Courses

Course: CLAS 315: Topics in Roman History | Late Republican Biography & History
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Colin Bailey

In this offering of Classics 315, we will focus on ancient biographical and historical accounts of the last century of the Roman Republic and its collapse. Plutarch’s Lives provide invaluable material for our understanding of this period. As a biographer, his interest was on the individual and moral questions, rather than on the process of collapse itself. Through close and careful readings of a selection of Plutarch’s Roman Lives and comparisons with surviving historians and other biographers, we will examine how and why Plutarch adapted his historical material to suit his biographical purposes. We will also compare ancient “historical” and “biographical” approaches to this period of Roman history.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in CLAS 101, CLAS 110, CLAS 210, or CLAS 271.

Permission Required: No

Course: CLAS 333: Topics in Ancient Religion | Isis and Sarapis in the Graeco-Roman World
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Matt Gibbs

This course examines the Egyptian deities Isis and Sarapis, their cult, their influence, and their place in Graeco-Roman cultures and societies. From the Renaissance onwards, Isis and Sarapis have been—directly or indirectly—central to the study of Egyptian influences and artefacts found in the Greek and Roman worlds, and as such, provide an ideal way in which to understand the movement, and syncretic nature of ancient religions across this region. In the broader context, the study of these religions also allows us to analyze the external influences on a fundamental facet of Graeco-Roman cultures and societies. Using archaeological, documentary, and literary evidence, this course will examine the activities, membership, and mythology behind these cults while considering their geographic and chronological spread and influence throughout the Mediterranean region in art, architecture, and literature.”

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in one of CLAS 233, CLAS 270, or CLAS 271.

Permission Required: No

Course: FREN 370: Topics in Francophone Culture | Francophone Cultures through Film
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Suzanne Hayman

This course focuses on the study of different cultures within the francophone world through the analyses of film. From a perspective that is both geographical and thematic, this course explores, through film, several regions of the francophone world (North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Québec and Europe) as well as issues that characterized the French-speaking world (colonialism, independence, diversity, immigration, co-existence, women’s issues, etc.) to ultimately broaden and deepen one’s understanding of la Francophonie. This course is conducted in French. 

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in FREN 298 or any 300-level FREN course.

Permission Required: No

Course: HIST 460: Topics in Canadian History | Canadian Foreign Relations, 1945-1984
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Michael Carroll

Looking at both the domestic and international policy ramifications, this course will provide an in-depth examination of the development of Canada’s foreign policy from 1945 until 1984. Emerging from the Second World War as a pre-eminent “middle power”, the Cold War provided a wary sense of structure to global affairs yet Canada’s role was anything but static. From William Lyon Mackenzie King’s functionalist apprehensions to Pierre Trudeau’s “passing interest” in foreign affairs, Canada’s activities on the global stage were defined, and marred, by both personalities and diplomatic substance.

Prerequisites: Minimum grades of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level HIST courses including either HIST 260 or HIST 261.

Permission Required: No

Course: HIST 491: Topics in International History | Concentration Camps: A Global History of Mass Confinement
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Aidan Forth

The concentration camp is an emblem of the modern world. From the camps of nineteenth-century colonialism to the Soviet Gulag, Nazi death camps, and more contemporary detention centers for refugees and political prisoners in the War on Terror, this course explores the underlying logic of extrajudicial encampment. Why have modern states—across the ideological spectrum—made use of concentration camps against real and perceived enemies? We examine the deep roots of the camp in the British Empire and in nineteenth-century European politics and society, while exploring the global dimensions of the camp today. With a transnational and comparative lens, we examine memoirs, film, and theoretical and historical scholarship to explore the diverse manifestations of concentration camps over the past two centuries. Why did this system of punishment and terror first develop, and why does it continue to exist in the world today?

Prerequisites: Minimum grades of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300 level HIST courses.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 303: Studies in Philosophy and Religion | Studies in the Philosophy of Religion: Kierkegaard, Johannes Climacus, and Socrates
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Cyrus Panjvani

In this course offering, students read and examine the following works written by Kierkegaard under the pseudonym ‘Johannes Climacus’: Philosophical Crumbs, also known as Philosophical Fragments, and Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Crumbs/Fragments. These are both important yet ironically titled works by Kierkegaard that explore themes of subjectivity, truth, faith, and the relation to the divine. In addition, the course will consider the bearing of Socrates in these works. In particular, we will examine the relation between Socrates and Johannes Climacus in the Philosophical Crumbs/Fragments. Students will also read the Apology and at least one other selection from Plato.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 402: Topics in History of Philosophy | Classical Islamic Philosophy and the Possibility of Science
Term: Winter 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Celia Hatherly

This seminar focuses on a debate between three of the most important classical Islamic philosophers: Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, and Ibn Rushd. Over the course of this debate, which lasted from the 10th to 12th century C.E. and spanned from Iran to Spain, each philosopher gave his own answer to the question “is science possible?” That is, each inquired whether there are regularities in nature and whether humans can use reason to discover them. Over the course of this seminar, we will also examine how each was influenced by both Ancient Greek philosophy and Classical Islamic theology. Finally, we will look at how this debate shaped the views of the Enlightenment philosopher David Hume.  

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with at least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

Permission Required: No

Course: CLAS 320: Greek Literature | Songs for Ilion: the Trojan War in Archaic and Classical Literature
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Jessica Romney

The age of heroes died on the fields of Troy, in the return to Greece. Their actions and deeds inspired bards, poets, tragedians, artists, historians, and more as the decade-long war against Troy cemented itself in the stories, literature, and histories of ancient Greece. In this course we will look at the memorialization of the heroes who fought at Troy, Greek and Trojan both, and the place of the great epics about Troy in the literary traditions of ancient Greece. We will begin with the mythic cycles, looking at the “plan of Zeus” to relieve the burden of humanity on the earth by setting great quests and wars among the Greek heroes; from the stories of the wars against Thebes to the Trojan War, the Iliad rises as an epic that celebrates the momentary brilliance of Achilles, his divine wrath, and the transcendent, uniting qualities of social connection and community that overcome the division of war. We will then turn to the lyric poets of the Archaic period, where the Trojan War served to memorialize a brilliant, now lost, past as the Homeric heroes offered impossible exempla for aristocrats to aspire to. The questioning of individual and community at the heart of the Iliad will then drive the performance of Trojan War scenes on the Athenian stage: what does the community owe a hero, dangerous and capricious, and what does the hero owe his community, particularly when they betray him? The class will then end by looking at the reception of the Trojan War and the retelling of an “old story for our modern times” (Odyssey 1.10, translated by Emily Wilson) and the continued relevance of the questions the Trojan War myth and Iliad pose for today’s world.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in one of CLAS 221, CLAS 225, or CLAS 270.

Permission Required: No

Course: HIST 411: Topics in Med & EM Brit. Hist. | Conflict, Community and Control, c.1450-c.1750
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Rob Falconer

The history of the British Isles is itself a site of conflict. From at least the start of the sixteenth century, historians have attempted to conceptualise British history in a way that accurately reflects the interactions of the four constitutive nations that make up the British Isles. In this seminar-based course, students will discuss, criticize, and analyse readings that focus on a different forms of conflict that helped to shape the British Isles in the period leading up to the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (and tested it beyond that date). Through an examination of historiographical, social, religious, and political conflicts in the British Isles, we can arrive at an understanding of how conflict, community, and control shaped the lives of the inhabitants of the British Isles. Topics may include the Wars of the Roses; the Reformations in England, Scotland, and Ireland; Scolding (women and crime); Tyrone’s Rebellion in Ireland; Covenanters; The War of the Three Kingdoms; the Enclosure / Corn Riots of the seventeenth century; Glencoe; the Glorious Revolution of 1689, the Act of Union; and the Jacobite Rebellions.

Prerequisites: Minimum grades of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level HIST, including at least 3 credits from HIST 206, HIST 211, or HIST 311.

Permission Required: No

Course: HIST 460: Topics in Canadian History | The Transformation of the Canadian Prairies, 1869-1905
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Robert Irwin

Canada’s acquisition of British claims to Rupert’s Land and the Northwestern Territories in 1869 provoked the Red River Resistance and set the stage for a radical transformation of the social, cultural, economic, and ecological landscapes of the Canadian prairies. Canada established a system of government, made treaties with Indigenous people, imposed Canadian law, built a transcontinental railway, surveyed and settled the land, encouraged agriculture, ranching, and mining, and fought battles against the Metis and First Nation communities. The great transformation culminated in the formation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta and the expansion of Manitoba in 1905. This seminar examines this era of change and discusses the lasting impacts.

Prerequisites: Minimum grades of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level HIST courses including either HIST 260 or HIST 261.

Permission Required: No

Course: HIST 476: Topics: History of Religion | Secrets of Early Christianity
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Sean Hannan

In this section of HIST 476, our goal is to rediscover the forgotten texts fueling early Christianity’s historical development. Documents left out of the Biblical canon are usually referred to as “apocryphal,” derived from the Greek adjective apokryphos: concealed, hidden, or secret. But how did these texts get to be so secret in the first place? To answer that question responsibly, we need to trace the history of four related debates about God in early Christianity. These debates concerned: (1) Jesus’ relation to the Torah (divine law as conveyed via the Hebrew Bible); (2) Jesus’ social function; (3) Jesus’ identity with God the Father; and (4) the reason that evil exists in a divinely constructed universe.

Prerequisites: Minimum grades of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level HIST, including at least 3 credits from HIST 204, HIST 205, HIST 304, or HIST 308.

Permission Required: No

Course: HUMN 201: Human Relationships | Human Relationships - Isolation and Exile
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Kelly Summers

This iteration of HUMN 201 will explore human relationships through a prism of estrangement and loss. As the world struggles to recover from the disruptions unleashed by COVID-19, isolation is obviously a timely topic; but a selection of “great works” (both texts and images) from across human history will show it is also a timeless one. Whether the result of disease, war, banishment, incarceration, religious revelation, ostracization, or a natural disaster like a shipwreck, humans have often become alienated from each other and themselves by circumstances beyond their control. This course will compare how individuals have endured and in some cases thrived during episodes of enforced solitude.

Prerequisites: None

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 383: Philosophy of Film | Film Noir and Philosophy
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Alain Beauclair

This course will offer an examination of film noir, and its treatment of various philosophical themes including but not limited to agency, technology, progress, masculinity, sexism, pragmatism, fatalism, and nihilism.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 402: Topics in the History of Philosophy | Descartes’s Meditations
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Susan Mills

Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy is one of the most well-known books in the history of philosophy, but that is not to say that it is well understood by most who know of it. For many students of philosophy, it is one of the first philosophical texts that they read. For others, the Meditations is a text known by reputation rather than by close examination. In this seminar, we will address those faded memories or misunderstandings with a close study of the Meditations as the philosophically subversive and rhetorically sophisticated text that it is. A selection of scholarly articles about Descartes’s philosophy will be assigned to support and enhance that study.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with at least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 403: Topics in Moral Philosophy | Emerson’s Ethics
Term: Fall 2023
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Alain Beauclair

This course will examine the ethics of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The class will involve a close reading of a number of his essays, lectures, and addresses in an effort to understand his moral project of self-formation.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with at least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

Permission Required: No

Course: CLAS 321: Latin Literature | World history in a period of ideological shift: Justin and Orosius
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Benjamin Garstad

In this course we will read the two Latin world histories that survive from antiquity, Justin’s Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus and Orosius’ Seven Books of History against the Pagans. The one is written from the perspective of paganism, or rather the traditional Roman culture, and the other from that of Christianity, specifically the Augustinian response to the barbarian invasions. We will examine the ways in which each deals with such topics as warfare, empire, and rulership.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in one of CLAS 221, CLAS 225, or CLAS 271.

Permission Required: No

Course: FREN 365 Topics in Francophone Lit | History and Literature
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Marla Epps

This course focuses on the different ways French and francophone literature engages with the past. We will look at works written during times of historical upheaval, texts written about the past, and consider the evolution of the ways in which French and francophone literature writes about history. Texts will be selected from across the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and from a variety of geographical locations. This course is conducted in French.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in FREN 298 or any 300-level FREN course.

Permission Required: No

Course: HIST 410: Topics in European History | The French Revolution
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Kelly Summers

This seminar will immerse students in the exhilarating world of the French Revolution, which was inspired by noble Enlightenment ideals yet unleashed terrifying violence. With close attention to primary sources and scholarly debates, we will use the tools of intellectual history to define the era’s most contentious terms: what was a revolution, anyway? What about a constitution, a right, or a republic? A radical, as opposed to a reformer or conservative? As students design and execute independent research projects, they will also apply varied lenses of analysis (political, economic, military, religious, gendered, colonial, etc.)—some complementary, some contradictory—to illuminate the Revolution’s core causes, events, leaders, and constituencies, as well as its legacies for France and the world. It is recommended that students have some additional familiarity with the era from HIST 215 and/or 315.

Prerequisites: Minimum grades of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level HIST, including one of HIST 205, HIST 209, or HIST 210.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 301: Comparative Philosophy | Comparative Philosophy: The Philosophy of Meditation and Contemplation
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Cyrus Panjvani

In this course, students philosophically examine meditation, contemplation, and related notions, in connection with themes of desire, detachment, self-denial, suffering, soul, and spiritual development in Eastern and Western perspectives. We will focus on primary sources, such as the Satipatthana Sutta (Discourse on the Foundation of Mindfulness) of the Buddha, the Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross, and related writings of Simone Weil, as well as secondary sources.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 305: Studies in the Self | Aquinas On Human Nature
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Celia Hatherly

In this course, we will read St. Thomas Aquinas' Treatise On Human Nature from his philosophical masterpiece, the Summa Theologiae. We will investigate whether a human being is just their body, their immaterial mind, or both, along with whether and how humans can have knowledge and free will. We will also consider the barrings that these questions have on the nature and possibility of human happiness. We will also consider objections to Aquinas's arguments raised by later Medieval philosophers.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 370: Studies in Political Philosophy | Aristotle
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Edvard Lorkovic

This term, PHIL 370 focuses on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Politics. Although we will work through both texts in their entirety, we will also pay special attention to the relation between virtue, good rule, and education: which qualities of character do citizens and rulers need in order to be good, and how should a state cultivate those character traits? Students should expect to read both of Aristotle’s texts at least twice during the semester.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL.

Permission Required: No

Course: PHIL 402: Topics in History of Philosophy | The Philosophy of Religion of Simone Weil
Term: Winter 2024
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Cyrus Panjvani

In this course, students study the philosophy of religion of Simone Weil. In addition to being a philosopher and prolific writer, Weil was an activist committed to several compassionate endeavours, and has been characterized as a mystic. The relation between her life and thought is a point of focus in the course. Students will read primary and secondary source materials, be expected to participate regularly, do presentations, and complete a major paper.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with at least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

Permission Required: No