Build a foundation for success in your first year. In General Studies 201, a first-year seminar, you will be guided through the process of conducting university-level research by a leading edge researcher in a small class setting.

You won't just skim the surface of a problem; you will plan your own research project, examining an issue of your choice in detail. In addition, you will develop skills in time management and the art of writing academic papers. The faculty recommends that all first-year Communication and Culture students register in General Studies 201.

Discover...

a different kind of learning interactive inquiry in a small class an innovative special topic that you can explore in depth how to navigate knowledge in the university environment

Browse the 2007-2008 course topics listed below for a general idea of study areas. However, keep in mind that the courses offered vary from year to year and the topic itself isn't as important as the process of inquiry that comes with it.

FALL 2007

Shopping Culture in Calgary
S01 MWF 11:00 (50 mins.) Dr. Lorry Felske

This course provides the opportunity for students to pursue shopping culture in North American urban contexts, specifically Calgary, as an area of research activity. Students with a curiosity about consumption culture in urban contexts would be most interested in this course. Possible topic areas for student inquiry range from the design features of shopping centres and individual stores to the nature of customer culture, and fundamental issues such as globalization and the intensification of a consumption based society.

Identity, Participation and Place-Making
S02 MWF 13:00 (50 mins.) Dr. Chui-Ling Tam

Students will identify and examine how humans participate in creating and shaping built and natural places. Possible places for investigation may include: parks, neighbourhoods, landfills, cultural and sport facilities, shelters, and transportation, among others. The motives for and styles, structures and processes of participation are determined by and help articulate who people are, the communities to which they belong, and their concepts of value and ethics. Students are expected to attend public events, meetings, decision-making processes, and other communicative forums.

Activism and Protest in Canada
S03 TR 09:30 (75 mins.) Dr. Paul Stortz

Activism and protest in Canada as agents of change and as powerful forms of Canadian democracy. Community and regional forms of activism, including activism expressed on university campuses by students and professors, as well as larger historical and contemporary Canadian developments of the expression of voice will be discussed.

Journeying Into Myth: Understanding Others Through Understanding Ourselves
S04 TR 11:00 (75 mins.) Dr. Margo Husby Scheelar

In their book, "Your Mythic Journey", Sam Keen and Anne Valley- Fox define myth not as a fairy tale or a lie but as the "intricate set of interlocking stories, rituals, rites and customs that inform and give the pivotal sense of meaning and direction to a person, family, community, or culture" (pg. xi). Gaining understanding of the myths that shape our ways of making sense of our world can open the door for a greater understanding of people from different cultures and different time periods. When we understand more about the sources of our own answers to the questions that all myths answer, we become aware of both the limitation and potential of the ways in which we view the world and can open our minds to intellectual and personal growth.

Gender, Sexuality, and Television
S05 TR 11:00 (75 mins.) Dr. Dawn Johnston

This course will examine some of the cultural milestones on television -- the programs or episodes that acted as turning points in significantly changing the way we think about gender and sexuality through popular culture. We will also look at the transitions -- the phases in our television history where we can see television, as a medium, responding to larger cultural shifts in thinking about gender and sexuality.

Profiles of Calgary
S06 TR 12:30 (75 mins.) Dr. Max Foran

With its focus on ranching, oil and gas, social inequities and current problems, this course deals with some of the formative forces and issues that help explain Calgary's contemporary position as one of our nation's leading cities.

Food, Power, Politics
S08 TR 15:30 (75 mins.) Dr. Gwen Blue

Food is something we usually take for granted: it's pleasurable, necessary and, usually, always there. However, recently, it has become very political. Is our food safe? Should we eat meat? Is there a dark side to our 'fast food' nation? Are our eating habits leading to global warming? Why do some people go hungry and others eat more than they need? Is it better to eat organic, local and slow? This class will explore these issues (and more) using student driven, inquiry based learning.

WINTER 2008

Comics, Culture and Values
S01 M 14:00 (170 mins.) Dr. Bart Beaty

This course will examine the shifting terrain of the European comic book industry since 1990. Combining close readings of dozens of comic books with an analysis of the political economy of cultural production, this course will raise questions about cultural value and the role of the artist in an age of globalization. While not required, a functional understanding of one or more European languages (French, Italian, Spanish, German in particular) is an advantage.

Documentary
S02 R 14:00 (170 mins.) Dr. Brian Rusted

An exploration of various forms of documentary practice, this course will look at film, television, photography, oral, prose, and hypertext examples. It provides an opportunity to consider creative choices, ethical responsibility, representational standards, and the social uses of documentary. Topics will include discussions of ethnographic film, community development and social transformation, reality TV, new media and alternative forms of distribution, narrative authority, and collaborative production. Students will have the opportunity to research particular examples and to develop documentary projects, individually or in groups.

Journeying Into Myth: Understanding Others Through Understanding Ourselves
S03 Saturday 8:00 (240 mins.) Dr. Margo Husby Scheelar

In their book, "Your Mythic Journey", Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox define myth not as a fairy tale or a lie but as the "intricate set of interlocking stories, rituals, rites and customs that inform and give the pivotal sense of meaning and direction to a person, family, community, or culture" (pg. xi). Gaining understanding of the myths that shape our ways of making sense of our world can open the door for a greater understanding of people from different cultures and different time periods. When we understand more about the sources of our own answers to the questions that all myths answer, we become aware of both the limitation and potential of the ways in which we view the world and can open our minds to intellectual and personal growth.