WINTER 2006
ENGLISH AND LIBERAL STUDIES ELECTIVES:
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
Categories:
1: Literature
2: Social Science
3: Natural Science
4. Canadian Studies
LITERATURE COURSES:
EAC150 is required for each literature course
EAC217:
The Short Story: Category 1
Tina Manttari
A good story must consistently excite the imagination and provoke powerful emotions within us. Students
enrolled in this subject will read a selection of intriguing short stories centring on some of life’s most gripping
and sometimes bizarre moments: family conflict, love’s roller-coaster ride, the exhilaration of achievement and
rebellion, the despair of loss, the challenges of childhood. While exploring standard story elements, students
will develop their interpretation and evaluation skills through classroom discussion, short essays and tests.
Ultimately, study of the short story can help us to understand our own feelings and search for answers to life’s
important questions.
EAC 220:
Introduction to Canadian Literature: Category 1 or 4
Ian Lea
Canadian literature is internationally acclaimed. Canadian writers have been praised for their powerful language
use, imaginative narrative forms, and universally appealing themes. The literature reflects the voices of early
settlers, urban and rural inhabitants, native Canadians, and recent immigrants. The common experiences of
leaving homelands, confronting new situations, establishing new identities, questioning past beliefs and forging
new ones have given shape to this body of writing. This course will look at a number of poems and short stories
concerning these issues. Our discussions will focus on the themes, narrative forms and literary techniques used
by the authors and the classes will use a mix of lectures, class discussion, group presentations and media
productions.
EAC234:
Science Fiction: Category 1
Lisette Boily
Science Fiction shows you other worlds; it describes possible future societies and the problems lurking ahead. It
also shows how human beings can and do create these future worlds - that our future is in our hands. Science
fiction stands as a bridge between science and art, between the engineers of technology and the poets of
humanity.
EAC261:
EAC292: The Roots of Drama: Category 1
Frank Daley
This subject examines four or five great plays, two from ancient Greece and (usually) two from contemporary
North America, in an attempt to get at the roots of drama. Why do we respond so dramatically to these plays?
Why do they touch us, make us angry, make us laugh, make us care for the characters? What has all this to do
with TV shows such as Law and Order, or The West Wing, or our own lives? Quite a bit as it turns out. The
plays are The Birds, by Aristophanes, a devastating satire written more than 2000 years ago but furiously
modern; Antigone, by Sophocles, a play about the conflict between a woman's duty to her brother and her duty
to the state; Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, a drama of a man who might have deceived himself to
death, and a play or two chosen from among those being performed in Toronto at the time of our sessions. A
fifth play may be added for the final examination. Sometimes the work precludes a final examination. This
semester we will be attending two plays .The purpose of this subject is to introduce students to the roots, the
elements of drama.
1
EAC273:
Children’s Literature: Category 1
Marlene Lecompte
The stories, songs, and poems that children hear, and the pictures that they see, spark their awareness and
imagination. These experiences introduce children to the Canadian culture -- its traditions, its history and its
values, which originate worldwide. All of us are bound to interact with children - as relatives, as friends, in our
careers, or in community activities. These encounters can be enriched through an understanding of the child's
world and the forces that shape it. Since adults are responsible for helping the child feel comfortable and
successful with language, adults can stimulate this development through an interest in books. Every child
should be offered the opportunity to enjoy literature. In addition, adults can appreciate the scope, sophistication,
and joy that good children's literature offers. This course will explore and evaluate children's literature by
considering children's needs and interests and analyzing samples of the best and most successful stories and
books, both traditional and contemporary.
EAC287:
The American Dream: Category 1
Diane Titus
This subject deals with a central theme of modern American literature: the pursuit of success - the American
Dream. From the Salem witch hunts to the migrant farmers of the Great Depression, from magnolia - scented
plantation to the speakeasies of the Roaring Twenties, American literature consistently reflects that dream.
Through a variety of literary genres, you will explore the ideals and validity of American Dream - its successes
and failure, as expressed in twentieth century American literature.
EAC515:
Contemporary Quebecois Fiction: Category 1
Kathy Kells
This course will focus on the fictional representation of Quebecois cultural identity. Students will read work of
fiction, in English translation, by Quebecois writers who deal with a variety of themes and issues about
francophone culture and identity. Part of the study in this course will emphasize social history and cultural
tradition in order to examine the forces that have shaped contemporary Quebecois culture. In examining the
cultural development of Quebecois identity, the course will explore such topics as religion, folklore, legend and
superstition, region, landscape, wanderlust, language and culture, as well as sexuality and gender. In this course,
students will read a collection of short stories and two novels of moderate length.
SES395:
The Very Short Story: Category 1
Theresa Hay
The so-called very short story genre is actually not new, having its origins in the parable, fable, fairy-tale,
folktale, essentially in the oral traditions of all cultures. Its renewed popularity as an art form can be attributed
to its painterly capacity to deal with a broad spectrum of human experiences, one at a time. Through the primary
stylistic features of voice, point of view, and setting, the very short story compresses and therefore clarifies one
aspect of the human condition into a tiny pocket of prose. Obviously still adhering to the sound principles of
good story-telling, this category of literature distinguishes itself by creative treatment of story length and
format: very short scenes, cinematic flashes of everyday human struggles, introspective sketches, split-seconds
of horror, joy, insight, and everything in between.
LIBERAL STUDIES COURSES:
Social Science, Cultural Studies, Natural Science, and Canadian Studies
__________________________________________________________________________________
CAN102:
Canadian Ethics: Category 2 or 4
Gus Lyn-Piluso
Students will examine several philosophical theories of ethics and will apply theoretical perspectives to current
Canadian issues. Issues may include such controversial topics as sexual morality, abortion, euthanasia, human
cloning, capital punishment, terrorism and civil liberties, welfare and social justice, discrimination, animal
rights, and environmental ethics. Students will actively participate in classroom discussion, debates, and
presentations of biographical case studies of well know controversial public figures. This process will enable
2
students to apply theoretical perspectives ethical questions and to articulate, outline, and support their own
positions on a wide variety of current Canadian issues.
CAN186: Contemporary Canadian Society: Category 2 or 4
Marino Tuzi
In order to analyze the dramatic transformation of contemporary Canadian society, this course will examine the
ways that government policies and corporate business activity have shaped social reality. The course will
examine such topics as taxation, social services, namely public health care and publicly funded education, the
availability of well-paying jobs, multinational corporate strategies, the increase in poverty, and the standard of
living of Canadians. At the same time, the course will consider the economic and political effects of the new
global economic system on Canadian society. Equally important, the course will study the economic and social
results of Canada’s integration in the American economy. As a means of obtaining an objective view of the
social and economic status of Canadians, the course will examine the social system and standard of living of
residents in other advanced economies, primarily in the USA, Western Europe, and Japan.
CAN 230:
Women in Canada: Category 2 and 4
Donna Frank
This course is designed to be an introduction to Women's Studies. It is oriented to the experiences of women,
speaking to women about women’s experiences and using the personal to understand a broad range of topics,
including women's history, socialization, women and work, and women and their bodies. The course is
designed to examine the current status of women in Canadian society, contrasted with their past status, with a
view to commenting on the future role of women in society. Topics, which concern how women are defined in
education, the family and political power and how women are redefining themselves in art, athletics and
academics, will be taken up to challenge cultural givens, which concern women's place in society as well as the
gap between women's realities and women's choices.
CUL715:
The Sixties: Category 2
Diane Titus
The course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the turbulent and exciting decade of the
1960s. The course will examine various social perspectives that will help students to understand the significant
cultural, social, and political developments that marked this incredible decade. Many of these developments
were responsible in transforming American and Canadian society. The effects of some of these social and
cultural developments are still evident in the present. In exploring key major events of the 1960s, students will
explore different topics related to culture and society. Among these topics of study, the course will focus on the
Civil Rights movement, the New Frontier idea, the Women's Movement (Feminism and activism), the Counterculture, and developments in terms of Technology and Space.
CUL726:
Cynics and Satire: Category 2
Howard Doughty
In contemporary society, the term “cynic” is commonly used to describe someone who has a low opinion of
people, who is willing to use any means to achieve personal gain, and who has no respect for ethics, virtue or
the rights of others. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Unfortunately, modern usage has come to identify
Cynicism with the people the first Cynics chastised. Originally, cynicism prized virtue, self-sufficiency and
individual freedom above all. How the ideas of cynicism have come to be distorted in modern times is only one
of the themes we will explore in our effort to use Cynical insights to describe, analyze and critique Western
civilization. This subject will go on to examine the relationship between the philosophy of Cynicism, the
literary genre of satire and related forms of social criticism from ancient times to the present day. Intertwined
with the efforts of Cynics to expose hypocrisy and promote virtue, freedom, simplicity and naturalism will be a
consideration of satirical humour as a method to criticize social conformity, injustice and tyranny.
SOC 104:
Mass Media in Canada: Category 2 and 4
David Model
The mass media, and television in particular, to a very significant extent shape our perceptions of reality, our
attitudes and our values. Television has created an entertainment culture while transforming the way we think.
The information we receive through television and the mass media have fundamentally narrowed our perception
of issues and events and have interfered with our ability to form intelligent opinions on important issues. This
3
course will examine the role of the mass media in forming our attitudes and values and will encourage you to
think critically and carefully about the information you receive from television, and the mass media.
SOC106:
World Issues: Hunger, Greed, and Globalization: Category 2
David Model
This course will examine the impact of American and European government policies on developing countries,
such as Sudan, East Timor, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Many political observers believe
that these government policies have worsened the economic and social conditions of numerous developing
countries. As part of its analysis, this course will focus on such topics as the exploitation of labour, the
extraction of natural resources, and the physical and social devastation caused by the use of violent force.
PSY206:
Personality and Abnormal Psychology: Category 2
Frank Marchese
The understanding of the principles of mental and emotional functioning is essential to anyone who wishes selfknowledge, as well as an understanding of others. Therefore, the purpose of this course is to introduce the
student to the concepts and theories of personality and abnormal psychology. In addition, an appreciation of the
determinants of psychopathology sheds light on not only disturbed functioning, but also normal and adaptive
psychological processes. Following a consideration of theories, concepts, and research, the various types of
psychopathologies will be considered, with special emphasis on: anxiety disorders, personality disturbances,
mood dysfunctions, and abnormal thought processes. The student is encouraged to draw on personal experience
to provide concrete examples of the various phenomena under review and apply the information to real life
concerns.
PSY225:
Social Psychology: The Individual and Society: Category 2
Abdollah Zahiri
Social psychology is the scientific study of the way people think, feel, desire, and behave in social situations. It
allows us to see ourselves not just as isolated individuals, but as actors who exist within and who are shaped by
the larger context of society. It involves understanding how people influence and are influenced by others. A
primary goal of this course is to introduce students to the perspectives, research methods, and empirical findings
of social psychology. Equally important is the goal of cultivating student skills for analyzing the social
situations and events that are encountered in everyday lives. Finally, throughout the course, emphasis will be
placed on developing critical and integrative ways of thinking about theory and research in social psychology.
NAT202:
Biology And Culture: Category 3
Howard Doughty
The course will set the evolution of the human species in the larger context of the evolution of the physical
universe and of life on this planet. The pattern of that evolution and the principal theories that seek to explain it
will then be examined as a prelude to the discussion of human evolution. The development of our species would
be analyzed as a socio-biological phenomenon in which the facts of evolution and our understanding of its
processes are considered in relation to each other. The course will close with a consideration of the relationship
between human activity, social development, technological change, and the changing relationship of the human
species to the biosphere.
NAT503:
Green Alternatives: Category 3
Clare Magee
Our strong North American culture easily traps us into thinking and doing what everyone else is thinking and
doing. Global resources are being used at rates faster than they can renew. Electricity prices are spiking up all
across North America. Living less-consumptively is an ideal we tend to like but not act on. This subject will
explore ‘green’ alternatives that are proven, user-friendly, in use now, and make environmental, financial and
social sense. A major subject unit will be about the home. There are solar house design efficiencies, efficiencies
in building, heating, cooling, water systems, sewage, lighting, landscaping for homes and other buildings, which
4
will be explored. Broader lifestyle and ‘job style’ considerations will be explored within the concept of
“sustainable development” … continuing to develop as humans while sustaining the livability of the planet.
NAT506:
Canada and Winter: Category 3
Clare Magee
What are the many roles of winter in shaping Canadian culture? This subject explores Canadian sub-cultures
that dislike and disconnect from winter and other sub-cultures that embrace it. Among many benefits, winter
embracers learn to be pro-active…a valid general life approach. Winter snow and ice cover has a significant
ecological role, underpinning some of the natural environmental processes that keep us alive. What will winters
of the future be like? The concept of “sustainable development” …continuing to develop as Canadian and
global citizens while sustaining the livability of the Earth… is linked to that question. Cultures have heroes.
Selected Canadian contributors to our winter knowledge and our winter identity will be part of the study. Some
class meetings will entail active, experiential winter learning sessions on the King Campus environs, creating
personal engagement with broad class topics.
5