Canadian Studies (CAST) 1100H – CONFLICTED CANADA (2018, 2019)
Using the lens of historical biography, this course introduces students to various political, social, and cultural aspects of debates about the meaning of Canada and what it means to be a Canadian. Through lectures and tutorials, students will explore complexities, controversies, and conflicts within Canada since Confederation through the life stories of various men and women, as well as the subsequent meanings ascribed to their roles in and ideas about Canadian life.
CAST 3243H: CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN NORTH IN A CIRCUMPOLAR CONTEXT (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
This online course explores issues in the contemporary Canadian North with a focus on social, political, economic, and environmental issues. Students are encouraged to critically examine Canada’s Northern strategies and compare these to the social and economic priorities of Arctic leaders and Indigenous peoples living in remote Northern communities.
CAST/Political Studies (POST) 4460H: SECURITY, SURVEILLANCE, AND THE MAKING OF THE CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN STATE (2021)
The course is an intensive introduction to scholarship on the Canadian security state. The material focuses on how the state conceptualizes and responds to political dissent and perceived security threats using historical and contemporary case studies. Chronologically, the course will be organized around three eras: the origins of the security state in the 19th century through the World Wars; the Cold War; and the contemporary period since the 9/11 terror attacks.
Canadian Studies & Indigenous Studies (CSID)-5210/CAST-6210 – PERSPECTIVES ON THE CANADIAN NORTH (2022, 2024)
This course explores historical and contemporary perspectives on the Canadian North, focusing on aspects of how Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples experience and frame the region. It critically examines how environmental, economic, social, cultural, political, legal, and military factors have (re)shaped the region. Themes include Indigenous and Euro-Canadian concepts of North; the frontier/homeland dichotomy; legal systems; sovereignty and security issues; colonialism and state control; land claims and co-management; climate change; and Canada’s Northern strategies.
CSID-5301H / CAST-6301H / HIST-5301H : POLICY, ECONOMY, AND THE STATE (2023)
This course introduces students to some of the theoretical approaches to the State and public policy-making that have been developed and debated in Canada, explores the intellectual lineage of the political economy tradition in Canada, and explores select case studies of contemporary issues in Canadian public policy and political economy, using the Canadian North as a particular focal point. Of central significance will be an examination of the role and nature of the Canadian state and the dynamics of power and inequality in Canadian society. The themes and issues in this course will be approached in relation to contemporary public policy debates.
