This page contains descriptions for new and special topics offered in the Department of Historical and Cultural Studies. Special topics courses are developed to complement existing courses, and cover emerging issues or specialized content not represented in our main curriculum. Please see the UTSC Timetable for the course days and times.
Winter 2023
This introductory survey course connects the rich histories of Black radical women’s acts, deeds, and words in Canada. It traces the lives and political thought of Black women and gender-non-conforming people who refused and fled enslavement, took part in individual and collective struggles against segregated labour, education, and immigration practices; providing a historical context for the emergence of the contemporary queer-led #BlackLivesMatter movement. Students will be introduced, through histories of activism, resistance, and refusal, to multiple concepts and currents in Black feminist studies. This includes, for example, theories of power, race, and gender, transnational/diasporic Black feminisms, Black-Indigenous solidarities, abolition and decolonization. Students will participate in experiential learning and engage an interdisciplinary array of key texts and readings including primary and secondary sources, oral histories, and online archives.
Prerequisite: 1.0 credit at the A-level in any Humanities or Social Science courses
Soccer (“football” to most of the world) is the world’s game and serves as a powerful lens through which to examine major questions in modern world history. How did a game that emerged in industrial Britain spread so quickly throughout the globe? How has the sport been appropriated politically and become a venue for contests over class, ethnic and national identity? Why have wars been fought over the outcome of matches? In short, how does soccer explain the modern world?
Prerequisite: Any 4.0 credits, including 0.5 credit at the A- or B-level in HIS courses