Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

ARHI 201 / HIST 203 is designed to introduce the developments in artistic expression, from cave drawings and the monuments of ancient Egypt to the paintings, sculpture and architecture of 15th century northern Europe.

Art History 202/History 204: Looking at Art from the Renaissance to Present Day is a three-credit, junior-level course designed to introduce you to the developments in artistic expression in the Western world beginning with the Italian Renaissance and ending with Contemporary art. This course, which is offered in an individualized-study delivery mode and normally open to students throughout the year, introduces the basic premise of art history and teaches students how to critically view historical works and artistic practices.

ENGL 255 focuses on essay writing at the university level. In order to improve the necessary skills, students study examples of good writing, do a brief introductory assignment, write two short summaries, participate in online discussion forums, and complete three essays covering a spectrum of styles and purposes.

ENGL 255 focuses on essay writing at the university level. In order to improve the necessary skills, students study examples of good writing, do a brief introductory assignment, write two short summaries, participate in online discussion forums, and complete three essays covering a spectrum of styles and purposes. The course is designed to recognize students’ personal interests, objectives, and learning styles and to provide flexible scheduling options.

This course traces the history of Western theatre from its Greek origins to the beginning of the eighteenth century in England and France, with specific references to the plays in a core anthology, The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama.

English 305: Literature for Children is a six-credit senior course designed to introduce the student to children’s literature, its history and development, and its rich variety of forms and techniques.

English 307 critically examines the tradition in women's writing, deconstructs the pervasive images of women in literature, and analyses the way in which women use language to define their experiences.

English 316 is an introductory level course designed to familiarize you with a variety of critical perspectives and help you understand literary works more profoundly by integrating literary theory in your response to these works. English 316 also aims to prepare English program students for English 423: Advanced Literary Theory and Criticism, which deals with some of the more contemporary literary theories covered in English 316 in more depth.

ENGL 325 is an introduction to the study of the plays of William Shakespeare and concentrates on the comedies and problem plays. The course will help you to interpret the plays as literary texts and as live theatre.

English 344: American Literature I is a three-credit senior course designed to introduce students to American literature, its history and development, and its rich variety of forms and techniques.

ENGL 351 is an introduction to the study of ethnic minority writing in Canada in the context of the country's two majority traditions—the English and the French.

This course is a genre-specific study of the poetry, prose, short fiction, and novels of the Harlem Renaissance. In this course you will focus on the cultural, historical, and artistic movement of the 1920s and 1930s, by examining the racial, political, and social issues of the time period.

English 384: Writing Creative Non-fiction is a senior-level course that offers students the opportunity to write creative non-fiction and receive feedback on their writing. Creative non-fiction, also called literary non-fiction or literary journalism, is a genre that applies to non-fiction the principles of storytelling usually associated with fiction. Students will learn these principles of storytelling as they produce their own work.

In this course we will focus on the first four decades of the twentieth-century British novel, its history and development, its rich variety of forms and techniques, and the ideas and events that influenced it.

ENGL 423 examines the major contemporary theories of literature and their application in practical criticism.

The aim of ENGL 481 is for you to learn to read sport literature with an understanding of genre, technique, and form; to apply various critical strategies to literary texts; to develop analytical writing skills appropriate to essays at the 400 level; and to experiment with creative writing about sport.

This course is designed for students who need to revise or upgrade their grammar skills to ensure accuracy of communication before proceeding with other courses or post-secondary studies. There is a thorough and systematic review of grammatical structures and their use in authentic language situations. Although this course studies grammar from an ESL perspective, it is also appropriate for native speakers of English who need to improve their grammar skills. ENGL 140 may be recommended for students interested in taking ENGL 177 or ENGL 189.

The main purpose of English 155: Developing Writing Skills is to help you become a better writer so you can cope effectively with the demands of university-level writing.

English 177: English for Academic Purposes provides an introduction to university studies for students who wish to attend a postsecondary institution where English is the medium of instruction. The aim of this course is to prepare students to succeed in complex academic tasks in writing and reading. This is a general academic preparatory course designed from an ESL perspective. However, it is also appropriate for native speakers of English who are in need of general academic and writing preparation.

French 100 will help you become familiar with the foundation of the French language and will help you develop the four basic language skills of reading, writing, aural comprehension, and speaking. By the end of the course you will be able to make simple statements, and ask and answer a variety of questions. You will learn how to write simple sentences that are grammatically correct and to express yourself in simple French.

French Composition

French 358 is designed for students who have a reasonably good mastery of French grammar and French written expression, and who wish to study French literature in a cultural context. In French 358, you will acquire a basic knowledge of French texts that are important in French literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century.

FRENCH 420 is designed for students who intend to major in French or to graduate in Education with French as a teaching subject.

SPAN 301 consists of four integrated components: grammar, vocabulary, culture, and literature. The course reviews and further develops basic language skills acquired in First Year Spanish. The emphasis is on reviewing and learning grammar structures and on vocabulary acquisition. The objective of SPAN 301 is to strengthen both written and oral skills that will enable students to communicate in a variety of contexts.

SPAN 400 reviews and further develops language skills acquired in the first two years of Spanish.

FREN 101 continues the study of the basic elements of the French language acquired in FREN 100. Oral and written skills are developed through the study of vocabulary, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. This course will enable students to speak and write in simple French in a range of everyday situations. A basic knowledge of English grammar is very important since FREN 101 contains a major grammar component.

HERM 301: Introduction to Heritage Resources Management introduces students to heritage resources management and creates a base for further study of the contemporary heritage field. Students study types of practice and current and emerging issues, as well as the social context, controversies, ethical questions and general concerns that characterize efforts in heritage preservation and the work carried out in museums, archives, historic places and interpretive centres. Within this theoretical and applied framework, students will begin to develop approaches and skills in administration, collecting, conservation and preservation, interpretation, audience development and visitor services.

Heritage Resources Management 322: Heritage Collections deals with the acquisition, documentation, storage, and preservation of collections.

Gathering and conserving objects is an ancient human impulse. For thousands of years people have collected, kept, and cherished objects. These practices have many motivations and reasons, including spiritual need; economic and political objectives, such as the acquisition of personal or group social status and power; the quest for knowledge; and the expression of aesthetic sensibilities.

Gathering and conserving objects is an ancient human impulse. For thousands of years people have collected, kept, and cherished objects. These practices have many motivations and reasons, including spiritual need; economic and political objectives, such as the acquisition of personal or group social status and power; the quest for knowledge; and the expression of aesthetic sensibilities.

ARHI 201 / HIST 203 is designed to introduce the developments in artistic expression, from cave drawings and the monuments of ancient Egypt to the paintings, sculpture and architecture of 15th century northern Europe.

It has long been recognized that Indigenous people make up a disproportionately large segment of the prison population in Canada. In this course, we discuss the reasons for this over-representation and some of the strategies Indigenous nations and communities are developing to address it.

This course is a junior-level, undergraduate, three-credit course in environmental studies. It is suitable for students who are interested in environmental and sustainability issues but have little or no background in these areas. This survey course presents an overview of key concepts related to environmental analysis, such as resilience, carrying capacity, and environmental justice, as well as a range of topics related to contemporary environmental issues such as water, biodiversity, and ecological design.

Geography 201: Introductory Human Geography is a foundation course for students enrolled in geography, global studies, and environmental studies programs, and is also suitable for those who wish simply to further their understanding of the fundamentals of human geography.

Welcome to History/Global Studies 208: The World to 1500. This is a three-credit, junior-level course. This first-year course introduces students to the study of Global History by surveying the early human past from its spread around world and invention of agriculture, through the rise of early and classical civilizations and the growing communication in the post-classical period, up to the chance connection of global networks by European explorers at the start of the modern age.

HIST 209/GLST 209 examines the major economic, political, social, scientific, and technological developments in twentieth century history. The course adopts four broad themes: global interrelatedness; identity and difference; rise of the mass society; and technology versus nature. These themes serve as a guide to understanding the material in each of the course's fourteen units.

GLST 210 introduces you to the major economic, political, social, scientific, and technological developments in post–Second World War history. The course is based on four broad themes: global interrelatedness; identity and difference; rise of the mass society; and technology versus nature, which serve as a guide to understanding the material in each unit of the course. It follows Global Studies 209: A History of the World in the Twentieth Century: I, which covers the first half of the twentieth century.

This course surveys the most significant political, economic, social, cultural, religious, and intellectual trends in European history from the end of the sixteenth century to the 1930s. 

History/Women’s and Gender Studies 362: Constructing Women and Men in Canada: A History Since Industrialization explores the ways social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental forces have contributed to the gendering of women and men in Canada from the onset of industrialization in the nineteenth century to the present.

History 383: The Vikings is a three-credit, senior-level course that surveys the political, military, economic, social, cultural, and religious history of one of early medieval Europe’s most famous peoples.

HUMN 309/CLAS 309/HIST 309 provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and culture of Ancient Greece from the archaic period through the Persian and Peloponnesian wars to the Hellenistic era.

Welcome to Ancient Rome a third-year Athabasca University course that is cross-listed as Humanities 312 / Classics 312 / History 312. This three-credit, senior-level (third-year) course examines the fascinating events and developments during a formative period in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. There are no prerequisites for this course, but students are strongly recommended to have mastered junior-level study, reading, and writing skills.

Business Ethics is an applied ethics course that focuses on the ethics of enterprise, exchange, corporate responsibility, work, consumption, and trade.  

Philosophy 350: Ethics, is a senior-level, three-credit course that provides an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the major figures in the western tradition of ancient, modern, and contemporary thought on questions of moral theory and ethics.

This course provides an introduction to the special ethical problems and issues associated with science, scientific research, applied science, and technology.

Welcome to Globalization and World Politics. This course provides a critical overview of the dynamics and processes of globalization and world politics, and their interaction from historical to contemporary times.

POEC 393 discusses a number of debates about the best ways to 'compete,' many of which rely on the 'market' or co-operative and state-aided industrial strategies. Students learn to analyze these broad issues and formulate policy-related initiatives for Canadian cases.

RELS 206 has not been developed with the purpose of trying to defend or criticize Islam, nor is it meant to convince you of the validity of certain religious beliefs at the expense of others. The academic study of religion is in part about placing religious traditions in their proper socio-historical and economic contexts so we can better understand the growth and internal diversity of religious systems over a lengthy period of time. Doing so enables the individual to develop a real sensitivity to and understanding of the beliefs of religious practitioners without losing the analytical and critical methodology upon which the study of religion is built. The goal of Religious Studies 206, then, is to provide you with a strong, basic knowledge about Islam that will help you understand the historical, ritual, theological, and political manifestations of Islam and the diversity of voices and opinions within this religious tradition.

Many people believe that religion exists solely in places of worship, but is this really true? Is there a distinct separation between the sacred and the profane? What defines religion? ―culture? Does popular culture influence religion or is it a one-way street? Is today’s western, apparently secularized, culture entirely unaware of the religious content―both subtle and obvious―that exists within film, literature, television, music, and the media? This course explores these questions, looking at the interplay between religion and culture in North America, with the goal of evaluating the influence that each exerts on the other.

Sociology 337: Modern Sociological Theory in the 20th Century: The Age of Grand Theory, a course designed to introduce students to different theories used by sociologists and other social scientists.

Sociology 348: Fighting Back for the Health of It: Sociology of Environment and Health is a three-credit, intermediate-level course that explores the relationship between the impacts of industrial activity on the environments in which people live and work, and the health of those exposed to these impacts.

Welcome to Sociology 378/Communications Studies 385: Rebel with a Cause: Social Movements in History and Popular Culture, a three-credit, intermediate-level course that explores the “causes” of social movements that have arisen to protest and to answer or solve contemporary social and environmental problems. Course readings, resources, and assignments give attention to social movements in history and contemporary times, in theory and practice, and in relation to developments in popular culture.

SOCI 435 surveys several different theories, concepts, and categories used by sociologists to explain social change. Students will be asked to draw from these theories and concepts when examining some of the social, economic, and political transformations occurring at the end of the twentieth century.

This course is designed to increase your understanding of technology, information technology, and the impact technology has on your life and our world.

Educational Psychology 389: Learning Disabilities—Issues and Interventions is a three-credit undergraduate-level course is designed to increase your awareness of learning disabilities from a number of viewpoints and theoretical perspectives. While the course emphasizes understanding the issues surrounding the field of learning disabilities, it also examines assessment and remediation of learning and behaviour problems. Topics range from legislation pertaining to learning disabilities to providing services to individuals with learning disabilities.

PSYC 388 is a survey course designed to increase students’ awareness of the field of counselling, including its evolution, processes, theories, and specialties. This course offers a broad survey of the field of counselling, including an introduction to the foundational skills and processes involved in counselling relationships. Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of counselling skills and processes through quizzes and written assignments; students in this course are not expected to apply these counselling skills in a placement or field experience.

Psychology 402 examines the relationship between the brain and behaviour. The course explores the biological basis of behaviour, learning, memory, language, and thinking, as well as disorders that arise from nervous system malfunctioning.

PSYC 418 allows students to pursue a topic of special interest in more detail than permitted within the standard psychology curriculum.

ANTH 275 focuses on the cross-cultural study of human diversity. Study topics include patterns of social organization, the family, economics, politics, religion, the arts, and language.

Anthropology 278: Human Evolution and Diversity is designed to introduce you to the varied subjects and avenues of study that comprise the field of biological anthropology. 

This is a third-year course that focuses on important human ecological relationships, through examining ecological principals and thinking (and their limitations), and the interrelationships of environments with cultures and ways of life.

ANTH 362 provides an introduction to the study of North American Aboriginal peoples: Indian, Inuit, and Métis.

Anthropology 384 looks at the family from an international and cross-cultural perspective.

This is a senior level course in anthropological research methods that reviews issues in ethnographic research. The focus is on gaining skills and practice in doing ethnographic research.

ANTH 434: The History of Anthropological Thought, is a senior-level course that examines the range of responses to the fact of human diversity through the ages, with emphasis on Modern and Postmodern anthropology.

Anthropology 499 examines the notion that health and illness are not entities in themselves but rather culturally constituted means of both representing and shaping human experience and reality. The course looks at different medical systems within particular cultural contexts. It also investigates several important themes including healers, medical pluralism, Indigenous medicine, the political economy of health and illness, the medicalization of social life, and the relationship between belief and the construction of clinical realities. The main theoretical approaches in medical anthropology are analyzed in the context of their strengths and weaknesses, which helps explain the ideologies and practices behind each system.

You will learn about the history and origins of cultural studies, analyse and discuss some of the key theoretical debates around what constitutes cultural studies, and review examples of the approaches that continue to shape and reshape the ever-expanding boundaries of the field. You will also be given the opportunity to apply this knowledge by producing an analysis of a cultural text or practice—in short, to actually do cultural studies yourself.

Education 210 is a three-credit, junior-level introduction to the Canadian labour-market training system. Labour-market training comprises policies, programs, and activities intended to result in an adequate number of appropriately trained workers. In Canada, the labour-market training system has four main components: postsecondary education, government labour-market policy, employer workplace training, and community education.

This course is designed to introduce you to an analysis of the development of Canadian education that takes account of historical, social, cultural, and philosophical influences. The course will help you develop an understanding of the origins of the Canadian public education system and demonstrate the historical roots of many contemporary education debates.

The overall intent of this course is to spur deep critical reflection on two broad concepts: culture, and the complexities and ramifications of schooling's socialization/enculturation function in contemporary Canada's multicultural society-specifically, the feasibility of schooling's libratory ideals.

Educ 411 is a senior-level, three-credit course which allows students, under supervision, to engage in individual research projects. Students will submit a proposal and complete a major research paper on a topic of their choice in consultation with the course professor. Enrolment in the course will be subject to the approval of the course professor.

HIST 336: History of Canadian Labour offers extensive and detailed insights into Canadian labour and working-class history from pre-colonial times until the present.

As a student registered in Human Services 306, you will self-assess your educational goals and prepare to implement a personal learning plan. The course asks you to look back at the post-secondary education you have already completed and to look forward to your completion of an undergraduate degree, academic credential, or other educational goals.

As a capstone course, Human Services 489 will guide you to coordinate the many concepts, theories and approaches you have used during your studies to complete the Bachelor of Professional Arts – Human Services degree. It is intended for students who have completed, or very nearly completed, their BPA-HS degree. In addition to the breadth and depth of your knowledge of the human services and the proficiency you have developed in the general education outcomes prescribed, demonstration of your mastery of several aspects of the program content will be required.

Welcome to IDRL 496: Comparative Labour Education, a three-credit, senior-level course about learning in, and for, the labour movement. It showcases the efforts that unions and other organizations have made to educate workers about their role in society and about the opportunities they have had to improve their working conditions and lives through collective action throughout the 20th century.

This course is about workers and their organizing efforts. In other words, it is about efforts carried out in order to improve the working and living conditions of people who have to find paid employment to make a living.

LBST 332 course explores the relationship between women and unions from a global perspective.

LBST/GLST/HIST 335: Global Labour History, a course that will have you follow workers and workers movements throughout the history of global capitalism, as well as provide you with the theoretical tools needed to understand changing conditions of work, and different strategies used by workers to improve their conditions. The course uses the cotton and rubber industries as examples to highlight the diverse worlds of work, beginning in cotton and rubber plantations and culminating in global production networks—with cotton driving 19th century capitalism, and rubber as a key component of automobile manufacturing, the leading industry of the 20th century.

LBST415: Sex Work and Sex Workers is a three-credit, senior-level course that introduces you to sex work in Canada. This course offers an overview of the sex industry in a variety of theoretical and material contexts, as well as an in-depth focus on sex work in the Canadian context.

Psychology 347: Introduction to Feminist Counselling is about feminist theory and the development of a feminist model of counselling. It is also about your development as a feminist and as a counsellor.