The following section contains a complete list of courses for its curriculum. For current course listings please see the Course Description  section of our website.

Students may choose courses in Political Studies to fulfill requirements for social sciences or general electives in any degree program. Students who wish to concentrate in this subject field may choose a major or a minor, either in the four-year or the three-year Bachelor of Arts.

The major in Political Studies requires course work in specific subfields. The subfield categories, with their abbreviations, are as follows:
WP – World Politics
CPS – Comparative Politics of the South
CPN – Comparative Politics of the North
GIP – Gender and Identity Politics
PTM – Political Theory and Methodology
These category abbreviations appear in brackets next the Course ID and Course Title in the list below.

POLS-1000/3 Democracy and Dissent: An introductory study of democratic politics and institutions, political ideas, electoral systems and political culture. The lens of dissent is used to trace the emergence of democracy and its liberal development. Issues to be explored include: the roles of
opposition, questions of accountability, the meaning and practice of justice, the evolving implications of citizenship, the crisis of the state under globalization, and the contemporary idea of democracy without dissent.

POLS-1010/3 Global Politics: An introduction to the fields of International Relations and Comparative Politics with particular emphasis on current global issues. Topics include globalization, American domination, terrorism and security, the changing nature of states, international law and justice,
the politics of the environmental crisis, political development, human migration, and the dilemmas of democratization. Active participation in debates, simulation games, and media studies contribute to critical skills that provide insight behind the “political veil.”

BUSI/POLS-2040/3 Business and Labour Law: This course introduces the legal environment under which Canadian businesses and organizations operate. As a background the Canadian constitution, courts and legislative system will be discussed. The second part discusses the legal aspects of the most common forms of businesses and organizations in Canada: sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives and corporations. Further discussion will include tort and contract law and labour law in Canada. Prerequisites: BUSI-1000/3 or IDS- 1020/3 or POLS-1020/3.

HIST/POLS-2100/3 History of the United States from 1607 [CPN]: A study of the development of the United States of America from its colonial origins to its emergence, four centuries later, as a global superpower. Attention will be given to political, economic, social, and intellectual developments from Jamestown to 9/11.

HIST/POLS-2110/3 The Fifties and Sixties—North America Cold, Cool and Radical [CPN]: An examination of the post- World War II decades of North America in its political, economic, social, and intellectual contexts. Individuals that may be studied include Elvis Presley, Lester Pearson, Ronald Reagan, Tommy Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., Betty Friedan, Marshall McLuhan, Rachel Carson, Charles Manson, and Pierre Trudeau. Topics may include social revolutions (Quiet Revolution, Civil Rights), politics (Cold War, Great Society, Medicare), body and technology (‘The Pill’, vaccines, organ transplants), youth protest (Beat, Berkeley), and consumer culture.

POLS-2120/3 Peace and Conflict in World Politics [WP]: A study of large-scale violence, including conventional warfare and “low intensity” warfare (e.g. liberation movements, counter-insurgencies and terrorism). Consideration is given to the political economy of such violence, including the arms
industry and resource wars. What is the role of politics in perpetuating militarism, violence and in enabling peace? How are conflicts politically mediated through diplomacy, international law, NGO’s, international organizations, etc.? We consider the relation of violence to underdevelopment,
environmental degradation, and human rights violations.

POLS-2200/3 Human Rights and Dignity [WP] [CPS]: Human rights claim to protect the interests and dignity of people. How do governments, the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, religious groups, corporations, and activists help or impede this process? What is the political
and moral place of individuals, communities, law, and justice in the current global reality? Changing and cross-cultural understandings of rights are considered.

POLS-2300/3 Canadian Political Issues [CPN]: This thematic course builds upon concepts and knowledge of the Canadian political system acquired in “Introduction to Political Studies.” Examples of themes include: aboriginal people, law, and politics; conscientious objection in Canada; the politics of immigration; community politics; gender and politics; the Church and state in Canada; media and politics; and regional/ cultural politics. Prerequisite: POLS-1000/3.

POLS-2400/3 Comparative Politics of Development— Africa [CPS]: With Africa as our lens, the course invites a comparative study of how development is informed by the practices and institutions of governance, and by asymmetries of power and resources. The focus is on change in African regimes and their historical response to poverty, civil society’s role in social ordering, and on cultures of governance and public policy in a globalizing context. Themes include: democratization and social movements; civil and regional conflicts; international aid and intervention; refugees; colonialism and post-colonialism; race, ethnicity, religion, class and gender; health and HIV/AIDS; and environmental crises
and politics.

POLS/SOCI/PHIL-2600/3 Social and Political Philosophy [PTM]: What is human nature? Should society be organized to reflect this? What is justice? Are states coercive by nature? How does property inform politics? What is ethical citizenship? These questions are explored through a survey of Western political thinkers including Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, de Gouges, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Mill, and Marx, and by examining their contemporary legacy.

POLS-2950/3 Topics in Political Studies: The content of this course will vary from year to year, depending on the needs of students and the interests and availability of instructors.

COMM/POLS/SOCI-3000/3 Politics, Society and Mass Media [CPN]: This course examines the relationship between the mass communications media and the political and social processes in which they operate, investigating the state of research on mass media, the role of media in creating and shaping political awareness, and in influencing human behaviour and values. Examples of topics which may be covered are: media ownership and organization patterns, media in the electoral process, the media in developing nations, the media and globalization, propaganda, media
freedom and public opinion. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level studies, including six credit hours in social science.

BTS/POLS/INTG-3260/3 Plato’s Republic and Paul’s Romans in Dialogue [PTM]: Plato’s Republic and Paul’s Romans are both discourses on the concept of “justice,” encompassing the body politic, the just individual within it, and the entire cosmos. Following an overview of Platonism and Paulinism within their respective Greek and Judeo-Christian traditions, this course will consist of a close reading consecutively of the Republic and Romans, and will conclude with a comparison and dialogue between these two classics and the traditions they represent. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level studies, including 6 credit hours in Biblical and Theological Studies.

POLS-3500/3 Gender and Politics [GIP]: Examines the public exclusion of women and their emergence as political actors. By looking at the roles of women and men, we will consider how the construction of gender informs citizenship. What do feminist critiques reveal about the theory and practice of politics? What roles do market, culture, race and class play? Ethical questions raised by identity politics are emphasized. We will consider how communities and institutions might become more just and more inclusive. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level study, including 6 credit hours at the 1000-or 2000-level in political studies.

POLS-3600/3 Topics in Political Theory [PTM]: An engagement with classical and contemporary texts on a single theme. Examples of such themes include: justice; minority rights; human nature; political responsibility; alternatives to force; feminist political theory; citizenship and non-citizenship;
postmodern political thought; political utopias; race theories and political identities; liberalism and its critics; Canadian political thought; science and politics. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level study, including 6 credit hours at the 1000-or 2000-level in political studies or philosophy.

POLS-3950/3 Topics in Political Studies: The content of this course will vary from year to year, depending on the needs of students and the interests and availability of instructors. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level study, including 6 credit hours at the 1000-or 2000-level in political studies.

POLS-4000/6 Senior Thesis: This course is restricted to students earning four-year majors in Political Studies with a minimum GPA of 4.0 and conditional upon the availability of a supervising professor. Eligible students should request a document outlining the procedures and requirements for this project from the English program advisor.

POLS-4940/3 Independent Study in Political Studies: A study in a specific area of Political Studies under the direction of a faculty member. This course may be designed to qualify as an area course. Prerequisites: POLS-1000/3, POLS-1010/3, an additional nine credit hours in Political Studies, and a minimum of 60 credit hours of university-level studies.

POLS-4950/3 Topics in Political Studies: The content of this course will vary from year to year, depending on the needs of students and the interests and availability of instructors. Prerequisite: 30 credit hours of university-level study, including 6 credit hours at the 1000-or 2000-level in political studies.