See the list below for courses that focus on Indigenous Nations, Indigenous issues, and Indigenous space(s) across Turtle Island…
(F= Fall-term 2022; S=Winter-term 2023)
Photo: Ted McGrath, 2021, Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/time-to-look/51094852065
SMC185H1-F – Christianity, Truth and Reconciliation (R. Locklin)
This First-Year Foundations seminar critically explores the complex relations of Christianity and Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island, with a special focus on education. Sample topics include: settler colonialism and treaty relationships; prominent Indigenous Christians, critics and reformers; the residential school system; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; recent initiatives in ecclesial repentance, dialogue and enculturation. The course will include online primary research in the archives of residential schools in Ontario.
POL195H1-F – First-Year Foundation Seminar: Settler Colonialism and Enduring Indigeneity (U. Maile)
What is settler colonialism and how does Indigeneity endure it? This course explores the many, diverse ways that Indigenous peoples resist settler colonization and persist beyond it. We will examine Indigenous activisms, legal orders, political philosophies, and cultural productions that demonstrate settler colonialism is indeed a failing project.
CDN197H1-F – Inventing Canada (TBD)
This course explores the ways that Canadian history and identity have been commemorated, interpreted and experienced, now and in the past. The course focuses in particular on who has been included or excluded in commemorative efforts over time. Key topics include representations of women, Indigenous peoples, and political figures on screen and through public installations like museum exhibits, plaques and statues.
Key topics include representations of women, Indigenous peoples, and political figures on screen and through public installations like museum exhibits, plaques and statues. Case studies highlighting a range of interpretive media will encourage students to work with and discuss a range of primary and secondary sources, build critical thinking and academic writing skills. Restricted to first-year students.
CDN198H1-S – Canada, Colonialism, and Settler Relations
A First Year Foundations seminar focused on exploring Canada’s colonial history and recent efforts to enact appropriate settler relations through an interdisciplinary lens. Topics will include contemporary land claims and treaty-making processes, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, governmental apologies for the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, land acknowledgements, practices of allyship through social movement such as Idle No More, and efforts to influence Canada’s overseas mining practices. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
INS300Y1-Y Worldviews, Indigenous Knowledges, and Oral Tradition (TBD)
A study of the languages and culture of Indigenous peoples through exploration of oral histories, from creation stories until present times, including the role of oral history and methods for studying oral history through accounts told by elders.
INS200H1-F – Introduction to Indigenous Truth and Resilience (TBD)
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the historical and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, with an emphasis on local lands and peoples. The course will explore Indigenous resilience, relationships with settlers and settler states, and principles and ethics of Indigenous Knowledge. Tutorials will focus on critical discussion and experiential learning.
JPI201H1-S – Indigenous Politics in Canada (D. Sherwin)
This course explores key issues in Indigenous politics in Canada. Provides students with an overview of historical and contemporary socio-political issues in Indigenous societies and institutions such as Indigenous self-governance, land claims and treaty negotiations.
GGR240H1-F – Geographies of Colonialism in North America (TBD)
This course considers the creation and consolidation of settler colonies in the region known to many as North America. With an eye to the colonial present, the course focuses on the period from the 15th century to the early 20th century. Cultural texts and place-specific cases are used to ground themes and processes that also bear on the wider field of historical geography, including narratives of discovery and possession; ecological imperialism and environmental transformation; the (re)settlement of land and colonial government; enslavement and industrialization; frontiers, borders, and resource extraction; and some of the Indigenous geographies that preceded, were transformed by and transformed, and exceeded the reach of colonial power.
INS240Y1-Y – Ecological Interactions: Intro to Indigenous and Western Sciences (TBD)
Introduction to methodologies and applications of Indigenous and Western sciences, with an emphasis on environmental change, animal behaviour, evolution, sustainable practices, and implications of intrinsic ecological connections. Exploratory labs, often outdoors, develop literacy and skills in each paradigm as well as critical thought, creative reflection, and synthesis of knowledge.
INS250H1-F – Indigenous Environmental Science and Practice (TBD)
This course is a study of the ecological and scientific teachings of Indigenous peoples. The course provides an overview of Indigenous peoples’ relationships with the natural world in historical and contemporary environmental issues and their implications for Indigenous Peoples and others.
FAH255H1-F – Art of Indigenous North America (M. Migwans)
A broad survey of Indigenous arts in North America from Mexico to the Arctic, and from ancient to modern. Students will gain a basic literacy in key artforms including painting, architecture, basketry and more, grounded in an awareness of Indigenous realities and historical currents.
HIS262H1-F – Canada: A Short History of Here (TBD)
Designed for non-history students, this introductory survey fulfills the Society and Its Institutions breadth requirement. It is open to all who want to know more about Canada. Topics will include First Nations/newcomer relations (including treaties and the Truth & Reconciliation report), French/English relations (including Quebec separatism), regionalism, the North, economic history, constitutional developments, and the development of Canadian identity, including common symbols associated with Canada.
HIS314H1-S – Language, Empire, and Encounter in Francophone Canada (S. Mills)
This course will explore the history of Francophone Canada from the late 19th century until today. In addition to looking at more traditional themes focused on nationalism and constitutional politics, we will also look at the history of encounter between groups of different backgrounds and origins. As such, we will place a large emphasis on colonialism and Indigenous history, and the politics of language, race, and immigration.
JIG322H1-S – Indigenous Worlds, Worldviews and the Environment (TBD)
Explores the diverse ways of understanding and responding to the world that emerge from indigenous cultures around the world. Examines how indigenous ways of being and relating to their natural environment can help us understand and address the current environmental crisis. Using examples of indigenous activism from Canada and around the world, examines how colonial histories shape dispossession and marginalization and inform visions for the future. Topics include traditional ecological knowledge, place-based social movements, environmental concerns of indigenous peoples, bio-cultural restoration and decolonization of nature-human relations.
GGR339H1-S – Urban Geography, Planning and Political Processes (TBD)
Investigates North American urban political geography, exploring conflicts over immigration, environment, gentrification, homelessness, labour market restructuring, ‘race’ and racism, urban sprawl, nature and environment, gender, sexuality, security, and segregation. Explores competing visions of city life and claims on urban space. The course investigates how these struggles connect to economic, social and environmental politics at larger spatial scales, and considers different theoretical frameworks that geographers have developed to make sense of both the persistence of old problems and the emergence of new ones. Potential field trip, cost: $20.
EDS358H1-S – Residential Schools and Education in Canada (J. Hamilton-Diabo)
An exploration of Residential Schools in Canada and their impacts on education and lives of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. This course investigates the historical educational ideology of residential schools and their relationship to colonization, the role of government and organized religion in the residential school system, and contemporary strategies that encourage stable and trusting relationships with Indigenous communities. This course will also explore aspects of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.
HIS366H1-S – Indigenous Histories of the Great Lakes from 1815 to the Present (TBD)
Explores the history of Aboriginal peoples (Indigenous and Metis) living in the Great Lakes Region after the Great Lakes were effectively split between British North America (later Canada) to the north and the united States to the south, when a rapidly increasing newcomer population on both sides of the border marginalized Indigenous peoples and settled on their land. Topics include a comparative examination of Indigenous experiences of colonialism, including treaties and land surrenders as well as the development of government policies aimed at removing and/or assimilating Great Lakes peoples. This course will also study resistance by First National and Tribal Councils to those programs over nearly two centuries and assess local strategies used for economic and cultural survival.
SDS385H1-S – Queer Indigenous Politics and Cultures (TBD)
This upper level course introduces students to questions of gender, sexuality, two-spirit, and same-sex desire at the intersections of race, indigeneity, and the violences of settler colonialism. Students will engage with work by scholars, activists, and artists in the fields of indigenous and queer studies, decolonizing activism, and cultural production.
CDN385H1-F – Re-Imagining Canada: Creative Visions of Our Past, Present, and Futures (TBD)
Artists and writers are re-imagining Canada, exploring alternate pasts, presents, and futures, often critiquing systemic inequities by positing “what ifs” of resistance and renewal, while reclaiming agency, voice, and power for those who are disadvantaged in society. This course will examine these re-imaginings across various media such as fiction, poetry, graphic novels, films, multimedia installations, performance art, paintings, virtual reality works, and video games. Examples will be drawn from a wide variety of genres such as speculative fiction, Afrofuturism, Indigenous arctic horror, trans, queer, Indigenous and Indigiqueer perspectives.
WGS390H1-S – Land-ing: Indigenous and Black Futurist Spaces (K. Recollet)
Students are invited to think through the relationships between Indigenous and Afro-futurist concepts of land. This class will engage Indigenous feminist and Black queer and feminist theories of land and space, linking them to Afrofuturist and Indigenous futurist thought. We explore various texts in relation to emergent methodologies, decolonial desires, and love and radical relationalities.
INS403H1-F – Indigenous Peoples and the Urban Context (TBD)
Critically examines Indigenous peoples’ experiences, encounters and interactions in urban areas in Canada. This course explores the historical and contemporary conditions of Indigenous peoples, including urban governance and the development of Indigenous organizations. This course will focus on youth perspectives and how traditions, cultures and knowledges are expressed in urban settings.
FAH452H1-F – Contemporary Indigenous Art in Canada and the United States (M. Migwans)
This course focuses on Indigenous artists working both within and outside of contemporary art spaces in Canada and the United States, through a study of key exhibitions and movements in the Indigenous arts community from 1984 to the present. From the Columbus Quincentennial in 1992 and its echoes in the “Canada 150” celebrations, to artists working from the front lines of land protection movements, we will explore ideas of nationalism, inclusion, intervention, and ‘decolonization’ of the gallery.
This project is supported by the Learning & Education Advancement Fund at the University of Toronto
Canada constructed: architecture, landscape, history 