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POLI 202 - Introduction to Political Theory

July 3 - August 20, 2025
Instructor: David Miller
Delivery: Online hybrid synchronous and asynchronous
Synchronous session: Fridays 10-11:30 a.m.

Course description

We will explore political theory as an essential component of the study of politics. Political theory involves paying close attention to the concepts, language and the basic problems of politics as we try to understand and judge our political institutions and practices. We will read a variety of texts of social and political philosophy and ask the following questions:

• What is justice?
• What is a political community? Is it natural or conventional?
• Who is included, who is excluded and why?
• Is it compatible with private property?
• Who is responsible for raising children?
• Is democracy the best regime? What are the constraints and opportunities of political rulers?
• How are exclusion, marginalization, subordination, dispossession and slavery justified?
• What is colonialism?
• What is the relation between politics and the economy? In what forms have we inherited these political ideas?

Course outcomes/objectives

• read and understand complex texts
• recognize and reconstruct concepts and arguments in these texts
• evaluate and criticize theoretical arguments
• construct and advance your own arguments
• listen to your peers, connect your ideas to theirs and advance your arguments in dialogue with them
• become familiar with central concepts and problems of social and political thought and identify these in current events
• develop your ability to apply these concepts to new contexts, both current and historical

Topics may include

• Plato; Machiavelli; Marx; Baldwin
• development of political traditions
• diversity of political thought
• the history of political thought

POLI 300B - Early Modern Political Thought

May 12 - June 27, 2025
Instructor: Dr. Julian Evans
Delivery: Online synchronous
Synchronous schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30-noon

Course description

This course explores the concepts and arguments of early modern political thought and examines how these ideas shaped modern states, imperial expansion, understandings of citizenship, exclusion and equality, property, labor, colonialism, slavery and gender subordination. We will read major works by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and J. J. Rousseau, texts written by women and people of colour and several revolutionary documents.

Questions we consider include:

• Is political society natural or artificial?
• What constitutes legitimate government?
• What is the relation between human beings and non-human nature?
• Can land be owned?
• Are social inequalities based on nature or convention?
• If all men are equal, is slavery justified? Why are women subordinate?
• What is the relation between ideas of reason, rule over children and justifications of slavery?
• What is the relation between ideas of labour, justifications of private property and colonialism?

Course outcomes/objectives

• recognize and reconstruct central concepts, problems and arguments of social contract theory
• evaluate and criticize theoretical arguments
• construct and advance your own arguments
• listen to your peers, connect your ideas to theirs, and advance your arguments in dialogue with them
• apply these concepts to new contexts, both current and historical
• identify issues in current events that have motivated social contract theorists and their critics

Topics may include

• state of nature
• social contract
• equality and exclusion

POLI 320 - Canadian Constitution

July 3 - August 20, 2025
Instructor: Neil Montgomery
Delivery: Online synchronous
Synchronous schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30-noon

Course description

This course examines the constitution of Canada including the formal rules and informal understandings that govern—or are supposed to govern—the making of policy, application of law, and distribution of rights and freedoms in this country.  We will study Indigenous-settler relations, Quebec-Canada relations, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, federalism and more. 

Constitutions are always changing and that this change tends to be shaped by socio-political conflict and struggle. This emphasis on conflict and change means that we will place significant emphasis on the socio-political struggles that have helped to bring about key changes in the Canadian constitution and in its interpretation and application.

Course outcomes/objectives

• understand Canadian governing structures, rules, conventions and principles of rule interpretation
• explore the socio-political conflicts that inform the constitutional aspects of Canadian contemporary politics
• develop written and verbal communication skills through essay writing and discussion
• build independent research skills

Topics may include

• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Quebec
• capitalism
• diversity
• social movements and equality
• Indigenous self-determination and land

POLI 323 - Issues in Politics "The Politics of Food"

May 12 - June 27, 2025
Instructor: Dr. Doug West
Delivery: Online synchronous
Synchronous schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-8:30 p.m.

Course description

This course is designed in a lecture format to enable student participation by speaking and reacting to the politics inherent in the food systems in Canada, British Columbia and the wider world. By examining the intersectional discourses that surround the formulation, execution and practice of food systems, students will develop a better understanding of their own food systems and those around them.

Course outcomes/objectives

• develop an understanding of local and global food systems
• explore a variety of approaches to understanding food security and food sovereignty
• share personal perspectives on the politics and practices of food systems through open and honest dialogue and conversation
• approach the politics of food with an intersectional lens of thought and awareness to examine food system resilience and food justice
• connect food discourses to community practices
• develop written and verbal communication skills
• build independent research skills

• Topics may include
  • food security/food sovereignty
  • food hubs, food banks
  • organic agriculture
  • food and Indigenous reconciliation

POLI 328 - Gender and International Relations

July 3 - August 20, 2025
Instructor: Dr. Lynn Ng
Delivery: Online synchronous
Synchronous schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-noon

Course description

• How does gender shape international relations?
• How do ideas about masculinity and femininity affect foreign policy, political economy, war, violence and peace?
• What do feminist, intersectional, post-colonial, and queer perspectives contribute to the study of IR?

In exploring these questions, this course aims to help students develop a more nuanced and holistic appreciation of international relations. Through a gendered lens, this course focuses on the ‘big questions’ of IR, such as war, peace, and security, but will also consider other intertwined issues including foreign policies and international political economy.

Course outcomes/objectives

• demonstrate a basic understanding of feminist concepts and theoretical approaches to the study and practice of international relations
• recognize the diversity of human experiences, including the ways that gender, sexuality,
  race, class and nationality interact to shape those experiences and to affect IR
• develop and present persuasive oral and written arguments on feminist IR scholarship
  and the diverse ways in which gender shapes international politics
• build independent research skills

Topics may include

• gender and nationalism
• role of gender in conflict and war
• gender and post-conflict
• gender and peace-building

POLI 349 - Issues in International Politics: "Great Power Politics in the 21st Century"

May 12 - June 27, 2025
Instructor: Husnain Iqbal
Delivery: Online synchronous
Synchronous schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-3:30 p.m.

Course description

This course explores the dynamics of the emerging international political reality and provides a
comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved. It is roughly divided into two sections. The first part introduces the context, drivers, dynamics, and technologies of great power politics in the 21st century. The final, shorter section explains these dynamics from the perspective of smaller states and concludes with an exploration of Canadian foreign policy behavior.

Course outcomes/objectives

• explore the sources and dynamics of great power politics
• understand the implications of great power politics and threats to humanity, for example, nuclear disorder, climate change, application of AI in international politics
• research the implications of evolving structures in international relations for Canada's security
• develop written and verbal communication skills through essay writing and discussion
• build independent research skills

Topics may include

• global zeitenwende
• climate crisis
• proxy wars
• AI and the balance of power

POLI 350/ADMN 311 - Introduction to Public Administration

May 7 - August 1, 2025
Instructor: TBA
Delivery: Online asynchronous

Course description

This course explores external and internal factors affecting contemporary public sector management in Canada. We will discuss the various legislative, executive and judicial processes which engage public officials and citizens. The course sets the theoretical and institutional context and examines emerging trends in public administration. We then proceed with an analysis of how various layers of the public sector function which includes federal, provincial, local and Indigenous forms and modes of governance. 

We will examine current and emerging debates about public institutions, laws, policies and diversity. Course material includes a range of text and visual materials that integrate diverse perspectives on how to advance public goods and interests. We will examine how various institutions function and their responses to the contemporary challenges of our time.

Course outcomes/objectives

• develop written communication through essay writing
• debate and evaluate techniques of public administration
• understand the policy-making process, forms of engagement and decision-making
• understand the various approaches, processes and organization of public administration

Topics may include

• Westminster model
• public service
• decision-making models
• levels of government including local municipal government
• Indigenous governance

POLI 373 - African Politics

July 3 - August 20, 2025
Instructor: Dr. Smith Oduro-Marfo
Delivery: Online synchronous
Synchronous schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-8:30 p.m.

Course description

The African continent is very diverse. and home home to multiple identities, cultures, societies and institutions. As a result, there is hardly a monolithic ‘African Politics’ that can be pointed to,
despite the singular and sweeping narratives that often accompany analysis and discussions of
politics in Africa.

This course takes a broad survey approach to appreciating various political trends and practices across Africa. We will explore historical, empirical and theoretical tools and perspectives that help students to analyze politics in Africa and is not necessarily about investigating the specific nature of politics in every African country.

Course outcomes/objectives

• Appreciate the diversity of politics and political institutions across African countries.
• Explore the historical institutions that shape politics in African countries (or not)
• Access theories and concepts that help to explain various political themes and
  how they manifest in African countries
• develop written and verbal communication skills through essay writing and discussion
• build independent research skills

Topics may include

• development and democracy
• citizenship, identity and protest
• security and conflicts
• global south and global north relations

POLI 433 - Issues in Politics "Borders and Migration"

May 12 - June 27, 2025
Instructor: Dr. Michael Carpenter
Delivery: In-person
Synchronous schedule: Mondays and Wednesdays 1-3:30 p.m.

Course description

Bridging the gap between the research literatures of border studies and migration studies, this seminar offers diverse comparative perspectives on the juncture of people determined to move and international boundaries. Readings are organised into sections by geographic region (the first half of the course) and by thematic focus (the second half of the course). Regions covered will include North America, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. 

Course outcomes/objectives

• Explore the moral and critical approaches to borders and migration
• Understand the politicization of unauthorized migration and unauthorized migration as resistance
• develop written and verbal communication skills through essay writing and discussion
• build independent research skills

Topics may include

• defining borders
• refugee crises
• climate migration
• unauthorized migration