Course List
PHES 201 - Engaging the World: Faith and Public Life
Through experience and reflection, this course explores a number of fundamental issues, problems and opportunities that shape public life. Topics may include: poverty, the environment, multiculturalism, religious pluralism, and the relationship between economy and politics. The aim is to understand the nature and limits of public life and to examine the distinctive understanding and voice that Christian faith can bring to public debate on, and resolution of, these topics.
PHES 330 - Quest Mexico
The Quest Mexico program takes place over 10 days in Mexico and covers a wide range of topics including peace and justice activism, globalization, Liberation theology, Mexican history, indigenous spirituality, immigration and refugee issues and community development strategies. Relying heavily on the pedagogy of Paulo Friere, the program places a premium on student discovery through lectures, readings, film, interviews, community visits, personal encounters with refugees, migrant workers, justice activists, community development practitioners as well as group learning activities, with additional time set aside for group discussion, debriefing, and reflection.
PHES 495 - Senior PHES Seminar
All students graduating from the PHE program are required to take this course. The course is designed to integrate the perspectives and practical implications of the different courses encountered in the program. It intends to prepare students for the practical application of their knowledge by an interdisciplinary and in-depth engagement with the Canadian public context in comparison to other national contexts and its relationships to a globalized world. In a seminar setting, it will use guided written research inputs from students, as well as topical inputs from the instructor, to hone analytical, rhetorical and presentation skills.
PHES 498 - Special Topics In Politics, History and Economics
A course on a topic of special interest to members of the PHE program (or a guest presenter) and offered on a non-recurring basis.
PHES 499 - Directed Studies in Politics, History and Economics
This course is designed to provide individual students with an opportunity to conduct supervised reading and research on a topic of the student's choice, in consultation with a member of the PHES program. Work will be on a tutorial basis and students must apply in advance to teaching faculty in the program before registering for this course.
POLI 205 - Invitation to Politics and Government
An introduction to the main problems, concepts and ideologies at play in political life and an analysis of the processes and institutions by which these are realized in the Canadian political system.
POLI 310 - History of Political Thought I: Classical and Medieval Political Thought
Examines major developments in the history of Western political thought from the ancient Greeks and Romans through the Christian period up to the Renaissance, with particular attention given to key writings by Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas. Examines themes such as the justice, the state, politics, plurality, constitutionalism, power, war and the individual.
POLI 311 - History of Political Thought II: Modern Political Thought
Examines the major social and political ideas developed in the modern era, focusing on select writings of major political philosophers such as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx and Nietzsche.
POLI 317 - Christian Social and Political Movements
This course examines the rise of Christian social and political movements within Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions since the French Revolution (1789). It explores the context in which these movements arose, their distinctive ideas and strategies, as well as the practical changes to the establishment they advocated. Attention will be given to movements such as the British anti-slavery movement, faith-based schools, Christian democracy, American civil rights movement, liberation theology, Bonhoeffer & the Confessing Church, and creation care.
POLI 318 - Democracy in Politics and Society
This course considers the idea and ideal of democracy through a consideration of its history, theoretical justifications, and concrete practices in contemporary politics and society. Since democracy concerns authority and decision making, the course also considers the applicability of the ideal of democracy to other societal structures, such as, the family, the classroom, the business enterprise, labour unions, the economy, and the church.
POLI 319 - Human Rights
This course seeks to explore the origins, nature and limitations of the human rights paradigm in politics and law. We will consider the historical development of the human rights paradigm, philosophical (and theological) discussions about its meaning and validity, and engage in concrete examination of the ways in which it shapes legal and political practice particularly in Canada and internationally.
POLI 320 - Canadian Government and Politics
This course examines the relationship between Canada's federal and provincial governments, and the place of French Canada, regionalism, multiculturalism, Canadian nationalism, and aboriginal nations within the Canadian state. It examines the history of Canada's constitutional evolution, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
POLI 327 - Public Policy Analysis
This course is an introduction to themes and methods in policy studies. The course examines the practical and normative problems facing Canadian governments in initiating, formulating, enacting, and implementing public policies. Special attention will be given to several contemporary policy issues.
POLI 353 - Political History of the United States, 1776-present
This course in American government examines the history of political institutions in the United States from Independence in 1776 to the present day. This course explores the origins of the Constitution, the functions and historical evolution of the three branches of the federal government (executive, legislative, judiciary) as well as the roles of political parties, interest groups, public opinion, and the media. It also studies important historical case studies (over issues such as race, slavery and civil rights; civil and religious liberties; family and privacy law; and economic and environmental policy) that demonstrate how American political culture has changed over time. This course is decidedly interdisciplinary in approaching the subject using the methodologies of history and political science.
POLI 373 - War and Peace
Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus, and this course offers an interdisciplinary inquiry into the issues of war and peace in the Western tradition. The course will mix philosophical and theological approaches (just war theory, humanitarian intervention, and Christian non-violence, for example) with historical case studies (especially the Crusades and the Second World War but also reaching to contemporary conflicts such as the "War on Terror"). This will be a seminar-style course based on weekly discussion of a common set of readings. The goal is to provide students with a heightened awareness of the range of perspectives on war and peace both in the past and in our world today.
POLI 380 - World Politics
This course is an introduction to international politics, law and organizations and focuses on major international issues of conflict and cooperation related to war, economics, poverty, and the environment.
POLI 399 - Special Topics In Political Science
A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the political science faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.
POLI 499 - Directed Studies in Political Science
An opportunity to do intensive study of a special topic of particular interest to the student. Students work closely with a faculty member in tutorial meetings. Students must apply in advance for special studies to a political science faculty member.
HIST 204 - World History, 1500-Present
This course introduces students to the broad contours of world history since 1500. Encounters and exchanges, as well as imperialism and state formation, are central themes. Students will also be introduced to the methods historians use to study the past and will consider Christian perspectives on the practices and understanding of history. The course will begin with European encounters with the Americas and conclude with an examination of 21st-century global challenges.
HIST 300 - Representing the Past: Historical Methods (formerly HIST 370)
This course will introduce students to some of the key issues in the practice of history. We will explore the responsibilities and tasks of the historian. We will examine the problems confronted by different types of primary sources. We will consider the history of history-writing and research (historiography) and analyze some of the main themes and debates in the study of the past. Throughout the course we will also reflect on what it means to study the past as Christians and seek to develop Christian perspectives on how we might practice our craft as historians.
HIST 304 - History of Economic Thought
This course explores ideas and theories about economic life that have been developed from ancient times to the present, including (but not limited to) those of the major economic thinkers from Adam Smith onwards. These ideas will be analyzed in light of the economic, political, social and intellectual contexts that helped to shape them. By investigating this historical development, we will gain a better understanding of how current approaches to economics and economic policy-making came to be.
HIST 310 - Barricades and Borders: Modern Europe 1789-1989
This course is designed to introduce students to the History of Modern Europe from the onset of the French Revolution until the collapse of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It will trace the development of many of the key themes in European history in this tumultuous era: revolutions, war, unity and division, empire and nation, migration, and the emergence of new ideologies. The course will explore the social, cultural and political history of Europe and will examine key primary source texts where appropriate. Students will also be invited to consider Christian perspectives on key issues: eg. war and pacifism, genocide, modernity and notions of progress.
HIST 314 - Nineteenth Century Europe
This course deals with the major intellectual, political, social and economic changes during the 19th century in the period from the French Revolution to the eve of World War I. Among the topics covered are: the impact of the French Revolution; the nature of romanticism; social classes and reform; revolutionary movements; liberalism, nationalism, imperialism, and socialism; the new state systems.
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HIST 316 - Europe in the Age of Enlightenment
This course deals with the major political, social, and intellectual movements from the late 17th century to the eve of the French Revolution. Among the topics covered are: science and philosophy in the 18th century, political theory and practice in the age of democratic revolutions, political economy, philosophies and the propaganda of the Enlightenment and religion in an age of reason.
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HIST 317 - Christian Social and Political Movements
This course examines the rise of Christian social and political movements within Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions since the French Revolution (1789). It explores the context in which these movements arose, their distinctive ideas and strategies, as well as the practical changes to the establishment they advocated. Attention will be given to movements such as the British anti-slavery movement, faith-based schools, Christian democracy, American civil rights movement, liberation theology, Bonhoeffer & the Confessing Church, and creation care.
HIST 318 - Twentieth Century Europe
This course deals with the major intellectual, political, social and economic changes since World War I. Among the topics covered are: the legacy of the Great War, the Great Depression, democracy and totalitarianism, World War II, the Cold War, decolonization, European unification, and major trends in thought, sciences and religion.
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HIST 321 - Themes in World History, 1500-1800
This course will consider in depth major themes in World History from 1500-1800 and help students think analytically about the interaction between the Western and non-Western worlds during this time period.
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HIST 322 - Themes in World History, 1800 - Present
This course will consider in depth major themes in World History since 1800 and help students think analytically about the interaction between the Western and non-Western worlds during this time period.
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HIST 324 - World Christianity Since 1500
This course will explore the history of World Christianity since 1500, focussing on Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Among other subjects, we will analyze missionary movements and cross-cultural encounters in the Global South and the growth of charismatic and Pentecostal Christianities.
HIST 325 - The Cold War
This course examines the Cold War from its origins to its denouement. It examines the escalation of the conflict from the end of the Second World War through the ERP, the Korean War, Cuba and Vietnam, up to and including the collapse of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. This course explicitly focuses upon key hotspots (Cuba, Vietnam), the main protagonists (Kennedy and Khrushchev, Reagan and Gorbachev) and social, cultural and economic aspects of the Cold War (including music, film, literature) to build an integrated view of the Cold War by examining it from different disciplinary perspectives. It includes a sustained engagement with both the historiography of the Cold War, and the relevant primary sources from the period.
HIST 329 - History on Screen
This course is designed to introduce students to the way that the past is represented on screen. It will compare and contrast different forms of representation: films (feature film, documentary, propaganda, animation, films of record); television; console games; social media; digital history, and think about the problems that each of these forms creates. This course will thus engage with the deeper questions about how the past is presented, represented and consumed outside of the academy, and will explore the question of how far these visual modes of representation provide a different (unique? Superior?) experience of the past and how to understand it compared to more traditional textual modes of representation. This course will help students to engage critically with information, ideas and interpretations about the past that are mediated via a screen, and to think carefully about public history, the past and the Christian imagination.
HIST 330 - Global History of Childhood, 1500-Present
What does childhood look like around the world? How have ideas about childhood changed in the last five hundred years? This course examines experiences and ideologies of childhood across different cultures, considering broad questions in the historiography of childhood as well as specific case studies. Key themes include the notion of the child genius, literature by and for children, the role of education in children's lives, children's experiences of colonialism, incarceration, and conflict, and the rights of the child in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
HIST 332 - Histories of Gender and Sexuality
This course examines the history of gender and sexuality in Europe and North America, with particular attention to the period from about 1850 to the present. Key themes include the history of gender roles and feminist movements, as well as various Indigenous, legal, scientific, medical, activist, and Christian understandings of gender and sexuality.
HIST 335 - Africa Past and Present
This course introduces the major currents in African Studies. Challenging popular representations of Africa, it provides critical tools for dissecting the continent's complex socio-cultural experience. It looks at the self-directed and relatively autonomous Africa before the European encounter, particularly the diverse forms of traditional political institutions, the patterns of belief and social relationships, and the rise and decline of pre-colonial states. The course addresses the establishment of colonization and the rise of nationalism. The course combines literary and cultural texts to challenge the "the West's" stereotyped image of Africa as "the Dark Continent."
HIST 340 - Medicine and Society, 1800-Present (Formerly HIST 346)
This course explores experiences of medicine and health in the modern Western world, concentrating on the period from about 1800 to the present. Topics to be discussed include the social roles of different medical practitioners, women in medicine, medical experimentation, epidemics, tensions between public health and civil liberties, and depictions of medicine and disability in popular media.
HIST 344 - Tudor Britain
This course consists of a study of the life of Britain and her peoples from the late 15th to the early 17th century. Primary attention will be given to England. Topics to be covered include: the essence of the English Reformation, Tudor rebellions, Edwardian Protestantism and Marian reaction, the Elizabethan Settlement and the origins of Puritanism.
HIST 345 - Stuart Britain
This course is designed to give students an appreciation for the basic themes of British history from 1603 to 1688. A concluding survey covering the period from the Glorious Revolution to 1714 is included. Some prominent topics are: Anglicans and Puritans, Cromwell and the Holy Commonwealth, radical social thought and foreign relations.
HIST 346 - Medicine and Society in the Atlantic World: 1660-1918
This course seeks to explore the role which medicine has played in the shaping of North Atlantic societies from the Great Plague of London in the mid-17th century to the Spanish Influenza epidemic of the early 20th. Topics to be discussed include physicians and surgeons, quacks and "irregulars", disease and diseases, hospitals, the practice of medicine, the changing nature of surgery, women and medicine, and medicine and empire.
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HIST 347 - Britain in the 18th Century
This course seeks to provide an introduction to British history in the long eighteenth century. It will consist of a combination of lectures by the instructor and seminar discussions based on readings in the most recent historical literature. While the primary focus is on English history, there will be some consideration of Ireland, Scotland and the 18th century Empire.
HIST 348 - Victorian Britain and Empire
A study of British domestic and foreign issues during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Topics for consideration include: Victorian thought and society; the era of Gladstone and Disraeli; the Irish problems; and the nature of the Church of England and the rise of evangelicalism.
HIST 351 - The United States to 1865
This course offers an introductory survey of the history of the United States from before European contact to the Civil War. Topics include Indigenous histories; European and African migration during the colonial period; the development of religious and political institutions; the American Revolution and the Early Republic; westward expansion, war, and Manifest Destiny; and slavery and sectionalism.
HIST 352 - The United States, 1865-Present
This course offers an introductory survey of the history of the United States from the aftermath of the Civil War to the aftermath of 9/11. Topics include: Reconstruction; race relations and the rise of the Civil Rights movement; women's rights and feminism; immigration; religious and political culture; and pivotal conflicts such as the Spanish-American War, World War I and II, and the Cold War. We will also consider economic, military, cultural, and religious dimensions of the global assertion of American power over the past 150 years.
HIST 353 - Political History of the United States, 1776-present
This course in American government examines the history of political institutions in the United States from Independence in 1776 to the present day. This course explores the origins of the Constitution, the functions and historical evolution of the three branches of the federal government (executive, legislative, judiciary) as well as the roles of political parties, interest groups, public opinion, and the media. It also studies important historical case studies (over issues such as race, slavery and civil rights; civil and religious liberties; family and privacy law; and economic and environmental policy) that demonstrate how American political culture has changed over time. This course is decidedly interdisciplinary in approaching the subject using the methodologies of history and political science.
HIST 359 - Environmental History of the Americas
This course introduces students to the field of environmental history with general attention to the Americas. We will look at Indigenous views and uses of land and nature prior to colonialism, the impact of European settlers on nature and landscapes after 1492, and the contemporary manifestations of the environmental movement and the climate crisis. The course will explore these themes through specific historical case studies.
HIST 360 - Canada to Confederation
This course examines significant events, cultures, and encounters on the lands called "Canada" prior to 1867. Particular attention is given to interactions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers as well as the formative political, intellectual, and cultural currents of this period, in order to help develop an adequate foundation for both the study of recent Canadian history and the understanding of contemporary Canadian society.
HIST 361 - Canada Since Confederation
This course seeks to introduce students to the main contours of Canadian history since Confederation in 1867. Particular attention is given to the patterns of interactions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers. A variety of political, social, religious, racial, economic, and cultural themes will be considered to provide broad and comprehensive coverage of the last century and a half of Canadian history.
HIST 362 - Economic Histories of Turtle Island and Canada
To respond effectively to today's economic challenges and opportunities, it helps to understand where they came from. This course explores economic history in the land that is now called Canada, beginning with Indigenous economies before European contact, continuing through the eras of colonization, resource development, and industrialization, up to the present time. The course will prioritize readings from diverse and marginalized voices, particularly Indigenous voices. Themes include the ongoing legacy of settler-colonialism, relationships between humans and the natural world, regional and equity concerns, and the drivers and limitations of economic growth. In addition, the course will build students' skills in scholarly research and writing.
HIST 364 - Futures in the Past: Historical Theology
A study of important stages in the development of Christian doctrine and some of the major figures in the history of Christian theology. We will examine the influence of social, political and cultural contexts on doctrine and theology, and ask the question whether and how a study of the Christian past might give shape to the church, theology and Christian faithfulness in the present and future.
HIST 373 - War and Peace
Blessed are the peacemakers, said Jesus, and this course offers an interdisciplinary inquiry into the issues of war and peace in the Western tradition. The course will mix philosophical and theological approaches (just war theory, humanitarian intervention, and Christian non-violence, for example) with historical case studies (especially the Crusades and the Second World War but also reaching to contemporary conflicts such as the "War on Terror"). This will be a seminar-style course based on weekly discussion of a common set of readings. The goal is to provide students with a heightened awareness of the range of perspectives on war and peace both in the past and in our world today.
HIST 380 - A History of Modern Russia
This course is designed to develop an understanding of the rise of Russia to world prominence. The course emphasizes political, social, and economic forces and institutions, the motives behind the Russian Revolution, the establishment of the Communist order, and Russia's role as a world power in the 20th century.
HIST 382 - Stalinism: Terror, Progress and Belief
This course examines the contours of the Stalinist period of modern Russian history. It provides a comprehensive and detailed appraisal of the system that emerged in the USSR in the 1930s until the year of Stalin's death in 1953. This course includes sustained engagement with the historiography of Stalinism, and uses a variety of different sources - texts, newspapers, memoirs, posters, films, literature, music - to explore different aspects of the Stalinist system in order to understand what Stalinism was, how it emerged and how it worked in practice. It also appraises how Stalinism has been remembered East and West, and examines the treatment of Stalin in recent biographies.
HIST 390 - The Second World War
This course examines the history of the Second World War, adopting a thematic and a comparative approach in order to explore some of the contested issues in our understanding of this key moment in twentieth century history, and of subsequent ways in which this war has been interpreted and represented by historians, commentators and politicians. This course examines a range of different source material as it explores some of these questions - visual, textual, official - and seeks to understand the forces which continue to shape our world today. Throughout the course we will debate and reflect upon what it means to study the past as Christians, and seek to develop a Christian perspective on key issues and developments.
HIST 391 - The First World War
This course examines the history of the First World War, adopting a thematic and a comparative approach in order to explore some of the contested issues in our understanding of this key moment in twentieth century history, and of subsequent ways in which this war has been interpreted and represented by historians commentators and politicians. In this course we will examine a range of different source material as we explore some of these questions - visual, textual, official - and seek to understand the forces which continue to shape our world today. Throughout the course we will debate and reflect upon what it means to study the past as Christians, and seek to develop a Christian perspective on key issues and developments.
HIST 399 - Special Topics in History
A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the history faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.
HIST 400 - Public History
This course will examine some of the methods and approaches that artists, institutions, and public historians have deployed in the representation of the past in the public sphere. It will evaluate the attempts to involve diverse audiences in the historical understanding of relationships between publics and the past. Areas of study include museums, monuments, media, live performances, heritage, and acts of protest. The core aim of the course is to engage with theoretical, methodological and practice-based contexts of histories and their contestation in the public sphere.
HIST 460 - History of Christianity in Canada
This course seeks to examine various aspects of the religious culture of British North America and Canada from the 18th century to the present. It will consist of a combination of lectures by the instructor and seminar discussions based on extensive readings in the most recent literature. Among the topics to be considered are Protestant-Catholic relations, evangelicalism, ultramontanism, the Victorian crisis of belief, the social gospel, secularization, fundamentalism, and popular religious culture. Readings in English, Scottish, Irish and American religious history are intended to provide a transatlantic and comparative perspective on the Canadian scene.
HIST 495 - Senior History Seminar
All students in the both the 3 and 4 yr BA History are required to take this course in their final year of study. Students develop skills in Historical research methods, and will also explore the central issues in both Historiography and public history. They will prepare a major paper in consultation with the instructor(s). Instruction will be in the form of a seminar, to enhance student participation, independent learning, and to hone analytical, rhetorical and presentation skills.
HIST 496 - Oral History Project
Every human story is important, and oral history is one way to capture, preserve, and honour the living memories of ordinary people. This course has two major goals. First, students will explore the theoretical, ethical, and methodological dimensions of this type of history. Second, in consultation with the instructor, students will prepare for and conduct a substantial oral history interview project. In many cases the result-a video interview and transcription-will be preserved in the Gerry Segger Heritage Collection at King's, whose mission is to document the Dutch-Canadian Experience. In other cases the student will work with the instructor to identify a suitable archival home for the final project. Interested students must seek the permission of the instructor before enrolling in this course.
HIST 497 - Research Project
Students will carry out an independent research project under the supervision of one of the professors in the department.
HIST 498 - Research Project
Students will carry out an independent research project under the supervision of one of the professors in the department.
HIST 499 - Directed Studies in History
This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to conduct supervised research on a topic which they choose in consultation with a member of the history department. An emphasis will be placed on research methods, problems of interpretation and the art of writing.
ECON 203 - Principles of Economics I
An introduction to the Canadian economy and to concepts and tools that can help us understand how the economy works and the roles that we play in it. This course will examine economic goals, activities, structures and institutions; tools for making economic decisions; markets and market failures; economic measurement; economic fluctuations; growth and development; and globalization.
ECON 204 - Principles of Economics II
This course deepens students' understanding of the ideas introduced in ECON 203 by examining the theoretical models that economists use to analyze specific economic issues. These include theories of production, consumption, and markets; macroeconomic models related to recessions, unemployment, and inflation; government monetary and fiscal policies; and international trade theory.
ECON 300 - Introduction to Canadian Political Economy
This course will examine the relationship(s) between economics and politics, both as practice and theory. Central to this is the appropriate role of government in the economic life of Canadian (and other) society. The present controversies on these issues will be investigated and discussed, as well as their origins. It will be argued that the general course of economic and other development in rich and poor countries (including Canada) is decisively influenced by views taken on this issue; that various options for the future present themselves, and that options for change in political economy are linked to and will be resolved on the basis of fundamental/religious perspectives.
ECON 301 - International Political Economy
Analysis of the conflicting viewpoints that influence International Political Economy (IPE); tracing the structure and changing form of IPE in trade, finance, technology and information flows; analysing and evaluating the tension between states and international markets; examining the dynamics and impact of international centres of political-economic power on regions of the world that are small and vulnerable; investigation of the role of large corporations in the global political economy. Attention will also be given to the impact of the IPE on policies in Canada. Descriptive and evaluative data will be included and examined throughout.
ECON 309 - Intermediate Applied Microeconomic Theory
Proposed description: Expansion and deeper examination of the major microeconomic theories, including those related to consumer behaviour, production, market structures, and market failures. The role that these theories have played in the development of Canadian economic policies and goals will be a major focus of the course. Descriptive and evaluative data on the Canadian situation will be examined throughout. This course will be offered through independent, online study modules, with contact with the professor as needed.
ECON 310 - Intermediate Applied Macroeconomic Theory
Expansion and deeper examination of the macroeconomic theoretical models for the functioning of an open macroeconomy, like that of Canada. This will include models that produce calculable estimates of the main macroeconomic variables, such as total output, the general price level and inflation, levels of employment, and causes and impact of fluctuations in the economy's performance. Descriptive and evaluative data on the Canadian situation will be included and examined throughout. This course will be offered through independent, online study modules, with contact with the professor as needed.
ECON 315 - Ecological Economics
This course will focus on a number of aspects of the relationship between economics and the environment, including: determining the nature of and need for sustainability in economic processes; examining the linkages between development and the environment; examining the causes of and policy responses to resource and environmental degradation; introducing ways to measure the environmental impact of economic processes; and examining international and transfrontier environmental issues.
ECON 325 - The Economics of Development
This course identifies the nature and causes of the development and underdevelopment of countries and regions, emphasizing the poor. It explores development as a multi-dimensional process of change that happens in the context of social, political, technical and cultural conditions. The focus here is how economics relates to most of these. An overview of main theories (including how they arose historically) will be given and the main current issues in development will be reviewed. Development policies in poor countries and regions as well as international efforts to assist in their development, will round off the course.
ECON 330 - Markets, Morality, and Society
Markets play a major role in coordinating human interaction and activity in the modern world. Some think this role should expand, others decry it as harmful or distorting of human society, morality, and environment. This course considers these debates by drawing on research from a variety of disciplines - including economics, sociology, philosophy, and theology - to consider the nature of markets, their social structural and anthropological foundations, and the effects they have on the people that inhabit them.
ECON 331 - History of Economic Thought
This course explores ideas and theories about economic life that have been developed from ancient times to the present, including (but not limited to) those of the major economic thinkers from Adam Smith onwards. These ideas will be analyzed in light of the economic, political, social and intellectual contexts that helped to shape them. By investigating this historical development, we will gain a better understanding of how current approaches to economics and economic policy-making came to be.
ECON 340 - Capitalism And Alternatives
Most economies in the world today are, to at least some degree, capitalist. Capitalism is hailed by some as a driver of technological innovation and economic growth, but it is loathed by others as a source of inequality, exploitation, colonialism, and environmental degradation. In this course, we will evaluate these arguments, and explore a variety of possible alternatives to capitalism.
ECON 362 - Economic Histories of Turtle Island and Canada
To respond effectively to today's economic challenges and opportunities, it helps to understand where they came from. This course explores economic history in the land that is now called Canada, beginning with Indigenous economies before European contact, continuing through the eras of colonization, resource development, and industrialization, up to the present time. The course will prioritize readings from diverse and marginalized voices, particularly Indigenous voices. Themes include the ongoing legacy of settler-colonialism, relationships between humans and the natural world, regional and equity concerns, and the drivers and limitations of economic growth. In addition, the course will build students' skills in scholarly research and writing.
ECON 399 - Special Topics in Economics
A course on a topic or field of special interest to a member of the economics faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.
ECON 461 - Opportunities and Issues in Globalization
This course creates awareness of the nature, development and implications of the powerful spread of trade and finance flows across the modern world. It analyses the positive and negative aspects of globalization and alerts students to the opportunities for responsible extension of economic activities (trade in particular) to countries, regions and parts of the world very different from Canada. The ethical, developmental and environmental dimensions of globalization will be integrated with the business aspects and options. Same as BUSI 461
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ECON 499 - Directed Studies in Economics
This course is designed to provide individual students with an opportunity to conduct supervised reading and research on a topic of the student's choice in consultation with a member of the economics teaching faculty. Student work in this course will be with a faculty member on a tutorial basis. Students must apply in advance to teaching faculty in economics for this course.