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Courses with a Sustainable Theme 2012/13
McMaster University's Academic departments have helped put together a list of courses that contain themes and issues related to sustainability.
Quick Links:Sustainability Courses (Back to top)
Sustain 2A03: Sustainable Future Project
The primary objective of this course is to enable students to tackle specific local sustainability problems and issues in the context of global sustainability concepts which have economic, social, environmental and technological dimensions. The course will involve active, experiential learning which emphasizes actions on local
projects.
MBA Business courses (Back to top)
Commerce 4MG3- Strategic Philanthropy and Leadership Good Decisions in Challenging Times
This course is designed to explore core aspects of the philanthropic and charitable sector, primarily in Canada. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to leadership practices in this sector and enhance their future capacity and expertise to make good investments for social, economic and environmental change through the charitable sector, either personally or as a member of a corporate social responsibility team. Seeded by a $10,000 gift by Doris Buffett, the course will take an experiential route to learning by engaging students in the process of granting real monies to a local charity(s). No previous experience with not-for-profit organizations is required.
BUSINESS C722- Management of Population Health
The Management of Population Health takes a meta-approach to health issues focusing on strategies to improve health and well-being while controlling costs . Several frameworks will be critiqued and concepts studied will include, but will not be limited to, the correlates of the health of different populations, the stages of the life cycle, the burden of illness for society, contagions and public health, the congruence between evidence and policy, prevention, community action, and the development of students’ critical appraisal skills.
BUSINESS M751- Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
MBA Fall and Winter, Ashish Pujari
This course offers students sustainability and corporate social responsibility awareness, theoretical frameworks, current evidence from research and management tools that are needed by students and managers to respond to the customer, shareholder and societal demands . The course will equip students with knowledge and skills to enhance sustainable business value based on ‘triple bottom line’- financial, economic and social performance.
BUSINESS M724- Innovation and New Products
MBA Fall and Winter, Ashish Pujari (some parts of this course are dedicated to sustainability themes)
A significant part of this course is devoted to integrating sustainability concerns with innovation related considerations in firms. More broadly, this course puts emphasis on understanding innovation as a management and creative process and investigates theories and frameworks of innovation in the firm. The course also investigates the firm innovation and development and marketing of new products and services. The course covers topics relating to innovation theories, firm innovativeness, internal processes and external linkages in innovation process, product innovation strategy, new product development process, idea generation, screening and evaluation, product design, product portfolio management and launch strategy.
BUSINESS 4MG3- Strategic Philanthropy and Leadership
UG Winter, Maria Antonakos
Faculty of Health Sciences courses (Back to top)
NUR 728: Health Issues in International and Intercultural Health
This course provides an introduction to health issues, priorities and strategies for health and development, concepts and theories relevant to primary health care, culture and development will be examined. The topics are as follows: dependency and modernization theories; immigration policies; primary health care; comparing and contrasting national health care systems; health profile of developing countries and aboriginal communities; intercultural theories; influence of culture on health beliefs and practices; alternative and complimentary health care practice; women: their status and roles in selected countries; participatory development; and, role of international organizations.
HRM/C711: Health Economics & Evaluation
This course examines the application of economic principles to policy-relevant questions in the area of health and health-care. Topics include: applied health economics, economic correlates to health, demand and supply of healthcare and insurance, healthcare system financing, economic evaluation in the pharmaceutical/medical devices industries, costing methodologies, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses, QALYs, decision analysis, modeling and means by which to improve value-for-money in the health sector.
HRM *713: Health Quality Improvement
This course will expose students to principles of quality improvement (QI). Topics include: principles of quality measurement; seven basic statistical tools; advanced statistical principles; fourth generation management principles; statistical thinking; QI in training health professionals and researchers; becoming a change agent.
HRM *724: Fundamentals of eHealth and the Canadian Health Care System
This course coves a broad range of eHealth topics from the perspective of health care delivery. Topics include: a definition of eHealth; health care data; hospital and primary care information systems (i.e. electronic health records [EHR] systems); specialty components of an EHR system; how health professionals use data; human/cognitive factors in development and implementation of eHealth applications; standards, vocabulary and nomenclatures and how used; aggregation of health information, especially for research purposes, patient information systems and consumer eHealth; research and evaluation of eHealth applications and research using eHealth applications; implementation issues and privacy, security, and confidentiality; and the future of eHealth.
HRM *728: Genetic Epidemiology & Statistics
Genetic epidemiology overlaps with molecular epidemiology. It is the epidemiological evaluation of the role of inherited causes of disease in families and in populations; it aims to detect the inheritance pattern of a particular disease, localize the gene, and find a marker associated with disease susceptibility. Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions are also studied in genetic epidemiology of a disease. Genetic epidemiology is “a science which deals with the etiology, distribution, and control of disease in groups of relatives and with inherited causes of disease in populations” (Morton NE, 1982). Topics include: key concepts in genetic epidemiology; genetic linkage and association studies; epidemiological methods for studying genes & environmental factors in complex diseases; what makes a good genetic association study? Mapping complex disease genes with linkage disequilibrium; Genetic epidemiology & public health: hope, hype and future prospects; from human genetics and genomics to pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics: past lessons, future directions; functional genomics: Review of gene expression & molecular biology techniques and interpretation; epigenetics and the potential influence.
HRM *735/GEOG &736: Theories & Methods in Environmental Health
Models and methods for research and policy on environment and human health relationships. Topics include: concepts and theories; models; quantitative and qualitative methods; reproductive health; water quality; global change; policy analysis; risk analysis; environmental health policy.
HRM 737: Economic Analysis of the Evaluation of Health Services
This course is a practical "How To" course in techniques for economic evaluation of health care programmes. The methodology of cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-minimization analysis and health status index models is examined in detail and several applications of each are reviewed during the first half of the course. During the second half of the course, each student is expected to complete an economic evaluation of a specific health care programme or intervention.
HRM *738: Health Policy Analysis
This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of health policy analysis, providing the concepts and tools needed to be able to critically appraise and conduct policy analyses at a variety of policy levels (e.g., clinical, administrative/managerial or public policy). Topics include: health policy analysis; conducting health policy analysis; the stages of the policy process; major influences of determinants of policy.
HRM 740: Advanced Decision Analysis in Health Technology Assessment
This is an advanced course in methods for Health Technology Assessment (HTA). Topics include: the HTA environment; role of HTA in healthcare reimbursement and decision making; statistical issues for stochastic HTAs; decision analyses and decision trees; state transition and Markov models; Bayesian decision analyses; presenting results of stochastic & modeling HTAs; value of information analyses; software for models & HTA quality assurance; analyses of uncertainty and variability; HTA critical appraisal & review of major concepts.
HRM 741: Introduction to Health Technology Assessment
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has the tremendous potential to transform the delivery of health care services, and improve health outcomes and quality of life. Decisions about whether to purchase and use new health technologies should be based on high-quality evidence of its impact on health outcomes, the health care system, and cost-effectiveness. Payers of health care face the challenge of aligning decision making with the best available evidence. Upon completion of this course, students will be equipped with the skills to evaluate the quality of an HTA, to critically appraise it to make a judgment about a study’s methods, results and conclusions. Additionally, students will be become adept in conducting HTAs and be mindful of the barriers to, and facilitators of, evidence-based decision making in the real world.
HRM *742: Research Ethics
This course is designed to prepare students to think creatively and proactively about ethical and legal issues in the design, conduct, analysis, and dissemination of research. Topics are divided into two categories: 1. ethical treatment of research participants and; 2. research integrity. Sessions will involve case discussion and critical analysis of ethical issues and the relevant principles, guidelines and laws. Exercises will coach students through mock-submission to a Research Ethics Board and provide insight of how REBs function.
HRM *748: Population & Public Health
This course provides an overview of core concepts and methods in population and public health. We will discuss the concept of population health and explore the methods used to define, measure, and investigate health outcome and health determinants at a population level. The applications of this approach to public health will be discussed. Topics include: evolving concepts of population and public health; health determinants; defining and measuring health in populations.
HRM *762: Approaches to the Evaluation of Health Services
This course will introduce students to the major concepts and methods involved in program evaluation and examine different methodologists’ approaches to evaluation. A framework for thinking about evaluation theory will be developed that allows students to explore how different theorists attempt to tackle fundamental problems in the field. A wide range of quantitative and qualitative design options will be discussed. The course will provide students with knowledge of the current controversies and major challenges facing this field.
HRM 787: Principles of Health Economics
This is a problem-oriented course with an introduction to economic concepts and evidence related to health and health care. Current health policy issues and controversies are analyzed using an economic framework and basic economic theory. Special emphasis on population health issues, the role of the health care system in affecting health, and the influence of various participants (health care providers, patients, government) on health care utilization and population health status.
HRM 788: Health Economics
This is a survey course on the economics of health and health care. Topics include the organization, financing and utilization of health care services. Both theory and evidence relating to patterns of consumer and provider behaviour are examined, as are the functioning and regulation of “markets” for health services. Major public policy issues in the provision of health care in Canada are identified and the economic aspects of such issues are considered in detail.
HRM 791: Topics in Advanced Health Economics Organization
This course emphasizes economic modeling and testing theories of the behaviour of individuals and organizations in the health care system and its sub-systems (e.g. health insurance, health care); the methods and application of economic evaluation of health services, including health and biomedical research; and the analysis of alternative institutional arrangements as a response to market failure.
The specific topics addressed in the course may vary from year to year. A term paper by the student is required.
Faculty of Science courses (Back to top)
BIOLOGY 1M03: BIODIVERSITY, EVOLUTION AND HUMANITY
Fundamental evolutionary and ecological concepts with particular reference to the diversity of life.
BIOLOGY 2F03: FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
An introduction to fundamental ecological principles and illustration of how these are applied to current environmental problems at the level of organisms, populations and ecosystems.
BIOLOGY 2G03: INQUIRY I - CURRENT ISSUES IN BIODIVERSITY
An interactive course exposing students to current issues in the understanding, preservation and management of biodiversity and ecological integrity.
BIOLOGY 3SS3: POPULATION ECOLOGY
Population structure and dynamics. Natural selection and regulation of organisms by environmental and biological factors. An evolutionary view of predation, competition, life history schedules.
BIOLOGY 3TT3: COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
Community structure; succession; patterns of diversity and their relevance to conservation; elements of biological control; energy flow; nutrient cycling and climatic influences.
BIOLOGY 3Y03: PLANT RESPONSES TO THE ENVIRONMENT
How plants respond at the genetic, molecular, biochemical and phenotypic levels to environmental stress. Manipulation of these responses to improve crops will be explored.
BIOLOGY 4A03: ADVANCED TOPICS IN ECOLOGY
Examination of current topics in ecology including ecosystem and landscape ecology, evolutionary ecology and behavioural ecology.
BIOLOGY 4AA3: CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
Examination of how biological principles, mainly from population biology and genetics can be applied to conserving diversity in the natural world
BIOLOGY 4EE3: HUMAN DIVERSITY AND HUMAN NATURE
The nature of genetic diversity in humans; the nature versus nurture debate in relation to genetic determinism and biological basis of behaviour.
BIOLOGY 4PP3: MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Study of interaction of microorganisms with their environment with emphasis on topics of ecological significance including plant-microbe interactions, nutrient cycling and waste treatment
BIOLOGY 4X03: ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
The influence of environmental factors on the physiology of animals and the adaptation of animals to diverse environments in the context of biodiversity.
BIOLOGY 4Y03: ECOLOGY OF INLAND WATERS
Physical, chemical and biological interrelationships of inland waters, including aspects of pollution.
PHARMAC 4E03: SOCIAL PHARMACOLOGY
Epidemiological analysis of drug use in humans; adverse drug reactions; legal and economic aspects of drug utilization, prescribing patterns in national and international contexts.
Geography and Earth Sciences (Back to top)
EARTH SC 2B03: SOILS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
An introduction to the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. Application to environmental and land use impacts.
EARTH SC 2C03: SURFACE CLIMATE PROCESSES AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION
The surface heat and water balance of natural and human-modified landscapes. Emphasis on interactions of people and the biosphere with climate.
EARTH SC 2EI3: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
An introduction to issues, perspectives and models in environmental studies at local, regional, national and international scales.
EARTH SC 2WW3: WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Selected environmental issues related to water, including floods and droughts, irrigation, effects of water management projects and pollution. Examples from Canada and the world.
EARTH SC 3CC3: EARTH'S CHANGING CLIMATE
The earth's climatic history including natural causes of past climate change and human influences on climate will be explored.
EARTH SC 3GI3: ADVANCED RASTER GIS
Advanced treatment of geographic information systems (GIS) focusing on raster data models and techniques. Real-world problem solving emphasizes site selection and environmental applications.
EARTH SC 3IN3: INTERNSHIP IN EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
The integration of academic learning with an employment or a volunteer experience, providing students the opportunity to explore careers and develop linkages between classroom knowledge and professional practice
EARTH SC 3J03: CLIMATE CHANGE AND ECOSYSTEM IMPACTS
Past, present and future climate change is examined in terms of the underlying physical and global biogeochemical processes. The Kyoto Protocol and impacts of climate change on ecosystems are examined
EARTH SC 3O03: ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Primary factors controlling the distribution, transport and fate of organic compounds in the environment. Topics include sources, partitioning processes (sorption, volatilization, dissolution), transport, degradation (biotic, abiotic) and analytical techniques.
EARTH SC 3RD3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND DISSEMINATION IN EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Review of approaches to the formulation of research questions, and to the gathering and interpretation of evidence, using a variety of environmental and earth sciences-based topics.
EARTH SC 3U03: ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
Use of simple numerical models applied to solving environmental problems related to anthropogenic perturbations. Introduction to STELLA numerical simulator, statement of the problem and "what if" scenarios.
EARTH SC 3V03: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOPHYSICS
Introduction to principles and applications of geophysics in groundwater and environmental investigations.
EARTH SC 4B03: WATERSHED ECOHYDROLOGY
A course that emphasizes a watershed ecosystems approach to interactions of hydrological, ecological and biogeochemical processes in the study of the natural ecohydrological function and response to disturbance of stream, riparian and wetland ecosystems.
EARTH SC 4C03: ADVANCED PHYSICAL CLIMATOLOGY
This course develops energy and mass exchange processes in the near surface layer, the lower atmosphere and at the earth-atmosphere interface. Sensitivities of these processes to environmental change and feedback mechanisms are examined.
EARTH SC 4E03: COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS
Coastal systems and their response to sea level change with an emphasis on the Holocene.
EARTH SC 4EA3: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Technical and policy issues involved in the production and the appraisal of environmental impact assessments.
EARTH SC 4J03: BASIN ANALYSIS
Focus on the evolution of sedimentary basins in a global context, based upon their structural and stratigraphic styles. Factors that affect basin evolution such as sea-level change, sediment supply and climate will be discussed.
EARTH SC 4O03: ENVIRONMENTAL ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
Application of isotopic analysis to answer current questions in earth sciences, geochemistry, hydrogeology and microbiology. Topics include analytical techniques, principles of isotopic fractionation and applications of light and transition metal isotopes to environmental systems.
EARTH SC 4WW3: CONTAMINANT HYDROGEOLOGY
Physical and chemical aspects of the fate and transport of contaminants in soils and groundwater, including multiphase flow.
EARTH SC 4Z03: EXPLORATION GEOPHYSICS
Principles of subsurface exploration using seismic, magnetic and borehole geophysical methods. Applications in geological research and oil and gas exploration.
Environmental Science (Back to top)
ENVIR SC 1B03: THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT
Characteristics of the biosphere and introduction to major environmental processes and issues.
ENVIR SC 1G03: EARTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
An introduction to environmental geology and geomorphology through study of the processes that form the earth and its surface features.
ENVIR SC 2Q03: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
Chemical principles applied to the understanding of processes in aquatic and environmental systems.
ENVIR SC 2W03: PHYSICAL HYDROLOGY: SURFACE
Hydrological processes including precipitation, snowmelt, slope runoff, streamflow and hydrological data analysis.
ENVIR SC 3EP3: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND PLANNING
A theoretical and practical exploration of environmental policy, planning and decision-making, as well as the relationships between science, society, and policy design.
ENVIR SC 3L03: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN FRESHWATER ENVIRONMENTS
A multidisciplinary course emphasizing the interactions of chemical, physical, geological and biological factors in controlling the chemical distribution, composition and structure of freshwater systems.
ENVIR SC 4HH3: ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Models and methods for research and policy on environment and health.
GEOG 1HA3: HUMAN GEOGRAPHIES: SOCIETY & CULTURE
Introduction to human-environment relations and spatial analysis with special emphasis on urban, social, health and cultural environments.
GEOG 1HB3: HUMAN GEOGRAPHIES: CITY & ECONOMY
Basic principles in spatial analysis and location theory applied to the changing urban, economic and environmental patterns of development and urbanization at the local, national and international scale.
GEOG 3EE3: ENERGY AND SOCIETY
An introduction to both traditional and alternative sources of energy as they are used in Canada and other contexts. The social, political and economic costs and benefits of different sources of energy will be highlighted.
GEOG 3ER3: ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
An introduction to the methods and tools of resource management and economics, focusing on the development of resource systems and the environmental implications.
GEOG 3HH3: GEOGRAPHY OF HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE
An understanding of traditions in health geography and an exploration of the determinants of health including the social environment, the physical environment and health care services.
GEOG 3HP3: POPULATION GROWTH AND AGING
Differential growth of human populations and their changing age and sex structures with an emphasis on birth and death processes. The connections between population structures and processes and various aspects of environments and societies including aging, are emphasized.
GEOG 3SR3: REMOTE SENSING
Aerial photography. Passive and active satellite direction systems. Image processing and interpretation procedures. Application to resource exploration and environmental management.
GEOG 3UP3: GEOGRAPHY OF PLANNING
A review of historical and contemporary approaches to city and regional planning problems.
GEOG 3UR3: URBAN RESIDENTIAL GEOGRAPHY
The social geography of North American cities. Topics include commuting, segregation, inner-city gentrification, suburban development.
GEOG 4HC3: PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
Changing types of care provided in the community to groups including the physically and mentally challenged, the elderly, the dying and those with chronic conditions. Emphasis is placed on the geographies of care, spatial location, and access and quality differences across jurisdictions.
GEOG 4HD3: GEOGRAPHIES OF DISABILITY
Competing theories on the social and spatial marginalization of persons with disabilities in western countries; contemporary and historical case studies are used to illustrate the medical, social, political and cultural determinants of disability.
GEOG 4HP3: POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION
Introduction of important theories, models and facts in the fields of population distribution and internal and international migration processes.
GEOG 4LP3: TRANSPORT POLICY
Policy development at the local, provincial and federal level in Canada and its manifestation in passenger transportation and the movement of goods; emphasis will be placed on the development of transport policy in the era of globalization and the rise of multi-modal transportation.
GEOG 4MF3: FIELD RESEARCH IN THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
Selected topics in field research in human geography and environmental studies.
GEOG 4UH3: URBAN HOUSING
The geography of housing, including the effects of land development, construction, municipal planning and public policy on the urban landscape of housing and homelessness.
LIFE SCI 3C03: BEHAVIOURAL AND EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
A multidisciplinary approach to examining the behaviour of humans and other animals in light of evolutionary and ecological tenets and theories. Topics may include foraging theory, parent-offspring interactions, cross-species analysis and the reconstruction of behavioural phylogenies and sex differences in psychology and behaviour.
LIFE SCI 3DD3: COMMUNITES AND ECOSYSTEMS
Communities and ecosystems: mechanism and principles governing their form and function in Origin, development, and maintenance of terrestrial and aquatic communities and ecosystems and their interactions with anthropogenic change, with elements of macroecology, biogeography, landscape, and global ecology.
Medical and Health Physics (Back to top)
MED PHYS 4SZ3: PHOENIX: OUT OF THE ASHES AND INTO THE ATOMIC AGE
This course will study the short and long term impact of nuclear weapons testing and use, upon humans and the environment. Students will visit critical sites where nuclear weapons were developed and detonated.
PSYCH 2C03: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
An overview of research and theory in areas such as social perception, attitude and attitude change, social influence, interpersonal attraction, altruism, aggression, small group processes.
PSYCH 3BA3: POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
This course will explore the physiology, psychological effects, and adaptive value of positive emotional and cognitive responses to the outside world, and to our own thoughts and behaviours.
PSYCH 3CD3: INTERGROUP RELATIONS
This course will discuss social psychology perspectives on how cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes affect relations among groups.
PSYCH 3F03: EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
The study of human social psychology and behaviour in light of evolutionary theories. Topics include family relations, sex differences, mate choice, cooperation and conflict, and universality and diversity across cultures.
PSYCH 3F03: EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
The study of human social psychology and behaviour in light of evolutionary theories. Topics include family relations, sex differences, mate choice, cooperation and conflict, and universality and diversity across cultures.
Faculty of Humanities courses (Back to top)
English - Undergraduate (Back to top)
ENGLISH/CSCT 2Z03: SHIFTING GROUNDS: NATURE, LITERATURE, CULTURE
English - Graduate (Back to top)
ENGLISH/CSCT/GLOBALIZATION 787: POSTCOLONIAL ECOLOGIES
ENGLISH/CSCT/GLOBALIZATION 765: BIOPOLITICS: AN INTRODUCTION
ENGLISH/CSCT 767: REGARDING ANIMALS: THEORIES OF NON-HUMAN LIFE
History - Undergraduate (Back to top)
HIST 2EE3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN WORLD HISTORY
HIST 3UA3: HISTORY OF THE FUTURE
ARTSCI 3BB3: TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY II
Faculty of Social Sciences courses (Back to top)
Anthropology - Undergraduate (Back to top)
ANTHROP 2AN3: THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD AND NUTRITION
An anthropological perspective on nutrition at the population level. Prehistoric, historic and contemporary human nutrition, emphasizing links with the environment.
ANTHROP 2C03: ARCHAEOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS AND RESPONSE
Examination of the influence of natural and human-induced environmental crises on long-term culture histories.
ANTHROP 3C03: HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT: ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES
Examination of the ways in which humans alter and cope with their environment. Topics include: health inequalities, nutrition, population, urbanization, resource utilization and industrial pollution.
ANTHROP 4Q03: GLOBAL PROCESSES AND LOCAL CONSEQUENCES
The seminar seeks: 1) to discern the linkages between some of the main processes at work in global systems; 2) to discuss in what ways these processes are global and in what ways they are systematic; 3) to develop hypotheses for the framework of global scale social theory.
Economics - Undergraduate (Back to top)
ECON 2J03: ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
Allocation of environmental services: efficiency and market failure; measuring
environmental benefits; environmental regulation in Canada and elsewhere:
taxes, tradable permits and other instruments; further topics.
ECON Q03: THE ECONOMICS OF AGING
Topics include the macroeconomics of population aging and its impact on national pension and health plans and the microeconomics of retirement and income security.
ECON 3R03: HISTORY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
Topics will vary from year to year depending on student interests and faculty availability. Students should consult the Department on topics to be offered.
ECON 3T03: TOPICS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Topics may include the measurement of structural change, dual economies, agriculture and production, technical and institutional change, and health and nutrition.
ECON 3W03: NATURAL RESOURCES
Competitive and socially optimal management of nonrenewable resources; market failure as illustrated by mineral cartels, fisheries and forestry, including analysis of bioeconomic models.
ECON 3Z03: HEALTH ECONOMICS
Analysis of allocation of resources in health care. Topics include markets for health care, insurance, biomedical research, technology assessment, organization and public policy.
Economics - Graduate (Back to top)
ECON 710: POPULATION ECONOMICS I
A survey of topics in population economics, including the economic consequences of population aging, the economic theory of fertility, and the interrelations between economic and demographic phenomena generally.
Health, Aging and Society - Undergraduate (Back to top)
HLTH AGE 2F03: AGING AND HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS
This course examines the available international evidence on the impact of aging on health and long-term care expenditures and organization, as well as the choices various societies are making around issues of aging, health, and long-term care, and the equity issues such choices raise.
HLTH AGE 3K03: THE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH: HEALTH PROMOTION AND POPULATION HEALTH IN CANADA
This course will introduce students to the diverse theoretical, policy and practical dimensions of health promotion and population health approaches in Canada.
HLTH AGE 4D03: HEALTH IN CROSS-CULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Examination of contemporary issues in health and illness from cross cultural and international perspectives.
HLTH AGE 4G03: GLOBAL HEALTH
This course introduces students to priority problems in health and aging in the global context. Examines health and aging problems faced by people globally but especially in the low-income countries, the determinants and strategies to address these problems.
Health, Aging and Society - Graduate (Back to top)
HLTH AGE 703: HEALTH AND AGING IN A GLOBAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
This course examines the institutions and the players that address health and aging related issues on a global and international level. Possible examples might include: disability and pension policies in the European Union and implications for aging workforces; World Bank lending policies and tie-ins to borrower’s social programs; and WHO and WTO impacts on international health and safety; global initiatives for specific groups, diseases and conditions; developing world health – causes, problems; comparative analysis of institutions and policies.
HLTH AGE 704: SYSTEMS, SERVICES AND POLICY
Canadian approaches to health and aging are changing at every level: policy by federal and provincial/territorial governments; the organization of systems, and the day-to-day technological and human aspects of service provision. This course examines these changes and related issues, such as equity, risk, privacy, and formal and informal systems of care.
Labour Studies - Undergraduate (Back to top)
LS 1C03: VOICES OF WORK, RESISTANCE AND CHANGE
An examination of how work is shaped by gender, race, class and culture in a global world; how workplace cultures of community and resistance are built; and their effect on our experience of work.
LS 2A03: UNIONS
Students will explore the collective bargaining process, trade union political action, working class diversity, and trade union renewal in a broad economic and political context. Internal decision making and the nature of trade union democratic structures will be central themes.
LS 3D03: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
An analysis of issues and problems associated with occupational health and safety in Canada and other industrialized countries.
LS 3E03:WOMEN, WORK AND UNIONISM
An examination of the historical and contemporary relations between women and work, and women and unionism. Topics will include the evolution and structure of the gender division of labour, women and the labour market, and the relationship of women to the labour movement.
LS 4F03: LABOUR AND THE ENVIRONMENT
An analysis of how human interactions with nature create patterns of work and inequality. Resource industries, labour-environment coalitions and varieties of environmentalism may be included.
Political Science - Undergraduate (Back to top)
POL SCI 2M03: COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL NATIONS
A systematic introduction to comparing the politics of industrialized and post-industrial countries including electoral and government institutions, parties, ideologies and values, and political economy.
POL SCI 2XX3: POLITICS OF THE DEVELOPING WORLD
An examination of major theoretical approaches to the study of development and underdevelopment, such as modernization, politics of order, dependency and modes of production.
POL SCI 3D03: POLITICS OF RESTRUCTURING
An examination of the politics of economic restructuring in selected industrialized countries during the past decade; major issues include privatization, labour policies, and trade agreements.
POL SCI 3F03: CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND POPULAR COALITIONS
An examination of selected social movements and popular coalitions primarily in Canada and the United States. Movements may include the labour, environmental, peace, feminist, indigenous rights, and/or religious fundamentalist movements.
POL SCI 4PP3: ISSUES IN GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
An examination of selected issues in the global political economy.
POL SCI 4SS3: POLITICS AND SOCIAL POLICY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
An exploration of human development and policies, like education, pensions, and health care, through comparisons across Latin America, Asia, Africa, and post-Communist Europe.
Religious Studies - Undergraduate (Back to top)
RS 2W03: RELIGION AND ECOLOGY
This class is based explicitly on the idea of sustainability and uses this lens to consider the historical ideas and texts on ecology in various
religious traditions, and to understand modern ideas and practices that are
currently found around the world in religious cultures and society. This
course looks at sustainability issues of land, biological systems, human and
animal/natural life, and resources. It also addresses the philosophical, religious and ideological concepts behind peoples' behaviour regarding the environment.
RS 2WW3: HEALTH, HEALING AND RELIGION
This course takes an in depth look at the relationship between religion and
human experience of health and environment. It considers past, present and
future long-term maintenance of well-being in the areas of environment,
social dimensions, technology, and medical philosophies and economies. Also,
how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time is featured.
RS 2MM3: WAR AND PEACE IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION
During the course, topics of sustainability are addressed as they relate to war and peace including management of resources in the causes of wars and violence, destruction and maintenance of resources and social eco-systems in the midst of wars and their lengthy effects, and human sustainability issues that
permeate the experience of war and peace in the Christian tradition.
Social Psychology - Undergraduate (Back to top)
SOC PSY 1Z03: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
This course offers an introduction to social psychology from a social sciences perspective. The course will explore the various ways people think about, affect, and relate to one another.
SOC PSY 3YY3: PERSPECTIVES AND THEORIES ON SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Understanding the history and development of perspectives and theories from multiple social sciences disciplines on Social Psychology.
SOC PSY 3ZZ3: COMPLEX PROBLEMS FROM A MULTIDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE Problem-based social issues course (changing foci) involving students in examining a social problem from a multidisciplinary social psychology perspective.
Social Work - Undergraduate (Back to top)
SW3C03: SOCIAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS
Exploration of issues of health and illness, care delivery, the social determinants of health and contemporary challenges faced by social workers in health care setting.
SW4J03: SOCIAL CHANGE: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND ADVOCACY
Students engage in experiential learning in the community with mentors to examine current theories and practice in the area of social change.
Social Work - Graduate (Back to top)
SW701: SOCIAL POLICY: CRITICAL FRAMEWORKS
This course will consider: theoretical perspectives on social policies and the construction of the social problems they address; the political, historical and economic context of policy-making in Canada; and the repositioning of social policy in the context of state restructuring and ongoing globalization processes
SW721: COMMUNITY CITIZENSHIP AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
This course examines contemporary theories and practices of community and citizenship in Canada. Rather than assuming a consensual and universal model of collectivity, we explore how notions of togetherness, common interests, active citizenship and rights and responsibilities are constituted, enacted, practiced and challenged in the community, and how social workers could effect social justice through grassroots organizing, advocacy and community based research.
Sociology - Undergraduate (Back to top)
SOCIOL 1A03: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
A survey of the areas of research which interest the sociologist. Interpretation of human action from the standpoint of the group.
SOCIOL 3GG3: SPECIAL TOPICS IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANCE
An advanced course allowing detailed study of selected topics in the Sociology of Deviance. Topics will vary from year to year.
SOCIOL 4J03: SELECTED TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY 1 Topics of contemporary interest to sociologists, with emphasis upon current theory and research. Topic for 2012/13: Indigenous People and Canada.
SOCIOL 4EE3: SELECTED TOPICS IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE
A sociological examination of topics related to the production, dissemination, consumption and/or interpretation of culture. Community service learning may be a component of this course. Topic for 2012/13: Sociology of Creativity and the 1960s.
Sociology - Graduate (Back to top)
SOCIOL 6E03: Self and Identity
A consideration of theoretical and empirical questions relating to self and identity viewed from historical, cross-cultural and crossdisciplinary perspectives.
SOCIOL 6JJ3: Selected Topics in the Sociology of Technology
The purpose of this course is to examine the economic, political and social organization of the internet, and its social effects, in such areas as education, work, and leisure.
SOCIOL 6R03: Individual and Society
An intensive examination of selected problems involving the relationship of individuals to social structures.
SOCIOL 703: Sociology of Family
This course will examine the family as a social institution. We will explore the social norms and roles of “the” family, examine diversity in families, and consider the current social hierarchy of family forms. We will look at important social forces such as state, the economy, gender, race and class, and we will examine social problems related to families.
SOCIOL 704 : Social Problems
Critical consideration will be given in this course to theoretical perspectives on the origins, emergence, nature and development of social problems.
SOCIOL 705: Sociology of Organizations
This course introduces students to classical and contemporary theories of organizations and to empirical (qualitative and quantitative) research that evaluates these theories. Representative topics include organizational downsizing and restructuring, internal labour markets, and the divergent organizational experiences of women and men.
SOCIOL 706: Sociology of Deviance
This course provides an advanced theoretical and empirical analysis of the social politics involved in the deviance definition process in Canada, with emphasis placed on how individuals experience social careers as publicly labeled deviants.
SOCIOL 708: Topics in Religion and Society
This course introduces students to recent developments in the sociology of religion, with attention to theoretical debates and specific case studies. Among the topics considered are: secularization and religious revival; the dynamics of religious recruitment, conversion, defection and schisms; the social organization of religious institutions and movements; religion and the body; religious consumerism and popular culture; religion and globalization; religion and media.
SOCIOL 709: Religion and Globalization
This course will provide a critical account of debates about globalization as they relate to questions of religious identity, practice, belief and modes of affiliation. Thematic topics may include secular nationalism, religious fundamentalism, religion and global media, transnational and diasporic religious public spheres, missionaries and empire, religion and migration, pilgrimage and travel, religion and global environmentalism, or religious themes in world politics.
SOCIOL 713: Social Inequality
This course reviews and assesses decades of sociological theory and research on inequality. It examines classic and contemporary theories and employs concepts from the burgeoning sub-fields to comprehend economic, institutional and cultural change. Using both macro and micro approaches, this course discusses ways in which forms of inequality are changing in contemporary times.
SOCIOL 714: Political Sociology
This course is an advanced treatment of theories and empirical research on the state, social and political movements, political attitudes and culture, political behaviour and voting, organization of political parties, elites, citizenship, democracy, civil society, political conflict, nations, nationalism, and globalization. The role of socioeconomic factors, such as gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, occupation, and class, will also be considered.
SOCIOL 716: Sociology of Education
This course investigates the relationship between formal schooling and society. Topics include educational inequalities by class, race and gender, the expansion, institutionalization and stratification of schooling, the transformation of knowledge, and the politics of education.
SOCIOL 718: Sociology of Occupations
This course examines theory and research in the sociology of occupations. Topics include the emergence of competing occupations in jurisdictions such as health, education, law, engineering, and academe, and their shifting demographics. Consideration will be given to macro, meso and micro factors influencing the professions with emphasis on current issues including globalization and the ‘knowledge economy.’
SOCIOL 719: Sociology of Health and Health Care
This course addresses the key theoretical debates in the sociology of health, illness and health care literatures. Topics covered could include: the social determinants of health, the social construction and experience of illness, the social organization of health care, the social dynamics of the health care division of labour, the role of the state, and comparative health issues.
SOCIOL 720: Sociology of Aging
This course provides an overview of three distinct theoretical focuses in the sociology of aging: (1) the sociology of age, which analyses the ways in which age is an organizing principle in society; (2) the sociology of aging, which focuses on continuity and change in the lives of individuals as they grow older; and (3) the sociology of the aged, which tends to view older people from a social problems perspective.
SOCIOL 721: Sociology of Popular Culture and Subcultures
This course offers a selected overview of American and European theories of popular culture. Particular emphasis is given to how the politics of class, gender, ethnicity and sexuality are embedded in the material production and consumption of mass mediated cultural forms. Attention is also directed toward the ways by which pop cultural commodities and images are globally exchanged, negotiated and resisted.
SOCIOL 722: Sociology of Culture
This course offers an overview of theoretical perspectives in the sociology of culture. Theories to be discussed could include critical theory and cultural studies, the production of culture approach, neoinstitutionalism, Bourdieu, neo-Gramscian, neo-Durkheimian or globalization theories. Substantive areas in the sociology of culture considered might include music, art, sports, literature, intellectuals and knowledge, love and intimacy, mass media and cultural institutions.
SOCIOL 755: Individual and Society
This course addresses the nature of the relationship between individual and society, emphasizing normally the contributions of symbolic interactionism and other interpretive theories, though other approaches may be considered. Topics covered may include self,identity, roles, motives/accounts, the agency/structure debate, generic social processes, the construction of meaning, emotions, and negotiated order.
SOCIOL 756: Media, Culture and Society
This course explores how social relationships are generated, sustained and transformed through institutions, practices and technologies of mediated communication. Among the topics considered are: the organization of media institutions; the production of audiences; media and social movements; promotionalism, advertising and consumer culture; media and globalization; media and the human sensorium.
SOCIOL 758: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
This course will examine the major approaches and concepts used to understand patterns of race and ethnic relations. Issues such as assimilation, identity, racism, state policy and multidimensional inequalities will be addressed through historical, contemporary and comparative analysis.
SOCIOL 759: Sociology of Gender
An examination of classical and contemporary theoretical perspectives on gender relations, with an emphasis on the development of feminist thought, and the links between gender, and race, ethnicity, citizenship, and class. The discussion of analytical frameworks for understanding gender construction, gender difference, and gender inequalities will be informed by research in selected substantive areas such as: the economy, work, family, sexuality, popular culture, and law.
Updated December 3, 2012