains. The emphasis of the course is on Canadian examples.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR210H5 • Social Geographies
Social geography is concerned with the ways in which social relations, identities and inequalities are produced across space. This course examines social geography in the North American context with a specific focus on identity/difference and inequalities in cities. We will explore cities as sites of both cosmopolitan inclusion and exclusion.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR252H5 • Retail Geography
Commercial activities are a significant and visible part of our social system. We are what we consume, and our consumption priorities describe our society. Consumption practices are mediated through the action of retailers and the preference of consumers. The course examines the organization of the retail economy and considers relationships between retail practices and environmental, ethical and social justice concerns. Likewise it explores how social, environmental and ethical beliefs of consumers influence their purchasing practices, the connections between consumer behaviour and the practices of retailers and the possibilities for developing a retail economy that better aligns with societal concerns for social justice, ethical production and environmental sustainability.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR265H5 • (Under)development and Health
In this course students will be introduced to contemporary development and health issues by examining historical experiences, social, political, economic and environmental processes. This approach will help highlight the vast diversity and address some of the many questions about the region including: What processes underlie famine and food insecurity? What are the underlying causes of the conflict and genocide in some regions? What processes explain spatial disparities in health, or regional and gender differences in HIV rates and the outbreak of rare diseases like Ebola? The course will rely on case studies from the Sub-Saharan (SSA), one of the most diverse and intriguing regions in the world, to provide an understanding of the complexity in each topic.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR277H5 • Social Research Methods in Geography
This course introduces students to the range of social research methods and approaches used in the field of human geography. The course will cover research design, research ethics, data collection methods including interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc., ethics in conducting research with human subjects, and data analysis and interpretation. This course fulfills 1 field day.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class, Hybrid
GGR300H5 • Special Topics in Human Geography
This course explores a particular area within human geography. Topics will vary from year to year. See department website for details. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR301H5 • Pandemics, Inequality, and Health: Exploring the Nexus of Health Disparities in Crisis
Through an interdisciplinary lens, this course will examine the unequal distribution of health outcomes during pandemics and how social, economic, and political factors contribute to these disparities. In doing so, this course will explore existing and historical political, social, and systemic inequalities that have persisted and widened during pandemics and health crises with a particular focus on marginalized populations that are disproportionately affected by pandemics and social inequities. Using case studies and contemporary examples, this course will analyze how socioeconomic factors, including access to healthcare, education, housing, and economic stability influence and worsen health outcomes and wellbeing during pandemics. Students will also explore the science that inform local and global interventions and policy responses aimed at reducing disparities and promoting resilience in communities facing the dual burden of pandemics and social inequities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR313H5 • Gender and the City
In this course students will be introduced to approaches in social geography that examine the links between gender and urban environments. Specific topics and issues to be covered include, for example, poverty, work, sex trade, human trafficking and safety. Topics will be explored across multiple scales including bodies, home, neighbourhood and community. This course fulfills 1 field day.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR318H5 • Political Geography
Political geography is concerned with the spatial expression of political entities and events. It involves analysis at a variety of scales ranging from the local to the global. The control and manipulation of territory and the imposition of political boundaries and political ideas are central to this analysis. The course provides discussion on nation building, the emergence of the state system, theories on the state, and the role of the state as provider of services and regulator of activities, and electoral geography and governance. This course fulfills 1 field day.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR319H5 • Landscapes of Belonging
Grounded in human geography and qualitative methods, this course investigates the meaningful non-tangible relationships between humankind and environment. These relationships include emotional attachment (to place), aesthetics (of landscape), ethics (of environment), and relationships (to place and to other species). We will examine these ideas through exploration of the geohumanities; ways of seeing or apprehending the world; ways of being in place; ways of translating or reproducing the world; and possible paths forward in the relationship between us and the landscapes around us. This course fulfills 1 field day
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR322H5 • GIS and Population Health
The purpose of this course will be to develop an appreciation for the conceptual and methodological intersections that exist between geographical information systems and population health. While population health can include incidence and prevalence of disease and ill-health, as well as concerns about service provision, this course will focus mainly on disease, injury, illness more broadly. The course will include both lectures, where foundational concepts will be introduced and related to practical lab sessions, where students will gain experience using GIS to map and study health information. Topics will include: spatial databases for population health, mapping health data, analyzing the spatial clustering of disease and/or injury, mapping and analyzing environmental and social risk factors.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR325H5 • Business and Industrial Geography
This course uses economic principles and geographical analysis to help you understand the global economic map of the early 21st century. It aims to show the way in which economic activities are organized within and across countries and how this affects people and communities. Both broad patterns of economic organization and specific case studies will be discussed. Topics covered range from the impact of public policy on regional growth to a case study of the financial services industries. In short, the course attempts to answer the following question about the global economic map: "What is where, and why? and so what?".
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR329H5 • Environment and the Roots of Globalization
A critical discussion of how geographical factors, such as landscape, flora and fauna, might help explain why history unfolded differently on different continents. How geography might have impacted the development of agriculture, complex technologies, writing, centralized government and how, in the process, it has shaped the current world economic map.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR333H5 • Energy and Society
A broad survey of humankind's ability to control and manipulate energy. Forms of energy and use; energy eras and transitions; past and present economic and policy debates. Understanding of technical terms, physical principles, creation of resources and trade-offs will be emphasized as a basis for discussions about current energy options.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR349H5 • Cities in Transition
The internal geography of contemporary cities is in the midst of a series of transitions related to new settlement patterns, immigration, workplace location, transportation and communication technologies, globalization, and shifts in urban governance. This course will examine these transitions and their effects on the social and political geography of the city. Themes include gentrification, spatial mismatch, concentrated poverty, political fragmentation, and the emergence of new urban forms and of the post-modern city.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR353H5 • Disease and Death
This course will provide a geographical perspective on patterns of mortality, morbidity and access to health care among populations. It will outline current theoretical and empirical underpinnings in health geography and emphasize the links between health and place. The course covers some traditional themes in health geography including spatial dissuasion of diseases and access to health care. Using illustrations from evolving fields such as Global Health, Aboriginal Health, and Immigrant Health the course delves into the important theme of health inequalities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR361H5 • City Planning and Development
This course outlines important concepts and historical milestones involved in the planning and development of cities. It involves examination of urban sprawl, urban intensification efforts, and of the evolution of urban form and the interplay of private and public forces that shape the built-form of Canadian cities. This course fulfills 2 field days.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36L/10TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR362H5 • Exploring Urban Neighbourhoods
With a majority of the world's population living in urban areas, nearly all of the problems and possibilities of society and human-environment relations are becoming urban questions. The city is the setting in which broad social, cultural, political, and economic processes unfold, mediated and shaped by local context. Our focus in this course is the internal structure of the city. We examine the ways in which local experiences and conditions of urban life are shaped by social differentiation and processes of change. Our examination includes considerations of race, class, gender, and ethnicity in the context of urban life as a way of exploring how identity and place shape one another. We consider different theoretical frameworks that researchers utilize to make sense of both the persistence of old problems and the emergence of new ones. Instruction will adopt a blended approach in which students will connect the concepts covered in class discussion through field work based exploration of local urban neighbourhoods. This course fulfills 5 field days.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR363H5 • Global Migration and Health
International migration is an important global issue. Hundreds of millions of individuals currently live outside their country of origin. Most migrants leave their country of origin in search of better economic and social opportunities while others are forced to flee crises including political unrest, violence, and natural disasters. Migration poses numerous challenges for individuals, families, communities and governments including those related to health and access to health care services. This course examines contemporary international migration from a geographic perspective with a specific focus on the complex relationships among global (im)migration, health, and broader social determinants of health. Topics covered may include: migration theories, immigration trends and policies, integration and citizenship, social determinants of health, and health care policy.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/6TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR365H5 • Trade and Globalization
This course uses economic and geographical principles to help students understand the advent of the current period of globalization. In this context, globalization refers to international trade liberalization which results in increased contacts across borders, migration, trade, and investment. Topics covered will include the history of globalization, the environment, sweatshops, development and inequalities. By the end of the course, students should have gained a deeper understanding of current controversies surrounding international trade and globalization.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR370H5 • The Geography of Transportation
Transportation is an integral aspect of our daily lives and plays a key role in shaping the economy and the environment. Through this course, students will explore the geography of transportation. Topics will include, mobility and accessibility, transportation networks and flows, Geographic Information Systems in Transport (GIS-T), planning and policy, environmental and human health impacts, and other current issues.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR382H5 • Digital Mapping and Principles of Cartography
This course will cover foundational concepts in mapmaking (cartography) using geographical information systems (GIS). The course will also explore map rendering in the digital and mobile worlds where the power of geography and cartography are leveraged through development of location based services used increasingly in everyday life. Topics covered will include but are not limited to: coordinate systems and map projections, measurement and classification, making maps using GIS, critical appraisal of mapped information. The course will combine lectures with practical sessions where foundational concepts will be applied using GIS and related technologies and software.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 12L/24PMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR385H5 • Indigenizing Space and Place
This course looks critically at how places and people are come to be labelled as indigenous and how this labelling is tied to political, social, economic, and environmental systems that shape the spaces in which we all live. Furthermore, this course asks how spaces and places can be indigenized and what this means for social relations. We will study these processes at multiple scales - from international solidarity networks to nationalist claims on territory to an individual's sense of belonging. We will examine a wide range of topics related to these processes such as the geographies of education, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, resource conflicts, media representations, identity formation and well-being. While we will be focusing on indigenizing geographies within the context of Canada as a settler nation, we will also engage with how indigenous geographies shape and are shaped by nationalisms in other parts of the world. As part of this course, students may have the option of participating in an international learning experience that will have an additional cost and application process. This course fulfills 1-5 field day (to be adjusted according to student activity) .
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR387H5 • Food and Globalization
A broad overview of the historical development of the global food economy and a survey of recent trends and controversies. Topics discussed range from basic food staples, food markets and trade liberalization to food security, environmental sustainability and alternative agricultural systems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR389H5 • Field Studies in Human Geography
This course will provide students with a first-hand exposure to the social, urban, historical and cultural geography of a North American city. During a 5-7 day stay in a city, students will apply basic field methods, such as observation and field note taking, to gain an in-depth understanding of the landscape and build environment. Students will participate in collecting primary observational data as well as gathering information gleaned from guided tours, lectures and group discussion. Admission to course will be through application due by end of March. The student's application must be submitted to the department and must include a current transcript, a current curriculum vita, and a letter of application explaining why their qualifications and interest make them suitable candidates for this field course opportunity. Applicants who meet minimum criteria will be selected for an interview. Acceptance will be based on a combination of GPA, experience, qualifications and interview performance. There is a nonrefundable fee associated with this course beyond tuition, for which the accepted students are responsible. This course fulfills 6 field days.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR415H5 • Geographies of Indigenous Health
Indigenous people of Canada - the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples - have very rich and diverse histories. However, common to most are large disparities in health compared to the non-Indigenous population. This seminar course will examine the health conditions of Indigenous peoples in Canada including a focus on the geographic, historic, and contemporary factors leading to health disparities and inequalities. The course will also examine health and well-being through an Indigenous worldview.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR418H5 • Geopolitics
The course focus is classical and contemporary geopolitical theories. We examine different and competing ideas and consider how and if geographic logic of the international (or global) political order has changed. Discussion will initially focus on the historical progression of geopolitical reasoning and then will proceed to discuss imperial rivalries, concepts of hegemony and world order and the geopolitics of the Cold War and the post-Cold War eras. The final section of the course will consider theoretical struggles surrounding the geopolitics in the early 21st. century and the challenges posed by critical geopolitics, social movements, environmental changes and feminist theory. Throughout, the primary concern is how the effects of scale, space and power in global politics is understood and experienced.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR420H5 • Geography of Finance and Financial Crisis
The global financial crisis brought to mainstream attention the important role played by finance, and new and strange terms such as subprime, derivatives, ABCP, libor, CDS, CDOs. The aftermath of crisis also witnessed mortgage foreclosures and evictions, factory closures, bailouts of large banks and hedge funds, and the implosion of public finances in a number of European nations. This course seeks to understand the spatial organization of financial flows, intermediaries, and instruments, and how these may be related to the apparently disparate phenomenon cited above. It explores how this geography of finance might be related to the production of financial crisis, and how the global geography of international finance relates to the public finances of nations and municipalities, pension and hedge funds, and individual investors. This course begins by exploring the workings of international finance, and examining the history of financial crisis, including both the current crisis and the great depression. We consider the different theories of financial crisis emanating from disparate political-economic-geographical perspectives, as well as the divergent policy implications that flow from such theories. The course then explores on the literature regarding the localized effects of the geography of finance, from the geography of sub-prime lending and foreclosures, to unemployment in selected European cities, the geography of new start-ups in developing nations, and the geography of credit card debt, bankruptcies and defaults.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR426H5 • The Geographies of Human Rights
This course examines the promises, problems and paradoxes of human rights. We will study the local, national and global aspects of human rights enforcement and violation. By examining specific case studies, we shall examine how so-called 'universal' human rights are articulated and practiced differently in different places. Throughout this course, we shall explore human rights as means of empowerment as well as oppression.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR461H5 • Advanced Urban Planning
This course will build on the material taught in
GGR361H5, City Planning. This course will delve deeper into the scholarship related to urban planning and urban development more broadly such as planning for multicultural cities, ethics in planning and planning ethics, contemporary scholarly theories of planning (collaborative planning theory etc.), planning for more equal cities and planning for sustainability.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR489H5 • Special Topics in Human Geography
An advanced seminar dealing with topics in human geography, to be selected according to staff and student interests. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
GGR497H5 • Human Geography Independent Research Project
This independent project course is designed to give students experience in the definition and execution of a one-term research study on a human geography topic, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Students who wish to pursue this option with a specific faculty member or who have an idea for a research project should approach the faculty member early - before the start of the academic term - to negotiate the terms of the project.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
GLB201H5 • Global Leadership: Past, Present, Futures
The evolution and exercise of leadership is examined in the context of globalization. Terminology, case studies, and practical examples are used to consider questions such as: Why did globalization become a dominant frame? How have narratives of globalization changed over time? How does late 20th century globalization differ from earlier processes of colonization? What are expectations going forward? The assumed scale of globalization and how it manifests differently in various geographies, societies, and contexts is assessed. Students reflect on the uneven experiences of globalization in their own lives, communities, and worlds they observe and pass through. Students challenge ideas of how good leadership is conceived, the dynamics that are assumed (e.g., leaders and followers), and who/what might be left out (e.g., gender, race, class), today and in the future.
Note: This course may include one required in-person meeting for all students. This will occur outside of the normal schedule at the beginning of the course.
Prerequisites: Completion of 4.0 credits.
Enrolment Limits: Priority is given to students enrolled in the tri-campus Global Leadership Minor program.Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 14L/24TMode of Delivery: Online, Hybrid
HIS255H5 • Introduction to Histories of Extraction and the Environment
An introduction to the historical and ongoing disruptions of colonial extraction in Canada and their treatment within the historical record. From natural resources to Indigenous lands and knowledges, this course will deepen students’ understandings of the processes, industries and technologies responsible for settler colonial extraction in Canada.
Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
HIS355H5 • Histories of Extraction and the Future of the Environment
This course uses Indigenous, transnational and feminist frameworks to examine colonialism’s impact on the environment. From Turtle Island (Canada/U.S.) to Aotearoa (New Zealand), this course dismantles colonial histories, extractive industries and the state apparatuses that govern our relationship to the environment to form alternative understandings of environmental histories and futures.
Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI201H5 • Fundamentals of Marketing
An introduction to the fundamentals of market definition, consumer behaviour, and the principal marketing functions: product line development, pricing, distribution, promotion, salesforce management, advertising, research, and planning.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI202H5 • Principles of Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management involves everything related to the employer-employee relationship and is about supporting and managing the organisation’s people and associated processes.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI203H5 • Essentials of Accounting: Financial & Managerial
Financial accounting revolves around the preparation and understanding of financial statements, including income statements, and balance sheets which help management and other stakeholders understand the state of affairs within an organization. Managerial accounting provides management with information, analysis and reports that support management's decision making.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI301H5 • Essentials of Finance
The two main fields of finance are investments and the financing of corporations. In the investments segment, students first learn how individual investors decide on their investments based on the time value of money and risk and return trade-offs. In the corporate finance segment students will build on the insights from the investments segment to understand the financing of firms within the context of capital markets.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI302H5 • Managing Projects, Operations & Preparing a Business Plan
Every business needs to formulate the strategies by which it will compete successfully in the market place, and plan for the implementation of these strategies, which may include joint ventures, strategic alliances, etc. This requires operational capabilities, the preparation of business plans and project management skills.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI303H5 • Technology Strategy
Businesses typically want to grow and compete. Science oriented businesses rely on innovation, protected by intellectual property rights and patents, to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Entrepreneurial science-based start-up ventures especially need a strong intellectual foundation, and they need to raise capital.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
IMI400H5 • Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Students in this course will analyze business cases, read academic studies, and interact with guest lecturers to gain familiarity with the major challenges that entrepreneurs encounter in successfully bringing innovations to market. Topics to be addressed include market and industry analysis, managing value chains, competing and positioning in the marketplace, negotiating for and obtaining financial resources, defining a business model, writing a business plan, and growth and exit strategies. In addition to more "traditional" lectures, there will be a number of guest lectures, especially in the second half of the course, provided from practitioners in different areas of interest, including current entrepreneurs, technologists, early-stage investors, and IP lawyers. The course is open to 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-year students in all programs and does not require any prerequisites.
Enrolment Limits: Please note that preference will be given to students enrolled in the Minor in Business, Science & Entrepreneurship.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ISP200H5 • Writing and Researching across the University
This course builds on instruction offered in
ISP100H5 in its focus on writing and researching processes. Students will expand their understanding of advanced theories and techniques of genre and discourse analysis, deepen their understanding of writing studies scholarship, and refine their own writing processes.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: In Class
ISP251H5 • Special Topics in University Pedagogy
This course covers a special topic in University Pedagogy. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. This course may satisfy either the Humanities, Sciences, or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ISP351H5 • Special Topics in University Pedagogy
This course covers a special topic in University Pedagogy. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. This course may satisfy either the Humanities, Sciences, or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
ISP451H5 • Special Topics in University Pedagogy
This course covers a special topic in University Pedagogy. Content relates to instructor's area of interest, thus the course varies in focus from year to year. This course may satisfy either the Humanities, Sciences, or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
JAL253H5 • Language and Society
This course offers an introduction to the study of the relationship between language and society with the goal of understanding language use through social structures. Working within this socially-informed perspective, topics covered will include language, perception, and identity development; verbal and non-verbal communication; speaking across cultures; language use and social networks; and language and power. This course counts towards only the English Language Linguistics Minor (ERMIN1200); it does NOT count towards the Linguistic Studies Minor (ERMIN0506) nor the Linguistic Studies Major (ERMAJ1850).
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
JAL351H5 • Language and Culture: Area study
This course offers an in-depth study of a particular region or language from a linguistic and anthropological perspective. In some cases this will involve focusing on a particular language or speech community (e.g., Vietnamese) including its historical development and the ways in which its boundaries have been defined. In other cases, it will involve a broader, regional approach (e.g., mainland Southeast Asia). Topics vary from year to year but may include semantic and grammatical structure, language variation and use, language pragmatics, poetry and poetics, literacy and orality, political discourse, historical linguistics and comparative reconstruction, language contact and shift.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
JAL355H5 • Language and Gender
Ways in which gender influences the use of language and behaviour in conversational interaction: ways in which language reflects cultural beliefs about gender.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
JAL453H5 • Language and Social Theory
This seminar course considers the intersection of linguistics and anthropology, bringing ideas from contemporary and classical social theory to bear on questions central to both fields of study. Topics vary from year to year but may include any of the following: linguistic relativity; register formation; language variation; linguistic ideologies; racialization; political discourse; pragmatic and semiotic theory; language reform.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
JEG401Y5 • Geography / Environment Social Science Internship
Through a part-time, unpaid work placement, students apply the knowledge and expertise gained through previous course work in geography. Placements may be made in a range of settings. For example, placements may include municipal government, regional government, neighbourhood organizations and centres, corporations as well as with non-governmental organizations. Admission for this course will be through an online application. Instructions for the application can be found on the Geography Department home page:
https://utm.utoronto.ca/geography/field-internship-and-thesis-courses
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
JEG417Y5 • Honours Thesis
This course is designed to give students experience in the design and execution of an independent senior thesis under the supervision of a faculty member.
In order to register in the course, students must obtain approval from a supervisor, complete an application form and submit the form to the Department of Geography. Please refer to the Department of Geography website for details: https://utm.utoronto.ca/geography/field-internship-and-thesis-courses. This course may fulfill field day components. Please consult with your supervisor.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
JEP351H5 • Comparative Environmental Policy
This course is an introduction to comparative environmental policy. The focus of the course will be comparing different country’s policies on climate change, biodiversity, water, and pollution. Larger themes related to sustainable development and environmental justice will be covered in detail.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
JEP356H5 • Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice is about the fair treatment of all people in the creation and implementation of environmental policies. It also provides a critical framework to analyze and understand inequalities of an environmental kind. These inequalities are often based around identities of race, class and gender, such that marginalized groups are made to bear the burden of environmental externalities like pollution. Why are First Nations in Canada less likely to have access to safe drinking water? Why are industrial plants often in low-income neighborhoods? After critical examinations of the theories and foundations of environmental justice, this course uses a case study approach to understanding the concepts and the ways in which it has shaped modern society.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
JEP452H5 • Politics and Policy of Wildlife Conservation
This course is an in-depth analysis of conservation policy in Canada. The course begins with an overview biodiversity crisis facing the planet and then moves to an overview of Canada's approach to managing biodiversity across the country. We will carefully examine the federal Species at Risk Act as well as the provincial and territorial wildlife legislation. The remaining of the course will be aimed at making improvements to the Canadian strategy. During the course of the semester, the students will focus on the recovery of endangered species in Canada through the development of a recovery strategy for a specific species.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
JGE378H5 • Natural Hazards
Earth is a dangerous place and risk is an inherent feature of life on this planet. Some of the events and processes that we call "hazardous," such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunamis, cyclones, and forest fires are natural environmental processes. We define them as hazards only when they pose a threat to human interests. In this course we will examine natural hazards as well as some technological hazards, their causes, their potential impacts on people, and their management and mitigation.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
JPE251H5 • Introduction to Canadian Environmental Law and Policy I
This course serves as an introduction to environmental policy and law in Canada. The primary intent is to provide an overview of the political context in which environmental policy and law is made and implemented. The emphasis in this course will be on environmental policy. The course begins with an outline of the Canadian parliamentary system and policymaking process. A series of case studies, from biodiversity to climate change, are then explored as a way to see the policy process in action. [24L]
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
JPE252H5 • Introduction to Canadian Environmental Law and Policy II
This course builds on the themes and concepts introduced in
JPE251H5. The primary intent is to provide an overview of the political context in which environmental policy and law is made and implemented. The emphasis in this course will be on environmental law. [24L]
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
LIN256H5 • Sociolinguistics
An introduction to linguistic variation and its social implications, especially the quantitative study of phonological and grammatical features and their correlations with age, sex, ethnicity and other social variables.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGD415H5 • E-Business Strategies
Electronic business, the extensive use of the web and the Internet, is radically changing existing businesses. New Internet businesses are also being created at an unprecedented rate. New business models, e-business technologies, payment mechanisms, legal and regulatory issues (e.g., intellectual property rights, privacy and security) and the economics of e-business will be investigated from a research and practical perspective.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGD421H5 • Technological Entrepreneurship
This course explores the methods and frameworks of entrepreneurship through an experiential learning model (learning by doing). Students will begin the process of developing a new business venture, exploring their own business ideas and developing a business plan and pitch while working in teams. Topics include the business model, customers and markets, financial models, competition, intellectual property, funding and investment and characteristics of entrepreneurial teams.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGD426H5 • Enterprise Risk Management
This course will address the identification and management of risks that are specific to digital industries such as network penetration, transaction processing interruption and flow disruption, provision of audit and backup facilities. The course will also integrate technical security issues along with managerial and legal considerations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
MGD427H5 • Advanced Legal Issues
This course will build on the foundations established in
CCT206H5. Issues relating to the protection of digital rights, taxation, privacy, jurisdiction and regulation will be examined in detail through the use of recent legal scholarship and evolving case law.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGD429H5 • Data Analysis II
This course offers an overview of data analytics principles, approaches, and technologies that allow businesses to generate business intelligence. Business intelligence refers to all the means required to collect, exploit and analyze data in order to provide the right information to decision-makers at the right time. This course is designed for individuals interested in Business Intelligence practices and analysis from a management point of view, without a detailed focus on statistical or programming methods.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM101H5 • Introduction to Management Functions
This course shows how the principal management disciplines provide analytical tools for understanding organizations and their management, how the disciplines inter-relate and how they underpin the activities of organizations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 26LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM102H5 • Management in a Changing Environment
This course introduces the environment in which managers operate, and to the managerial role. It explores the Canadian business system, the economic, technological and social trends that are bringing about change in the system, and the basic principles of managing in this environment. Not open to students enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of the Commerce Major or Specialist program.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 26LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM320H5 • Financial Statement Analysis and Interpretation
This course will provide an understanding of financial reports, and their use for investment and management decisions. Cases will be used to enhance problem-solving skills and will integrate ideas from finance, management and financial accounting and other areas of study. The course focuses on the interpretation and use of financial statement data for the purpose of assessing the financial performance of a business operation, not on the technical details of accounting rules.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM360H5 • Compensation
This course explores the theory and process of developing compensation systems as part of an organization’s larger system for managing human potential. The course focuses on the major components of compensation strategy design such as legislation, principles of equity and fairness, job analysis, job evaluation, compensation surveys, benefits and incentives. Current events in relation to compensation are explored. Students will also acquire hands-on experience in building a compensation strategy.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM364H5 • Labour Relations
The role, structure, and performance of industrial relations within the framework of Canada's socio-economic-political system. Growth and history of the Canadian Labour movement: its philosophy and structure. Management's strategies and tactics in collective bargaining; public policy in the field of industrial relations; strikes in so-called emergency situations: the role of unions and collective bargaining in inflation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM365H5 • HR Planning
During Human Resource Planning, organizations identify changes in human resources required to meet their future goals. In this course, students will learn about the steps involved in HR Planning including labour market forecasting, goal setting and strategic planning, and program implementation and evaluation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM390H5 • Business Law
(Formerly
MGM290H5). This course provides an overview of the public institutions, laws and regulations that affect the structure and management of Canadian organizations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM464H5 • Recruitment and Selection
An organization's success depends on its ability to recruit and select top talent. This course is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the methods and application of various recruitment and selection techniques within organizations. Students will learn to recognize and create effective, resource-efficient recruitment programs, and how to identify the most qualified individuals from a pool of applicants.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM465H5 • Occupational Health & Safety
As individuals spend more and more time at work, it becomes increasingly important for organizations to protect their employees from harm and to support their physical, psychological, emotional, and social welfare. Students in this course will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to design and foster healthy and safe working environments.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGM466H5 • Training & Development
The goal of training and development is to grow the potential of employees within an organization. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of how to improve job-related competencies through training and how to prepare employees for future job responsibilities through development. Topics covered include needs assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of training and development programs.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT010H5 • Effective Business Practices and Leadership Skills Capstone
This culminating course offers students in the Effective Business Practices and Leadership Skills Certificate an opportunity to integrate and synthesize their academic learning with their work-integrated learning experience. Students will engage with other students in the certificate program to share their experiences, complete their final workplace reflection exercises, produce a written report of their workplace experience, and exhibit their experience in the form of a final poster presentation. This course is required for all students in the Certificate in Effective Business Practices and Leadership Skills. No credit is awarded for this course.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 8LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
MGT120H5 • Introduction to Financial Accounting
Introduction to the theory and concepts of financial accounting. Students learn how to construct and interpret financial statements. Topics include an introductory understanding of accounting and the context within which accounting occurs.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/20TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT150H5 • Financial Planning for Individuals
This course will cover personal finance topics for individuals at all stages of life. Topics include budgeting, borrowing, investing, insurance and retirement planning. Tax issues associated with these topics is also covered including the basics of personal income tax. Case studies are used extensively to illustrate the material.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
MGT201H5 • Coding for Business
Targeted to business students with little or no programming experience, the course provides an understanding of the role computation has in solving business problems and to help students be able to write small programs to accomplish practical tasks in the business world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT211H5 • Special Topics for Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT212H5 • Special Topics for Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT218H5 • Quantitative Analysis for Management
Acquaints students with the statistical principles that managers need in order to extract information from numerical data, and to understand the formal principles of decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. Covers descriptive statistics, elementary probability, expected values, sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing for normal and binomial data.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT220H5 • Intermediate Accounting I
Expands the analysis of financial accounting beyond
MGT120H5. Cases are used to develop critical thinking and communication skills. Topics include accounting's conceptual framework, analysis of business and financial statements, accounting for assets, and valuation of bonds.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT223H5 • Managerial Accounting I
Covers conceptual and analytical foundations of cost accounting and uses of accounting by management. Cost concepts for product costing and decision making provide an understanding of the uses of accounting information by management. Costing and control concepts are analyzed to equip students with tools for establishing costing systems and to make decisions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/24TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT225H5 • Intermediate Accounting II
Expands the analysis of financial accounting beyond
MGT220H5. Technical topics include liabilities, shareholders’ equity, complex financial instruments, accounting for leases, measuring and reporting pensions and earnings per share. The emphasis is on analysis and developing judgment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT231H5 • Business Finance I
(Formerly
MGT338H5) This course analyzes the financial investment decision-making process of individuals and firms. It provides an introduction to present-value techniques, capital budgeting decision-rules, the problem of investment under uncertainty, and portfolio theory.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT232H5 • Business Finance II
(Formerly
MGT339H5) This course extends material learned in
MGT231H5, which is a prerequisite. Topics include the concept of efficiency of financial markets, the optimal financing decisions of firms, and the characteristics of debt, equity and other financial instruments such as options.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT252H5 • Principles of Marketing
An introduction to the basic concepts of market definition, consumer behaviour, and the principal marketing functions: product line development, pricing, distribution, promotion, salesforce management, advertising, research, and planning.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT260H5 • Managing Human Potential
(Formerly
MGT460H5) Human resource management is studied from the perspective of the manager/practitioner. The course focuses on current theory and practices in the major functions of human resource management. Class exercises and projects are used to provide students with some practical HR experience.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT262H5 • Psychology at Work
Theoretical ideas and practical applications concerning individual and group behaviour in organizations. We explore relevant problems confronting management: motivation, influence, communication, supervision, decision-making, and work force diversity.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT270H5 • Data Analytics for Management
This course introduces the analytical mindset and data analytics skills that business professionals need to analyze and evaluate a variety of data to create insights for making decisions. In particular, you will learn to ask the right questions, prepare relevant data, apply appropriate data analytics methods, and interpret results to answer questions. You will also learn to use common data analytics tools, such as Excel, Access (SQL), and Tableau/Power BI to prepare, analyze, and model financial data. Finally, you will apply the analytical mindset and data analytics skills to address various business problems using financial and general business data.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT299H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides second year undergraduate students, who have developed some knowledge of a discipline and its research methods, an opportunity to work in the research project of a professor in return for course credit. 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 participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions 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.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT299Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This courses provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT300H5 • Presentation Skills for Management
The ability to verbally communicate effectively is an important skill in both business and life. Through various avenues such as impromptu speeches, group presentations and debates, students will work on improving their communication and networking skills as well as reflect on opportunities for further improvement via journaling and self-reflection.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT301H5 • Coding and Data Mining for Business Analytics
Targeted to business students with some programming experience, the course provides the foundation to take more advanced courses in the Department of Management that require programming knowledge and data mining skills. Topics in this accelerated course will include data structures, algorithms, analytics (i.e. descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive) including data visualization. Students will be expected to integrate concepts from statistics as well.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT311H5 • Special Topics for Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. This course may include 24 practical hours. See timetable for schedule. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT312H5 • Special Topics for Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT321H5 • Audit & Assurance
A study of the concepts and theory underlying audit practice. Students are introduced to the CICA Handbook recommendations and guidelines for assurance. Practical examples are used to help students develop skills in exercising professional judgment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT322H5 • Financial Accounting Theory and Policy II
Examines several current measurement and disclosure issues in financial reporting, within a "quality of earnings" framework. Topics include: financial instruments, measuring and reporting pensions, financial reporting of corporate income taxes, corporate reporting via the Internet, etc. The emphasis is on developing judgment. Please note: This course will be phased out as of Summer 2022. Students admitted to the Accounting program in Fall 2020 and onward should enrol in
MGT225H5 Intermediate Accounting II.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT323H5 • Managerial Accounting II
Introduction to the different contexts in which costs need to be determined for goods sold internally, externally, domestically, and internationally. Other topics include appropriate cost structures for centralized, decentralized, and matrix forms of organizations and costs for long-term capital projects. Cases are used to promote understanding of the theories.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT324H5 • Equity Valuation and Analysis
This course will provide a framework for analyzing a firm’s past performance, estimating its future performance, and valuing its equity. You will understand how to interpret financial statements, analyze cash flows, make judgments about earnings quality and uncover hidden assets and liabilities. It helps you become a sophisticated user of financial accounting data.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT325H5 • Critical Thinking, Analysis and Decision Making I
(Formerly
MGT320H5) This course introduces students to integration of different areas of studies, stressing the pervasive competencies and critical thinking skills required from business school graduates, future professional accountants and advisors. This course focuses on developing students' decision-making and written communication skills.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT326H5 • Advanced Accounting
The emphasis in this course is on accounting issues and practices relating to intercompany investments, foreign currency transactions and investments, agriculture, cryptocurrencies, and not-for-profit organizations. Assigned material includes cases to ensure that the user impact of accounting choices is appreciated.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT330H5 • Investments
Security analysis and portfolio management. Emphasis is placed on an analysis of bonds and common stocks.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT336H5 • Business Valuation
This is a rigorous course on valuing securities, primarily equities, targeted at students interested in careers involving the analysis of financial statements. We will discuss how managerial discretion and accounting rules influence financial statements and how to analyze financial information to reveal a firm's true performance accurately. We will discuss the mechanics of forecasting and how to become adept at it. We will discuss the intricacies of different valuation models and understand the nuances that link them. Learning will be through lectures, case analyses, in-class exercises, and homework assignments. Almost all classes will involve an Excel-based activity, case discussion, and real-time data. At the end of the course, students can expect to gain significant expertise in all facets of valuation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT341H5 • Financial Modeling and Data Analytics
This course studies applications in corporate finance, investments and risk management. Finance lab software tools will be used to work through problems on topics such as Capital Budgeting and Valuation, Portfolio Analysis, Firm Valuation, Valuing Securities and Risk Management.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT353H5 • Introduction to Marketing Management
An applications-oriented course intended to develop the analytic skills required of marketing managers. The course is designed to improve skills in analyzing marketing situations, identifying market opportunities, developing marketing strategies, making concise recommendations, and defending these recommendations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT354H5 • Consumer Behaviour
Formulating successful marketing strategies requires an understanding of consumers' cultures, motivations, cognitions, and emotions. Students will learn how to use theoretical perspectives from psychology, economics, anthropology, and other disciplines to generate predictions about consumers, interpret consumer reactions to marketing stimuli, and develop rigorous skills in marketing analysis.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT355H5 • Pricing
Approaches pricing decision as an intersection of economics and psychology. Using product categories as diverse as financial services, healthcare, industrial products and consumer packaged goods, students study dynamic pricing, value pricing, price customization, price bundling and multi-part tariffs, menu costs and price stickiness, sales promotions, and pricing in two-sided markets.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT363H5 • Designing Effective Organizations
The course covers the relationship between design and effectiveness; the impact and determinants (environment, technology, competitiveness, size, life-cycle, communication needs) of an organization's form as well as the difficulties of re-framing organizations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT371H5 • Business Technology Management
This course covers key management decisions based on the impact of sustainable and disruptive technology and their role in strategy, profitable growth, and modern work environments. Unlike programming courses, the focus is on knowledge to help students contribute to technology based decisions in the organizations that they join.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT373H5 • Predictive Analytics
Delve into machine learning and its technical applications, obtain a conceptual understanding of prediction problems and algorithms, learn to interpret results using statistical software, and complete a challenging prediction project using real data that will put your knowledge to the test. This course will introduce students to a diverse collection of big data and machine learning techniques. These techniques are often aimed at identifying and quantifying various structures in data to answer business problems and provide managerial insights.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT374H5 • Operations Management
Operations management is concerned with the facilities and their operation to deliver the goods and services of the organization. The course develops this theme and gives a theoretical framework for managing operations. Some of the major themes include aggregate planning, materials management, and inventory control. This course introduces students to modern quantitative and computing tools necessary for in-depth operational analysis and planning.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT393H5 • Legal Environment of Business I
An introduction for commerce students to the Canadian legal system focusing on business entities, the structure of the Canadian court system, the various elements of contract law and the law of negligence.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT394H5 • Legal Environment of Business II
This course builds on the legal principles developed in Legal I and canvasses other areas of law that impact a business entity. The course deals with the Sales of Goods Act and relevant consumer protection legislation, employment law, environmental law, the Personal Property Security Act and the rights of the secured creditor.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT399H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides senior undergraduate students who have developed some knowledge of a discipline and its research methods an opportunity to work in the research project of a professor in return for course credit. 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 participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions 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.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT399Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides senior undergraduate students who have developed some knowledge of a discipline and its research methods an opportunity to work in the research project of a professor in return for course credit. 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 participating faculty members for the following summer and fall/winter sessions 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.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT401H5 • Supervised Reading Course on an Approved Subject
Open when a faculty member is willing and able to supervise. Students must obtain the approval of the Director of Commerce and the supervising faculty member before enrolling.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT402H5 • Supervised Reading Course on an Approved Subject
Open when a faculty member is willing and able to supervise. Students must obtain the approval of the Director of Commerce and the supervising faculty member before enrolling.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT411H5 • Special Topics in Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT412H5 • Special Topics in Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT414H5 • Special Topics in Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT415H5 • Special Topics in Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT416H5 • Special Topics in Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT417H5 • Special Topics in Management
Topics and issues in Management. Content in any given year will depend on the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT420H5 • Critical Thinking, Analysis and Decision Making II
(Formerly
MGT419H5) This is a capstone case course stressing the pervasive competencies and critical thinking skills required from business school graduates, future professional accountants and advisors. This course provides students with an opportunity to integrate the technical and practical knowledge obtained in the prerequisite and other University courses and to apply this knowledge to case type situations. Because of the integrative nature and content of the course, the course will be directed towards students who have completed most of their required courses and who are seeking an accounting designation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT421H5 • Advanced Audit & Assurance
The course focuses on the reasoning and evidence theory underlying audit decision making. Coverage includes professional judgement, statistical auditing, assurance engagements, and public sector auditing.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT422H5 • Advanced IT Audit and Data Analytics
This course is an extension of the study of areas covered in the introductory audit course and will include the application of risk and materiality to more advanced topic areas with a focus on digitized information. Other topics include special reports, future-oriented financial information and prospectuses. The course will incorporate the use of data analytics in auditing and will explore how to analyze financial data in order to assist in audit engagements.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT423H5 • Canadian Income Taxation I
This is the first of two courses in federal income tax law. It is designed to give the student a basic understanding of the Income Tax Act and its administration. This is achieved by applying the law to practical problems and cases. Topics covered include administration of the tax system, employment income, business and property income, capital gains, other income and deductions, computation of taxable income and taxes payable for individuals. The GST/HST implications, where relevant, will also be discussed. The two course sequence (
MGT423H5 and
MGT429H5) have been designed to provide participants with coverage of the tax content required by the professional accounting bodies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT428H5 • Management Control
Management control includes all the processes and systems, many accounting-based, by which key managers allegedly ensure that resources are acquired and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of an organization's goals. The case method is used to provide an understanding of the issues and environment of management control.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT429H5 • Canadian Income Taxation II
This is the second of two courses in federal income tax law. It is designed to give the student an understanding of more complex issues of Canadian Income Tax law and tax planning. This is achieved through a combination of lectures and the application of the law to practical problems and case settings. Topics include computation of corporate taxes, integration, corporate reorganizations, surplus distributions, partnerships and trusts.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT430H5 • Behavioural Finance
This interdisciplinary course considers the ways in which human psychology influences financial decision making. Topics may include prospect theory, overconfidence, mental accounting, emotions, and neurofinance.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
MGT431H5 • Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance
Application and development of the ideas in
MGT231H5,
MGT232H5 to corporate finance problems such as initial public offerings and project evaluation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT434H5 • Mergers and Acquisitions
The main focus is to develop a solid understanding of the valuation of mergers and acquisitions from the perspective of a variety of stakeholders including: acquiring and target firm management, directors, and shareholders; financiers; consumers, and; competition regulators and policymakers. Themes to be explored include M&A and corporate strategy, motivations for M&A, corporate restructuring and divestitures, financing of M&A activity, dealing with competition authorities, and M&A 'waves' over the past century.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT435H5 • Financial Market Trading
This Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre (FLC) lab-based course will provide a hands-on introduction to the functioning of security markets and the trading of financial instruments. Students will learn how the market prices financial securities, how to use the Python programming language and finance theory to develop trading strategies, and how to identify and manage risks of trading strategies. Cases will cover various securities, such as fixed income securities, equities, futures and options. Students will further learn how to deal with various kinds of risks, such as liquidity risk, market risk, downside risk, crash risk, and credit risk.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT437H5 • Strategy and Governance
This course covers concepts in strategic management and focuses on the role of corporate governance in formulating, implementing and monitoring a firm's strategic objectives. Although the course will cover economic foundations of strategy, market, industry and competitive analysis, the main focus will be on the internal operations of an organization. Corporate governance will be examined in the broad sense of the term and will include an overview of country-level legal environment, regulatory agencies, stock market, and the firm's board of directors. The objective of the course is to enhance students' understanding the operating tensions facing firms and the means of addressing such tensions through country-level and firm-level corporate governance systems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT438H5 • Futures and Options Markets
Analysis of derivative instruments such as futures contracts, put and call options and swaps. Emphasis is placed on the valuation of these instruments as a foundation for valuing complex securities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT440H5 • Fixed Income Markets
This is a capital markets course that describes important fixed income securities and markets. It will emphasize traditional bond and term structure concepts as well as current events and/or securities affecting the functioning of these markets.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT442H5 • Financial Distress and Insolvency
Traditional business courses often deal with financially healthy firms. However, failure is an inevitable reality for many businesses. The problems currently being witnessed by the retail sector are a case in point. According to official Canadian government statistics, 3580 businesses filed for insolvency in 2018 alone, with more than a quarter of these businesses being from Ontario. This course aims to study the reasons why some firms find themselves in financial distress, alternative courses of action (including legal options) in response to financial distress, and the role of various stakeholders in the process.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT443H5 • Quantitative Finance
This course represents a hands-on introduction to modern quantitative finance and risk-management models. The course will enable students to build computer algorithms tailored to financial problems. Emphasis is placed on high-frequency trading data, portfolio optimization and factor models for security pricing, machine learning and prediction, risk quantification and management, and option pricing algorithms.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT444H5 • FinTech, Blockchain, & Decentralized Finance
This course provides students with a solid understanding of the technologies, tools, and applications that will transform and define the financial industry over the next decade. Students will study the technological and economic mechanisms that make blockchain work, the services it hosts, how it disrupts the financial industry, the risks, how a decentralized protocol can be governed and regulated, and what problems Decentralized Finance (DeFi) solves. Students will also learn about smart contracts, types of tokens and their uses, digital money, oracles, stablecoins, DeFi-lending and DeFi-trading, crypto-regulation, and central-bank-issued digital currencies. This course is geared to Commerce and Management students and does not require engineering or computer science knowledge.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT445H5 • Enterprise Risk Management and Analytics
This course studies risk management from a holistic perspective for various institutions (i.e. non-financial and financial). Various risk categories will be considered such as investment risk, financial risk, cyber risk, operational risk, market risk, energy risk, technology risk, etc. Cases, models, and frameworks will be integrated into the course. Depending on current market issues, the data and cases may cover various areas from energy (i.e. weather), sports, accounting, finance, government (public), arts/entertainment, health, technology, etc. Special topics may also be considered such as environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues.
Enrolment Limits: 44Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT450H5 • Digital Marketing
This course explores various digital marketing strategies in the context of online and mobile advertising platforms, and will provide a comprehensive understanding of both existing marketing strategies and emerging trends. Various domains will be covered in this course (search, display, mobile, social, etc.) to enable students to explore how emerging technologies are used to facilitate B2B and B2C transactions. This class will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to digital marketing while helping students develop a better understanding of various elements of marketing campaigns from formulation to integration and assessment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT451H5 • Business Strategy for the Digital Economy
Learn about the fastest growing sector of the economy and develop tools to analyze strategic problems within a business, and train rigorously, using theory and data, to think about new strategic opportunities for businesses in the digital age.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT452H5 • Marketing and Behavioural Economics
The emphasis in this course is on marketing decision making in a dynamic environment using behavioural economics and insights. The course focuses on the major decisions facing individuals in many different contexts in marketing, as well as economics, finance, and other areas of management. In turn, these insights help us to understand how managers can make more behaviourally informed decisions and create behaviourally informed organizations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT453H5 • Marketing Research
Marketing research is studied from the perspective of the marketing manager. The course focuses on the initiation, design, and interpretation of research as an aid to marketing decision making. Case studies and projects are used to provide students with some practical research experiences.
Note: STA218H5 will no longer be accepted as an appropriate course for this program AFTER the 2022-2023 Academic year. Beginning in the 2023-2024 Academic year all students will be required to complete
MGT218H5 as the statistics course for this program.
Prerequisites: MGT353H5 and [MGT218H5 or ECO220Y5 or ECO227Y5 or STA218H5 or (STA256H5 and STA260H5) or (STA256H5 and STA258H5)]Exclusions: MGMC01H3
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT454H5 • Special Topics in Marketing
This course focuses on a specific theoretical or functional area of marketing. The area of concentration depends on the instructor. Examples of areas that may be covered include current issues in consumer behaviour, advertising, industrial marketing, or retailing. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT455H5 • Marketing Consulting: Models for Analysis
This course reviews the science side of marketing by studying multiple models used by companies and consulting firms in the different steps of the marketing process. The marketing consulting approach provides a deeper understanding of the process that supports marketing management decisions. This is of benefit not only for students following a marketing consulting path, but also for students joining marketing departments of Canadian firms. To enhance the learning experience the course will be strongly based on software applications that offer hands on exposure to real life corporate applications.
Note: STA218H5 will no longer be accepted as an appropriate course for this program AFTER the 2022-2023 Academic year. Beginning in the 2023-2024 Academic year all students will be required to complete
MGT218H5 as the statistics course for this program.
Prerequisites: (MGT252H5 or MGM252H5) and (MGT218H5 or ECO220Y5 or STA221H5 or STA218H5)Exclusions: MGMD01H3
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT456H5 • Marketing Ethics
There is a growing public awareness of (and interest in) the ethics of marketing. Therefore, it is increasingly important for marketing practitioners to be attuned to the many ethical challenges that they will inevitably confront. This class explores these issues from a managerial perspective by reviewing relevant conceptual frameworks for ethics-based decision-making and extending them to real-world examples faced by marketers. In particular, we will explore ethical issues in pricing, product development, promotions, market segmentation, targeting, and market research, with an emphasis on how technological advancements have brought new considerations to the forefront of marketing ethics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT457H5 • Business to Business Marketing
Business to business (B2B) marketing dwarfs business to consumer (B2C) marketing in terms of total transaction value. In this course we will focus on how B2B marketing is different from B2C marketing and how demand in the business market is derived from demand in the consumer market. We will also discuss customer and supplier relationships, supply chain development, and the impact of globalization on B2B marketing.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT458H5 • Big Data and Marketing Analysis
Recent advances in computer technology have led to an explosion in the amount of data available for companies to use for market research. In order to be effective as a marketing manager today, it is necessary to understand how to apply cutting edge statistical models to large databases, such as scanner data, loyalty program data, or internet marketing data, and to be able to obtain managerial insights from model results. This course will introduce students to marketing analytics driven by big data, using applications from real world business problems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24PMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT461H5 • Negotiations
We negotiate every day - with potential employers, coworkers, roommates, landlords, parents, bosses, merchants, service providers, and even our friends and romantic partners. Negotiation is the art and science of securing agreements between two or more interdependent parties. It is a craft that must hold cooperation and competition in creative tension. It can be very difficult to do well. Even the most experienced negotiators often fall prey to common biases and errors in judgment. This course is highly experiential - students will practice, reflect, analyze, and practice again - and draws its insights from research in the cognitive, behavioral and social sciences.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
MGT463H5 • Managing Global Organizations
Understanding the global context of organizations is essential to surviving the competitive business environment while creating value in a sustainable and responsible way. This course provides a broad overview of the global environment and introduce critical perspectives in international business, as well as the key management challenges of operating across nations and cultures. It will also consider ways in which management theories and practices should be adapted to transcend as well as be responsive to diverse business, social, and governmental settings. The course weaves together conceptual and practical considerations to create a balanced and exciting learning experience. It also includes an optional International Learning Experience component that involves travel to a country(s) outside of Canada to gain firsthand exposure to management practices in a different setting.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT480H5 • Internship
Students will be provided with an opportunity to apply, in a practical business setting, the management knowledge they have gained through previous course work. This is accomplished through part-time unpaid work placements, or "internships." The internship will provide students with a valuable opportunity to make personal contacts in the public or private sector. The course is also intended to help students acquire practical skills that will serve them well in the workplace. An application is required.
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT491H5 • Introduction to International Business
Focuses on developing an understanding of the fundamentals of doing business in an international environment. Based on the application of management theory, (trade theory, modes of entry, foreign direct investment, theory of the multinational) to the strategic management problems of organizing business in the international arena.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT492H5 • Introduction to Strategic Management
Focuses on industry analysis and different models of the firm. The key questions addressed are: "why do some firms succeed where others fail?" and "what strategy should a firm employ to reach its goals?"
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT493H5 • Small Business Management
Skills needed to set up and run a small business. Development of a business plan. Securing financing. Finding and keeping customers. Operations management. Aspects of legal, financial and taxation concerns of smaller businesses.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT494H5 • Entrepreneurial Strategy
This course introduces students to the challenges an entrepreneur faces when starting a business: assessing his/her goals and ability, attracting financial and human resources, competing in the marketplace, and dealing with laws and regulations. Readings and discussion material will include actual business cases as well as academic articles and book chapters. The class is of relevance to students interested in starting new businesses, working in consulting or finance, and pursuing research and graduate studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
MGT495H5 • Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital
This course examines the elements of entrepreneurial finance, focusing on technology-based start-up ventures and the early stages of company development. The course addresses key questions which challenge all entrepreneurs: how much money can and should be raised; when should it be raised and from whom; what is a reasonable valuation of the company; how should funding, employment contracts and exit decisions be structured. It aims to prepare students for these decisions, both as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. It also aims to create awareness to the specific issues faced by minorities in the entrepreneurship field. In addition, the course includes an in-depth analysis of the structure of the private equity industry.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/4TMode of Delivery: In Class, Hybrid
POL111H5 • Canada in Comparative Perspective
Examines major facets of Canadian government and politics within a broad comparative context asking what is different or unique about Canada and what resembles political systems elsewhere in the world, primarily western industrialized countries. Comparative analysis is used to foster a deeper understanding of Canada and its politics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
POL112H5 • Democracy in Theory and Practice
Examines current ideas about what constitutes 'democracy' and how real-world political systems measure up to democratic ideals. Through examination of formal government institutions and informal political practices, assessments will be made of the strengths and weaknesses in modern democracies. Case studies may be drawn from Canada or from other countries which claim to be democratic.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
POL113H5 • Ideas and Ideologies
In this course students are introduced to basic concepts in politics such as authority, sovereignty, legitimacy, citizenship, jurisdiction, civil rights and civil liberties. These concepts are then used to examine the fundamental differences between major political ideologies, such as democracy, liberalism, socialism, fascism, conservatism, anarchism and communism.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL114H5 • Politics in a Global World
Examines the politics of globalization in its various forms (economics, cultures, environmental and military) as well as the consequences of, management of and resistance to, globalization. Address topics such as whether globalization challenges the capacity of national societies and their governments to deal with global issues such as the environment, redistribution of wealth, security and human rights, both within countries and across borders.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL115H5 • Evidence and Argument in the Study of Politics
To understand politics in our information-abundant world, we need ways to make sense of the political information that surrounds us. In this course, we ask what makes for good evidence and what makes for convincing argument. We do so by raising a series of weekly topics on which there is a mass of available information - topics like climate change, political correctness, populism, and democracy promotion, among others - and discussing fundamentally different perspectives on each topic. In the end, students will develop a fuller sense of what constitutes a well-argued and evidence-supported analysis of the political.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL116H5 • Politics & Social Justice
In this course students are introduced to the concept of social justice as a political issue. The course is designed to develop modes of analysis that focus on human rights, economic and social (in)equity, fairness and inclusion. Key concepts may include power, identity, conflict, community, consent, advocacy, inequality, solitary, structural racism, and intersectionality. Specific issues to be considered may include gender equality, racism, justice between generations, spatial inclusion, wealth distribution, and equity in the international realm. The substantive themes and perspective may vary from year to year.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL200Y5 • Justice and Power in Political Life
Studies the themes of power and justice in the history of political thought, from the ancient world until the 1700s. Readings may include work from Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Locke.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/23TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL203H5 • Politics and Government of the United States
A comparative study of the development of American government and the main elements of the American political tradition; the structure and functioning of executives, legislatures, courts, bureaucracies, parties and pressure groups in federal and state government; characteristic processes of American politics such as voting, bargaining and regulation; and resultant patterns of public policy.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL209H5 • Introduction to International Relations
This course provides a general overview of the study of international relations. It builds a theoretical, conceptual, and empirical foundation for understanding the actors, processes, and structures that shape and constrain global politics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
POL210H5 • Contemporary Challenges in International Relations
This course explores contemporary challenges in the study of international relations. Building off of theoretical foundations, it provides an analytic exploration of key puzzles and topical issues that currently confront international relations scholarship.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL215H5 • Canadian Government
This course will focus on Canadian Institutions, the Constitution, Federalism, the Courts, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, etc. This course will contribute to the students' understanding of their immediate political surroundings. This course will enhance the students' ability to engage and participate in the democratic system by teaching them about the foundations of the Canadian system of government.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
POL216H5 • Canadian Politics
This course will focus on political parties, elections, gender, cleavages, etc. This course will enhance the knowledge of the Canadian system of politics to give students better skills and objectives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL218H5 • Introduction to Comparative Politics: Institutions
Comparative politics compares the ways people and institutions interact, in different countries and regions of the world (including both developing and developed), to produce what we call "politics." This course focuses on political institutions. Topics include: the formation, development and eventual decay of political institutions such as the nation-state, political regimes, parties, party systems and local governments; the power of the state; the emergence and dynamics of democratic and authoritarian institutions; the emergence and dynamics of capitalist institutions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL219H5 • Introduction to Comparative Politics: Processes and Identities
Comparative politics compares the ways people and institutions interact, in different countries and regions of the world (including both developing and developed), to produce what we call "politics." This course focuses on political processes and identities. Topics include: the ideas and interests shaping political behaviour; the causes of and dynamics of political mobilization, social mobilization, and revolution; the relationship between identity categories such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class and political processes.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL243H5 • Research Methods for Political Science I
This course offers an introduction into scientific inquiry and research in the field of politics. It explores a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods with the aim of providing basic literacy and comprehension of methods important in encountering -and eventually, conducting – research in political science.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL244H5 • Research Methods for Political Science II
In this course, students learn to conduct political analysis using methods common in the social sciences. This includes data such as surveys, international or social media datasets, and methods such as crosstabs and regression. Rather than stressing mathematical concepts, the emphasis of the course is on application, interpretation, and data visualization.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL300H5 • Topics in Comparative Politics
Topics will vary from term to term. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL301H5 • Topics in Political Theory
Content of course will vary from year to year. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL302H5 • Topics in Comparative Politics
Topics will vary from term to term. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL303H5 • The Politics of Islam
The course examines the theory and practice of Islamic politics in the modern era. It also looks at Western foreign policy and Western cultural reactions to politics in the Muslim world. The aim is to acquaint students with the diversity within the Muslim world and help them better understand some of the most pressing political issues raised by contemporary Islam.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL304H5 • Politics of South Asia
This course surveys systems of government and political processes across South Asia, with attention to state formation, nationalism, ethnicity, democracy vs. authoritarian forms of governance, social movements, political violence, insurgencies, political economy, corruption, and other important issues affection South Asian states currently. The focus will be mostly on India and Pakistan and possibly some of the other countries in South Asia.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL305H5 • Topics in International Relations
Content of course will vary year to year. Consult with the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL307H5 • Topics in International Relations
Topics will vary from term to term. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL309Y5 • The State, Planning and Markets
A study of the political economy of planning and markets, the history of both forms of organization, the political philosophies of liberalism and Marxism upon which they have been based, and the issues of economic efficiency, justice and democratic control in capitalism and socialism.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL311H5 • Military Power
This course explores the foundations, application, and limits of military power in the international system. It examines theories about the use of force, military effectiveness, and the relationships between military power, politics, and technology.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL312H5 • Managing Military Conflict
Analysis of different aspects of conflict management, including security regimes, U.N. peacekeeping, mediation, bilateral as well as multilateral techniques.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL313H5 • European Politics I
This course introduces students to the political foundations of democratic government and capitalism in Western Europe. The course covers the historical origins of the modern nation state in Europe and the region’s bumpy road to democracy and prosperity. It also focuses on key similarities and differences in the political institutions, political development, and economic and social models of major European countries.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL314H5 • European Politics II
This course explores the functions (and dysfunctions) of the European Union, a regional organization shaping the political life of its 27 European member states. The course also covers contemporary challenges to democracy and prosperity in Europe, such as populism, economic crises, Brexit, and geopolitical conflicts.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL317H5 • Comparative Public Policy and Administration
Major theories and concepts in the fields of public administration and public policy, drawing on the experience of advanced industrialized nations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL318H5 • Power and Conflict in Federalism
This course looks at how Canadian federalism has evolved and adapted to policy-making challenges, including urbanization, regionalism, and demographic changes among the Canadian population. In additional to the Constitution and the role of federal and provincial governments, we also examine the involvement of municipalities, First nations, and non-governmental actors including private and third sector groups.
Exclusions: POL316H1 or POL428H1
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL320Y5 • Modernity and Resistance
This course covers the history of political thought in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48L/23TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL322H5 • The Idea of Human Rights
We sometimes make claims about “human rights,” but why? This course will cultivate an understanding of the origins and development of the human rights idea over time. Why do states engage in political violence, and how did the language of human rights emerge in response to that violence? Where did the concept of human rights originate, and how did it get written into law? Are human rights truly universal? After confronting these questions, the course will shift to theories of how the global human rights regime is meant to operate. For example, how might it work to shame, sanction, or used armed intervention to advance the cause of human rights?
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL323H5 • The Practice of Human Rights
This course operates like a human rights clinic, considering concrete examples of human rights in practice. Through case studies of countries like Guatemala, Libya, Bosnia, Uganda, and Indonesia, we will consider the following questions: What is the current state of the human rights movement today? What role does human rights law and social activism play in changing practices? And what are the most effective and ineffective human rights interventions? Students will analyze current trends, like the pursuit of criminal accountability for atrocity criminals, and they will propose how to prevent backlash against human rights defenders around the world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL340Y5 • International Law
International law as an instrument of conflict resolution. Recognition, sovereign immunity, subjects of international law, and jurisdiction are some of the subjects examined.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL342H5 • Data Visualization and Analysis for the Social Sciences
A practical introduction to visualizing and analyzing data about people, societies, and governments. Students will learn to interpret data to describe and explain the world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36PMode of Delivery: In Class
POL343H5 • Qualitative Methods
This course focuses on the research process with attention to writing research proposals and qualitative research methods.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11TMode of Delivery: In Class
POL344H5 • Concepts, Actors, & Challenges in Global Governance
An introduction to the study of Global Governance. It presents Global Governance both as an area of study within International Relations theory, and as a set of norms and procedures that guide ongoing practices within international politics. The course will take students through the early development of the concept in the 1990s to present times. It will also cover key challenges to Global Governance.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL345H5 • Global Governance in Practice
This course builds on earlier conceptual discussions in
POL344H5, to illustrate how Global Governance is practiced within specific empirical contexts. Students will take a deep dive into pressing examples of Global Governance practices and challenges (e.g., the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the global political economy).
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL346H5 • Urban Politics I
This course examines urban politics and policy, with a focus on structures of governance. Students will be introduced to key concepts in urban politics scholarship, including electoral politics, finance, participation, and the built environment. Examples are taken from the Greater Toronto Area, as well as cities across Canada and North America.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL347H5 • Urban Politics II
This course examines urban politics and policy problems such as inequality, sustainability, immigration, and regionalism. Readings and other course content will focus on contemporary cases of urban policy challenges and conflict in cities and urban regions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL354H5 • Russian Politics
After covering crucial background on tsarist Russia and the Soviet system, the course considers the legacies of Soviet rule. We then address questions of identity politics in Russia, the country’s changing political economy, the shape of authoritarian institutions, the dynamics of protest and repression, how the authoritarian regime in Russia manages flows of information, and the nature of colonialism in the Russian context.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL355H5 • Multiculturalism and Citizenship
How are laws, policies, and social norms affected by the overwhelmingly multicultural character of contemporary societies? This course examines how the realities of contemporary multiculturalism have reshaped civic life, both in Canada and in other societies. The course will attempt to cover both empirical and theoretical-normative approaches to these issues.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL360H5 • State, Nation and Regime Change in Latin America
This course offers a comparative and transnational analytical approach to the historical foundations of nation and state building as well as patterns of regime change in Latin America. Specific topics may include revolutions, populism, (neo)colonialism, “racial democracy,” Indigenismo, dependency, among others.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL361H5 • Democracy and its interruptions in Latin America
This course surveys a range of important issues in contemporary Latin America with a focus on the promises and failures of democracy under neoliberalism and post-neoliberalism. Specific topics may include Indigenous politics, Black politics, feminist politics, class conflict, “iron fist” regimes, the War on Drugs, among others.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL362H5 • Borders, Migrants and Refugees
This course exposes students to the tensions between the mobility of people across international borders, and the hardening regimes of governance facing migrants. The course pays special attention to the intersections of class, race and gender at stake in the politics of migration.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL367H5 • Feminist Political Theory
This course examines the various interventions that have marked the development of feminist political thought from the mid-20th century onward. These include efforts to complicate the category 'woman', to understand gender in its intersections with race and class, to develop queer feminist accounts of ‘sex’ and ‘sexuality’, and to investigate the meaning of 'feminism' as a political project in and of itself.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL368H5 • Gender and Politics
An introduction to gender and politics that examines women as political actors and their activities in formal and grassroots politics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL370H5 • Resource Politics in Postcolonial Africa
This course identifies natural resource exploitation as a prominent focus in discourses and policies concerned with African countries in the post-independence era (~1960s onwards), particularly when dealing with issues of conflict, democratization, economic development, poverty and regime crisis.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL371H5 • Contemporary Mediated Politics
This course examines the contemporary relationship between politics and media.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL372H5 • Communicating Politics
This course explores how political actors such as political parties, pressure groups and governments use media to secure their political objectives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL373H5 • Introduction to Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
Students will examine the political dynamics of selected states in the Middle East and North Africa. Issues to be covered include: state-building; Arab nationalism; Zionism; Islamism; tribalism; gender; the politics of oil. Specific themes relevant to contemporary politics will vary from year to year.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL390H5 • Topics in Comparative Politics
Content of course will vary from year to year. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL391H5 • Topics in Comparative Politics
Content of course will vary from year to year. Consult with the Political Science Handbook.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL392H5 • Topics in Political Theory
Content of course will vary from year to year. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL393H5 • Topics in Canadian Politics
Content of course will vary from year to year. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL394H5 • Topics in Political Science
Content of course will vary from year to year. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL399H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third year to work in the research project of a professor in return for POL399H course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. SeeExperiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
POL399Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third year to work in the research project of a professor in return for POL399Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
POL401Y5 • Senior Major Research Paper
This course provides students with the basic skills and knowledge necessary to complete a major independent research paper. The course will have a broad theme (power, equality, justice, federalism, etc.) and students will pursue a research project of their own interest that relates to the course theme. This Y course will meet weekly in the first semester and every other week in the winter semester. Under the course instructors’ supervision, students will identify potential research questions, acquire methodological and research skills appropriate for addressing the research questions, and conduct primary research. Students will present their paper in an open forum late in the second term. This course is intended for students with a strong academic background who intend to pursue graduate studies.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL402H5 • Topics in Political Science
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
3.0 POL credits including 1.0 POL credit at the 300-level
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL403H5 • Topics in Political Science
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total.Consult the UTM Timetable.
3.0 POL credits including 1.0 POL credit at the 300-level
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL404H5 • Political Theory for the Present
Covers 20th- and 21st-century political theory. Topics will vary by faculty offering the course and may include but are not limited to topics in feminist political theory, post-colonial and de-colonial political theory, and political economy.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL405Y5 • Political Science Internship
Through a part-time, unpaid internship (150 hours), students apply the knowledge and skills gained through previous coursework in political science. Participants will develop skill sets through a professional setting combined with class meetings that include workshops, writing, oral presentations, reading and reflection. Placements are made in both the public and private sectors, such as local or regional government offices, law firms, civil society organizations or non-profit agencies. Normally, the 150 hours will be completed by attending the work placement one full day each week from September to April. Students must confirm internship arrangements well in advance and secure departmental approval for their internship position prior to the start of term. Students will be admitted to through an online application.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science MajorsCourse Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 150P/18SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL406H5 • Insurgents, Criminals, and Warlords
This course provides a theoretical and empirical overview of the role played by violent non-state actors in international politics. Examining insurgents, criminals, and warlords, the course explores why these actors resort to violence, the strategies and tactics they employ, and the connections that link them together.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL407H5 • The Politics of Oil & Mining Extraction: Contracts, Conflict, Consent
What can we learn about global politics from an oil or a mining contract? Who are the main actors in such contracts? What are key differences between oil and mining contracts? What is the future of oil and mining contracts? This course addresses these questions, by examining the complex politics of oil and mining contracts. Key theoretical concepts and themes explored in this course are sovereignty, ownership, resistance, and the future of resource extraction.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL414H5 • The Future of Work
This course is a critical study of the meaning and value of work in social and political life. Sources include both historical and contemporary political theories of work and labour.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL438H5 • Topics in Comparative Politics
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL440H5 • The Politics of Transition in Eastern Europe I: Attempts to Impose a Marxist-Leninist Revolution
The political order, largely imposed or supported by the Soviet Union in the wake of World War II, throughout Eastern Europe, promised positive revolutionary change in all political, economic and social interactions, and indeed in restructuring peoples' psychology. By 1989 it was evident that the revolution and its promises had not materialized and the dissatisfaction and disillusionment of the populations in the region led to regime implosions in a domino-like fashion in state after state, setting the stage for a new fundamental transformation.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL441H5 • The Politics of Transition in Eastern Europe II: The Struggle for Democracy
The struggle for democracy in an expanded new Eastern Europe, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union itself, created great opportunities for the fundamental transformation of the political, economic and social order, but it also has been painful and unpredictable. There have been impressive successes but also problems of break-ups and integration and occasionally, retrenchment. At the same time the region has also been a laboratory for fundamental transition.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL444H5 • Protest and Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa
Looking at uprisings and protests in the Middle East and North Africa, students will examine different theories of contentious politics to better understand why and how uprisings happen in the region. The course will focus on the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings/revolutions in addition to recent uprisings in countries that did not experience the Arab Spring.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL445H5 • The Politics of Queer and Trans Migrations
This course offers a critical perspective about migration studies by centering the experiences of queer and trans migrants, and by adopting a feminist, queer and trans theory lens. Sources foreground intersections of gender, sexuality, race, class and nation.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL446H5 • Politics of the South Asian Diaspora in Comparative Perspective
This course examines the politics of South Asian diasporas in Canada, scaled at local, provincial, and national levels. Major themes include democratic representation, multiculturalism, social mobilization, and dilemmas of cultural autonomy. Other diasporic groups globally - both South Asian and otherwise - are examined for the purpose of comparison.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL447H5 • Collective Action and Political Change
This course introduces students to the study of collective action, the conditions under which it is possible, and its role in bringing about political change. It addresses foundational concepts and theories, as well as cases of collective action with a focus on the experiences of subaltern groups in the Americas and beyond.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL448H5 • Protest and Social Movements in Comparative and Transnational Perspective
This course focuses on key threads of subaltern collective action in comparative and transnational perspective, with a focus on Latin America. It delves into revolutionary, feminist, solidarity, decolonial, anti-racist, body-centered, anti-extractivist struggles, among others, from the late 20th Century to the present day.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL475H5 • Global Environmental and Sustainability Politics
This course examines the challenges faced by humanity in dealing with global environmental and sustainability problems and the politics of addressing them. Focuses on both the underlying factors that shape the politics of these problems - such as scientific uncertainty, North-South conflict, equity concerns, globalization and production and consumption patterns - and explores attempts at the governance of specific global or transnational environmental and sustainability issues by state and non-state actors.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL476H5 • Moral Reason and Economic History I
A study of the interaction between political philosophy and economic history. The course involves alternative conceptions of the relation between individuals and the community, between the economy and the political order, between what 'is' and what 'ought to be.'
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL477H5 • Moral Reason and Economic History II
A study of the interaction between political philosophy and economic history. The course involves alternative conceptions of the relation between individuals and the community, between the economy and the political order, between what 'is' and what 'ought to be.'
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL483H5 • Comparative Political Theory
This course introduces students to comparative political thought, a field of study in political theory that de-centres "Western" perspectives in favour of a more global, comparative approach to studying political questions, problems and concepts. Course materials might include political texts from East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, read alongside texts from "the West."
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL484H5 • Topics in Political Thought
Topics will vary from term to term. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL485H5 • Topics in Political Thought
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL486H5 • Topics in International Relations
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL487H5 • Topics in International Relations
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL490H5 • Topics in Canadian Politics
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL493H5 • Social Risk and Social Protection
This class is a study of the welfare state. We will study old and new social risks, such as poverty, homelessness, and unemployment, and consider the types of social protections that are offered against those risks. The class will cover broad theories of the welfare state and social policy, and will also consider specific areas of policy and what governments and non-governmental groups are doing to protect against old and new risks.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
POL494H5 • Topics in Canadian Politics
Content of course will vary from year to year. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. Consult the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL495Y5 • Undergraduate Reading Course
This is a student-initiated course of reading and research on a specialized topic of interest to the student. It is normally only open to students enrolled in Political Science Specialist and Major programs. Students wishing to enrol must find a faculty member willing to supervise the course, develop a program of study in consultation with the supervisor and obtain written approval for the course from the chair.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL496H5 • Undergraduate Reading Course
This is a student-initiated course of reading and research on a specialized topic of interest to the student. It is normally only open to students enrolled in Political Science Specialist and Major programs. Students wishing to enrol must find a faculty member willing to supervise the course, develop a program of study in consultation with the supervisor and obtain written approval for the course from the chair.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
POL499H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third year to work in the research project of a professor in return for
POL499H5 course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
POL499Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third year to work in the research project of a professor in return for
POL499Y5 course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Enrolment Limits: Enrolment is limited to Political Science Specialists, Joint Specialists and Political Science Majors.Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC100H5 • Introduction to Sociology
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC109H5 • Introduction to Criminology, Law & Society
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC202H5 • Cultural Sociology
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC205H5 • Theories in Criminology
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC206H5 • Introduction to the Sociology of Genocide
This lecture course will lead students through an in-depth consideration of why genocides occur.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC208H5 • Crime and Organizations
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."
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC210H5 • Canadian Criminal Justice
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC211H5 • Law and Social Control
This course investigates the role of law in shaping social norms and regulating behavior.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC216H5 • Sociology of Law
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC219H5 • Gender and Crime
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC221H5 • The Logic of Social Inquiry
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: Online, In Class, Hybrid
SOC222H5 • Measuring the Social World
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12PMode of Delivery: Online, In Class, Hybrid
SOC224H5 • Sociology of Education
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC227H5 • Sociology of Work and Occupations
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC228H5 • Introduction to Indigenous Studies
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC230H5 • Thinking Like a Sociologist
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC231H5 • Classical Sociological Theory
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC236H5 • Globalization
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC239H5 • Sociology of Health and Illness
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC240H5 • Introduction to Social Policy
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.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC244H5 • Sociology of Families
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".
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC253H5 • Social History of Race and Ethnicity
This course examines how ideas about "race" and "ethnicity" evolved and became institutionalized on a global scale, as well as systems of exploitation, exclusion and inequality that have given rise to today's patterns of racial and ethnic inequality in the world. We focus on examples from different regions of the world, as well as examine large-scale historical events such as colonialism, slavery and immigration.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC263H5 • Social Inequality
Examines the causes, prevalence and manifestations of social, political and economic inequalities, internationally and within Canada. The effects of gender, age, ethnicity-race, among other characteristics, are carefully analyzed in Canada and cross-culturally.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC275H5 • Sociology of Gender
This course introduces students to the sociology of gender showing how gender is a relationship of power that structures our everyday lives from intimate relationships through global political and economic forces. We will focus on gender and gender differences as produced in historically and locally specific ways where gender differences intersect with those of race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexuality and other structures of inequality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC299H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for
SOC299H5 course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC299Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for
SOC299Y5 course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC301H5 • Canadian Prisons
This course will examine trends and approaches within the correctional system in Canada. It will explore the historical and contemporary context of correctional practices. Attention will be paid to the differential impact of Canadian corrections on Aboriginal people and other minority groups.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC302H5 • Indigenous-Canada Relations
This course analyzes Indigenous-Canada relations. Topics may include nationhood, diplomatic relations, trade, military relationships, assimilation/civilization policy, land claims, self-government, and/or education.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC303H5 • White-collar and Corporate Crime
This course explores the individual, organizational, and ecological dimensions of white-collar and corporate crime. Topics generally include financial and environmental crime, workplace safety, and organizational deviance. As well, the social, political, and criminal justice responses to these crimes will be examined.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC304H5 • Environmental Sociology
This course focuses on human-nature interactions, and the social processes that modify and threaten the natural world.Students develop a better understanding of environmental issues, the interrelationship between social problems and environmental problems, as well as the ways that humans themselves are part of nature.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC305H5 • Asian Canada and Asian Diaspora
The course will introduce students to the core and cutting-edge sociological and interdisciplinary scholarship on Asian Canada and Asian diaspora from transnational perspectives. We will examine the history of Asian migration to North America on the context of colonialism, the Cold War, and capitalist development, as well as the experiences of various Asian immigrant communities in the contemporary era.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC306H5 • Education and Social Control
This course explores the intersections of education and social control. In particular, we focus on moments when social control is evident in schooling, including how that control is used on some populations more than others. Topics include zero-tolerance policies, police/security presence in schools, education programming in prison, and the school-to-prison pipeline.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC308H5 • Law and Crime in Asia and Asian Diasporas
This course introduces students to the core and cutting-edge sociological and interdisciplinary scholarship on law and crime in Asia and Asian diasporas across the world. It examines major topics in criminology, law and society in various Asian contexts (e.g., legal consciousness, legal pluralism, dispute resolution, policing, rights mobilization, etc.), as well as the experiences of Asian immigrant communities with legal and criminal justice systems.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC309H5 • Sociology of Mass Communication
This course examines the theories, methods, and findings of sociological studies of media production, content, and reception. The focus is on understanding how communication theories are adjudicated by empirical findings. Topics include race and gender in the media, bias in the news, media ownership, the film industry, and the role of the media in politics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC310H5 • Youth Justice
The youth criminal justice system in Canada. Topics include historical and contemporary shifts in the youth justice system, young offender legislation, public perceptions and media representations of juvenile delinquency, current research and theories on youth crime and crime prevention strategies. Particular attention is paid to the treatment of specific groups.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC311H5 • Special Topics in Law
This course will provide an in-depth exploration of a specific topic in law. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC312H5 • Law, Race and Racism
The course investigates the relationship between law, race, and racism and the societal implications. Students will gain a stronger understanding of how law creates race for the purposes of legitimating and perpetuating racism and the ways that law can, under some conditions, generate social change that reduces racial inequality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC314H5 • AI, Robotics, and Society
This course focuses on the social, historical, and technological origins and the intended as well as unintended consequences of the Internet, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for society. Major classical and contemporary sociological concepts will be introduced and used for understanding these new technologies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC316H5 • Crime Prevention and Security
The growth of political, economic, community and academic interest in crime prevention and security. How segments of society or particular physical sites are constructed as security risks in need of regulation. The regulation of security, including crime prevention, community safety, risk reduction and surveillance. These issues are then examined in relation to specific empirical developments such as private policing, restorative justice, community policing and gated communities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC317H5 • Shopping and Society
This course provides an overview of the Sociology of Consumption. The study of consumption provides an entry point for examining the intersection between culture, economics, and the environment. Potential topics include the following: the shopping experience, consumption as status, the environmental impact of consumerism, fashion cycles, and identity construction through consumption.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC318H5 • Sociology of Mental Health and Mental Disorders
An overview of the link between social inequality and inequality in distress, focusing on differences in mental health across social groups and the role of stress and coping resources in explaining group differences.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC319H5 • Capitalism and Society
This course focuses on the origins and multiple intended and unintended social consequences – including the birth of formal academic Sociology - of modern industrial capitalism. Possible topics include colonialism, slavery, imperialism, food, family, fashion, media, politics, war, inequality, relationships, identities, consumption, education, globalization, the climate crisis etc.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC320H5 • Criminal Justice Organizations
This course uses organizational theory to examine major criminal justice institutions--including police, courts, and prisons. It examines the role of organizational goals, structure, resources, legitimacy, culture, and front-line workers in shaping organization-level decisions about policy and practice. It also examines the interactions, mutual influence, and competition between government, interest groups, and criminal justice institutions that help to initiate and sustain field-wide change.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC321H5 • Law & Rights
This course investigates the promise and limitations of rights as a legal framework to safeguard citizens and residents of Canada and abroad. Topics include the framing and implementation of novel rights claims, the relationship between formal rights and social norms, and the impact of rights frameworks on civic and community ties.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC322H5 • Criminal Justice and Inequality
This course examines the intersections between social inequality and the criminal justice system in Canada and internationally. The course will explore the impact of practices and policies on race, class, gender and other forms of social inequality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC323H5 • Law, Culture and Social Problems
This course explores contemporary social problems related to law with an emphasis on cultural dynamics such as perception, group and community culture, stereotyping, and meaning-making. Topics covered may include law in everyday life, gun carrying by gun owners, workplace discrimination lawsuits, the #MeToo movement, and the Canadian government’s marginalization of Indigenous legal orders.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC324H5 • Carceral Feminisms: Race, Gender and State Violence
This course explores how different strains of feminism shape practices of punishment. Course topics may include: intersectional debates in the regulation of domestic violence, gender-responsive policing, state regulation of gender-based violence, and prison abolition theory and praxis.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC325H5 • Law and Social Theory
This course examines the writings on law-related topics in classical and contemporary social theories. At the intersection between socio-legal studies and sociological theory, the course traces how different generations of social theorists approach law, from classical theorists such as Montesquieu, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber to contemporary socio-legal theorists across the world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC326H5 • Policing
This course will examine the nature of policing, its structure and function. Attention is given to the theoretical analyses of policing, the history of policing and to its public and private forms. The course will focus on the objectives and domain, as well as the strategies, powers, and authority of contemporary policing; including decision-making, wrong-doing, accountability, and the decentralization of policing.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC327H5 • Drugs and the Modern World
The course examines how "drugs", as well as attempts to police and control their use, have been implicated in the making of the modern world. Instead of taking drugs as inherently criminal and deviant, the course will look at how drugs have played a central role in the development of capitalism, colonialism and global inequality in the past 200 years.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC328H5 • Drugs in the City
This course will explore illegal urban drug markets in Canada and the United States. Specifically, it will focus on how urban drug markets and drug use are influenced by drug cycles, moral panics, the economy, and criminal justice policy. Moreover, it will sociologically analyze the business practices, subcultures, and gendered interactions of drug market participants.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC329H5 • Law & Social Movements
This course focuses on how popular movements and legal institutions influence efforts to produce or prevent social change. Taking a comparative approach, it examines the social conditions that mobilize and sustain popular movements, factors that contribute to movement success, and the receptivity of courts to pressure from below.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC330H5 • Criminology and Immigration
This course examines the intersection between immigration and crime control. More specifically, it examines immigration detention and deportation, concerns with immigrant risk, security and terrorism, as well as the impact of public policy on immigration and crime.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC331H5 • Gender and Criminal Justice
This course explores how gender impacts criminalization and how gender shapes the way criminal justice is conceptualized and delivered. Possible topics may include masculinity & criminalization; gender & policing; gender & court outcomes; women's prisons, and trans issues in prisons.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC332H5 • Race and Ethnicity in Canada
This course deals with the social construction of racial and ethnic categories in the Canadian context, as well as with how Canadian institutions have used racial and ethnic categories to generate inequality and exclusion. It also addresses how individuals, social movements and institutions have at times worked to resist, challenge or modify these practices of categorization and exclusion.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC333H5 • Criminal Groups and Organizations
An analysis of the intersection between criminal groups and crime and organizations. This course introduces students to various organizational theories and examines how criminal groups and organizations form, crime by organizations, and crime that is "organized".
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC334H5 • Aging and Society
This course will examine (1) theoretical and empirical issues regarding demographic, economic, and social processes of aging as they affect individuals, families, and societies; (2) the variations in the process and meaning of aging across gender, ethnicity, and class; and (3) public policy issues concerning aging with regard to the process of public policy-making and effectiveness of relevant programs and services.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC335H5 • Political Sociology
This course will introduce students to the classic and contemporary view of political processes in small groups, organizations, institutions, communities and societies. Specific topics to be covered may include revolutions, state formation, ethnic nationalism, social capital and civic participation, gender politics, the various varieties, causes and effects of welfare states and social movements. The course will have both a Canadian and international focus.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC336H5 • Special Topics in Sociology
This course explores a particular area within sociology. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC337H5 • Special Topics in Criminology, Law and Society
This course will explore a particular area within criminology, law and society. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC338H5 • Legal Developments in Criminology
This course will survey new legal developments in the field of criminology and criminal law. It will explore the intersections between criminal law and other forms of regulation in society.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC339H5 • The Indian Act: Canadian Law, Sovereignty and Indigenous Womxn
In discussions about Indigenous Peoples and law, the Indian Act is one of the most cited pieces of Canadian legislation. From explaining the history of residential schooling to violence against Indigenous womxn, critical and Indigenous scholars turn to the Indian Act as a key source and problem space. We will center the work of Indigenous feminist scholarship to understand why scholars argue that the act is still both required and a site of contestation, violence, and genocide, and how we are each affected by its governance.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC340H5 • Social Change
Understanding social transformation is at the heart of sociological inquiry. This course introduces students to the sociological analysis of social change - particularly how societies evolve into complex systems. The course examines how social, political and economic institutions are transformed by social change, as well as how these institutions can themselves promote social change. We also examine how citizens can affect change through social and political participation. In addition to classical foundations, the course covers a range of contemporary themes including inequality and stratification, social movements, globalization, and law and justice.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC341H5 • Contemporary Issues in the Sociology of Work
This course will focus on key changes in the world of work since the 1970s and their implications for different groups. We will engage different sides of debates about such issues as women in the workforce, recent immigrant and migrant workers, unions and mobility. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on how class, gender, ethnic and race relations shape work and occupations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC342H5 • Sociology of Scandals
This course takes up scandals as sociological events: What are the causes of scandals? How are scandals 'made'? How are scandals represented? and What are the consequences of scandals? The course will pay attention to how scandals are made public: Leaks, investigations, whistleblowers, and media reporting, and the framing of events as scandals worth of public condemnation. To do so, this course will focus on scandals among professionals, in the private corporate sector and in government, domestically and worldwide, both current and past. By understanding scandals as sociological events, students will learn to trace how scandals may lead to new organizational, professional, social, cultural, and political responses.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC343H5 • Urban Sociology
The course will introduce students to the core and cutting-edge scholarship in urban sociology. We will discuss theories and empirical studies related to the issue of urban politics, including the issues of food, housing, gentrification, and neighborhood change. Despite the focus on Canadian and American cities, this course also highlights global and transnational perspectives, such as immigrant experiences, “ethnic” restaurants, and forces of globalization that are intricately tied to urban lives. This course aims to open this discussion about how we connect the micro-level of our social interactions, consumption, and daily lives to macro-levels of progress, global economic forces, politics and culture.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC344H5 • Sociological Approaches to Social Psychology
This course provides an overview of sociological approaches to social psychology, with an emphasis on how individuals' thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are influenced by both situations and larger social structures. Theoretical perspectives including symbolic interaction, group processes, and social structure and personality will be examined in depth and applied to understanding various topics; these may include self and identities, socialization, attitudes, emotions, deviance, mental health, and collective behavior.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC345H5 • Special Topics in Sociology
This course explores a particular area within sociology. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC346H5 • Special Topics in Criminology, Law and Society
This course will explore a particular area within criminology, law and society. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC347H5 • Sociology of Masculinities
In this course students will engage with foundational material on the intersections of gender, sex, and sexuality as they relate to masculinity. This includes foundational work on hegemonic masculinity and multiple masculinities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC348H5 • Indigenous Rights, Resistance, and Resurgence
This course explores Indigenous people’s confrontations with colonization through an examination of rights-based processes, resistance movements, and community-led resurgence efforts. Topics may include: rights, courts, and legal action; land reoccupation; political organizing; everyday acts of resistance and resurgence such as petitioning, social media, arts-based movements, and community initiatives.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC349H5 • Sociology of Food
Sociological analysis of food in global, regional and intimate contexts. It links cultural and structural aspects of the food system, historically and in the present. Students will investigate and report on inter-cultural food practices in Canada.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC350H5 • Quantitative Analysis
The course is a continuation of
SOC222H5 (Measuring the Social World) ) and introduces students to more advanced applications of regression analysis. In addition to producing and interpreting regression models, this course also focuses on diagnostic tools for addressing outliers and multicolinearity, as well as regression with categorical independent variables and dependent variables (including a basic introduction to logistic regression). This course is mainly project based. Students will develop their own research questions and hypotheses and use statistical software to analyze data in order to provide evidence for their hypotheses. All students in the Sociology and Criminology, Law and Society Specialist programs are required to take this course.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/11PMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC351H5 • Politics and Violence: Spot the Difference
This course aims to develop a critical approach to the study of violence. We will examine the linkages between politics and crime, between violence and democracy and the political context of specific forms of violence, such as vigilantism, state, collective and, structural violence.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC352H5 • Gender and Care
This course will examine how gender shapes the work of care, and its value in society. It will look at both unpaid and paid care and the relationship between them. It will compare how care is organized and it's value in different countries, and institutions (ranging from hospitals to homes) and consider care provided to children, elderly people and adults with disabilities. Contemporary topics include care from the recipient's perspective, and new efforts to value care work.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC353H5 • Borders and Human Rights
This course focuses on the legal construction of international borders, with an emphasis on human rights. The course investigates a range of issues, including but not limited to, the 1951 Refugee Convention and refugee movements, the limits of citizenship rights, and the merging of criminal justice and migration enforcement, including the use of detention as a migration management tool.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC354H5 • Global Sociology
Approaches to transnational networks, structures and processes, such as diasporic networks, transnational corporations, and social movements.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC355H5 • Sociology of the Professions
Becoming a professional (doctor, accountant, lawyer, engineer, nurse, etc...) remains a coveted goal for many young adults and their parents. But what is a profession, and what do these disparate groups have in common? This course lays the groundwork for understanding how the "professional projects" define professions, limit entry, create internal inequalities and try to maintain their prestige. The role of policy is key to our understanding of the professions, and we will focus on the role of policies in the creation of professions, in the substance of professional work such as ethics, autonomy and commercialism, and on the role of policies in addressing social concerns of inequality and diversity in the professions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC356H5 • Population and Society
This course will discuss interrelationship between human population and societal issues such as aging, reproductive health, gender, environment, and social policy. It will examine population structure and dynamics in relation to social, economic, political, and cultural elements of change in both developing and developed world. It will also examine historical population policy developments and the diversified national policies in relation to policy formulation, implementation, and effectiveness.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC357H5 • The Legal Profession
This course introduces the legal profession from a sociological perspective. Focussing on the social structure of the legal profession, the course draws on the sociology of professions and the sociology of law and covers topics such as the creation of the profession, competition from inside and outside, historical and modern challenges to professional boundaries, and structural transformations and shifts. The course will provide examples from global legal professions. It does not teach how to think like a lawyer, nor does it provide the perspective of legal practitioners, but instead it provides social science perspectives for understanding how the legal profession is organized, differentiated, and transformed over space and time.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC358H5 • Indigenous People: Legal Orders and Law
This course examines Indigenous people's traditional and contemporary legal orders and confrontations and interactions with non-Indigenous legal systems. Topics may include: treaties; land and resource rights and laws; rights; self-government; governance; restorative justice; colonial legal systems; criminalization and criminal law; and/or international law.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC359H5 • Gendered Identities
This course will focus on the production of gendered selves, femininity and masculinity, sexuality and sexual identities. We will draw from theoretical and empirical work in the sociology of gender and related disciplines, emphasizing the ways in which gender intersects with class, ethnicity, race, religion and other forces of difference in the production of identities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC361H5 • Sociology of Organizations
This course examines the structure and culture of organizations, including the range of management cultures, and how relationships among unions, management, and employees are affected by the social structure and culture of both the employer and the union as organizations.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC362H5 • Sociology of Gender, Work, and Labour
This course will engage social theories to understand the gendered structure of work and labour. We will discuss gendered work and its intersections with race and ethnicity, im/migration, class, sexual orientation, geography, and time.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC363H5 • Sexuality and Crime
This course focuses on the socio-legal origins, regulations,and consequences of sexuality, reproduction, and sexual violence. Possible topics may include historical and contemporary sexual and reproductive regulations, sexual violence, sex offenders, sex work, pornography, trafficking, and hate crimes against sexual minorities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC364H5 • New Directions in Social Inequality
This course reviews current ways of viewing and researching social inequality. Particular attention will be paid to how foundational work on social inequality connects to contemporary patterns, especially as demonstrated through current research.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC365H5 • Special Topics in Criminology
This course will explore a particular area within criminology. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC366H5 • Special Topics in Criminology
This course will explore a particular area within criminology. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC371H5 • Sociology of Punishment
Punishment cannot be analyzed outside of its historical, cultural, economic, political and social context. This course offers students a critical, multidisciplinary approach to the study of punishment in Canadian society.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC373H5 • Economic Sociology
How is the worth of an item determined? What do financial crises reveal about social life? How do financial traders make decisions? Economic questions, and facts, are inherently sociological. This course teaches you to connect the economy to society by examining a range of phenomena that are more readily related to the economy,such as financial crises, CEO compensation, Silicon Valley innovation, markets and firms, but also those that are not,such as love, art, doormen, the organs of dead bodies, and nature. This course will emphasize how economic transactions create, legitimate, and transform social relations, how economic behaviour needs to be understood within its social context, and how economic principles permeate aspects of social life that seem to resist or lie outside of the economic realm.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC375H5 • Sociology of International Migration
This course will analyze the forces that cause people to leave the country of their birth. We will look at why some countries become predominantly leaving countries, and other immigrant receiving countries. Possible topics include the politics of integration, multiple citizenships, refugee and settlement policies, the development of transnational social spaces and transnational governance structures. Attention will also be given to the dynamics of race, ethnicity, class, and gender in structuring international growth.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC378H5 • Law, Crime and Justice
This course draws on case law to explore a particular area within law and justice. Topics will vary from year to year.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC379H5 • Criminology, Urban Life, and Social Policy
The city is an important site of human interaction, characterized by crisis and promise. Through the lens of the city, this course will examine the nature of various social problems, including their causes and impacts. In particular, we will consider how criminological scholarship can analyze and inform policy responses to these issues. Course topics will include a diverse array of issues related to criminalization, youth justice, neighbourhood-level inequality, violence, and the criminal justice system.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC380H5 • Gender, Politics and Society
This course analyzes the social structural forces that produce gender and the ways in which gender affects political and social change. Possible topics include: migration, social movements, social policy and the welfare state, and globalization. We will also pay special attention to the ways in which gender intersects with class, ethnicity, race, religion and other forces of difference.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC382H5 • Genocide and Memory
This research-based course will engage students with the following two questions: Why does genocide happen? How do we construct, present, and maintain our memories of these terrible social phenomena? Students will spend the first part of the course learning about the sociology of genocide. Students will also be exposed to general theories of culture and the social construction of memory, and will be trained in qualitative methods, with a focus on basic field observation and field note writing. Students will take this knowledge and training into the field, using a sociological lens to look at genocide museums and memorials, and the people who visit them. The course will culminate in a final project based on the students' observations and analysis during one of several course field trips. The specific cultural and historical sites for the course will vary from year to year. As part of this course, students may have the option of participating in an international learning experience that will have an additional cost and application process. An interview may be required, with priority going to UTM Sociology and Criminology Majors and Specialists.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC384H5 • Media Ethics and Policy: Controversies in Mass Communication
This course examines conflicts and controversies in the media. The goal of the course is to analyze power struggles within the realm of the media in order to understand how they both reflect and can reinforce broader social inequalities. Special emphasis is paid to the role of media policies and regulations. Topics include censorship, violence, pornography, marketing, social media and privacy.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC387H5 • Qualitative Analysis
This course surveys various qualitative methods sociologists use. Students gain insight into the craft of sociology through reading examples of the different qualitative methods, discussing the theories behind the methods, conducting hands-on research exercises and analyzing qualitative data. The objective of this course is to learn to design and conduct a qualitative research project and to analyze qualitative sociological data. All students in the Sociology and Criminology, Law and Society Specialist programs are required to take this course.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/10PMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC388H5 • Race and Indigeneity
This course examines how the concept of race, and the ideologies that inform it, impacts identity politics for Indigenous peoples. Special attention will be paid to the socio-cultural and legal effects of racialized knowledge production. Topics may include: human genome projects, museums, recognition politics, legal definitions, criminalization, access to resources, stereotypes and personhood.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC391H5 • Independent Research in Sociology
This course is intended for Sociology Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Sociology topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor. Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC392H5 • Independent Research in Sociology
This course is intended for Sociology Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Sociology topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor.
Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC393H5 • Independent Research in Criminology, Law and Society
This course is intended for Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Criminology, Law and Society topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor.
Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC394H5 • Independent Research in Criminology, Law and Society
This course is intended for Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Criminology, Law and Society topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor.
Note: Professors have discretion whether to accept students wishing to pursue an independent studies course; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC399H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third or fourth year to work in the research project of a professor in return for
SOC399H5 course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC399Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third or fourth year to work in the research project of a professor in return for
SOC399Y5 course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC401H5 • Doing Public Sociology
In this seminar course, students learn to communicate insights based in sociological research to a broader audience, beyond the university. Student design and execute projects (essays, creating a podcast or video, and/or public speaking) on sociological topics of their choosing related to law and/or crime. The course also provides students with guidance on how to locate sociological research through library resources and how to incorporate that research into their public sociology projects. Priority may be given to Criminology, Law and Society students.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC402H5 • Understanding Human Action
This course addresses a fundamental question in the social sciences: "Why do people do what they do?" Readings and discussion focus on classic and current sociological approaches to understanding human action, giving attention to topics such as rational calculation, decisions, cultural processes, values, attitudes, identities, perception, interaction, situational influences, and automatic cognitive processing. A recurring theme is the tension between individual and situational explanations of behavior.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC403H5 • Prisons, Punishment & Surveillance Across the Globe
This seminar course will focus on possible solutions for issues related to prisons, punishment and surveillance across the globe. Along with this surveillance you have a rise in prisons and other forms of state sponsored punishment.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC404H5 • Special Topics in Social Policy
This lecture course will explore a particular area within Social Policy. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC405H5 • Surveillance in a Digital World
This course introduces students to theories of surveillance and risk in the digital era. The era of big data has given rise to smart policing, preventative security measures, and data driven solutions which are producing new knowledge about risk. It focuses on how surveillance is shifting institutional risk practices within law and criminal justice systems and how marginalized populations and particular geographical spaces are constructed as security risks.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC406H5 • Vigilantism on the Margins of the State
This seminar examines the social problem of “vigilantism”. It focuses on how the act is defined in terms of scholarly works on punishment and policing, as well as mainstream popular opinion. The course looks at questions such as how vigilantism manifests in different geographic spaces (e.g. the “global north” and the “global south”), in rich and poor areas, and in different historical periods.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC407H5 • Development and Social Change: The Case of China
This course introduces concepts, theories, and policies of development and underdevelopment. With China as a case, it focuses on social, economic, political, and cultural factors shaping the nature and meaning of social change.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC408H5 • The Sociology of Anti-Muslim Racism
This reading-intensive course explores historical and contemporary manifestations of anti-Muslim racism through a transnational lens, while paying special attention to scholarship from and about Canada and the United States. Issues related to gender and sexuality, race, citizenship status, Orientalism, colonialism, and military intervention cut across the readings.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC409H5 • Masculinity and the Internet
In this course we will take an in-depth look at a number of topics related broadly to masculinity and the internet, including such things as the “manosphere”, incels, and representations of masculinity on social media. These topics will be examined through the lens of the sociological literature on gender and masculinities. A recurring theme relates to the questions: “Is masculinity changing?” Students will be encouraged to critically examine and evaluate these topics and the sociological literature in multiple ways.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC410H5 • Senior Seminar in Inequality
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of inequality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC411H5 • Senior Seminar in Social Institutions
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of social institutions.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC412H5 • Senior Seminar in the Sociology of Work
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of work.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC413H5 • Senior Seminar in the Sociology of Gender
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of gender.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC414H5 • Senior Seminar in Political Sociology
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in political sociology.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC415H5 • Senior Seminar in Indigenous Studies
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in Indigenous Studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC416H5 • Senior Seminar in the Sociology of Culture
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of culture.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC417H5 • Senior Seminar in the Sociology of Globalization
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of globalization.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC418H5 • Senior Seminar in the Sociology of Health
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in the sociology of health.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC419H5 • Senior Seminar in Race and Ethnicity
This course offers an in-depth examination of selected topics in Race and Ethnicity.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC420H5 • Senior Seminar in Punishment
Restricted to Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC421H5 • Senior Seminar in Criminology
Restricted to Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Major. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC422H5 • Sociology of the Body
The body is an inevitable part of our existence, but it has not always played a central role in sociology. This course aims to bring the body into sociology by drawing on multiple approaches to theorizing and researching the body as a fundamental element of social interactions. We will work to connect the body to power, social problems and diverse forms of exploitation, but we also examine how the body serves as a source of pleasure, joy, and resistance. Fundamentally, we will study the processes by which bodies are shaped, and in turn, shape our social life. Body topics that may be covered include, but are not limited to, the following: health and illness, fatness, fitness and sport, diet culture, taste, aging, disability, sexuality, beauty, cosmetic surgery, and eating disorders.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC423H5 • Identity Crime
This interactive course concentrates on identity theft and fraud. It provides a critical examination of definitions of, sociological explanations for, and responses to identity crime. Identity crime is examined in the broader context of privacy, national security and organized crime.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC424H5 • Law, Emotions and Justice
This course investigates emotional dynamics in law and justice. Topics will include public attitudes towards crime and punishment, the rights of victims in criminal proceedings, and restorative justice.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC425H5 • Gender in Global Contexts
This lecture course looks at gender relations from a global perspective, focusing on how the social, political and economic aspects of globalization affect gender relations within various (local) contexts. Possible topics include gender and international migration, women's activism in local/global perspective and post-colonialism.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC426H5 • Social Theory and Third Cinema
This course is an exploration of the societies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America through films created by directors living and working in the Global South. Each week, we’ll pair a social theory reading with a film made in the Global South to explore themes of colonialism, political economy, race, class, gender, power, and history.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC427H5 • Politics, Violence, Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America
This course examines the transnational, national and local historical, social and political contexts that produce, and is in turn affected by, criminal, state and other forms of violence in Latin America, and the challenges that this poses for the functioning of Latin American democracies and for the everyday life of people in the region, whose human and civil rights are frequently violated. Examples of transnational factors examined may include the legacies of the Cold War, the impact of the U.S. war on drugs, and the circulation of ideas about punishment throughout the hemisphere. We also contextualize the presence of violence into the historical and contemporary political and social realities of particular Latin American countries.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC428H5 • Health, Disability, and Crisis
This course will apply sociological theories of inequality, health, and disability to contemporary problems associated with economic and health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This course integrates both quantitative and qualitative methods across substantive themes, providing an opportunity for students to link theories to data.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC429H5 • Disability, Politics and Society
This course situates disability within a social and political context. We focus on how disability serves as a basis for exclusion from social, legal, political and economic institutions as well as the ways in which actors (policymakers, activists, etc.) have sought to undermine this system of discrimination. We will investigate a variety of related themes including the “social model of disability,” policy and judicial transformations, the evolution of the disability rights movement (including the use of legal mobilization), disability identity, intersectionality, and the future of disability politics and the law.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC430H5 • Developments in Sociological Theory
This course presents a discussion and in-depth analysis of strands in contemporary sociological theory from the 1920s to the present day. Topics may include race and ethnicity, gender, class, post-colonial theory, queer theory, intersectionality, symbolic interactionism, new institutionalism, post-structuralism, and culture.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC431H5 • Museums & Indigenous Peoples
This seminar in Indigenous Studies focuses on the evolving relationship between Indigenous peoples and museums. It explores changes to museum policy and practice, the repatriation of Indigenous bodies, objects, and knowledges, the development of Indigenous museums, and the contributions of Indigenous artists to a new museology.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC432H5 • Contemporary Issues in Genocide and State Violence
This advanced lecture course will provide students with the analytical tools necessary to engage in deep analysis of contemporary genocides and state violence.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC433H5 • Power and Cultural Politics
This lecture course will ask students to engage with classic and contemporary views on power and its relation to the social bases of politics and social movements.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC434H5 • Race, Class, Gender in the Global South
Three of the most fundamental cleavages in the contemporary world-economy are those between whites and people of colour, men and women, and capital and labour. This seminar course focuses on these cleavages and analyzes each through both an historical and global south perspective.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC435H5 • Sociology of Environmental Health
This course will examine environmental health with an emphasis on environmental justice, contested illness, and the politics of scientific knowledge production. We will study the politics of environmental health through case studies on activism in response to hazards, the tactics of corporate “product defense,” and the challenges of policy response.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC436H5 • Colonies, Empires, Slavery & the Modern World
This course focuses on the origins, structure and role of modern colonialisms, empires, and slavery in the constitution of global modernity. Topics covered include the major debates about the legacy and ongoing effects of the various forms and types of colonialisms, empires, and slavery for the modern world.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC439Y5 • Research Project in Sociology
This is a seminar course where students engage in an independent research project supervised by a faculty member in Sociology. Students develop a research proposal, conduct independent research, analyze data and present findings. Admission by academic merit. Preference given to eligible Sociology Specialists.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC440Y5 • Research Project in Criminology, Law and Society
This is a seminar course where students pursue advanced research supervised by a faculty member in Criminology, Law and Society. Students develop a research proposal, conduct independent research, analyze data and present findings. Admission by academic merit. Preference given to eligible Criminology, Law and Society Specialists.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC444H5 • Advanced Topics in Sociology
An in-depth examination of selected topics in Sociology. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC445H5 • Advanced Topics in Sociology
An in-depth examination of selected topics in Sociology. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC446H5 • Advanced Topics in Criminology, Law and Society
An in-depth examination of selected topics in Criminology, Law and Society. Restricted to Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Major. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC447H5 • Advanced Topics in Criminology, Law and Society
An in-depth examination of selected topics in Criminology, Law and Society. Restricted to Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Major. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC448H5 • Advanced Topics in Criminology, Law and Society
An in-depth examination of selected topics in Criminology, Law and Society. Restricted to Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Major. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L,S,T,P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC450H5 • Walls to Bridges: Carceral Seminar
Based on the Walls to Bridges Program model, this seminar course matches a group of University of Toronto Mississauga students ("outside" students) with an approximately equal number of incarcerated students ("inside" students) who study together as peers at an off-campus setting. Topics vary from term to term. All class sessions are held inside the institution (e.g., penitentiary, detention centre, halfway house, etc.). Inside and outside students work together on small teams to develop and present a final project. Interested students should submit an application to the Department of Sociology (see website for details), and an interview may be required. Preference given to eligible Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors. Note: Once students are accepted into this course a criminal record check (CPIC) may be required to access the offsite location for classes. Students are advised to schedule approximately seven hours for class time (to allow time sufficient time for travel, institution check-in and -out in addition to the seminar time).
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 36SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC452H5 • Contemporary Issues in Higher Education
This course explores the debates and discussions centered on a selection of contemporary issues in postsecondary education in Canada and elsewhere. This may include topics such as the massification and corporatization of higher education, the reliance on sessional labour for instruction, and trends towards credentialism. The course combines instructor- and student-led discussions and inquiry.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC454H5 • Sociology of the Global South
This course examines the causes and consequences of empire, imperialism, and colonization to help better understand contemporary inequalities across the globe. The first part of the course focuses on theories of the Global South and the second part of the course applies those theories to the practice of social science research.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC455H5 • Comparative Indigenous Politics
Using a comparative approach, this course explores the politics of Indigeneity in settler colonial contexts. It centers critical analyses of settler colonialism and decolonization, and focuses on examples from Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia to examine the differences and similarities between Indigenous peoples and politics in these places.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC456H5 • Senior Seminar in Law and Society
The course will examine substantive debates in law and society. Restricted to Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Major. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC457H5 • Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
This course offers an overview of some of the major theories and research programs in the sociology of race and ethnicity.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC459H5 • Science, Technology and Society
The focus of this lecture course will be on the varied social contexts of the emergence, development and consequences of science and technology in the modern world. In addition to critical sociological perspectives on science and technology, possible topics could include genomics, reproductive technologies, surveillance, the internet and social media, domestic technology, warfare, nuclear technologies, etc.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC460H5 • Migrant Labour
This lecture course will focus on the intersection of citizenship status and class by examining the position and experiences of various categories of migrant labour in North America, Europe and other regions. Migrant groups include those with temporary status who come to work for a specific time frame in a particular job, those with no status (the undocumented) who work mainly in an informal, unregulated economy, and immigrants with permanent resident status who work in a range of industries and occupations. We will read and write about theoretical and empirical work in the sociology of migration and related fields.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC463H5 • The Sociology of Disasters
The modern world leans heavily on the assumption that organizations run smoothly, but often they do not and sometimes the consequences are disastrous. This course draws on a variety of sociological theories and explanatory frameworks to better understand how any why large scale disasters occur. The class will investigate high risk technologies, issues and problems related to organizational culture, deviance and misconduct, community dynamics and resilience, environmental justice, and social problems related to racialization, gender, class, and other inequalities.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC465H5 • Climate Crisis and Society
In this course a variety of classical and contemporary sociological perspectives will be deployed to understand the social context, factors and consequences of climate change. Possible topics include the political economy of the environment, environmental refugees, environmental movements, media representations of climate change, the social context and consequences of fracking, the politics of global protocols on carbon emissions, climate justice and social inequality, etc.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC467H5 • Peel Social Lab Seminar: Translating Research for the Wider Public
This is a seminar course where students work on data from the Peel Social Lab to produce various media to translate sociological findings for a broader audience.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC475H5 • Sociology of Legal Careers
This course examines legal careers from the sociological perspective. As one of the most elite and influential professions, lawyers are key players in economic, political, and social life. This course traces the various careers of lawyers from their experiences in law school to their jobs in law firms, courts, and other professional settings. In so doing the course will also focus on structures of inequality, such as gender, race and class.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC480Y5 • Internship in Sociology, Criminology, Law and Society
Through a part-time, unpaid, 200-hour internship, students apply sociological knowledge gained primarily through previous coursework. Students can seek internship opportunities at municipal social service departments or non-profit agencies providing social services, social movement or community-based organizations working for social change, courts or parole offices, for-profit workplaces, or other organizations. This experiential learning course also includes class meetings, written assignments and oral presentations, as well as an assessment by the internship employer. An application/interview may be required (see Department of Sociology website for details). Note: International students should visit the International Education Centre to ensure they have the appropriate documentation required to work in Canada well before the start of the course/internship.
Course Experience: Partnership-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: Online, In Class
SOC485H5 • Investigation through Study Abroad
An in-depth examination of selected topics in sociology as part of a UTM Study Abroad experience. Topics vary from year to year and are noted on the timetable once confirmed. During the international experience, students will collect data and observations to use as the basis for a final analytical project. As part of this course, students will have the option of participating in an international learning experience that will have an additional cost and application process. An interview may be required, with priority given to Sociology and Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors.
International Component: International - OptionalDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC491H5 • Independent Research in Sociology
This course is intended for Sociology Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Sociology topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor.
Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC492H5 • Independent Research in Sociology
This course is intended for Sociology Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Sociology topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor.
Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC493H5 • Independent Research in Criminology, Law and Society
This course is intended for Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Criminology, Law and Society topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor. Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC494H5 • Independent Research in Criminology, Law and Society
This course is intended for Criminology, Law and Society Specialists and Majors who wish to explore a specific Criminology, Law and Society topic in depth. To enrol, a student must prepare a proposal form in consultation with a faculty supervisor and submit the approved form to the academic counsellor.
Note: Professors have discretion whether to take on an independent study; they are not required to serve as faculty supervisors.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC499H5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a rewarding opportunity for students in their fourth year to undertake relatively advanced work in the research project of a professor in return for
SOC499H5 course credit. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
SOC499Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This course provides a rewarding opportunity for students in their fourth year to undertake relatively advanced work in the research project of a professor in return for
SOC499Y5 course credit. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM108H5 • utmONE: Special Topics at the Intersection of Science and Social Science
This course brings together first-year students to explore a current topic or problem at the intersection of science and social science in a small-group environment. The focus of each section will depend on the instructor’s areas of expertise and will provide students with the opportunity to develop foundational learning strategies and sharpen their academic skills to support the transition into university. Students participate in a series of tutorials that will help them build foundational skills for academic success such as creating study plans, taking notes, reading critically, and developing a growth mindset.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM110H5 • utmONE: Special Topics at the Intersection of Social Science and Humanities
This course brings together first-year students to explore a current topic or problem at the intersection of social science and humanities in a small-group environment. The focus of each section will depend on the instructor’s areas of expertise and will provide students with the opportunity to develop foundational learning strategies and sharpen their academic skills to support the transition into university. Students participate in a series of tutorials that will help them build foundational skills for academic success such as creating study plans, taking notes, reading critically, and developing a growth mindset.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM111H5 • utmONE: Tools of the Trade
This course is an introduction to the common problem-solving tools used in the sciences and social sciences. It is designed to address the fundamental skills needed for comprehension and effective communication in these areas. The skills being addressed may include critical analysis of texts (primary literature, review papers, textbooks), use of databases to gather, manipulate and visualize data; interpretation and presentation of data; information gathering and writing skills (lab reports, critical essays); and oral presentations. Specific examples will be drawn from a variety of current research topics in both the sciences and social sciences. Students participate in a series of tutorials that will help them build foundational skills for academic success such as creating study plans, taking notes, reading critically, and developing a growth mindset.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM115H5 • utmONE: Communication Among Cultures
This course is an introduction to inter-cultural communication primarily in the areas of writing and speaking. It is designed to address fundamental skills related to language use in the academic setting by focusing on topics such as customs, attitudes, beliefs, and values. Specific examples will be drawn from real-life university situations, and multiple viewpoints on the nature of diversity in communication will be discussed. Students participate in a series of tutorials that will help them build foundational skills for academic success such as creating study plans, taking notes, reading critically, and developing a growth mindset.
Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM116H5 • utmONE: Happiness
This course investigates the concept of happiness from its earliest articulations in the ancient world to today. Drawing on a wide array of sources in disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, we will investigate "happiness" across time and place. Throughout the semester students will reflect on the concept as it relates to their own lives as well as how it shapes society as a whole. As part of this course students will participate in a series of tutorials that will help them build foundations for academic success (such as understanding the value of higher education, developing a growth mindset, and finding passion).
Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM118H5 • utmONE: Science of Learning
This interdisciplinary course encourages students to take ownership of their education through a focus on the process of learning how to learn and by cultivating the habits of mind for lifelong achievement and success. Students will explore theories of learning and research on the strategies students should employ to reach deep understanding. "Science of Learning" is designed to help students develop their critical thinking, university-level oral and written communication, critical reading, and other foundational academic skills. Students participate in a series of tutorials that will help them build foundational skills for academic success such as creating study plans, taking notes, reading critically, and developing a growth mindset.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24L/12TMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM190H5 • utmONE Scholars: Special Topics at the Intersection of Social Science and Humanities
This course brings together first-year students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement to explore a current topic or problem at the intersection of social science and humanities in a small-group environment. The focus of each section will depend on the instructor’s areas of expertise and will provide students with the opportunity to develop university-level research and critical thinking skills to support the transition into university. Note: All interested students must apply and a select group of academically successful students will be accepted into utmONE Scholars. The application can be found here:
https://uoft.me/utmone-scholars
Enrolment Limits: This course is open to first-year students only.Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM191H5 • utmONE Scholars: Special Topics at the Intersection of Science and Social Science
This course brings together first-year students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement to explore a current topic or problem at the intersection of science and social science in a small-group environment. The focus of each section will depend on the instructor’s areas of expertise and will provide students with the opportunity to develop university-level research and critical thinking skills to support the transition into university. Note: All interested students must apply and a select group of academically successful students will be accepted into utmONE Scholars. The application can be found here:
https://uoft.me/utmone-scholars
Enrolment Limits: This course is open to first-year students only.Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM193H5 • utmONE Scholars: Nations Colliding?
This course investigates the complexity of our global interconnectedness through the lens of a substantive topic. Questions vary annually, but may include: Do all nations benefit equally from this increasing connectivity? How do global connections affect culture? What strategies offer long-term sustainability? What are the impacts of interconnectedness, both to individual citizens and to societies at large? Questions will be explored using a multidisciplinary approach. Note: All interested students must apply and a select group of academically successful students will be accepted into utmONE Scholars. The application can be found here:
https://uoft.me/utmone-scholars
Enrolment Limits: This course is open to first-year students only.Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM194H5 • utmONE Scholars: Religion and Politics
This course aims to engage with the current political challenges that religion in its diverse manifestations poses to secular society and political systems. This seminar will encourage students to become more thoughtful and self-critical about how society responds socially and politically to these challenges in the 21st-century. Note: All interested students must apply and a select group of academically successful students will be accepted into utmONE Scholars. The application can be found here:
https://uoft.me/utmone-scholars
Enrolment Limits: This course is open to first-year students only.Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM196H5 • utmONE Scholars: Building Global Justice
This course focuses on themes of social justice, global change, and conflict through the lens of multiple disciplines. Through the exploration of concepts such as class, race, gender, religion, culture, and power on a global level, students will be involved in assignments and small group activities that develop and refine key skills that contribute to student success in university courses. Note: All interested students must apply and a select group of academically successful students will be accepted into utmONE Scholars. The application can be found here:
https://uoft.me/utmone-scholars
Enrolment Limits: This course is open to first-year students only.Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM197H5 • utmONE Scholars: Humans in Nature: Interactions and Impacts
This course will explore how humans have utilized the natural world and the impacts it has had on both the global environment and human societies. We will focus on topics such as human and natural history, conservation, sustainability, resource exploitation, domestication, GMOs, and our fascination with nature. The course will include a field walk in our campus environment.
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24SMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM250H5 • Special Topics at the Intersection of Social Science and Humanities
This course covers a special topic at the intersection of the social sciences and humanities. Content relates to the instructor’s area of interest and varies in focus from year to year. This course may satisfy either the Social Sciences or Humanities distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but there will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Humanities, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM252H5 • Special Topics at the Intersection of Science and Social Science
This course covers a special topic at the intersection of the sciences and social sciences. Content relates to the instructor’s area of interest and varies in focus from year to year. This course may satisfy either the Sciences or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but there will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM350H5 • Special Topics at the Intersection of Social Science and Humanities
This course offers in-depth instruction on a special topic at the intersection of the social sciences and humanities. Content relates to the instructor’s area of interest and varies in focus from year to year, but it is designed to offer in-depth instruction in interdisciplinary research methods and writing practices. This course may satisfy either the Humanities or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but there will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Note: UTM LAUNCH courses cannot be used to satisfy the prerequisites for this course. Any other course with a ‘UTM’ designator at the 100-level or 200-level qualifies.
Prerequisites: 8.0 credits, including 0.5 credit in UTM courses
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM352H5 • Special Topics at the Intersection of Science and Social Science
This course offers in-depth instruction on a special topic at the intersection of the sciences and social sciences. Content relates to the instructor’s area of interest and varies in focus from year to year, but it is designed to offer in-depth instruction in interdisciplinary research methods and writing practices. This course may satisfy either the Sciences or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but there will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Note: UTM LAUNCH courses cannot be used to satisfy the prerequisites for this course. Any other course with a ‘UTM’ designator at the 100-level or 200-level qualifies.
Prerequisites: 8.0 credits, including 0.5 credit in UTM courses
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM450H5 • Advanced Special Topics at the Intersection of Social Science and Humanities
This course offers advanced instruction on a special topic at the intersection of the social sciences and humanities. Content relates to the instructor’s area of interest and varies in focus from year to year, but it is designed to offer in-depth instruction in interdisciplinary research methods and writing practices. This course may satisfy either the Humanities or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but there will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Note: UTM LAUNCH courses cannot be used to satisfy the prerequisites for this course. Any other course with a ‘UTM’ designator at the 100-level or 200-level qualifies.
Prerequisites: 8.0 credits, including 0.5 credit in UTM courses
Distribution Requirement: Social Science, HumanitiesTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
UTM452H5 • Advanced Special Topics at the Intersection of Science and Social Science
This course offers advanced instruction on a special topic at the intersection of the sciences and social sciences. Content relates to the instructor’s area of interest and varies in focus from year to year, but it is designed to offer in-depth instruction in interdisciplinary research methods and writing practices. This course may satisfy either the Sciences or Social Sciences distribution requirement, depending on the topic offered. The course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but there will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Note: UTM LAUNCH courses cannot be used to satisfy the prerequisites for this course. Any other course with a ‘UTM’ designator at the 100-level or 200-level qualifies.
Prerequisites: 8.0 credits, including 0.5 credit in UTM courses
Distribution Requirement: Science, Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI173H5 • Creative Non-Fiction
This course is an introduction to creative nonfiction as both a genre and a methodological tool for a variety of fields. It explores creative narrative approaches by professional writers in the form of journalism, documentary, ethnography, memoir, and narrative essay. This course also serves to begin and/or strengthen students’ own writing practice through craft-oriented workshops. Students explore ideas about product and process, form and meaning. Students will experiment with syntactic structures to explore how the form of language serves, or fails to serve, intention and the expression of meaning that may be understood and interpreted by others.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI225H5 • Community and Writing
Writing communication is a social act that both shapes and is shaped by community. Students in this course develop a narrative portfolio based on research into the experiences of individuals within a community that interests them. The course aims to enhance students’ storytelling by incorporating aspects of community such as unwritten rules, community language and nomenclature, rituals, history, ironic juxtaposition, and profiles of community members. Readings include a mix of student-authored and contemporary professional works.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI227H5 • Social Media and Content Creation
Examines theory and offers practice in creating content for Social Media. The course explores the growth of the Web, from information gathering to interactive and cooperative information/opinion dissemination. Students will critically examine the rhetorical practices of Social Media users and how these practices currently shape communications. Students will create and maintain individual content creation projects.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI273H5 • Specialized Prose
Examines theory and offers practice in nonfiction narrative with a specialized purpose. Students will explore conceptions of genre and the way genre shapes, and is shaped by, the social context of communications.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI291H5 • Introduction to Journalism
This course provides an introduction to journalism and examines journalism’s role in a democratic society. Students learn the fundamentals of journalistic writing, with a focus on news and reporting. The course examines news formats and styles, sources, interviews, research, structure, and other fundamentals. The course functions as a newsroom, with students producing several reported articles throughout the term, and includes guest talks and workshops with practicing journalists.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI292H5 • Narrative Inquiry
In this course, students design and carry out writing through a series of research techniques. Students learn to select and evaluate expert and scientific information from primary sources and produce content for an array of different media. A critical reading program exposes students to research-based writing. Assignments are aimed at developing professional skills across different forms and topics.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI293H5 • Introduction to Technical Communication
Introduction to Technical Communication serves as an introduction to the academic and professional fields of technical writing and communication. It explores strategies for analyzing organizational contexts, including professional audiences, professional purposes for writing, and organizational cultures. Assignments will build skills in technical writing, document design, documentation, accessibility, and ethical considerations for communication in professional settings.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI299H5 • Research Opportunity Program (ROP)
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299H course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI299Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This courses provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI306H5 • Writing for the Academic Sciences
Examines conventions and standard practices when scientists write for other scientists in academic science journals, in conference and poster presentations, and in grant applications. This course focuses on presenting primary and secondary research. Humanities and social science students will gain specialized skills in technical writing and editing. Science students will learn the writing practices expected in professional labs and research groups. Students will present an article-length paper presenting primary research findings and a conference poster presenting the same findings to a scientific audience.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI307H5 • Writing about Science
Examines the best practices of science writers and journalists who, based on research published in science journals, communicate scientific information to an educated audience which lacks specialized training. Science students will learn techniques for educating and informing public audiences. Humanities and social science students will learn to access and present current scientific information in engaging narrative. This course examines scientific writing and journalistic writing about science.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class, Online (Summer only)
WRI310H5 • Social and Professional Languages
Examines language by approaching it through its social users -- ethnic groups, genders, and social classes -- and its contextualized usages -- the languages of publishing, advertising, law, technical communications, academe and the electronic media. The course explores the functions of these languages and the roles of such forces as dictionaries, social change, and new communications technologies in the evolution of these languages.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI320H5 • History and Writing
Examines written history as rhetoric and considers various conceptions of history and procedures for historical research and writing with reference to a range for models from Thucydides to contemporary writers of specialized and local histories. Students will conceptualize, design, and carry out primary source historical research to produce original history using locally available sources and materials.
Course Experience: University-Based ExperienceDistribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI330H5 • Oral Rhetoric
Examines the rhetoric of speech drawing on theorists from Plato to Havelock to Ong, and considers implications of "great leap models" that present orality and literacy on a continuum. This course considers a range of oral practices from informal to formal, and from spontaneous to research-based and examines a range of rhetorical modes: dialogue, storytelling, reporting, debate and presentational address. Significant course time will be devoted to students' oral performance, both individual and team-based.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI340H5 • Critical Reading and Listening
This course approaches reading and listening as time-bound processes by which we sense and make sense of the world around us. Reading and listening are not to be reduced merely to how we consume written or aural texts, but rather will be explored as the perceptual and cognitive activities that structure our sense of time, space, self and environment. We will place a particular emphasis on reading and listening in contemporary digital culture by engaging selectively with fundamental concepts in critical theory, as well as recent work in media and sound studies.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI360H5 • Finance and Writing
Examines organizational discourse with special attention to financial analysis and financial documents as rhetorical elements. Students will design and carry out primary research into organizations such as publicly listed companies and non-profit organizations and will examine different modes for reporting research findings. Principles of discourse analysis and genre theory provide a conceptual framework. Students do not need backgrounds in accounting or finance to manage this course.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI363H5 • Communicating in a World of Data
This course examines how professionals in a variety of contexts communicate data. The course explores the growing relevance and allure of data in all its forms. Students will learn to interpret data to tell a story through numbers by creating infographics, writing informative articles from their own data mining, and presenting further findings at the end of the semester.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI365Y5 • Editing: Principles and Practice
Examines theory and practice of editing in a professional communications environment. The course will consider principles of editing and the editorial process as it applies to various forms of writing, from daily news, to magazines, books, web pages and blogs. Study will include examination of the building blocks of an editor's skills - grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation - and the means employed by an editor working with a writer to achieve clarity, accuracy and immediate comprehension.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 48LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI370H5 • Writing about Place
Examines writing about geographic places and the multiple rhetorics --- scientific, historical, geographical, social, political, economic --- that come into play. Students will design and carry out original primary research to develop their writing projects.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI375H5 • Writing about Environment and Ecology
Examines the evolving rhetoric of scientific, journalistic, legal and political writing about environmental issues. The course will consider eco-linguistic theory and eco-critical discourse analysis. Through theory and applied research, including primary research, and writing, students will consider protocols, research standards, and ethics in writing about environment and appraise current issues around the emerging language of sustainability.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI380H5 • Podcasting
This course offers the skills and techniques needed to script, record and publish podcasts to the Web. Students will design and carry out original primary research to script, edit and produce independent podcasts. The course also explores the growing popularity of podcasts, and modern societies’ shift into a secondary orality.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI390H5 • Independent Studies
A research/writing project designed by the student in consultation with a faculty member. Independent Study students will produce a substantial body of writing at a high professional standard submitted in weekly installments and will develop their drafts in editing sessions with other Independent Studies students. Students will also design and carry out a reading program. Students may not take
WRI390H5 and
WRI391H5 in the same term.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI391H5 • Independent Studies
A research/writing project designed by the student in consultation with a faculty member. Independent Study students will produce a substantial body of writing at a high professional standard submitted in weekly installments and will develop their drafts in editing sessions with other Independent Studies students. Students will also design and carry out a reading program. The Project Supervisor will be chosen in consultation with the Program Coordinator. Students may not take
WRI390H5 and
WRI391H5 in the same term.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI395H5 • Re-languaging: Writing Across Cultures and Languages
Explores the practice and experience of writing across cultures, languages, and space. We examine writing as inflected through questions of translation, migration, colonialism, and social identity. Students will consider these themes through a historical and theoretical lens to sharpen analytic and writerly skills.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI399H5 • Research Opportunity Program (ROP)
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 399H course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI399Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This courses provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their third year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 399Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI410H5 • Professional Writing and Communication Internship 1
This course is a practical internship and is available only upon application from PWC Majors. Through a placement, students will apply their expertise in writing, editing and communications. Students must plan well in advance for their placement and work closely with CCIT/PWC placement officer to determine eligibility and suitability. A report of the placement, samples of work completed on the placement and a presentation about it will be required at the end of the placement. These, and the employer's assessment, will determine the course mark.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI411H5 • Professional Writing and Communication Internship II
This course is a practical internship and is available only upon application from PWC Majors who have completed
WRI410H5. The course is intended for students who have the opportunity to continue their
WRI410H5 internship for a second semester. A report of the placement, samples of work completed on the placement and a presentation about it will be required at the end of the placement. These, and the employer's assessment, will determine the course mark.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI420H5 • Making a Book
Examines principles, procedures and practices in book publishing. Students, working collaboratively, will collect material for, design, edit, typeset, print and assemble books. Students will consider philosophical, aesthetic, and economic factors that guide publishing, editing and design decisions. Students who do not receive formal permission may not take this course.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI430H5 • Journalistic Investigation
This course examines principles and practices in journalistic investigation and writing, and provides an introduction to the main socio-political issues related to contemporary journalism. The course will consider various models and formats of journalistic writing. Students will design and carry out investigative projects that culminate in a series of journalistic articles. The course will also analyze the Canadian media industry and its evolving labour market.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI470H5 • Writing Futures
This course examines speculative non-fiction and explores ways writers communicate about research, projections, and plans for humanity’s future. Students will consider how writing and other cultural forms act not only as “products” of science and reportage but as tools of knowledge-making. Students will produce portfolios that respond to and add to the literature of speculative non-fiction.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI483H5 • Character, Narrator and Psychic Space
This course examines the central role of characterization and character development in nonfiction prose. Students explore the theory of psychic space, working to understand how the creation of that space operates to advance audience engagement. Classwork explores the furnishing and unfurnishing of psychic space in relation to meaning and characterization. Students focus on a small set of characters they develop over time via a writing portfolio. The course considers the impacts of place, incident, narrative arc, and complication-resolution models, with reference to theories by Gerke, French, Wolfe, and Van Manen. Weekly exercises and assignments focus on developing believable, memorable characters. Readings include a mix of student-authored and contemporary professional works.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI488H5 • Food and Writing
This course examines narrative approaches to researching and writing about food-related topics. Students will design and carry out research projects that culminate in a series of life stories, narrative articles/chapters, or personal essays that investigate complex relationships surrounding food in society.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI490H5 • Special Topics in Writing
An in-depth examination of topics in writing. Topics vary from year to year, and the content in any given year depends upon the instructor. The contact hours for this course may vary in terms of contact type (L, S, T, P) from year to year, but will be between 24-36 contact hours in total. See the UTM Timetable.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceTotal Instructional Hours: 24LMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI499H5 • Research Opportunity Program (ROP)
This course provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their fourth year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 499H course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class
WRI499Y5 • Research Opportunity Program
This courses provides a richly rewarding opportunity for students in their fourth year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 499Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See
Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
Distribution Requirement: Social ScienceMode of Delivery: In Class