Want to mix things up next term? Here’s your shortcut to some of the most interesting new Arts courses—queer music, cinematic monsters, environmental storytelling, Sikhi and feminism, and the ethics of AI. No prerequisites, open to all, and full of bold ideas to get your brain buzzing.
We’ve grouped the courses into three categories for each term:
📘 Open to All: Whether you’re exploring a new interest or fulfilling elective credits, you’re welcome here. No prerequisites required.
🎨 Interdisciplinary & Hands-on: Courses that connect ideas and concepts across multiple fields, across Arts departments.
🎓 Upper-Year Focus: Courses designed for third- and fourth-year students that may have prerequisites.
Each course also comes with emoji tags so you can spot the themes at a glance—think 🌱 for sustainability, 🤖 for AI, or 👻 for pop culture chills. Check out the full emoji guide below for all the details.
Term 1
Contemporary Social Problems: Culture, Colonialism, and the Making of Heritage 🎭 🕰️ ⚖️
ANTH_V 202G | Tues/Thurs, 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Explore how colonialism, culture, and power shape what we call “heritage” today. This course examines how museums and cultural institutions have grappled with their colonial legacies and asks what it means to engage with history in more ethical, inclusive ways.
Taught by: Dr. Lennon Mhishi
Reading the Bible on Indigenous Lands 🕰️ ⚖️
AMNE_V 384 | Mon/Wed/Fri, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
Examine how biblical texts were used to justify settler colonialism on Turtle Island, with focus on British Columbia, and explore the lasting impacts of Christianity on Indigenous communities, including the Indian Act and Residential Schools.
Taught by: Dr. Kurtis Peters
The Anthropology of Energy and Sustainability 🌱 ⚖️
ANTH_V 362 | Mon/Wed, 12:30 PM–2:00 PM
the human side of energy and sustainability through global case studies. This course looks at how energy systems shape communities, politics, and the environment, with focus on climate justice and the ethics of extraction and consumption.
Taught by: Dr. Tracey Heatherington
Topics in Asian Studies: Gender and Sexuality in Sikhi 🎭 💬
ASIA_V 366-D_011 | Tues/Thurs, 2:00 PM–3:30 PM
Examine how gender and sexuality are expressed in Sikh scripture, ritual, and everyday life. Through feminist and post-colonial readings, this course considers how Sikh thought engages with questions of identity, power, and cultural change, and what it might mean to think of Sikhi as a feminist tradition.
Taught by: Kiran Sunar
Korean Drumming Ensemble 🎭 👥
MUSC_V 165C/466C/565C | Tues/Thurs, 3:30 PM–5:00 PM
Experience the energy of p’ungmul, a vibrant Korean tradition of folk drumming and dance. This year-long course offers hands-on study with gongs and drums, reintroducing an ensemble practice that brings rhythm, movement, and community together.
Taught by: Dr. Nathan Hesselink
Anthropology of Memoir, Life history and Family 🕰️ 👥
ANTH_V 495D | Tues, 5:00 PM–8:00 PM
Explore the intersection of memoir and anthropological writing through a First Nations lens. Use approaches that centre relations and place to assess fieldwork memoirs, life histories of the studied, autoethnographic writing, and anthropologists’ memories of their own families.
Taught by: Hagwil Hayetsk (Charles Menzies)
Environment and Empire 🌱 🕰️ ⚖️
GEOG_V 411 | Wed, 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
Examine the environmental impacts of empire from 1500 to today, focusing on how colonial expansion, cultural contact, and resource extraction reshaped ecosystems around the world. Drawing from geography, environmental history, and ecological science, this course traces the lasting legacies of imperial power on the planet.
Note: This course is only for students in third year and above
Taught by: Dr. Loch Brown
Black Approaches to Capitalism and Racism 👥 ⚖️ 🕰️
GEOG_V 446B | Wed, 2:00 PM–5:00 PM
Unpack the deep connections between capitalism and racism through the lens of Black thinkers. From New World slavery to neoliberalism, this course traces how systems of power have shaped global history, with focus on race, labour, and resistance.
Taught by: Dr. Peter James Hudson
Antisemitism and the Jewish Experience 👥 🕰️
JWST_V 350 | Tues/Thurs, 3:30 PM–5:00 PM
Examine the history of antisemitism from antiquity to today, and its ongoing impact on Jewish life, culture, and identity. Through Jewish and non-Jewish sources, this course explores how perceptions of Judaism have shaped social, religious, and cultural dynamics over time.
Taught by: Dr. Gregg Gardner
Korean History through Film 🎬 🕰️
ASIA_V 383 | Tues/Thurs, 4:00 PM–6:00 PM
Discover Korean history through film, and see how cinema reflects, shapes, and challenges cultural memory. This course explores key historical moments and themes while examining how storytelling and representation influence our understanding of the past.
Taught by: Dr. Ji-yoon An
Term 2
Happiness 💬
PHIL_V 104 | Tues/Thurs, 9:30 AM–11:00 AM
What makes for deep and lasting happiness? This course explores how philosophers and thinkers in psychology, economics, political theory, and other fields have approached joy, wellbeing, and the good life.
Taught by: Dr. Kimberley Brownlee
Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics 🤖 💬 ⚖️
PHIL_V 336 | Tues/Thurs, 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Explore the ethical challenges of big data, artificial intelligence, and automated decision-making, with focus on surveillance, bias, and accountability in digital systems.
Taught by: Dr. Scott Anderson
Visual Narrative: Exploring Design and Creative Process 🎭
THFL_V 200 | Tues/Thurs, 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Learn the fundamentals of visual design, including colour, form, and movement, and how they shape storytelling and emotion. This hands-on course explores design across theatre, film, social media, concerts, and everyday life. No theatre or design experience required.
Taught by: Patrick Rizotti
Ecoculture and Literature in Japan 🌱 🏞️ 👥
ASIA_V 349 | Tues, 9:30 AM–12:30 PM
Explore human–nonhuman relationships in Japanese literature and visual culture through the lenses of ecocriticism, Indigenous epistemologies, and queer environmentalism. This course includes collaborative, hands-on learning in Nitobe Memorial Garden.
Taught by: Dr. Christina Laffin
Cinematic Monsters of Asia 👻 🎬 👥
ASIX_V 342 | Tues/Thurs, 4:00 PM–6:00 PM
Dive into the world of cinematic monsters in modern Asian popular culture. This course explores how monsters reflect cultural anxieties and fascinations, using core theories to unpack what the monstrous reveals about society and self.
Taught by: Dr. Ji-yoon An
Selected Topics in Music: Queer Music 🎭 👥 💬
MUSC_V 403I/532I | Tues/Thurs, 11:30 AM–1:00 PM
Trace how music has shaped queer experiences, identities, and spaces—from 1920s underground parties to today’s dance floors. This course explores queer joy, rage, and resistance through sound, media, and storytelling. No music reading required.
Taught by: TBD
| Emoji Guide | |
|---|---|
| 🌱 | Environment & Sustainability |
| 💬 | Ethics & Critical Inquiry (philosophy, justice, power, big questions) |
| 🕰️ | History & Narrative (cultural memory, memoir, historical contexts) |
| 👥 | Identity & Culture (race, gender, sexuality, religion, lived experience) |
| 🎬 | Media & Film (cinema, visual media, analysis) |
| 🎭 | Performance & Expression (music, theatre, design, creative arts) |
| 🏞️ | Place-Based & Outdoor Learning |
| 👻 | Pop Culture & Genre (monsters, genre fiction, cultural fascination) |
| ⚖️ | Power & Social Systems (colonialism, capitalism, resistance) |
| 🤖 | Technology & AI (digital systems, surveillance, data) |
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