Courses and topics

Arts First course descriptions

Although oriented toward different modes of inquiry, both ARTS 130 and 140 will support instruction in the communication competencies outlined by the Steering Committee for the English Language Competency Initiative (SCELCI) and both support instruction in analytical thinking.

ARTS 130 –€“ Inquiry and Communication

This course provides an introduction to diverse intellectual modes of inquiry in the social sciences and humanities with an emphasis on the development of communication skills. In a small seminar setting, students will explore a variety of topics based on instructor expertise in order to build social awareness, ethical engagement, and communication competencies in comprehension, contextualization, and conceptualization. Students will be expected to engage with the work of others, articulate positions, situate writing and speaking within contexts, practice writing and speaking for situations beyond the classroom, engage in basic forms of research, and workshop, revise, and edit writing.

ARTS 140 – Information and Analysis

This course introduces students to diverse ways of finding, examining, and using data and information in the social sciences and humanities. In a small seminar setting, students will explore a variety of topics based on instructor expertise in order to understand quantitative and qualitative methods of data gathering and build competencies in conceptualizing, contextualizing, and comprehending methods of information analysis.  Students will be expected to investigate, use, and assess the presentation of information in their own work and the work of others so that they can better understand the range of social, ethical, and political challenges of our world.

Please also review the ARTS 130 and ARTS 140 learning outcomes.

Arts First course topics

Arts First course topics are listed in alphabetical order in the following drop-down section, however they are not listed in alphabetical order in Quest.

For instructions on how to add your Arts First course, see the How you'll enrol page.

Spring 2024 - ARTS 130

ARTS 130 – Rebellion to Academic Writing

Are you a rebel? Do you want to ‘unlearn’ what you know about academic writing and ‘relearn’ how to be a scholarly writer? Are you interested in reinventing academic writing? In this course, you will learn about systemic injustices that keep you blind and/or passive against growing your unique voice and style in your academic writing.  You will learn to be a strong, interactive, and critical writer by writing with choices and politics based on your identity.

Delivery mode: Online


ARTS 130 – Social Justice and Social Development

Note: This section is fully reserved for Social Development Studies students and online students.

In this course students will be asked to critically reflect on social justice issues from diverse and multiple perspectives.

Delivery mode: Online

Spring 2024 - ARTS 140

ARTS 140 – From Polar Bears to Bumblebees: The Economics of Wildlife Conservation

Throughout this course, we will delve into the fascinating world of data analysis and effective communication, with a specific focus on the intricate relationship between biodiversity and the economic impact of endangered species. We will explore various research design principles, data collection techniques, quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods, as well as the art of presenting findings in clear and compelling ways. By the end of this journey, you will not only possess a deeper understanding of the importance of data and information analysis but also the ability to critically evaluate research, generate insights, and effectively communicate your findings to diverse audiences.

Delivery mode: Online


ARTS 140 – Social Change and Social Development

Note: This section is fully reserved for Social Development Studies students and online students.

Drawing on the work of social theorists, activists, artists, film-makers, writers, poets, and pop icons, this course asks: How can everyday people work together to effect social change? Through experiential learning and a case study approach, students will explore the possibility of turning social justice goals into action.

Delivery mode: Online

Winter 2024 - ARTS 130

ARTS 130 – Body/Talk: The Public Body in the Digital Forum

This course will explore social attitudes regarding ideals of health and beauty, and the impact of media in promoting and challenging these ideals. Students will explore their own perspectives through written work, in-class analysis of digital media, and presentations.


ARTS 130 – Capitalist Realism?

In this course, students will learn to recognize, define, and reflect on the relationship between economics and social agency in late-capitalism and developing an understanding of the role of consumer culture and liberalism in the contemporary world. We will use Mark Fisher’s 2009 book and concept, Capitalist Realism, to frame our inquiry, as well as look at the films, popular music, and television shows that Fisher uses to illustrate his book, understanding and reflecting on the claims forwarded by them.


ARTS 130 – Colour Theory

This course will immerse students in the exploration of colour and its application in various creative fields. Through a combination of theoretical concepts, colour mixing exercise with paint, and the practical application of concepts into our daily lives, we will gain a deeper understanding of colours psychological and emotional impact, as well as its role in visual communication, design, art, and more.


ARTS 130 – Conspiracy and Fake News

Conspiracy theories are an expression of the social anxieties, fears, and in some instances desires of individuals in their relationship with the modern state and the public sphere. Through an interdisciplinary examination of the role of hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and fake news, both historical and contemporary, we will examine the social and historical reasons that allow these ideas to take hold and seem believable.


ARTS 130 – Environment and Genre Fiction

In this course students will engage with genre fiction to develop communication skills and a better understanding of urgent environmental issues. Fantasy, horror, crime, and sci-fi entertain readers, but these popular genres also reveal much about our relationship with the more-than-human world. We will study the social contexts, conventions, and content of genre fiction to understand how texts engage readers emotionally, help readers understand environmental problems and their amelioration, andraise questions for readers about the nature of nature.


ARTS 130 – Ethics of Belief

What if we believe without evidence – are we doing something wrong not only from the standpoint of knowledge but also wrong ethically? This key question sparks the ethics of belief, an expansive study we will explore in this course, which encompasses several issues about knowledge, actions, ethics, minds, and beliefs.


ARTS 130 – Ghosts, Cults, and End Times

The paranormal, cults, and end time prophecies are salacious, scary, and at times reflective of the social milieux in which they develop. These ideas and beliefs are concepts that are prevalent cross-culturally, including our own Western culture, although they are often dismissed in academia, they can provide a lens through which to observe and learn about the past and contemporary times. Using mixed methods, this course will examine the rise of paranormal experiences and beliefs, cults, and end times prophecies, through media consumption, oral history, and pop culture. The role of mass media and pop culture will be analyzed to understand how they shape perceptions and attitudes towards new religious movements, ghost hunting, tales of Cryptids, and cults.


ARTS 130 – Global Environmental Politics

Why do we remain so far off course in addressing the global environmental crisis? What are the political barriers to more effective action, including within the environmental movement itself? This course examines these questions through an examination of prominent literature in the field of global environmental politics.


ARTS 130 – Human Journeys

Note: This section is partially reserved for students co-registered at St. Jerome's.

"When we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey" (Wendell Berry)

The human journey is a story as old as humanity itself. With an emphasis on the humanities and social sciences, students will consider our motivations (and limitations) for exploration, as well as various kinds of journeying, such as physical, psychological, moral, and spiritual. Students will engage in classroom dialogue and various formal and informal writing activities in order to examine such topics as home-seeking and homecoming, exploration and escape, identity and place, hospitality, heroic quest, migration, etc. This course emphasizes skills in written and oral communication, intellectual inquiry and argumentation.


ARTS 130 – Humans & the Non-Human World

Humans are the animals that have forgotten they are animals. We live in a complex community of diverse species (humans, mammals, birds, insects, plants, and trees), yet have come to think only of our human selves. This course explores the narratives and perceptions that inform our understandings of interspecies relationships.


ARTS 130 – Improvisation

How do we create spontaneously? From storytelling, to music, writing, to interpersonal and corporate problem-solving, improvisation as a technique is all around us. This course will teach the practical skills of creating on the fly, developing students' listening, trust, confidence, and collaborative skill sets. We will also explore the historical and social contexts for improvisation through comedy, jazz, beat poetry, theatre/performance art, and corporate communication training.


ARTS 130 – Intersecting Identity & Image

Note: This section is fully reserved for online students.

Students are asked to consider the relationship between images and the way that we think about ourselves and each other. How might popular culture and other image-based sources help “mediate” our identities, and what impact might it have on our everyday lives?

Delivery mode: Online


ARTS 130 – Language Matters

This course engages students in the exploration of the power of language. It highlights the dual (cognitive and social) nature of language and enhances students' social awareness, ethical judgment, and communication competencies. It motivates students to reflect upon their discursive practices and helps them identify the ways to advance their academic skills.


ARTS 130 – Language of the Media

The importance of the Media in today’s world is undisputed. The media’s impact has helped change the trajectory of modern history and continues to influence public opinion. In this course, we are going to explore the different aspects of language that are used in the media and how this language use affects the individual members of our society. Primarily, we are going to use Mr. Putin’s Russia as a case study.


ARTS 130 – Laughter and "Truthiness"

What's so funny about the world? In our exploration of humour and satire—their creators, purposes, and targets—we will explore the relationships between comedy, laughter, world events, as well as celebrity and political personalities.


ARTS 130 – Nonbinary Digital Storytelling

With a focus on interactive fiction and games, in this course we will examine how binaries–either-or concepts, comparisons and conditions–shape our lives and experiences. We will read and play works by queer and racialized artists as we learn to critique these binaries, as well as adopt creative tools to author our own digital stories.


ARTS 130 – Public Apologies

We will examine public apologies made by nations, corporations, churches, universities, and individuals, which have been made for residential schools, slavery, racist policies, corporate malfeasance, personal misconduct, and other histories. What does an apology do, and not do? How do we assess their meaning, sincerity, and role in addressing wrongs? How do they advance, or undermine, reconciliation? What is their place in public life?


ARTS 130 – Rebellion to Academic Writing

Are you a rebel? Do you want to ‘unlearn’ what you know about academic writing and ‘relearn’ how to be a scholarly writer? Are you interested in reinventing academic writing? In this course, you will learn about systemic injustices that keep you blind and/or passive against growing your unique voice and style in your academic writing.  You will learn to be a strong, interactive, and critical writer by writing with choices and politics based on your identity.


ARTS 130 – Religion: the good and the bad

Within the context of the world religions, this course explores why billion of people on the planet are interested in religion? What is religion? What is the good in religion that attracts followers and inspires them to a life of meaning, bliss and the hope for a future life? But why is there such a dark underside of religion that feeds violence, abuse, deception, exclusion and the destruction of life? We will examine these questions in an intellectually stimulating debate.


ARTS 130 – Representing Change

This course will examine written and visual representations of social and cultural change during contemporary moments of crisis. Topics will be developed in collaboration with student interest.


ARTS 130 – Scary Teachings: Indigenous Horror

Note: This section is partially reserved for students co-registered at St. Jerome's.

In this course we will examine if an engagement with horror genre short stories, novels, and films created by First Nations authors and film makers can provide a path for settle/colonials to meaningfully engage with the work of Reconciliation. In addition to the creative works we will explore, we will be reading from the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation reports.


ARTS 130 – Social Justice and Social Development

Note: This section is fully reserved for Social Development Studies students and online students.

In this course students will be asked to critically reflect on social justice issues from diverse and multiple perspectives.

Delivery mode: Online


ARTS 130 – The Art of the Strike

This class explores the art and culture of strikes. We consider how people use images, songs and stories to protest exploitation, and debate the effectiveness of these methods. Can culture and art help build solidarity? We look at examples from Canada and the world to figure it all out.


ARTS 130 – What Do Games Mean?

This course teaches critical perspectives on games and game culture. Given this immense influence of games on popular culture, it becomes imperative to investigate video games, games, and game culture critically, and the main objective of this course will be to discuss how games are designed, played, and marketed, and how that engagement addresses matters of cultural significance. Who identifies as gamer, and who is excluded from that identity?  What different forms of communities are created through games? What kinds of labour and work are performed through play? How are games designed and what ideas are implicit in that design? This course will address these issues and others, pushing students to think about who makes games, who plays games, and in what contexts these playful engagements occur. We will look at a wide variety of types of games, including boardgames, digital games, sports, and tabletop games; students will not be required to have previous experiences with games, but will be expected to play games as part of the course.


ARTS 130 – Writing About Poems and Songs

A course about what is most familiar (favourite songs) and what is strange (old poems), about writing and talking beyond taste (I like, I don’t like), in a variety of modes drawing on the energies of  fandom, curiosity, and aesthetic understanding.

Winter 2024 - ARTS 140

ARTS 140 – 90s Pop Culture

The bright promises of Star Trek, the satire of The Simpsons, Oprah’s therapeutic morality, Nirvana's social criticisms. The 1990s were a time of unbridled optimism in tech innovation, social equality, and belief in progress–but like anything gilded, when we scratch the surface we find hidden realities. Through the venues of popular television, film, and music, this course explores the key cultural media trends of the era and how they help to explain our own current predicaments. Together in a constructive seminar, let’s learn about 1990s gender dynamics, images of Indigeneity, representations of Black life, political culture, utopian and dystopian machinations, satire, and the anatomy of alt-rock and other popular contemporary music of the "go-go 90s".


ARTS 140 – Can We Measure Originality?

Can we quantify Shakespeare's literary talent? How innovative are the films of Christopher Nolan? Is originality a fact or a value? This course explores the dynamic between cultural innovation and tradition and the data behind it.


ARTS 140 – Cannabis Culture

This course investigates the budding culture surrounding cannabis in modern society and the impact it has at both macro and micro levels. Students taking this course will develop information and analysis skills through the exploration of cross-disciplinary concepts like identity, behaviour, and relationships, in relation to our discussion of cannabis. 


ARTS 140 – Cities and Brains

As the world’s cities get larger and denser, we are more concerned than ever before about how urban living affects our mental state. Living in close quarters with vast numbers of strangers can be exciting but also stressful and alienating. Why is it important to have green spaces in cities? How can we address urban loneliness? How do psychological factors in urban design relate to important issues in equity and social justice? How do we balance the physical requirements of urban design (mobility, food, power, sanitation) with the psychological needs of urban citizens? In this course, we will explore the connections between urban design and psychology by learning to watch urban life, record and describe our observations, and look at case studies of research done in real cities and develop ideas for experiments.


ARTS 140 – Diasporas and Food Cultures

Over the last two centuries, globalization and the migration of communities have made available a medley of new foods available to the public. This course looks at how diasporas and the movement of cuisines have transformed the global food market and the dietary patterns of people.


ARTS 140 – Disney: Nostalgia + Progress

From Frontierland to Tomorrowland, Disney Imagineers have mastered three-dimensional art, telling detailed stories without a word. Students will survey the modes of nonverbal communication utilized by Disney Imagineers to investigate these silently communicated historical and cultural constructs, while also questioning the validity of postmodern critiques of the “Disneyfication” of history.


ARTS 140 – Do Images Tell the Truth?

Everywhere we are surrounded by persuasive images. Advertising, newsfeeds, political campaigns, influencers, pop stars. We are bombarded by images in all directions by image and “content” producers, demanding our attention and often swaying our opinions and points of view. In this sea of images, how do we practice critical looking? How do we tell meaningful content from “fake news”? Do images on Instagram or Tik Tok reflect reality or do they construct reality?


ARTS 140 – Environmental Bioethics *Section cancelled*

Although healthcare seeks to return patients to health by preventing and treating disease, its practice tends to negatively impact the environment via greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and the production of waste. Environmental bioethics exists at the intersection of medical bioethics and environmental ethics; it aims to find common ground between the ethical concerns of patients, practitioners, and other relevant parties involved in healthcare and methods that strive toward environmental sustainability. Plainly, environmental bioethics focuses on approaches to healthcare that take seriously environmental harms caused by such care and ways to simultaneously reduce or eliminate these harms without diminishing the quality of or access to care.


ARTS 140 – Everyone’s A Detective

With ever-present surveillance, online data-mining, and a 24 hour news cycle, it seems like anyone can be a detective. This class also aims to critically examine our cultural imperative for more knowledge, our notions of the criminal/victim, and the scientific discoveries and technological inventions which have made our armchair detecting possible.


ARTS 140 – From Polar Bears to Bumblebees: The Economics of Wildlife Conservation  *Section cancelled*

Throughout this course, we will delve into the fascinating world of data analysis and effective communication, with a specific focus on the intricate relationship between biodiversity and the economic impact of endangered species. We will explore various research design principles, data collection techniques, quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods, as well as the art of presenting findings in clear and compelling ways. By the end of this journey, you will not only possess a deeper understanding of the importance of data and information analysis but also the ability to critically evaluate research, generate insights, and effectively communicate your findings to diverse audiences.


ARTS 140 – Homelessness and Addiction

Central to this Arts First seminar will be an understanding of the role of the historical, political and economic influences of addiction and homelessness–€”particularly structural violence and social suffering in creating and enabling the very possibilities for drug addiction, poverty and homelessness.


ARTS 140 – How the Sausage is Made: An Exploration of What and How We Eat

We all gotta eat! And yet, we often have very different views on food. This course explores how and what we eat.  Topics include: culture of food, food markets and marketing, nose-to-tail eating and farm-to-table movements, health and diet claims, food accessibility and insecurity, and the future of food.


ARTS 140 – Irrational Economics

This class explores the insights that behavioural economics holds for understanding personal and collective decision-making across a wide range of areas that impact our lives, using experiences of decision-making as a vehicle for understanding the influence of perceptions about facts and information.


ARTS 140 – Language Learning Truths (EMLS)

Note: This section is only open to learners of English as an additional language.

Are you multilingual? Is it easy for you to learn languages? Multilingualism can be foundational to success in personal, academic, and professional fields. Therefore, learning languages efficiently is an important skill to develop. Our goal in this course is to become more efficient language learners by analyzing language in our environments. We will also consider prior research in the field of language learning.


ARTS 140 – Shapes of Environmentalism

We will explore and try to reconcile the evolving shapes of environmentalism. Its evolution has not been linear but followed intersecting and intertwined streams. Can there be free market environmentalism? Can environmentalism be a religion? What about government and non-government environmentalism? How did it look before the 21st century? Our approach will use a variety of quantitative and qualitative data to define terms, concepts and positions.


ARTS 140 – Social Change and Social Development

Note: This section is fully reserved for Social Development Studies students and online students.

Drawing on the work of social theorists, activists, artists, film-makers, writers, poets, and pop icons, this course asks: How can everyday people work together to effect social change? Through experiential learning and a case study approach, students will explore the possibility of turning social justice goals into action.

Delivery mode: Online


ARTS 140 – The Picture of Health? Developing our Understanding of Health & Wellness

Note: This section is partially reserved for students co-registered at St. Jerome's.

Learning to conduct academic research in some ways is a bit like learning to take a photograph.  Researchers need to apply different lenses and approach their subjects from different angles to get the best overall picture.  The purpose of this course is straightforward: to provide students with the necessary tools and guidance to conduct academic research using various library resources and sources of health-related information and data, to develop critical thinking skills as they analyze the information and data they have collected, and to demonstrate an understanding of, and proficiency in, the conventions of academic writing. Students will begin with an initial health-related research topic, which they will further develop into a research question, and finally into a well-researched final paper. 


ARTS 140 – The Science of Happiness

Note: This section is fully reserved for online students.

What is happiness, and why do we strive for it? Can we become happier? Should we? Is happiness a good thing? Together we will explore these questions and others.

Delivery mode: Online


ARTS 140 – The Study of Comics

Note: This section is partially reserved for students co-registered at St. Jerome's.

Students will cultivate an understanding of broad research methods through the analysis and exploration of the specific history, context, and practice surrounding the comics artform and the parallel evolution of the field of comics studies.


ARTS 140 – Video Game Research Methods

Video and board and table-top games are more than just time-killers or hobbies; they are complex social, cultural, and political products worth studying! You don’t have to be a “gamer” to do well in this class, just a person who wants to learn about games and how we study them. This class will explore the field of game studies through qualitative data collection and practice analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data about video games and/or games culture.