Graduate Courses Culture and Society

COURSE AVAILABILITY

Beyond the "core" courses listed in each of the previous program descriptions, students in both the Communications Studies program and the Culture and Society program are free to choose "elective" courses from the full array of courses listed below.

Joint Program Courses (mandatory but non-credit)

Thesis 112 - A pro-seminar MA students take throughout the length of their degree. This course provides students with mentorship as they navigate through the degree, prepare a thesis proposal, construct their research and the thesis itself, as well as secure necessary grants.

Thesis 212 - A pro-seminar PhD students take throughout the length of their degree. This course provides students with mentorship as they navigate through the degree, prepare a thesis proposal, prepare for candidacy exams, construct their research and the thesis itself as well as secure necessary grants.

Culture and Society (CUSP) Courses

CUSP 601: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture and Society
A foundational exploration of a variety of approaches to studying culture and society including those rooted in traditional disciplines and those that have arisen in a more interdisciplinary climate such as cultural studies and critical discourse analysis.

CUSP 603: Heritage and Identity - Issues and Approaches
An investigation of the construction and negotiation of cultural heritage, ethnic identity, and history within the public sphere.

CUSP 605: Approaches to Development Theory and Praxis
 An examination of the historical processes of development within a global context, emphasizing competing theoretical and methodological paradigms for evaluating those processes, and their implications for development praxis.

CUSP 607: Social and Global Justice
An examination of key legal, social and political theories as well as the history of Canadian (and international) social justice movements with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of social, group and individual rights as instruments of justice.  

CUSP 613: Cultural and Social Theory
An in-depth look at theoretical approaches to the study of culture and society designed to provide students with the critical thinking skills necessary to unpack complex cultural and social dynamics and to develop innovative approaches to vexing issues.

CUSP 615: Research Methods  
This course is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of research in culture and society areas. Students will be introduced to both quantitative and qualitative methods.

CUSP 711: Directed Studies
A research project under the direction of a faculty member.

CUSP 717: Special Topics
A variety of culture and society topics based on individual faculty expertise.