General Arts And Science - Course Descriptions

LL008 - Communications for G.A.S.
As with COMM 10045, this course develops awareness and skill in achieving clarity, coherence and precision in writing and speaking. This is a 6 hour per week course that will be assigned after in-class testing, for students who need extra support in grammar and communications.

COMM 10045 - Grammar and Communications for G.A.S.
This course develops awareness and skill in achieving clarity, coherence and precision in writing and speaking. Knowledge of formatting and structure are emphasized, along with skill in planning, drafting, self-editing and revising a variety of written and spoken messages. Main units include sentence and paragraph structure, essay writing, critical thinking, logical development of ideas and arguments, and oral presentations. Formats include concise, directed messages: letters, memos and short reports.

COMM 10044 - Literature for G.A.S.
Literature for G.A.S. focuses on short fiction, drama, poetry and film. This course encourages students to think, discuss and write in a critical way. In addition to applying critical theory, students connect their encounters with works of literature and film to the experience of their own lives, broadening and deepening their understanding of important moral, social and aesthetic issues. Awareness of style and grammatical structure will be included, along with techniques of word choice and vocabulary development. Students will write researched essays and make oral presentations.

AS101 - Success Strategies
Success Strategies is one of the required courses for graduation in the General Arts and Science Program. It is designed to provide an opportunity for students to focus on aspects of learning such as career exploration, communication skills, thinking skills, essay and research skills and study habits. Students will apply these skills to their study habits and career development.

Students will explore their own career choices through gathering self-assessment and career information and present it in a basic essay format using the writing skills necessary to present the information clearly and concisely.

Success Strategies also provides the student with an academic advisor who will remain their advisor throughout their first year of study in the General Arts and Science program. As part of the course, students are scheduled to meet regularly with this advisor on a one to one basis.

Options:

AS107 - Anthropology
Anthropology is perhaps the broadest study in the social sciences. Anthropology is properly defined as the scientific and humanistic study of humankind and approaches its subject matter through archaeological, cultural, linguistic and biological research. The aim of anthropology is to use our holistic approach to gain an understanding of our past, present, future and address the problems humans face in biological, social and cultural life.

This course will explore the evolution, similarity and diversity of humankind through time. It will inquire into how we have evolved from a biologically and culturally weak species to one that has the ability to cause catastrophic change and act in ways that are fundamentally harmful, not only to our own existence, but all life. Particular areas of study will include the history of anthropology, primate and hominid evolution, culture, modes of subsistence, economic systems, marriage, kinship, religion and culture change.

AS202 - Art Through the Ages
Art, in all its forms, is an expression of the human experience. Visual arts are both social and interactive yet, despite the bombardment of visual stimuli that we experience, we live and work in a society that is unsophisticated in matters visual and things aesthetic. This course will provide students an overview of the History of Western Art and an introduction to appreciating and understanding the artistic elements that make up the visual arts.

SS105 - Canadian Politics
Canadian Politics looks at the enduring themes in Canadian politics: the place of Quebec in confederation, Western alienation and the place of First Nations peoples. Do Canadians across the time zones agree that the costs of being Canadian are equally born and the benefits equally shared?

Mackenzie King once observed that some countries have too much history but that Canada has too much geography. In Canadian Politics we look at the importance of geography and the role that it played in the development of the political institutions of the country and in the shaping of the political debate in Canada today. We look at how social and economic change since confederation has changed the relationship between the citizen and the state and the relationship between the three partners in confederation: the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

Canada has been variously described as a nation that exists only in the imagination and as a great experiment. In Canadian Politics we attempt to anticipate the challenges that will present themselves in the 21st century to which the people of Canada and its political institutions will have to respond.

SS271 - Developmental Psychology
This course will examine, identify and describe lifespan development from “womb to tomb”. We will study developmental processes from a chronological perspective beginning with conception to periods of infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. At each stage, special emphasis will be on the developmental tasks and needs in relation to physical, cognitive, social and personality development. Throughout the course, we will identify the co-relating effects of nature and nurture in lifespan development with emphasis on normal growth and development.

HMNS 1000 - Group Dynamics
This course will examine groups, how they function and their advantages and disadvantages. In a small group format, interpersonal dynamics, communication patterns and stages of group development will be explored. Students will be expected to participate in small groups, providing a forum to explore their own patterns of communication, values and roles behind their own interpersonal dynamics. Students will gain additional insights and knowledge into their own behaviour in a group.

HIST 10010 - History: Myth and Reality
One of the best methods of approaching the question of myth and reality in history is the study of legends. These may (and often do) have mythic elements, but they are legends rather than myths because they do have some historical basis, however weak or strong. Examples include the Amazons, the Trojan War, Cleopatra, King Arthur, the Vikings, Joan of Arc, the Three Musketeers, Marie-Antoinette, and the postwar British Secret Service. This course will explore how our perceptions of these and other legendary events and figures have been shaped by forces such as ancient mythic traditions, political or cultural agendas, and influential literary movements. Students will also study the context of each legend, as they explore a narrow but coherent path through the past, one designed for those new to the study of history. The course can thus serve in more than one way as an introduction to serious historical inquiry through the examination of events and figures about which many students may have always wondered.

CB131 - Introduction to Business
This course is designed to help students understand the role of business in Canada, and understand the basics of management and organization theory.

C0166 - Introduction to Databases
General topics include the fundamentals of designing and using a database including tables, forms, queries and reports. The primary tools used in this course will be Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Access.

C0165 - Introduction to Microcomputers
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will have basic skills to work with Windows and Internet Explorer. In addition, the student will have demonstrated the ability to use a word processing program to create, save, retrieve, edit and print grammatically correct and professionally looking text and documents that communicate effectively. Upon completion of this course, the students will have learned how to create web pages and will have demonstrated the ability to create electronic presentation material along with the ability to analyze the structure and organization of data and construct spreadsheets that provide information to support effective problem solving and decision making, and present the information in clear and useful formats.

AS108 - Issues in Health and Healing
One of the greatest concerns for all people has been their health. Beginning with pre-historic peoples, we have sought to understand the causes of illness, and how to cure sickness through supernatural and natural explanations. This course explores some of the concepts and issues relevant within the study of medical anthropology and medical sociology. Specifically, this course will survey the healing practices and medical culture of ancient and modern peoples. It inquires into the roles of faith, culture and society in the healing process and as factors that cause illness and disease. Definitions of health, illness and disease will be discussed in order to make connections between healing systems, health, social structure and social class in ancient and modern populations. The study of the history and development of medicare and the medicalization of society will be examined in an attempt to understand some of the current issues Canadians face in their healthcare.

CM190 - Mass Communications
Mass Communications is a course that will make you a better consumer of media. The course goes “behind the scenes” of both Canadian and American media. What drives the media? Are the media there to serve the public or just to make money? Who controls the media? What effect does the media have on us as individuals? As a society? What does the future hold for the media?

MA006 - Mathematics I (G.A.S.)
This course is intended to develop basic mathematical skills and problem solving abilities. Modules covered are: Operations with Numbers, Basic Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Equations and Percents.

MA007 - Mathematics II (G.A.S.)
This course is intended to develop basic mathematical skills and problem solving abilities. Modules covered are: unit conversions, trigonometry, geometry and measurement, and graphing and systems of equations. (* pre-requisite: 70% in MA006)

AS106 - Popular Culture
This course is an in-depth look at popular culture (TV, ads, music, clothing, etc.) and its impact on society. We begin with a critical analysis of the media and ask who controls it, the consumers, the producers or both? We look at theorists who have examined the power structure of society such as: Adorno, Fiske, Marx and Gramsci. We ask whether representations in the media reflect society’s values or do they effect society’s beliefs, values and norms? We discuss the North American culture of consuming products and how this effects underdeveloped and developing countries (through globalization and westernization). Finally, we examine resistance. Is resistance possible? If so, in what form does it need to be? Can consumers “rise up” and take their culture back?

PE105 - Preparatory Biology (G.A.S.) *
An introductory level course covering the following topics: cell and body organization, digestion and circulation, respiration and excretion, integration and co-ordination, and muscular-skeletal and reproductive systems.

Completion of this course will qualify the student for entry into most college level technology and health science programs.

PE106 - Preparatory Chemistry (G.A.S.) *
An introductory level course covering the following topics: measurement, matter, atoms and the periodic table, chemical bonding and equations, heat of reaction, acids, bases and salts, and liquids and solutions.

Completion of this course will qualify the student for entry into most college level technology and health science programs.

PE108 - Preparatory Physics (G.A.S.) *
An introductory level course covering the following topics: units and motion, equations of motion, force, machines, radioactivity, and simple and complex circuits.

Completion of this course will qualify the student for entry into most college level technology and health science programs.

* Students can only take two (2) PE courses in one semester.

SS156 - Psychology I
This course is an introductory survey of psychology designed to provide you with an understanding of the basic concepts and techniques of modern psychology as a behavioural science.

Psychology is the study of human experience: the thoughts, feelings and behaviour that we experience as we interact with our world. As a student in this course, you will receive a more comprehensive understanding of yourself and the world. Areas of study include approaches to research, biology of behaviour, consciousness, learning, memory, personality, social psychology, psychological disorders and therapies. Hopefully you will acquire a deeper understanding and acceptance of yourself and others that will enrich your personal relationships.

AS105 - Race and Ethnic Dynamics
Race and Ethnic Dynamics examines race and ethnicity from a Canadian context. We start the discussion by defining ethnicity and race. The students meet and interview two recent immigrants to learn about the immigrant experience. Placing a human face on the immigration process into Canada facilitates a deeper understanding of what it means to come here. We define and discuss the implications of multiculturalism and the Melting Pot. Diversity is a key component of the Canadian identity but how has this affected the Canadian landscape?

SS299 - Society, Technology and Social Issues
This course is designed to examine a wide variety of technologies that have influenced society significantly.

These technologies will be examined both from a historical perspective and for their immediate impact on our lives socially, politically and economically. Students will gain an enhanced awareness of the associated ethical and ecological dilemmas and ultimately the implications for future sustainability can be explored.

SS108 - Sociology I
Sociology provides insight into how society influences human behaviour. By studying the problems and social issues in society, we are able to challenge commonsense and gain a better understanding of how society affects the ways in which we act, learn, think and even perceive or construct reality.

Sociology I explores various sociological perspectives about social life. Particular areas of study include the historical background of sociology, culture, socialization, deviant behaviour, social inequality, and the economy.

SS109 - Sociology II
While Sociology I is not a pre-requisite for Sociology II, Sociology II does build upon the perspectives about social life learned in Sociology I.

Particular areas of study include social structure, gender, race and ethnicity, the family, population, social movements and social change.