Courses

2024-2025 Academic Year

CULS 1101
Cultural Studies: An Introduction 0.5 unit
An introduction to the critical study of modern culture. Topics may include visual art, film, music, and literature as well as television and other popular media.

CULS 2201
Critical Debates in Cultural Studies 0.5 unit
An intensive study of a specific theme which highlights the theories and methods of cultural studies.

CULS 2202
Music and Culture 0.5 unit
The relationship between music and culture. Issues such as social agency, protest, identity, and cultural legitimation will be examined. Topics may include the history of rock and roll; protest music; music and film; gender and the music industry; race and music.

CULS 2203
History of Rock and Roll 0.5 unit
An examination of rock music as a lens for cultural critique from the birth of youth culture in the 1950s through to contemporary post-rock subcultures.

CULS 2205
Art in Halifax Now 0.5 unit
An introduction to major dynamics, theories and tendencies in contemporary art using the vibrant Halifax Art scene as its primary focus. Note: Students who have received credit for CULS 1105 may not take this course for credit.

CULS 2207
Drama in Cultural Context 0.5 unit
An exploration of dramatic works as sites of cultural/social/political contestation. Students will use a variety of theories to examine the complex ways in which Drama negotiates meaning in different cultural contexts. Unconventional dramatic modalities such as “street/guerilla theatre” may also be considered. *Note: Students who have received credit for CULS 2206 may not take this course for credit.

CULS 2209/ RELS 2201
Evil 0.5 unit
An exploration of sites, conceptions, and representations of evil, in eastern and western perspectives. Drawing examples from religion, myth, folklore, literature, film, visual culture, and popular culture, evil will be considered as a culturally embodied phenomenon, requiring engagement, analysis, and response.

CULS 2211/CANA 2211
Canadian Popular Culture 0.5 unit
An exploration of the social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of popular culture in Canada. Topics such as music, film, television, comedy, literature, sports, and food will be considered as sites of Canadian identity and diversity, and American cultural influence.

CULS 2246/POLS 2246
Image and Power 0.5 unit
An introduction to political imagery. Informed by visual literacy the course investigates the overt and subtle power of narratives/images to make and share political meaning. Applied examples, such as movies, video games, graphic novels/comics, social media, music, fashion, and artful election/activist campaigns will support the theoretical examination.

CULS 2293
Understanding Movies 0.5 unit
An introduction to and analysis of the codes, conventions and contexts of fiction films, including a brief history of their development from the silent era to the present day. Note: Students who have received credit for FINE 2293 may not take this course for credit.

CULS 2294
Film Genres 0.5 unit
An exploration and analysis of film genres and the cultural contexts which inform their appeal, for example: westerns; action films; documentaries; science fiction and horror; romantic comedy; cinema noir; avant garde. Both Hollywood and “foreign” films may be studied; genres studied may change from year to year.

CULS 2297
Animated Film 0.5 unit
An investigation into the animated form through critical study of its history and theory and its subversive role as a medium for radical critique of the dominant culture.

CULS 2301/CANA 2301
Doing it For the Culture: The Politics of Black Culture in Canada 0.5 unit
An exploration of the intersections of Black politics and culture in Canada, with special focus on contemporary Black art, feminisms, and political movements, using foundational theorists and writers from Canada and from the wider diaspora.

CULS 2501/RELS 2501/PHIL 2501
Animals: Sentience and Responsibility 0.5 unit
Exploring the roles and relationships of humans and non-human animals in society. This interdisciplinary course looks at histories and theories of animals including religious views, scientific debates, non-Western thought, labour, law, and the environment.

CULS 3301
Senior Seminar 0.5 unit
Prerequisite(s): CULS 2201 or permission of the instructor and of the Coordinator of the program
An advanced seminar on a selected cultural studies topic designed for cultural studies majors. Topics will vary from year to year.

CULS 3302
Censorship and Art 0.5 unit
Prerequisite(s): CULS 1101 or permission of the instructor
An exploration of the relationship between censorship and contemporary art. (Also listed under Women’s Studies)

CULS 3305
Subcultures 0.5 unit
A critical analysis of subcultures and their cultural forms and practices, in historical context.

CULS 3306
Rap and Resistance 0.5 unit
An analysis of resistance in hip hop culture from the 1970s to the present. By examining how rap music, in particular, has challenged hegemony, made space for marginalized people and groups, and provoked conversations about our changing world, this course investigates the power of hip hop in a cultural context.

CULS 3310
Special Topics 0.5 unit
CULS 3311
Special Topics 0.5 unit
CULS 3312
Special Topics 1.0 unit
Prerequisite(s): completion of 5.0 units of university credit
A combined lecture-seminar course on a selected topic related to the field of cultural studies.

CULS 3320/POLS 3320
Culture and Ideology 0.5 unit
Prerequisite(s): 0.5 unit of POLS or CULS
An in-depth study of the complex interplay of Culture and Ideology as social, intellectual, and political forms.

CULS 3330/WOMS 3330/GWGS 6330
Canadian Women Film Directors 0.5 unit
Prerequisite(s): WOMS 1102 and 0.5 unit in another Women’s Studies or departmental women-emphasis course at the 2000 level or above or permission of the instructor
A study of Canadian Women Film Directors’ contribution to narrative, documentary, experimental filmmaking and animation. Diverse directional styles and subject matter will be discussed in the context of sociohistorical changes that they reflect or resist. Readings will challenge dominant mainstream representation from various feminist perspectives and suggest alternate reception strategies. Note: Students who have received credit for FINE 3330 may not take this course for credit. (Also listed under Canadian Studies)

CULS 4401
Cultural Studies: Directed Study 0.5 unit
CULS 4402
Cultural Studies: Directed Study 0.5 unit
CULS 4403
Cultural Studies: Directed Study 1.0 unit
Prerequisite(s): written permission
An open course, permitting senior cultural studies majors to pursue study in a specific area not accommodated in the regular course program. The student designs the syllabus in consultation with the supervising professor. Students intending to take this course must obtain approval from the program Coordinator before registration.

Academic Note: This web-based calendar information is applicable for the 2024-2025 academic year which runs from September 01, 2024 to August 31, 2025.

For information on previous years, please consult the University Academic Calendars web page.