Faculty of Arts & Science 2014-2015 Calendar

Calendar Home | Course Timetables

Victoria College

• Creative Expression and Society Minor
• Education and Society Minor (CTEP)
• Education and Society Minor
• Literature and Critical Theory Specialist in the Comparative Literature Stream | Literature and Critical Theory Major in the Comparative Literature Stream
• Literature and Critical Theory Specialist in the Cultural Theory Stream | Literature and Critical Theory Major in the Cultural Theory Stream
• Literature and Critical Theory Minor
• Material Culture Minor
• Renaissance Studies Specialist | Renaissance Studies Major | Renaissance Studies Minor
• Science and Society Minor
• Semiotics and Communication Studies Minor
• Victoria College Courses

Faculty

Victoria College (Vic) is committed to providing students with a personal and inclusive university experience inside and outside the classroom. This is an environment where students and faculty are engaged in building a community that welcomes diversity, embraces creativity and is energized by challenge.

At Vic, we nurture a close-knit learning environment from the very beginning of your academic career. Whether it is through our Vic One program, Vic One Hundred or the 199 courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science, every first-year Victoria College student takes at least one small seminar course. You will experience here the academic advantages of being a student at one of Canada’s leading research universities combined with the intimacy of a small liberal arts college.

Vic One

Victoria College offers first-year Arts and Science students an opportunity for a unique educational experience that draws upon the College’s history and identity. Six streams with differing emphasis are available in this foundation year program, known as Vic One. They are named in honour of six respected Canadian leaders, all Victoria College alumni.  The Northrop Frye stream, named after the former Victoria College professor and distinguished literary critic, focuses on the humanities. The Norman Jewison stream, named after the former Victoria University Chancellor and celebrated film director, is oriented towards the creative arts and society. The Lester B. Pearson stream, named after the former Canadian Prime Minister, is concerned with the social sciences. The Egerton Ryerson stream, named after the first Principal of the College who was a pioneer in Canadian education, introduces issues in education and teaching. The Arthur Schawlow Stream, named after the Physics Nobel laureate, is geared towards the physical and mathematical sciences. The Augusta Stowe-Gullen stream, named after the first woman to graduate from a Canadian medical school, is of interest to students wishing to pursue studies in the life sciences. The six streams feature seminars, lectures, small tutorials and informal conversation, and are enriched by weekly plenary sessions with guest professors, visiting artists, writers, ambassadors and other public figures.

The Vic One streams comprise up to three FCEs of the five FCEs taken by most first-year students. Two required courses in each stream are seminar courses given by faculty of Victoria College. They have a limited enrolment of 25 students in each class. The third co-requisite course is listed with each course description.  Students who wish to discuss other options for their Vic One co-requisite course must contact the coordinator of their stream or the Vic One Liaison Officer vic.one@utoronto.ca for approval.

Vic One enrolment is limited to a total of 200 students over 6 streams of study. It requires an application that is found on the Vic One website (www.vic.utoronto.ca). All first-year students in the Faculty of Arts and Science (St. George campus), regardless of college membership, are eligible for admission to Vic One (excluding Commerce students). Admission decisions are based on extra-curricular activities, a short original essay and the student’s entering grades.

PLEASE NOTE: Vic One students are NOT eligible to enrol in Vic One Hundred courses, 199 first-year seminars or any other One program.

Vic One Hundred: First Year Seminars 

Vic One Hundred is a Victoria College initiative that offers first-year Arts and Science students the opportunity to experience a small class environment. These limited enrolment courses facilitate close contact with distinguished teaching faculty and fellow students, while providing an excellent gateway to, and foundation for, subsequent studies.

PLEASE NOTE: Vic One Hundred seminar courses are NOT open to students enrolled in any One program (including Vic One) or 199Y first-year seminars.

Enrolment in a first-year seminar course (199s and Vic One Hundred) is limited to 1.0 FCE. Students may take a combination of Vic One Hundred and 199H seminars as long as enrolment does not exceed 1.0 FCE.

Creative Expression and Society Program

(Minor) allows students to develop their proficiency in creative expression by taking part in one or more workshop courses in creative writing or another artistic medium, while studying the relationship of the creative arts to social issues. The reciprocal influence of creative artists on society, and of society and the marketplace on creative endeavour, is examined through courses that treat topics such as: the arts and public opinion; interpretation and reception; reviewing and marketing; censorship and criticism; ethics and accountability in fictional and non-fictional forms. This program fosters the exercise of creativity while making the relationship of creativity and social conditions a subject for reflection and dialogue.

Education and Society (Concurrent Teacher Education Program)

(Joint BA/BSc/BEd) prepares students for a career in primary/junior teaching and encourages students to follow an Arts and Science program of study focused on the urban environment. Students in first year should consider the Ryerson Stream of Vic One as preparation. Enrolment in the Concurrent Teacher Education Program is limited to 15 students per year.

Concurrent Teacher Education offers students the opportunity to complete the BA/BSc degree and the BEd simultaneously. The program is offered in partnership with OISE. A complete description may be found on www.ctep.utoronto.ca. Students begin the program in their second year; admission into the program is by application starting in early April and ending mid-May.

Education and Society (Arts Program)

(Minor) is for students interested in education to explore topics such as child and adolescent development, equity and diversity, communication and conflict resolution. Students will get hands-on experience in classrooms and are strongly encouraged to explore international placements. Students completing the minor will be well prepared for applying to consecutive education programs.

Literature and Critical Theory Program (Formerly Literary Studies)

(Specialist, Major and Minor) will be attractive to students who wish to read works drawn from a variety of languages and cultural contexts. The program combines close attention to literary texts with theoretical reflection on relations between literary and non-literary works (for example, philosophy, art, film, history). Contemporary debates in literary and cultural theory will play a key role.

Students may enrol in one of two streams, Comparative Literature (Specialist and Major) or Cultural Theory (Specialist and Major). Students may also enrol in the Minor program.

Material Culture Program

(Minor) engages students in the study of material culture (tangible things, broadly defined); supports research projects which originate with studies of artefacts; and fosters trans-disciplinary and inter-institutional dialogues amongst students, scholars, stewards and purveyors of material culture – within the university and at a range of cultural agencies. Students will work with curators and other professionals to analyze the social and cultural relevance of objects as part of understanding a culture or society.  The Minor is designed to complement programs in such disciplines as Asian Studies, Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Geography, History, Art, History of Science and Technology, Semiotics, Renaissance Studies and Anthropology.

Renaissance Studies Program

(Specialist, Major and Minor) studies one of the critical periods in European and world history. The Renaissance witnessed changes in art and literature, in social and political development, and in technology and science that were to transform our concept of the world. This interdisciplinary program is particularly attractive to students of history, politics, literature, fine art, history of science, music and theatre, because it assembles aspects of all these studies to focus on one seminal period in Western civilization.

Science and Society Program

(Minor) is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the different ways science and technology have shaped modern society and, in turn, how society shapes science and technology. Courses in this program address such topics as science and values, science-related policy and politics, ethical uses of technology, scientific revolutions and controversies, modeling and communication of scientific research, and knowledge transfer from research to commercial and societal applications.

Semiotics and Communication Studies Program

(Minor) investigates the science of communication and sign systems, the ways people understand phenomena and organize them mentally, the ways in which they devise means for transmitting that understanding and for sharing it with others. It covers all non-verbal signalling and extends to domains whose communicative dimension is perceived only unconsciously or subliminally. Knowledge, meaning, intention and action are thus fundamental concepts in the semiotic investigation of phenomena.

Victoria College Programs

The Minor in Creative Expression and Society allows students to develop creative and communicative proficiency by taking part in one or more workshop-style courses in fiction, non-fiction, or poetry writing and/or creative expression through aural and visual media. Students will also explore the reciprocal relationship of the creative arts and society by studying social issues in the arts, the influence of writers and artists on society, and the impact of society and the marketplace on creative endeavour. Courses explore such topics as the arts and public opinion; reception and interpretation; marketing and reviewing; censorship and criticism; ethics and accountability. This program fosters the exercise of creativity while making the relationship of creative expression and social conditions a subject for reflection and dialogue.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

4.0 FCEs including at least 1.0 FCE at the 300+level. Up to 1.0 FCE may be chosen from approved courses offered by other departments (see list of Cognate Courses).

1. At least 1.0 FCE from Group A – Creative Expression: VIC273H1, VIC275H1, VIC279H1, VIC280H1, VIC370H1, VIC470H1, VIC479Y1, VIC480H1
2. At least 1.0 FCE from Group B – Social Contexts and Interpretation: VIC209H1, VIC223Y1, VIC270H1, VIC271H1, VIC281H1, VIC320Y1, VIC352Y1, VIC371H1, VIC372H1
3. Up to 1.0 FCE from Cognate Courses:
   ABS300Y1, CIN201Y1, ENG389Y1, FAH352H1, FAH377H1, INI311Y1, JOP210H1, JNV300H1, MUS211H1, SMC219Y1

CTEP is an integrated curriculum sponsored jointly by Victoria College in the Faculty of Arts & Science and by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, leading to two degrees over a five-year program: the Honours Bachelor of Arts (or Science) and the Bachelor of Education. (See CTEP details on p. 651).  The Victoria College CTEP program is designed for students wishing to teach at the primary/junior level (K-6), particularly in urban schools.  Teacher candidates will be provided with teacher training and knowledge of the urban environment.  As part of their academic requirements students will complete various placements in Toronto schools.

Admission to the Victoria College CTEP program means admission to the Minor in Education and Society (CTEP) and to the set of courses leading to the BEd.   This is a limited enrolment program.  The final cohort will be admitted in 2014-2015.  All students, including those in the final cohort, are expected to complete the program by June 2018.

Application and Eligibility

To apply to this program students must:

• have completed at least 4.0 FCEs, including PSY100H1; 
• have completed at least 0.5 FCE from ANT100Y1, SOC101Y1, SOC102H1, SOC103H1 or GGR124H1. Vic One Ryerson students may satisfy this requirement with either VIC150Y1 or VIC151Y1;
• have a minimum CGPA of 2.70; 
• have completed the applicant profile.

Please note that meeting application requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program in any given year.  All Arts & Science students are eligible to apply regardless of college.  The application process occurs each year from early April to mid-May.

Requirement of Concurrent Teacher Education Program for BA/BSc/BEd Students

All students admitted to the Victoria College CTEP are required to enrol in the Education and Society minor (CTEP). In addition to the BEd courses and associated requirements, CTEP students may fulfill the remaining major or minor for the BA/BSc degree as they wish.  It is not recommended for Concurrent Education students to enrol in specialist programs as they must leave sufficient space in their upper years to complete the concurrent BEd requirements.

NOTE: The academic status of students in CTEP may be reviewed at the end of each fall-winter session to determine progress to the next year.

The minor in Education and Society (CTEP) is open only to students registered in the Victoria College Concurrent Teacher Education Program.

(4.0 FCEs, including at least 1.0 FCE at 300+ level)

1. PSY100H1
2. At least 0.5 FCE from: ANT100Y1, SOC101Y1, SOC102H1, SOC103H1 or GGR124H1. Vic One Ryerson students may satisfy this requirement with either VIC150Y1 or VIC151Y1
3. All of: JSV200H1, JSV201H1, JSV202H1
4. VIC360H1/VIC360Y1
5. One FCE related to Education and Society at the 300+ level or higher selected from the offerings in Sociology, Anthropology or Geography (Arts). Courses in other departments require approval of the Vic Concurrent Education Coordinator.

The Vic-sponsored Education and Society Minor is open to all Arts and Science students. This program is for those who are interested in education, either as a skill that will prepare you for many occupations, or as a strong background for admission to a consecutive teacher education program.

Entry Requirement:

Interested students can apply for September entry into the program every spring. This Minor is NOT a part of the Concurrent Teacher Education Program.

Applicants MUST have completed the following in order to apply

• PSY100H1 with a minimum grade of 75
• Minimum of 4.0 Full Course Equivalents (FCEs)

Please Note: Achievement of the minimum grade does not guarantee admission to the program. This is a limited enrolment program.

Program Requirements

(4.0 FCEs including at least 1.0 FCE at 300+ level) 

1. PSY100H1
2. All of: JSV200H1, JSV201H1, JSV202H1
3. VIC360H1/VIC360Y1
4. VIC362H1
5. One FCE from: VIC361H0, VIC363H1, a course related to Education and Society at the 300+ level selected from the offerings in Sociology, Anthropology or Geography (Arts).

The Literature and Critical Theory program (formerly Literary Studies) is based on a pair of ideas. The first is that many of the most important issues that engage our attention call for a multidisciplinary approach. The second is that the kind of critical analysis demanded by the study of literary texts offers powerful tools for investigating other cultural and social forms, both past and present. Central to the program is the comparative study of forms of representation – texts, media, institutions, and theories — in diverse cultures and historical periods. This requires thinking seriously about what it means to compare and what it means to translate.

The Literature and Critical Theory program will attract students who are interested in exploring existing and generating new links between literature and historical, cultural, political, social, and psychological forces. The program trains students to think about how problems of the present are tied to those of the past, and to consider critically how we both represent this past and imagine possible futures. Students will be engaged in the practice of close, contextualized analyses of literary texts and other discursive forms, including artefacts, institutions and social practices, originating in different languages, geographical locations, and historical periods.

Literary production, like all forms of cultural production, invariably exceeds the boundaries of the nation, and increasingly so in today’s globalized world. The boundaries between various cultural media are similarly porous, and the aesthetic values by which we identify, judge, and classify literary and cultural objects are historically shaped. For these reasons, students will be encouraged to study in more than one language and to work with a variety of media. Our courses explore literary and cultural movements across languages, geographical regions, epochs, media, and disciplines.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(12.5 FCEs, including at least 3.0 FCEs at 300-level and 1.0 FCE at 400-level)
 

1. First year in program: VIC202Y1
2. First or second year in program: VIC203Y1
   
   Second or higher years in program:
3. 3.5 FCEs from VIC204H1, VIC302H1, VIC303H1, VIC304H1, VIC305H1, VIC306H1, VIC307H1, VIC401H1/VIC401Y1, VIC403H1, VIC494H1/VIC494Y1, JNV300H1. 
4. 0.5 FCE in Breadth Requirement Category 5: The Physical and Mathematical Universes, or another half course approved by the program director, to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning competency required in the program.
5. VIC402H1 
6. 6.0 FCEs in languages or literatures drawn from other departments. At least 4.0 of these involve reading texts in a language other than English, including at least 2.0 at the 300+ level. These courses must be pre-approved by the program coordinator to ensure they will be counted towards this program of study.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(7.5 FCEs, including at least 1.5 FCEs at 300-level and 0.5 FCE at 400-level)
 

1. First year in program: VIC202Y1
2. First or second year in program: VIC203Y1
   
   Second or higher years in program:
3. 2.5 FCEs from VIC204H1, VIC302H1, VIC303H1, VIC304H1, VIC305H1, VIC306H1, VIC307H1, VIC401H1/VIC401Y1, VIC403H1, VIC494H1/VIC494Y1, JNV300H1 
4. 0.5 FCE in Breadth Requirement Category 5: The Physical and Mathematical Universes, or another half course approved by the program director, to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning competency required in the program.
5. VIC402H1 
6. 2.0 FCEs in a language or literature drawn from other departments, where texts are read in a language other than English.  At least 1.0 FCE must be at the 300+ level. These courses must be pre-approved by the program coordinator to ensure they will be counted towards this program of study.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(12.5 FCEs, including at least 3.0 FCEs at 300-level and 1.0 FCE at 400-level)
 

1. First year in program: VIC202Y1
2. First or second year in program: VIC203Y1
   
   Second or higher years in program:
3. 3.5 FCEs from VIC204H1, VIC302H1, VIC303H1, VIC304H1, VIC305H1, VIC306H1, VIC307H1, VIC401H1/VIC401Y1, VIC403H1, VIC494H1/VIC494Y1, JNV300H1
4. 0.5 FCE in Breadth Requirement Category 5: The Physical and Mathematical Universes, or another half course approved by the program director, to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning competency required in the program.
5. VIC402H1
6. 4.0 FCEs in ONE other discipline – African Studies, Anthropology, Caribbean Studies, Cinema Studies, Classics, Drama, East Asian Studies, Equity Studies, Fine Art, History, Music, Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, and other departments as approved by the program coordinator.
7. 2.0 FCEs in a language other than English, including at least 1.0 at the 300+ level.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(7.5 FCEs, including at least 1.5 FCEs at 300-level and 0.5 FCE at 400-level)
 

1. First year in program: VIC202Y1
2. First or second year in program: VIC203Y1
   
   Second or higher years in program:
3. 2.5 FCEs from VIC204H1, VIC302H1, VIC303H1, VIC304H1, VIC305H1, VIC306H1, VIC307H1, VIC401H1/VIC401Y1, VIC403H1, VIC494H1/VIC494Y1, JNV300H1 
4. 0.5 FCE in Breadth Requirement Category 5: The Physical and Mathematical Universes, or another half course approved by the program director, to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning competency required in the program.
5. VIC402H1 
6. 1.0 FCE in ONE other discipline – African Studies, Anthropology, Caribbean Studies, Cinema Studies, Classics, Drama, East Asian Studies, Equity Studies, Fine Art, History, Music, Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Women and Gender Studies, and other departments as approved by the program coordinator.
7. 1.0 FCE in a language other than English at the 200+ level.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(4.0 FCEs, including at least 1.0 FCE at 300+ level)

1. VIC202Y1 
2. 3.0 FCEs from:  VIC203Y1, VIC204H1, VIC302H1, VIC303H1, VIC304H1, VIC305H1, VIC306H1, VIC307H1, VIC401H1/VIC401Y1, VIC402H1, VIC403H1, VIC494H1/VIC494Y1, JNV300H1

What does it mean to live in a “material world”? What might we learn from studying the things that surround us?  In an increasingly consumer-oriented, globalized and digital age, how do objects express the longstanding beliefs and values of different societies?  Material culture is the study of objects – clothing, household goods, machinery, built forms – that show signs of human influence. The program engages students in the study of material culture (tangible things, broadly defined); supports research projects which originate with studies of artefacts; and fosters trans-disciplinary and inter-institutional dialogues amongst students, scholars, stewards and purveyors of material culture – within the university and at a range of cultural agencies. We examine the meanings people invest in their things, across cultures and time periods, and consider processes of production and consumption, including moments of invention, exchange, use, re-use, divestment, disposal, and collection.  Students will work with curators and other professionals to analyze the social and cultural relevance of objects as part of understanding of a culture or society. The Minor is designed to complement programs in such disciplines as Asian Studies, Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Geography, History, Art, History of Science and Technology, Semiotics, Renaissance Studies, and Anthropology.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(4.0 FCEs including at least 1.0 FCE at the 300+ level)
 

1. VIC224Y1/VIC225Y1
2. 2.5 FCE from VIC224Y1/VIC225Y1 (if not used to fulfill requirement 1), VIC229H1, VIC229Y1, VIC328H1, VIC329H1, VIC329Y1, or cognate courses, with at least 0.5 FCE at the 300+ level.  No more than 1.0 FCE may be chosen from the list of cognate courses. 
3. VIC444H1

Cognate courses:
ANT200Y1, ANT204H1, ANT311Y1, ANT314H1, ANT315H1, ANT317H1, ANT320H1, ANT322H1, ANT324H1, ANT346H1, ANT347Y1, ANT349H1, ANT372H1, ANT378H1, ANT457H1, ARH305H1, ARH309H1, FAH101H1, FAH206H1, FAH207H1, FAH215H1, FAH216H1, FAH230H1, FAH231H1, FAH246H1, FAH260H1, FAH262H1, FAH270H1, FAH272H1, FAH300H1, FAH303H1, FAH304H1, FAH304H1, FAH309H1, FAH316H1, FAH318H1, FAH325H1, FAH327H1, FAH328H1, FAH330H1, FAH331H1, FAH338H1, FAH341H1, FAH348H1, FAH362H1, FAH364H1, FAH365H1, FAH371H1, FAH372H1, FAH373H1, FAH374H1, FAH375H1, FAH376H1, FAH381H1, FAH463H1, FAH480H1, FAH481H1, FAH483H1, FAH484H1, FAH485H1, FAH486H1, EAS406Y1, EAS251H1, EAS272H1, EAS297H1, EAS272H1, EAS297H1, EAS378H1, EAS411H1, EAS412H1,  GGR107H1, GGR124H1, GGR216H1, JGI216H1, GGR220H1, GGR221H1, GGR240H1, GGR241H1, GGR246H1, GGR252H1,GGR254H1, GGR320H1, GGR329H1, GGR333H1, GGR336H1, GGR339H1, GGR341H1, GGR342H1, GGR343H1,  GGR352H1, GGR356H1, GGR360H1, GGR361H1, GGR363H1, HIS302H1,  HIS305H1, HIS310H1, HIS315H1, HIS316H1, HIS319H1, HIS363H1, HIS374H1, HIS387H1, HIS463H1, HIS484H1, HPS201H1, HPS202H1, HPS201H1, HPS211H1, HPS307H1, HPS313H1, NMC260Y1, NMC360H1, NMC362Y1, NMC363H1, NMC364H1, NMC365Y1, RLG305H1, VIC349H1, VIC348Y1  

The Renaissance Studies Program lets you study one of the most critical periods in European and world history. Changes in art and literature, in social and political development, and in technology and science transformed European concepts of the individual, society, and the world.

Many aspects of our modern world had their origin in this period: our emphasis on the study of human affairs; our irrepressible interest in the exploration of the universe, in science, and in medicine; the institutions of church and state as we know them today. The Renaissance is also a period of unparalleled European contacts with non-European civilizations – from the powerful Islamic world of the Near East and North Africa to the great pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas, from the uncharted forests of equatorial Africa to the exotic lands of the Indian subcontinent and the Far East, nothing seemed too distant or too inaccessible for the European mind or merchant.

This interdisciplinary program is particularly attractive to students of history, politics, literature, fine art, history of science, music and theatre, because it assembles aspects of all these studies to focus on one seminal period in Western civilization.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(10 FCEs, including at least 3.0 FCEs at 300-level and 1.0 FCE at 400-level):

1. 3.0 FCEs from: VIC240Y1, VIC341H1, VIC342H1, VIC343Y1, VIC344H1, VIC345H1, VIC346H1, VIC347H1, VIC348Y1, VIC349H1/VIC349Y1, VIC392H1/VIC392Y1, VIC449H1/VIC449Y1, VIC492H1/VIC492Y1
2. 1.0 FCE in Literature from: ENG220Y1, ENG301H1, ENG302Y1, ENG303H1, ENG304Y1, ENG330H1, ENG331H1, ENG335H1, ENG336H1; FRE319H1, FRE320H1;ITA200H1, ITA249H1, ITA312H1, ITA325H1, ITA332H1, ITA356Y0, ITA357Y0, ITA370H1, ITA400H1, ITA409H1, ITA420H1, ITA470H1, ITA494H1; PRT351H1;SPA352H1, SPA452H1, SPA454H1
3. 1.0 FCE in History or Economics from : ECO301Y1; HIS243H1, HIS309H1, HIS319H1, HIS357Y1, HIS362H1, HIS403H1, HIS438H1, HIS441H1, HIS443H1
4. 1.0 FCE in Art or Music from: FAH230H1, FAH330H1, FAH331H1, FAH333H1, FAH335H1, FAH337H1, FAH338H1, FAH340H1, FAH341H1, FAH342H1, FAH344H1,FAH370H1, FAH371H1, FAH393Y0, FAH430H1, FAH432H1, FAH433H1, FAH434H1, FAH435H1, FAH439H1, FAH440H1, FAH470H1; MUS208H1
5. 1.0 FCE in a Research Course (a 299Y1, 399Y1, on a Renaissance Studies topic, or VIC392H1/VIC392Y1, VIC492H1/VIC492Y1)
6. 2.0 FCEs in a language relevant to Renaissance Studies – French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, German (only one may be at the introductory level).
7. VIC440Y1

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(6 FCEs, including at least 2.0 FCEs at 300+ level)
 

1. 2.0 FCEs from: VIC240Y1, VIC341H1, VIC342H1, VIC343Y1, VIC344H1, VIC345H1, VIC346H1, VIC347H1, VIC348Y1, VIC349H1/VIC349Y1, VIC392H1/VIC392Y1, VIC449H1/VIC449Y1, VIC492H1/VIC492Y1
2. 1.0 FCE in Literature from: ENG220Y1, ENG301H1, ENG302Y1, ENG303H1, ENG304Y1, ENG330H1, ENG331H1, ENG335H1, ENG336H1; FRE319H1, FRE320H1; ITA200H1, ITA249H1, ITA312H1, ITA325H1, ITA332H1, ITA356Y0, ITA357Y0, ITA370H1, ITA400H1, ITA409H1, ITA420H1, ITA470H1, ITA494H1; PRT351H1; SPA352H1, SPA452H1, SPA454H1
3. 1.0 FCE in History or Economics from: ECO301Y1; HIS243H1, HIS309H1, HIS319H1, HIS357Y1, HIS362H1, HIS403H1, HIS438H1, HIS441H1, HIS443H1
4. 1.0 FCE in Art or Music from: FAH230H1, FAH330H1, FAH331H1, FAH333H1, FAH335H1, FAH337H1, FAH338H1, FAH340H1, FAH341H1, FAH342H1, FAH344H1, FAH370H1, FAH371H1, FAH393Y0, FAH430H1, FAH432H1, FAH433H1, FAH434H1, FAH435H1, FAH439H1, FAH440H1, FAH470H1; MUS208H1
5. VIC440Y1

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(4 FCEs, including at least 1.0 FCE at 300+ level)
 

1. 2.0 FCEs from: VIC240Y1, VIC341H1, VIC342H1, VIC343Y1, VIC344H1, VIC345H1, VIC346H1, VIC347H1, VIC348Y1, VIC349H1/VIC349Y1, VIC392H1/VIC392Y1, VIC440Y1, VIC449H1/VIC449Y1, VIC492H1/VIC492Y1
2. 2.0 FCEs in Literature, History or Economics, Art or Music, from:
   
   Literature: ENG220Y1, ENG301H1, ENG302Y1, ENG303H1, ENG304Y1, ENG330H1, ENG331H1, ENG335H1, ENG336H1; FRE319H1, FRE320H1; ITA200H1, ITA249H1, ITA312H1, ITA325H1, ITA332H1, ITA356Y0, ITA357Y0, ITA370H1, ITA400H1, ITA409H1, ITA420H1, ITA470H1, ITA494H1; PRT351H1; SPA352H1, SPA452H1, SPA454H1
   
   History or Economics: ECO301Y1; HIS243H1, HIS309H1, HIS319H1, HIS357Y1, HIS362H1, HIS403H1, HIS438H1, HIS441H1, HIS443H1
   
   Art or Music: FAH230H1, FAH330H1, FAH331H1, FAH333H1, FAH335H1, FAH337H1, FAH338H1, FAH340H1, FAH341H1, FAH342H1, FAH344H1,FAH370H1, FAH371H1, FAH393Y0, FAH430H1, FAH432H1, FAH433H1, FAH434H1, FAH435H1, FAH439H1, FAH440H1, FAH470H1; MUS208H1

The Minor in Science and Society is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the different ways science and technology shape modern society and, in turn, how society shapes science and technology. From the food we eat to the way we conceive family relations or our obligations to future generations, our daily practices and our beliefs are increasingly influenced by scientific research and its applications. In turn, politics, public opinion, moral beliefs and cultural practices affect scientific and technological development. Courses in this program address such topics as science and values, science-related policy and politics, ethical uses of technology, scientific revolutions and controversies, modeling and communication of scientific research, and knowledge transfer from research to commercial and societal applications.

This program has unlimited enrolment and no specific admission requirements. All students who have completed at least 4.0 courses are eligible to enrol.

(4.0 FCEs, including at least 1.0 FCE at 300+ level)
 

1. HPS200H1
2. 1.0 FCE from: VIC206H1, VIC207H1, VIC274H1, VIC278H1, IMC200H1. Students who achieve at least 77% in the Vic One course VIC170Y1 or VIC172Y1 may count that course toward the Minor and use it to fulfil this requirement.
3. 1.0 FCE from: HPS202H1, HPS260H1, HPS307H1, HPS308H1, HPS324H1, HPS350H1
4. An additional 0.5 FCE from program requirements 2. and 3. above.
5. An additional 1.0 FCE from program requirements 2. and 3. above and/or from the approved list of cognate courses below:
   ANT353H1, ANT358H1, ANT364H1, BIO220H1, EEB215H1, ENV200H1, ETH220H1, GGR223H1, GGR321H1,  JGE321H1, PHL273H1, PHL281H1, PHL373H1, PHL381H1, PHL384H1, PSY328H1, WGS275H1

Semiotics is the science of communication and sign systems, in short, of the ways people understand phenomena and organize them mentally, and of the ways in which they devise means for transmitting that understanding and for sharing it with others. Although natural and artificial languages are therefore central to semiotics, its field covers all non-verbal signalling and extends to domains whose communicative dimension is perceived only unconsciously or subliminally. Knowledge, meaning, intention and action are thus fundamental concepts in the semiotic investigation of phenomena.

NOTE:  This is a limited enrolment program.  Admission will be determined by a student’s mark in ANT100Y1/LIN100Y1/PHL100Y1/SOC101Y1/(SOC102H1+SOC103H1)/one FCE in Vic One.  A final mark of 73% will be required for admission. Achieving that mark does not necessarily guarantee admission to the program in any given year.

(4 FCEs, including 1.0 FCE at the 300+ level)
 

1. 1.0 FCE from: ANT100Y1, LIN100Y1, PHL100Y1, SOC101Y1, (SOC102H1+SOC103H1), one FCE in Vic One. 
2. 1.0 FCE from: VIC220Y1, VIC223Y1, VIC224Y1
3. 1.0 FCE from: VIC320Y1, VIC322H1, VIC323Y1, VIC324H1, VIC325H1
4. 1.0 FCE from Groups A-E.
   
   Note: JFV323H1 is a recommended Group E course.
   
   Group A: Anthropology
   ANT204H1, ANT253H1, ANT322H1, ANT329H1, ANT334H1, ANT351H1, ANT356H1, ANT366H1, ANT425H1, ANT426H1, ANT427H1, ANT450H1; JAL328H1, JAL355H1
   
   Group B: Linguistics
   LIN200H1, LIN229H1, LIN232H1, LIN333H1, LIN341H1, LIN456H1; JAL328H1; JLP315H1, JLP374H1
   
   Group C: Philosophy
   PHL200Y1, PHL201H1, PHL235H1, PHL240H1, PHL243H1, PHL244H1, PHL245H1, PHL285H1, PHL304H1, PHL307H1, PHL310H1, PHL311H1, PHL314H1, PHL315H1, PHL316H1, PHL317H1, PHL320H1, PHL321H1, PHL322H1, PHL325H1, PHL326H1, PHL340H1, PHL342H1, PHL346H1, PHL351H1, PHL385H1
   
   Group D: Psychology
   PSY210H1, PSY220H1, PSY260H1, PSY270H1, PSY280H1, PSY311H1, PSY312H1, PSY316H1, PSY320H1, PSY323H1, PSY362H1, PSY370H1, PSY371H1, PSY372H1, PSY421H1, PSY434H1; JLP315H1
   
   Group E: Other Related Area Courses
   CIN201Y1, CIN270Y1, CIN301Y1, CIN310Y1, CIN330Y1, CIN332Y1, CIN314Y1, CIN350Y1; CLA203H1, CLA204H1, CLA219H1, CLA305H1, CLA388H1, CLA389H1; COG250Y1; DRM200Y1, DRM230Y1, DRM264H1; ENG382Y1, ENG384Y1; FAH231H1, FAH245H1, FAH246H1, FAH270H1, FAH272H1, FAH325H1, FAH337H1, FAH346H1, FAH348H1, FAH372H1, FAH374H1; HIS316H1, HIS374H1, HIS375H1, HIS419H1, HIS436H1, HIS447H1, HIS459H1, HIS460H1; HPS201H1, HPS202H1, HPS250H1, HPS324H1; INI301H1, INI305H1; JFV323H1, JUM203H1; MUS200H1, MUS211H1, MUS303H1; NEW240Y1, NEW302Y1, NEW303H1; RLG200H1, RLG210Y1, RLG211H1, RLG212H1, RLG227H1, RLG230H1, RLG232H1, RLG249H1, RLG301H1, RLG304H1, RLG305H1,  RLG315H1, RLG337H1, RLG380H1, SLA331H1, SLA476H1, SLA442H1, SLA495H1, SMC210H1, SMC219Y1, SMC361H1, SMC397H1, SOC265H1, SOC365H1, SOC367H1, SOC381Y1, SOC388H1; UNI221H1, UNI255H1, UNI355H1, VIC202Y1, VIC302H1, VIC305H1, VIC306H1, VIC307H1, VIC322H1, VIC343Y1, VIC345H1; VIS201H1, VIS202H1, VIS203H1, VIS204H1, VIS205H1, VIS206H1, VIS207H1, VIS208H1, VIS209H1, VIS212H1, VIS213H1, VIS307H1, VIS312H1, VIS313H1; WGS271Y1, WGS372H1

Victoria College Courses

• Vic One
• Vic One Hundred
• Creative Expression and Society
• Education and Society
• Literature and Critical Theory
• Material Culture
• Renaissance Studies
• Science and Society
• Semiotics and Communication Studies
• Vic Capstone
• Other Vic Seminars

Vic One Liaison Officer, Victoria College, vic.one@utoronto.ca

Admission to the Vic One Program is open to first-year students and by application only. Applications are accepted in the spring prior to the commencement of the academic year; no exceptions will be made.

Each Vic One stream comprises up to 3 FCEs of the five FCEs taken by most first-year students. Two required courses in each stream are seminar courses with a limited enrolment of 25 students in each class. The third co-requisite course is listed with the stream description.   Students who wish to discuss other options for their Vic One co-requisite course must contact the Vic One Liaison Officer vic.one@utoronto.ca.

The following courses are available to students already admitted to Vic One:

This course will be about the social and historical role of the school. The course will examine schools and learning as social, political, intellectual, and economic phenomena. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course focuses on connecting theories and practice of teaching with a view to having students develop their personal understanding of teaching. Students will be involved in a practicum. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A study of culture with a view to developing basic concepts with examples drawn from the visual arts, music, film, literature, architecture, and/or local urban artefacts. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A study of culture with a view to developing basic concepts with examples drawn from the visual arts, music, film, architecture, and/or local urban artefacts. We will emphasize how contemporary thought has affected the practice of everyday life. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A study of the ideas and concerns of creative thinkers and their impact upon cultures. The course includes literary, scientific and/or religious intellectuals from the major traditions. Attention to modes of reasoning, cultural definition and expression. Emphasis on philosophical and artistic concepts. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A study of art, with a focus on poetry, as an essential mode of experience and knowledge, in the context of contemporary and modern society. Along with literary artists, the course includes writers on history and sociology and presents the interplay between artistic vision and socio-political situations. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

How rhetoric and statistical analysis are used to communicate scientific observations and theories to different audiences will be examined in lectures and seminars. Uncertainty, belief, evidence, risk assessment, random error and bias will be discussed using examples drawn from literature, the arts and the physical, life and social sciences.  Students will prepare a research grant application on a scientific topic of their own choice. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An examination of scientific theories and their logic in life and physical sciences.  Experimental design, novel device production, data analysis and modeling will be discussed using examples drawn from primary source material in the natural sciences.  Students will prepare a research paper on a topic designed in consultation with the instructor. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

How is science performed and what enables scientific progress? What are our responsibilities as scientists? We base the discussion mostly on the development of microscopy tools. We look at how scientific discoveries affect and were affected by society. This course explores the complementary skills and knowledge needed by modern scientists. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course introduces students to some of the issues in the philosophy of science, in general, and in the philosophy of physics, in particular. Topics include the scientific method and its controversies, the meaning of time and its properties, realism versus competing approaches, thought experiments, and quantum mechanics. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course will review issues in contemporary world affairs, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the present day. The course will examine the politics and practice of foreign policy decision making. Issues to be covered include the collapse of the Soviet Union, intervention in humanitarian crises, and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course explores how public service and citizenship are developed. Topics may include the role of law and government, civil liberties, rights and responsibilities, and the role of protest. Emphasis on individuals and movements that have shaped modern memory. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A seminar course that examines the contribution of an individual or individuals to the public sphere. The course will explore how public service and citizenship are developed in social, philosophical, and cultural contexts. We will examine our evolving role in developing collective, cultural and counter memory. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course uses events to discuss the nature of society including major revolutions, economic crises, and the impact of significant artistic, cultural and technological developments. Emphasis on our responsibilities towards social justice. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

The artist, filmmaker, poet or dramatist has changed society and how we imagine our future.  The course explores a number of paradigm cases of how the arts have interacted with social problems.  Both historical and current examples of the role of the imaginative arts will be explored. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course addresses social issues through the exploration of creative activity and the imaginative arts.  Topics will be discussed from historical, ethical and philosophical perspectives, and might be considered either in a group or individually. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

PLEASE NOTE:  Weekly Vic One Plenary sessions on Wednesday 4-6pm will be added to students' schedules as a tutorial section associated with the following courses: VIC150Y1, VIC163H1, VIC165H1, VIC170Y1, VIC172Y1, VIC181H1, VIC184H1 and VIC190Y1.

The 199Y1, 199H1, and Vic One Hundred seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-five students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details about the Faculty of Arts and Science 199 seminars can be found at www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/fyh-1/.

Please see the list of Vic One Hundred seminars below.

Consult  vic.academics@utoronto.ca for more information.

This course is a general orientation to conflict theory, and develops a basic understanding of essential conflict resolution principles that will complement the study of conflict theory. The course will examine the differences between conflicts and disputes, the functions and desirability of conflict, and the conditions that facilitate conversion of conflicts from destructive to constructive.

This course examines a specific event, or events, in relation to the public sphere. The course will use events or an event as an entry point to discuss the nature of society including topics such as major revolutions, economic crises, the impact of the appearance of significant artistic or cultural works, and the impact of technological changes. We will emphasize case studies of recent social issues.

This seminar course will examine current issues in the public domain in Canada and focus on significant public policy issues and the links between public policy, politics and government in Canada.  Case studies from all three levels of government will be discussed and students will gain a solid understanding of the structure of government and of the political process.  This course will emphasize class participation and the critical analysis of relevant literature, media and in some cases, film. 

This course examines how political ideas are formed and developed through literature, art, plays, essays and philosophical works in the twentieth century.

This course examines how political ideas are formed and developed through literature, art, plays, essays and philosophical works in the twentieth century.

Vice is popular: a prestigious university press has brought out a series of seven books on the Seven Deadly Sins. This course examines such questions as the following. Are greed, lust and gluttony just bad names for necessary and otherwise acceptable instincts? What is the place, in a good human life, of such qualities as honesty, trust, civility and the like? Are vices and virtues culturally determined or a matter of individual preference? Can character be taught, or is it rather a matter of genes and luck?

Metaphors and motivations of journeying have long intrigued human beings as they have attempted to understand the meaning of their existence: the setting out, the seeking for a desired object, the pilgrimage of religious observance, and the longing to return home. Through texts, art, music and film, this course will explore some of the shaping journey-myths of our culture from classical, Hebrew, medieval and modern sources.

This course explores central developments and ongoing controversies in the scientific study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. It examines topics such as: psychoanalysis, behaviourism, humanistic psychology, evolutionary psychology, intelligence testing, and feminist perspectives. Goals include understanding the historical evolution and social relevance of scientific psychology.

In this course we examine major episodes in the history of evolution and genetics in the twentieth century. Topics include Darwinian evolution, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, eugenics, and genetic screening and therapy. We will examine different views about the control of evolution and genetic manipulation in their socio-cultural-economic context and discuss the ethical and social implications of those views.

This course will examine a number of questions related to the origins of national identities and the sustainability of nation-states. Topics covered will include: language, ethnicity, religion, politics, war, symbols, the arts, sport and public spectacle, and cuisine.

This course will examine a number of questions related to the origins of national identities and the sustainability of nation-states. Topics covered will include: language, ethnicity, religion, politics, war, symbols, the arts, sport and public spectacle, and cuisine.

A study of the ideas and concerns of innovators who questioned traditional views and values. The course includes creative thinkers who challenged basic concepts on politics, literature, religion, and society.

A study of the ideas and concerns of innovators who questioned traditional views and values. The course includes creative thinkers who challenged basic concepts on politics, literature, religion, and society.

There has never been a period of time, nor has there ever been a culture, without some kind of puzzle tradition. Are puzzles just playful artefacts, intended merely to entertain? Or are they mirrors of something much more fundamental in human life? The course will take a close look at what puzzles tell us about the human mind and human culture.

This course will study accounts of world travelers and explorers from the Middle Ages to the present, including representative examples drawn from the Age of Exploration, the Grand Tour, scientific and map-making expeditions, and the contemporary genre of travel writing. Particular attention will be given to the trans-cultural nature of travel, and the interactive aspects of the gulf between the observer and those observed. Students will analyze the diverse motivational factors behind excursions and expeditions, and apply a critique to written accounts in light of such factors as self-discovery, knowledge and imagination, Euro-centrism, orientalism, cultural relativism, colonialism/imperialism, race, gender, and eco-tourism.

This course explores the depiction of the Renaissance in a wide range of plays, films and novels. The focus is on the exchange between film, fiction, and ‘fact’, and on how the values and concerns of the present shape creative recreations of the past in popular culture.

This course explores the depiction of the Renaissance in a wide range of plays, films and novels. The focus is on the exchange between film, fiction, and fact, and on how the values and concerns of the present shape creative recreations of the past in popular culture.

In this course we will study a number of literary and cinematic works that take up questions of power, duty, rights, responsibility, and freedom. Our texts will be drawn from a long history, and from many parts of the world. The sequence however will not be chronological.

In this course we will study a number of literary and cinematic works that take up questions of power, duty, rights, responsibility, and freedom. Our texts will be drawn from a long history, and from many parts of the world. The sequence however will not be chronological.

This course examines two key issues about the performing arts that concern both artists and theorists: the nature of interpretation and of expression. What might we mean when we say that a work, a piece of music or a dance for example expresses something? What is it to express? And what is the nature of interpretation? Are there any constraints or boundaries on interpretation? We will draw on both philosophers and non-philosophers to explore these sorts of questions.

This course will examine the phenomenon of individuals and communities who rebel against the general social norms upheld by the majority in societies throughout history. These societal conventions can include generally-accepted moral and religious tenets, as well as the formal legal or political powers employed by those with the levers of social control. The rebels' motives can range from the purely criminal, as with many notorious outlaws, to struggles for social justice, in the case of rebellious slaves or proponents of civil disobedience. Students will develop a theoretical framework which they can apply to the lives and motivations of a diverse representation of social rebels and outsiders, among them: pirates and mutineers, bandits and members of street/biker gangs, anarchists, disaffected intellectuals and religious leaders, punks and goths. Besides examining the sociological and philosophical aspects of rebellion, the course will consider the rebel as a prominent element in popular culture.

This course provides an introduction to modern forms of ancient narratives, exploring the ways in which selected ancient literary sources and myths have been adapted to modern Canadian literature. Ancient narratives or ‘old stories’ are often reused, reinterpreted or reconstructed in modern narratives and given new relevance in a contemporary context. Students will encounter sources and contexts of ancient narratives.

This course provides an introduction to modern forms of ancient narratives, exploring the ways in which selected ancient literary sources and myths have been adapted to modern Canadian literature. Ancient narratives or old stories are often reused, reinterpreted or reconstructed in modern narratives and given new relevance in a contemporary context. Students will encounter sources and contexts of ancient narratives.

Through films like American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1990) and Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992), through literature like Arthur Rimbaud’s A Season in Hell or Raymond Carver’s short stories, this course takes a look at human beings in the extremes of experience: revenge, desire and an appetite for self-destruction.

Covers the evolution of Germany from a defeated dictatorship in 1945 to a re-unified republic in 1990. Examines major events of the Cold War, from the Marshall Plan to the Berlin Wall; also includes aspects of popular culture in both East and West Germany.

Covers major events from America's emergence as a superpower in 1945 to the end of the Cold War in 1991, including: commitment to Europe through NATO and the Marshall Plan; Civil Rights; Vietnam. Also explores popular culture of the time: the suburbs; the baby boom; the 1960s; Watergate, etc.

This course covers issues in diplomacy and international crisis management from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the present day. The course examines the real world of political decision making. Both Canadian and American policy will be analyzed. Issues to be covered include the collapse of the Soviet Union, military intervention in humanitarian crises, the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the impact of globalization.

This interdisciplinary course explores the contemporary character of globalization. The world is shrinking as money, goods, people, ideas, weapons, and information flow across national boundaries. Some commentators assert that a more tightly interconnected world can exacerbate financial disruptions, worsen the gap between rich and poor nations, undermine democracy, imperil national cultures, harm the environment, and give unconstrained freedom to predatory corporations. Others proclaim that globalization - understood as capitalism and free markets - fosters economic growth, encourages creative collaboration, inspires technological breakthroughs, and enhances human prospects for a better life, in rich and poor countries alike, in unprecedented ways. Our task is to evaluate the evidence and draw our own conclusions.

In The Origin of Species Darwin concluded there was no evidence to suggest that life was designed by a higher power. A corollary of this is that our lives lack any necessary purpose or meaning. Our reading will be directed to the question of what it means to lack ‘Meaning’.

This course examines the emergence of a global modern world in relation to the upheavals of the Renaissance (1350-1700) and its discoveries and innovations in social organization, politics, science, travel, art and architecture, literature and philosophy, religion and music.

Topics vary from year to year.

Topics vary from year to year.

Stories give shape and substance to the things we believe in, from scientific theories and sacred texts to literary tales and philosophical propositions. They perpetuate ideals and identities, and sustain institutions and communities. This course will take up a set of texts from the arts, sciences, religions and several other storytelling traditions, ancient and modern, considering their claims to authority and making connections between them.

Surveying scenarios for public and private musical listening, from historical contexts to the present, this course explores critical questions about how we listen, including the relationship between musical genres and listening situations, the definition of music vs. noise, the influence of spectatorship, and the impact of changing technologies. Students discuss the changing aesthetics and ideologies of musical listening, considering ways in which listening shapes our understanding of the social and our awareness of communities.

In light of the environmental crisis, this seminar surveys a wide range of oral and written literature in order to discover how our approach to nature has changed over the centuries, what gains and losses have attended modernity, and what older cultures can teach us as we seek to preserve threatened ecosystems.

This course will sketch the vital role or the drama of the human body, aspects of its performance, comedy, tragedy and death, through selected parts of history, in life and as reflected in “art.”

This course is for aspiring fiction writers who wish to deepen their craft.  Each seminar will feature a lecture on technical issues such as plot and characterization, as well as an analysis of a short story by a classic writer. Students will write their own stories, with editorial input from the instructor.  

Note:  For application procedures see the Victoria College website. Applications due by June 1st.

This course examines the forms, style, aims, and ethics of non-fictional forms such as documentary writing, journalism, and life-writing. It combines the study of examples from contemporary media with exercises in writing non-fictional prose.

A workshop course (with a literature component) in writing poetry. Designed for those with a serious ambition to be writers as evinced in work they are already doing. The literature component emphasizes multicultural dimensions of contemporary writing in English. 

Note:  For application procedures see the Victoria College website. Applications due by June 1st.

This course explores ways in which popular music, sound and sound technologies have influenced our understanding of the recent human condition. Drawing on a variety of theoretical perspectives, we consider the musical uses of technology as both a material culture and a set of distinctly innovative practices that can create powerful transformations of consciousness, meaning and value.

A workshop course (with a literature component) in writing fiction and poetry. Designed for those with a serious ambition to be writers as evinced in work they are already doing. Does not offer instruction for beginning writers. Presupposes perfect and sophisticated written language skills. The Literature component emphasizes multicultural dimensions of contemporary writing in English. For application procedures see the Victoria College website. Applications due by June 1st.

This course will examine how a variety of international authors, both nineteenth century and modern, handle the themes of mortality, sexual passion and love in their short fiction. Particular emphasis will be placed on the artistry of the writers' presentation, the role of dialogue, the economy of narrative, etc. Students will read Chekhov, The Kiss, Lady with a Dog and Tolstoy, Master and Man but will also be exposed to such contemporary popular authors as Elmore Leonard, When the Women Come Out to Dance; Truman Capote, Mojave; Richard Ford, The Occidentals; Philip Roth, The Dying Animal; Ian McEwen, The Cement Garden; and David Bezmozgis, Natasha.

This course explores how music creatively reflects and inspires our sense of self, place and community through readings, close listening, case studies, and creative responses. We consider various sites of musical imagination, and the genres that intersect with them. Course discussion addresses how music participates in the social life of creativity, imagination and fantasy, and what these roles mean for music's significance in society and culture. No prior experience in music composition required.

This seminar course looks at the history and evolution of photojournalism and documentary photography, their changing contexts and challenges in the digital era. We investigate photographs old and new. Students discuss major visual stories in the news. They also read writings about photography and photojournalism from some of its most important practitioners. No camera required. Students from all disciplines and areas of interest welcome.

Reviews of books, films, art, and music run the gamut from marketing “puffs” to attempted censorship. They can invoke expert authority, cultural capital, popular opinion, or individual response. This course examines ethical, political, institutional, and economic contexts of the practice of reviewing, historically and in the electronic age.

This course surveys the growth of the field of Acoustic Ecology and the aesthetic, political, and ethical questions it engages. Students  learn about creative and musical practices associated with this new attention to sound, and they gain experience with the practice of field recording and sonic-environmental sampling. The course culminates with a final Soundscape composition or creative mapping project. No previous experience in sound recording or composition required.

Advanced young writers in this fourth-year seminar work to produce a short novel appropriate for submission to an agent or a publisher. The class does not offer instruction for beginning writers. It is intended for serious writers interested in learning about writing novels at a professional level.

A workshop course in writing poetry. Designed for those with a serious ambition to be writers as evinced in work they are already doing. Does not offer instruction for beginning writers. Presupposes perfect and sophisticated written language skills.

Note:  For application procedures see the Victoria College website. Applications due by June 1st.

This course aims to develop an understanding of social conflict and cultural diversity. How does conflict act as a catalyst for change? What do socio-cultural, cognitive, and motivational approaches teach us about conflict? Topics include: effects of conflict, human rights principles, cross-cultural understanding.

This course examines how children and adolescents develop and explores how best to facilitate their growth and learning in the area of education. Major topics include cognitive, emotional, social, moral, physical and language development. Themes addressed include interpersonal relationships such as pro-social and aggressive behaviour, as well as the influence of schooling, family life and culture. This course includes a 20-hour field experience located in a school and entails observation of development across various age groups. This may be satisfied by participation in Vic Reach or in another organization with the approval of the Vic Concurrent Education Coordinator.

This course focuses on raising awareness and sensitivity to equity and diversity issues facing teachers and students in diverse schools and cultural communities. It builds knowledge of how oppression works and how cultural resources and educational practices may be brought to bear on reducing oppression and improving equity. This courses field experience entails observation of and participation in equity and diversity efforts in a culturally-rooted school and/or community organization.

This course examines the evolution of higher education in Canada. Using Victoria University and Victoria's affiliates as a case study, the course explores the intersection of gender, race, class and religion. Comparisons are made with other denominational and secular institutions in the context of late nineteenth and early twentieth century education. International contexts of education through student service and missions are discussed.

Students are required to complete an internship in an educational environment. This can be satisfied by participation in an organization with the approval of the Vic Concurrent Education Coordinator. Written assessment of the internship is required.

Students are required to complete an internship in an educational environment. This can be satisfied by participation in an organization with the approval of the Vic Concurrent Education Coordinator. Written assessment of the internship is required.

This course will compare selected works of Chinese and Canadian authors with a view to the presentation of such writing in an educational setting.

Builds understanding of teaching as professional practice. The course primarily focuses on the research base underlying policies and documents such as the Foundations of Professional Practice.

This course will challenge the widely accepted idea that people need to be born with a special gift or natural ability to excel in mathematics. New research in education and cognitive science suggests that young learners often struggle in school because they are not taught in a way that allows their brains to work efficiently. This course will examine barriers that prevent students from learning and methods of teaching that can help all students reach their full potential (not only in math).  Math lovers and math phobic students are welcome:  the course aims to help students develop deeper levels of confidence and understanding in mathematics so they can become effective teachers themselves.

This course explores representation as a cultural and political problem.  Representation is both a means of depicting or constructing reality and a means of constituting individual and collective subjectivities.  We will consider literary and other modes of representation in their historical contexts.

An introduction to the history and ideologies of empire (east and west, old and new), with special attention to the establishment and transformation of the modern nation and its cultural forms.  Our comparative approach will examine how cultural forms are established, interpreted, and reinvented at local, national, transnational and global levels.

This course will consider the problem of canons in a variety of contexts: the aesthetic (including the literary, visual arts and music), but also the religious, the political, the philosophical and other discursive forms.  Special focus will be on the problem of the relations across these boundaries.

An introduction to representations of history, in which we will consider concepts that turn on the problem of time such as tradition, periodization, genealogy, memory, crisis, revolution, eschatology, and utopia.

This course will explore the problem of memory in relation to both collective and individual trauma.  What pressure does trauma place on language, and agency, and how does it figure in commemoration, narrative, monumentalization, and other modes of representing the past?

This course will explore what it means to “act” in cultural, political, religious, and psychological realms.  We focus on the historically shifting relations between theory and practice, between artifice and agency, and between theatricality and spectatorship.

This course will consider some of the ideologies and practices of various institutions at work in the production and transmission of cultural objects and social power.  These may include the family, museum, hospital, prison, university, library, and theatre, as well as fields such as publishing and religion.

This course will consider relations between various cultural media – such as film, literature, photography, visual art, architecture – with specific attention to the historical demands and possibilities posed by technological change.

This course explores the phenomenon of historical periodization in its various modes, including as a stylistic concept, a set of discursive norms for cataloguing and grouping cultural forms, and a means of organizing and contesting historical narratives.

This course offers senior students in Literature and Critical Theory the opportunity to take part in a graduate seminar in Comparative Literature. Topics change annually.

This course offers senior students in Literature and Critical Theory the opportunity to take part in a graduate seminar in Comparative Literature. Topics change annually.

This course will consider questions of adaptation, appropriation, imitation, hybridity and incommensurability across languages, geographical regions, epochs, media, and academic disciplines.  Course topics may include the role of translation in the historical projects of nation-building and empire.

Content varies depending on instructor.  In-depth examination of selected issues.

This course provides an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study, not otherwise available within the Faculty, with the intent of addressing specific topics in Literature and Critical Theory.  Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course provides an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study, not otherwise available within the Faculty, with the intent of addressing specific topics in Literature and Critical Theory.  Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

The study of a selected group of creative writers from at least two national literatures whose texts raise issues regarding gender as either an historically or culturally variable construct. Texts will be chosen on the basis of a shared historical era, a literary genre, experience, institutional categorization, or project.

This course is about things - the everyday objects of past and present cultures. It examines the meanings people have invested in objects and how those meanings have changed over time. Using interdisciplinary approaches, students investigate objects found in homes, retail spaces, cities, art galleries and museums in order to develop new understandings of the objects that structure their daily lives and their material world.

This course is about things - the everyday objects of past and present cultures. It examines the meanings people have invested in objects and how those meanings have changed over time. Using interdisciplinary approaches, students investigate objects found in homes, retail spaces, cities, art galleries and museums in order to develop new understandings of the objects that structure their daily lives and their material world.

Through a multidisciplinary approach, this course opens new perspectives on the history of artifacts, the evolution of a world of things, and the analysis of material culture. Lectures and tutorials are supplemented by hands-on exercises in museums and local communities.

An in-depth examination of some aspect of Material Culture theory or practice. Content in any given year depends on instructor. Not offered every year.

An in-depth examination of some aspect of Material Culture theory or practice. Content in any given year depends on instructor. Not offered every year.

Students examine the expression of cultural identities in objects. Students are taught to think critically about the construction, use, display, and exchange of objects with significance for cultural identity. In addition to lectures and discussions, students participate in guided visits to sites – everyday, ritual, institutional – where negotiation of identity through objects occurs.

A practical or experiential learning opportunity under the supervision of a faculty member, normally at a museum, art gallery or other cultural agency (as approved by the supervisor).

A practical or experiential learning opportunity under the supervision of a faculty member, normally at a museum, art gallery or other cultural agency (as approved by the supervisor).

This fourth year seminar, required for students pursuing a minor in material culture, will have opportunities to explore themes in material culture studies, museum exhibitions and collections as well as processes of object analysis in greater depth and at an advanced level.  Specific topics and research projects will vary according to the interests and specialties of course instructors and students.

An interdisciplinary introduction to the civilization of the Renaissance illustrated by a study of the institutions, thought, politics, society and culture of both Italy and Northern Europe. Italian city states such as Florence, Urbino and Venice, Papal Rome and despotic Milan are compared with the northern dynastic monarchies of France and England.

Focusing on famous works like Michelangelo’s David, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, and Monteverdi’s Orfeo, this course explores some of the greatest masterpieces of the European Renaissance and their afterlives, cross-cultural adaptations, and appropriations in later and modern popular culture.

A study of the changing conception of the human self in the Renaissance, and of its representation by major authors: Erasmus, Rabelais, Marguerite de Navarre, Castiglione, Machiavelli and others.

Focusing on writers from various geographical areas, the course examines a variety of texts by early modern women (for example, treatises, letters, and poetry) so as to explore the female experience in a literate society, with particular attention to how women constructed a gendered identity for themselves against the backdrop of the cultural debates of the time.

An interdisciplinary approach to questions of gender and sexuality in early modern Europe, with special focus on the representations of the sexual drive, the gender roles of men and women, and varieties of sexual experience in the literature and art of the period.

Focuses on analysis of short stories and longer prose works including, in English translation: Boccaccio's stories of love, fortune and human intelligence in the Decameron; Rabelais' humorous parody of high culture in Gargantua; the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet; and the adventures of picaresque rogues in Lazarillo de Tormes and Nashe's Unfortunate Traveler.

This course examines the various media (printing press, representational art, music, preaching) and social and political forces (family and political networks, censorship, education, etc.) that conditioned the communication of ideas in early modern society.

This course examines the changing views of the Renaissance, from the earliest definitions by poets and painters to the different understandings of contemporary historians. We will pay attention to the interests and biases that have informed the idea of the Renaissance as an aesthetic, social, political, gendered, and euro-centric phenomenon.

Studies in the development of new forms in music, drama and dance in the Renaissance. The course will consist of seminars and lectures, and may incorporate live performances taking place in Toronto in addition to recordings.

An interdisciplinary course exploring the history, art, architecture, literature, and music of the Renaissance in one or more cities from ca. 1400-1650. The course will investigate how local political and social-historical contexts shape ideas and cultural forms, and so illustrate the process and effects of cross-fertilization in the Renaissance period.

Studies in an aspect of the Renaissance based around lectures, seminars, and readings. Content in any given year depends on instructor. Not offered every year.

Studies in an aspect of the Renaissance based around lectures, seminars, and readings. Content in any given year depends on instructor. Not offered every year.

This course provides an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study, not otherwise available within the Faculty, with the intent of addressing specific topics in Renaissance studies.  Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course provides an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study, not otherwise available within the Faculty, with the intent of addressing specific topics in Renaissance studies.  Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College.  For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An interdisciplinary seminar on Florence in the 15th and 16th centuries: humanism, culture and society in the republican period, the rise of the Medici, Florentine neoplatonism, the establishment of the Medici principate, culture, society and religion.

An in-depth study in an aspect of the Renaissance based around lectures, seminars, and readings. Content in any given year depends on the instructor.

An in-depth study in an aspect of the Renaissance based around lectures, seminars, and readings. Content in any given year depends on the instructor.

This course provides an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study, not otherwise available within the Faculty, with the intent of addressing specific topics in Renaissance studies.  Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course provides an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study, not otherwise available within the Faculty, with the intent of addressing specific topics in Renaissance studies.  Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. 

This course explores central developments and ongoing controversies in the scientific study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. It examines topics such as: psychoanalysis, behaviourism, humanistic psychology, evolutionary psychology, intelligence testing, and feminist perspectives. Goals include understanding the historical evolution and social relevance of scientific psychology.

In this course we examine major episodes in the history of evolution and genetics in the twentieth century. Topics include Darwinian evolution, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, eugenics, and genetic screening and therapy. We will examine different views about the control of evolution and genetic manipulation in their socio-cultural-economic context and discuss the ethical and social implications of those views.

This course examines influential efforts to study human beings and society scientifically, from the seventeenth century to the present. We consider major contributions from prominent thinkers, such as Thomas Hobbes, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud. We also review the contemporary relevance and persistent controversies about their ideas.

Models frame our understanding and treatment of illness and are the most fundamental element of the scientific method. Theology, history, and literature may use models in different ways than natural and medical sciences but fundamentally all modelling is an attempt to accurately predict and manipulate the future.

Studies the international culture emerging in media and literature and examines recent communication theory as it applies to literary, social and cultural issues.

This course will introduce the main elements of semiotic theory, applying it to the study of human culture, from language, myth, and art to popular forms of culture such as pop music and cinema. It will deal with primary texts in the development of semiotics, and cover a broad range of cultural applications of semiotic theory.

Theories and models of applied semiotics: analysis of sign systems as articulated in various forms of artistic and cultural production.

An in-depth examination of some aspect of semiotic theory or practice. Content in any given year depends on instructor. Not offered every year.

Theories of signification studied with a focus on major works in the semiotics of modern and contemporary culture.

This course will introduce the field of forensic semiotics, which is new and in the process of being developed within the general field of semiotics. The course will look at the usage of semiotic notions, methods, and techniques in the area of forensic science. This includes the analysis of facial expression, sign-based clues left at crime scenes, body language, the symbolism of tattoos in gang behaviour, the role of ritual and slang in criminal gangs and in organized crime syndicates, and the analysis of conversations and written materials produced by criminals and their meanings. Experts in the field (from the judiciary, police, and other areas) will be invited to give guest lectures.

This course will deal with media semiotics, both in the traditional sense of the study of meanings in all media (from print to digital) and in how new digital media are changing the nature of signification and communication. The course will look at the usage of semiotics to study how meaning is negotiated in interactive media versus the older and still extant one-way media (print and radio, for example). The course will utilize actual media materials (comic books, television programs, text messages, and so on) on which semiotic analysis can be conducted.

The study of readings from major French literary semioticians is combined with the practical application of theory to the analysis of selected literary texts. This course is taught in English. (Not offered in 2014-15;offered every three years.)

Capstone courses provide opportunities for students to work closely with senior faculty on projects that involve substantial research, leadership, and/or interdisciplinary components, so as to consolidate their academic experiences and prepare to move beyond undergraduate studies.

The seminar involves a critical assessment of current foreign policy issues and contemporary world problems. Issues and case studies to be analyzed include: 1. International military interventions to respond to imminent threats or humanitarian crises, issues of legitimacy and effectiveness. e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Haiti. 2. Canada-US relations in international crisis management, the track record and the way ahead. 3. Globalization, international terrorism, and their effects on sovereignty, diplomacy and international institutions.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website.  Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This seminar provides work-in-progress support for students pursuing full-year or half-year Individual Studies projects. In an interdisciplinary seminar, students receive training and practice in project design, professional skills, and effective communication in a variety of genres and contexts. This course is Pass/Fail. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Victoria College offers other course modules that allow students to incorporate supervised individual projects, experiential learning, research experiences, and international opportunities into their academic studies. Seminars on special topics offered on an occasional basis are also included in this category.

Topics vary from year to year depending on the instructor.

Topics vary from year to year depending on the instructor.

This course will explore the political implications of the dramatic transformation of the public sphere in 21st Century China.  Driven by globalization and privatization, China’s previously state dominated media have been reshaped by liberalized state policies, changing technology, increasingly sophisticated audiences and a fractious and critical intelligentsia.  The course will examine a wide array of film, documentary and print media that illustrate these changes and will seek to assess the extent to which a reconfigured state propaganda apparatus is capable of containing the social forces animated by new and rival discourses. 

‘Knowledge’ and ‘truth’ seem like simple enough words but prod them a little and some quite puzzling ideas emerge, including the self-devouring one that it’s not possible to know anything and the wonderfully inclusive contention that everyone has her own truth. We shall discuss the merits of these and other views.

A practical or experiential learning opportunity under the supervision of a faculty member.

A practical or experiential learning opportunity under the supervision of a faculty member.

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/rop. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An upper level course. Topics vary from year to year depending on the instructor.

An upper level course. Topics vary from year to year depending on the instructor.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website.  Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

These courses provide an opportunity to design an interdisciplinary course of study not otherwise available within the Faculty. Written application (detailed proposal, reading list and a letter of support from a Victoria College faculty member who is prepared to supervise) must be submitted for approval on behalf of Victoria College. For application procedures visit the Victoria College website. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Course content, travel destination, etc., will depend on the instructor. Topics will vary from year to year.  Course not offered every year. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Topics vary from year to year.

Topics vary from year to year.