Honours Seminars

POLS 4000-level courses are seminars intended for POLS students in the Honours program and all other advanced level students who wish to explore Political Science topics in greater depth and in a seminar format. Students normally should have completed at least 60 ch, of which 18 ch should be in POLS (with at least 6 ch at the upper level), prior to taking a 4000-level course. POLS Honours students must complete at least 6 ch from these seminars and Joint Honours students must complete at least 3 ch in order to meet their program requirements.

POLS4416	Canadian Political Thought (O)	3 ch (3S) (W)
Historical and comparative examination of the various strands of thought that make up the Canadian political tradition: liberalism, conservatism, socialism and nationalism.

POLS4495	Gender and War: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (O)	3 ch (3S) (W)
Exploring a range of topics from women’s experiences as soldiers to the social construction of masculinities to suit the war system, and drawing upon a range of sources, including historical writings by women on war, drama, poetry and fiction, as well as recent political theorizing and analysis, this course puts the gendered aspects of war under the microscope. Writers considered include Margaret Cavendish, Virginia Woolf, Sara Ruddick, Judith Butler, R.W. Connell and Michael Kimmel.

POLS4496	Thucydides: War and Empire	3 ch (3S) (W)
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.

POLS4516	Contentious Politics (A)	3 ch (3S) (W)
Explore the politics of state-society relations using a comparative perspective. Examine the emergence of social mobilization, strategies of action, and their impact on government policy and politics. Topics include identity, environmental, and morality politics.

POLS4704	Security and Insecurity in Global Politics (A)	3 ch (3S) (W)
Consider the broadening understanding of security and insecurity in global politics from traditional ideas of sovereign protection and defence to contemporary questions of what causes insecurity in the first place. Topics include arms races and war, human security, non-state actors, terrorism, and environmental concerns.

POLS4721	Politics and the Human Condition	3 ch (3S) (W)
This course surveys the relationship between capitalism, alienation, and the political crisis of contemporary liberal democracies. It draws on a range of intellectual including Erich Fromm, Leo Lowenthal, and Hannah Arendt. Topics surveyed may include estrangement from nature, loneliness, and social malaise, especially as these relate to such things as demagogic politics, activism and protest, and the realignment of traditional political parties.

POLS4723	The Rise of the Far Right	3 ch (S) (W)
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.

POLS4724	Topics in Environmental History and Politics	3 ch (3S) (W)
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.

POLS4725	Climate and Energy Policy	3 ch (3S) (W)
Examines climate and energy policy making in a variety of jurisdictions including Canada. The course explores how institutions, interests, and ideas shape climate and energy policy design and implementation. Topics covered include carbon pricing, renewable energy, transportation, infrastructure, pipeline politics and divestment.

POLS4727	Global Politics of Infectious Disease	3 ch (3S) (W)
Explore the global political forces, relations, and actors that shape the drivers of and responses to infectious disease. Topics include global pandemics (e.g. COVID), regional epidemics (e.g. Ebola), and endemic disease (e.g. malaria). Other infectious diseases and issues considered may include HIV/AIDS, neglected tropical diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. Particular attention is given to health equity. Gain advanced understanding of: the political forces that produce uneven global infectious disease impacts by region, race, gender and sexuality; the health equity impacts of infectious disease responses grounded in health security, One Health, or right to health approaches; the extent to which global health governance mechanisms able to address the inequities that are both cause and consequence of infectious disease outbreaks. Recommended prior course: POLS 2303, POLS 2703, IDS 2103 or permission of course instructor.

POLS4728	Economics & Politics of Health Care Reform (A)	3 ch (3S) (W)
Examine the evolution of Canadian Medicare, the structures of what is covered by public payment and what is not, the organization of delivery of health care services, the fiscal and access challenges of the system with an aging population and technological drivers of service volumes and system costs, and the known directions for reform. Compare Canadian health care finance and service delivery, and health outcomes, to other countries and identify known solutions for the challenges to health care in Canada. Present the economics of health care reform as part of understanding the political barriers to reforming health care.

POLS4734	Political Economy of Energy and the Environment (A)	3 ch (3C) (W)
Surveys recent debates around the political economy of energy and its impact on the environment. Discusses the global energy market of hydrocarbons and its alternatives in the midst of climate change and political transformations globally.

POLS4735	Theories of the Policy Process (A)	3 ch (3C) (W)
Examines foundational and contemporary theories explaining variation in public policy processes across space and time. Provides a strong foundation in comparative public policy, process theories, and the politics of policy adoption and implementation. Explores a variety of topic areas, including social, environmental, and economic policy.

POLS4900	Honours Thesis	6 ch (6C) (W)
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.