Political Science

Political issues and case studies, drawn from Canadian and international contexts, are used to introduce students to central debates and concepts of politics and political analysis.

Considers the political origins and long-term political impact, as well as issues raised in the field of political science, of events which have shaped the contemporary world, such as the Russian Revolution, the Holocaust, the dropping of the atomic bomb, the Cold War, the rise of the welfare state, and the recent U.S. elections. 

Introduces students to the study of globalization: the global political, economic and social relations that simultaneously bind states and people together, and divide them. Topics include the global economy and trade; the political impact of new technologies; global social movements; global inequalities; and the effect of globalization on armed conflict, migration, climate change, and health. 

This course surveys the politics of climate change in a global context.  In the coming years, climate change will drive politics at the international, national, and sub-national levels.  Specific topics include climate change itself, international treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, humanitarian crises and climate change refugees, climate change and the media, and climate change denial.

This course introduces students to similarities and differences in the political culture, political institutions and public policies of countries in the industrialized world (Western Europe and North America primarily).

Provides a comprehensive overview of the political science subfield of International Relations (IR): the study of global politics as an international system. The course focuses on core IR concepts and theories, and explores how these are used to analyse how power works in global politics; why states go to war; why states and other actors sometimes cooperate address global challenges; and why there are global inequalities. Students are strongly encouraged to complete 3 ch of POLS at the 1000-level before enrolling in this course. 

Examines the shifting class structure of Canada from the standpoint of the evolution of global capitalism. Topics covered include the decline of the established worker, the growth of non-standard work, migrant labour, unemployment, the growth of precarious labour, the lingering effects of the 2008 crisis, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is remembered and how it is remembered is necessarily political. This course examines the politics of memory in different national contexts. Topics include the Native in the North American imagination, slavery, war (for example, the First World War in Canada, the Vietnam War in the United States), and the tourist gaze. 

Examines urban politics and policy problems in both a Canadian and comparative context. Introduces students to the key theories in urban politics scholarship and explores policy issues facing cities such as: democratic engagement; economic competitiveness; decentralization; poverty and polarization; intergovernmental relations; and climate mitigation and adaptation. 

Examines the relationship between politics, rationality, and public policy making. Topics include the policy cycle (agenda setting, policy information, decision making, implementation, and evaluation), policy durability and change, and globalization and policy making. 

Examines the nature of political critique found in literature. It surveys different literary genres and forms, including tragedy, comedy, satire, poetry, the essay, the short story, and the novel. Some of the authors discussed may include Aristophanes, Sophocles, Thomas More, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, and more recent writers such as Aldous Huxley, George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, and John Steinbeck.

Provides a set of ethical frameworks and concepts with which we can assess the issue of how members of national states should treat "outsiders," under contemporary conditions of globalization. Also explores the practical implications of that issue in relation to international challenges of migration and refugees, international aid and development, political violence and warfare, humanitarian intervention, making and sustaining peace, and global poverty. Normally taught online.

Explores the nature of war in terms of the social relations of class, race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Particular focus is given to WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War, the Afghan War, the Iraqi Wars of 1991 and 2003, and the war on terror.

Examines the sources of democratic discontent and declining political participation in Canada and other established democracies, along with potential remedies. Topics covered include civil society and social cohesion, the changing role of political parties and the merits of institutional changes such as electoral reform and direct democracy.

A general examination of nationalism as an ideology and political force, with some focus on specific nationalist movements in both the developed and developing worlds. Topics include: competing definitions of nations and nationalism, the underlying causes of nationalist unrest and secessionism, and methods of conflict management in ethnically divided societies.

Upon application through the co-ordinator of honours and majors programs, students pursuing an honours or majors degree in Political Science may undertake independent studies with a member of the department. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their intended area of study and will submit a written proposal justifying it as an independent studies course.

No student will be allowed to take more than 6 ch of independent study in completing the requirements for a majors or honours degree in political science. Independent studies courses will NOT count as meeting the honours thesis requirements.

Upon application through the co-ordinator of honours and majors programs, students pursuing an honours or majors degree in Political Science may undertake independent studies with a member of the department. It is expected that students will have a clear idea of their intended area of study and will submit a written proposal justifying it as an independent studies course.

No student will be allowed to take more than 6 ch of independent study in completing the requirements for a majors or honours degree in political science. Independent studies courses will NOT count as meeting the honours thesis requirements.

Introduces students to quantitative methodologies used in political science, with a focus on public opinion research and election studies. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the history and current practice of this type of academic research and will develop a basic foundation in methods of statistical analysis using political science datasets. NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of POLS 3534 and POLS 4534. 

Historical and comparative examination of the various strands of thought that make up the Canadian political tradition: liberalism, conservatism, socialism and nationalism. 

Examines The History of the Peloponnesian War as the founding text of International Relations. This course will also focus on the various readings of the History.

Recent years have witnessed the rise of various political parties and movements of the far right in both Europe and North America. This course will examine these organizations and the broader political environment in which they have emerged in order to better understand the causes and consequences of this troubling trend.

This course surveys topics in North American environmental politics and history, including climate change, resource development, and water management.  It examines the role of governments, the environmental movement, and industry.  Finally, it examines how the environment as an idea has changed over time.

A compulsory reading and research course for fourth year honours students. The student prepares a research program in consultation with a professor in the field concerned and is expected to present a research essay after regular consultations with the professor concerned who will be assigned to the student by the chair of the department.