All Courses

This on-demand webinar series, offered through the 2018-2020 Public Health Training for Equitable Systems Change (PHESC) project, will help public health practitioners better understand the requirements of the Ontario Public Health Standards through a health equity lens.

(Spring CRN  / Fall CRN 59748) A study of cults in the context of 20th-century North American society, beginning with defining cults in relation to sects and churches. Topics include neo-paganism; Hare Krishna; the theosophical tradition; the Unification Church; tragic endings to cults such as the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate; why people join cults; and the religio-cultural significance of cults today.  Three credits.

(Spring CRN  / / Fall CRN 59751/59750) Students gain an understanding of the diversity of Islam and Muslims in Canada. The course examines how Muslims negotiate their religious identities in Canadian civic society. Students engage critically with different theoretical models shaping conceptions of identity and consider their relevance to public policy debates. The course uses Muslim and non-Muslim authors representing diverse points of view that have an impact on questions of immigration, multiculturalism, and religious pluralism. Cross-listed as SOCI 374. Three credits.

(Spring CRN / / Fall CRN 59754/59755) This course analyzes the marriage and family life from a sociological perspective. It provides an overview of social changes over the past century, such as the falling birth rate, the rise in cohabitation and the legalization of same-sex marriage. Topics include marriage and fertility trends, the rise of intensive parenting and the dual earner family, the normalization of separation and divorce, the social cost of family violence, and how technology is influencing parenting. Cross-listed as WMGS 221. Three credits

(Spring CRN  / Fall CRN 59752) This course introduces students to the origins and development of sociological thinking and research, beginning with the foundations of the discipline in the 19th century. Students are then introduced to the concepts and methods within sociology. The objective is to explore the extent and limits of our capacity to change the social world by reference to sociological research in both a Canadian and global context. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 101 or SOCI 100. Three credits.

(Summer CRN  / Winter CRN 59753) This course builds on the foundations of sociological theory, methods and historic considerations established in SOCI 101. Students will explore a range of topics dealing with various aspects of social inequality, culture, integration, and ideological conflict in both a Canadian and global context. Together with SOCI 101, this course provides the prerequisite for all other sociology courses. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 102 or SOCI 100. Three credits.

(Summer CRN  / Winter CRN 59756) This course provides students with a sociological interpretation of education in Canada. Students will investigate the relationship between education opportunity and conditions of inequality, socialization, social participation in education, and the contextualized within the historical development of Canadian educational institutions. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 231 or SOCI 230. Three credits.

(Spring CRN ) The course introduces students to social justice theory and research. Students will examine social movements and theories (e.g., postcolonial theory, black feminist thought, and indigenous perspectives) that helped shape conceptions of social justice. Students will examine social justice research in areas such as environmental racism, barriers to health care, education, and employment, and barriers and challenges to achieving social justice. Credit will be granted for only one of SOCI 237 or SOCI 297 (2020-2021). Three credits.

(Summer CRN ) This course offers students a theoretical foundation for understanding social processes of deviance and social control. Using various theoretical devices, students will critically examine the social category of deviance and its use in social institutions and daily social practices. Topics could include mental illness, drug and alcohol use, alternative sexualities, social violence and disability. Three credits.

(Spring CRN / Winter CRN 59757) An introduction to the field of disability studies, this course examines the ways in which disabled people and disability issues are defined and treated in contemporary society. Social and political conceptions of disability are contrasted with medical and individualistic definitions of disability with the aim of developing a critique of taken-for-granted conceptions of normal bodies, minds, and senses. Communitybased contributions and responses to disability knowledge are emphasized and common ideas and assumptions about disability are situated historically to illustrate changing relations to disability over time, and to the role of disability knowledge in social change. The experience of disability will be stressed. Three credits.