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Topics in pension mathematics; funding methods for pension plans. (Offered in alternate years)

This course will cover current topics relevant to industry participants. Topics may include advanced modeling, pricing for different lines of business, financial conditions, regulatory impacts and current developments. Students will develop an understanding of key topics driving the industry today and some of the framework of reference used by actuarial practitioners for charting a course in areas of uncertainties.

(Offered in alternate years)

Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Case study approach to current issues in life insurance, pension consulting and casualty actuarial practice. The focus of the course will be on communication and presentation. This course is Pass/Fail. Not eligible for Credit/No Credit.  The course is open to students in the specialist program in actuarial science. Students in the major program in actuarial science can enrol into the course with permission of the department.

Case studies using leading actuarial application AXIS. Examine key types of insurance products and their pricing and valuation. Review representative developments in insurance regulations in US, Europe and Canada. Other topics include a brief introduction of the use of AI in life insurance.

Independent study under the direction of a faculty member. Persons wishing to take this course must have the permission of the Undergraduate Secretary and of the prospective supervisor. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Independent study under the direction of a faculty member. Persons wishing to take this course must have the permission of the Undergraduate Secretary and of the prospective supervisor. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Independent study under the direction of a faculty member. Persons wishing to take this course must have the permission of the Undergraduate Secretary and of the prospective supervisor. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Independent study under the direction of a faculty member. Persons wishing to take this course must have the permission of the Undergraduate Secretary and of the prospective supervisor. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A multi-disciplinary study of Africa, emphasizing inquiry and critical analysis. Pre-colonial, colonial and contemporary African history, anthropology, politics, African humanism and society, religion, art, music, race, resistance, gender and Pan-Africanism.

A critical examination of Africa as a living space rather than merely a site of intellectual speculation and study. Uses scholarly and popular literature to explore the issues that engage the attention of ordinary Africans, ranging from the dramatic to the seemingly trivial, as they struggle to fashion meaningful lives in fast-changing societies. Topics include urban transition and city life; economic, political and cultural impacts of globalization; new religious movements and changing conceptions of selfhood; new African diasporas in the West; dynamics of gender relations, kinships and identities; and the politics of liberalization. Materials studied will include print and electronic news media and other mass media resources from Africa and across the world.

Introduction to grammar and basic vocabulary of Swahili. Emphasis on comprehension and oral practice. Reading of selected texts. Relation of the language to its East African cultural context.

An historical examination of Africa as a conceptual category, exploring discourses and representations - both African and non-African - that have produced our understandings of the meanings of Africa and Africanness.

Novels written in the last forty years by English, French and Portuguese-speaking Africans. Ideological views concerning colonialism and neo-colonialism. Tradition, religious and secular; the use of African symbolism. A small number of historical and sociological texts are recommended as essential background reading. Works not written in English are read in translation. (Offered in alternate years)

The exploration of a range of African cosmologies, epistemologies, and theologies, as well as specific case studies on justice, the moral order, and gender relations. The influence of these richly diverse traditions is traced as well in the writings of African thinkers in the Diaspora.

Critically explores the role of international organizations such as the World Bank Group, the UN and NGOs in the economic development of Africa.

Explores inter-state relations in Africa, African states’ relations with the West, China, India, Brazil, and international political, economic and financial institutions.

Critically examines scholarly debates on the relationships between African cultures and development in various regions of the continent. Draws on interdisciplinary scholarship and development discourses to enhance students' understanding of African conditions and cultures in the context of development thinking.

Examines the nature of youth languages and cultures in contemporary Africa with a focus on their characteristics and the conditions under which they develop. Also considers similarities and/or differences between youth languages and cultures in different regions of Africa and the general youth condition. Includes urban youth languages such as Sheng, Engsh, Tsotsitaal, etc. and music genres associated with youth such as hip hop, Bongo flava, etc. Discusses challenges and opportunities associated with African youth languages as they relate to questions of identity, national integration, regional integration, and development.

An upper level course. Topics of study vary from year to year.

An upper level course. Topics of study vary from year to year.

Examines the Horn of Africa, its diversity, geopolitics, cultural politics, present conditions and current debates through a critical and comparative lens. Considers social forces in contemporary politics within the region including competing claims, explanations of the underpinnings of the Horn's conflict, and the promise of peace. Draws upon interdisciplinary scholarship, public discourse, texts and media to reflect on the future of the Horn of Africa at this historical moment.

Explores the critical intersections between art, media and politics by analyzing the making and circulation of various indigenous and modern art forms and their use as creative and radical strategies for creative expression, dissent, citizenship, and alternative forms of representation, reimaginings, transcendence and agency in African post-colonial contexts, and interconnected with the African Diaspora.

An interdisciplinary exploration of the histories of nationalist and revolutionary movements, ideologies, and regimes in twentieth and twenty-first century Africa, examining the various ways that Africans imagined, actively shaped, and continue to demand freedom and political modernity. Emphasis will be placed on African history methodology (including oral history) and historiography to encourage students to apply a historical lens to approaching key themes and concepts in African Studies such as nationalism, decolonization, the state, politics, citizenship, labour movements, and pro-democracy movements.

Grammar and syntax. Conversation and written composition. Reading of texts: literary, journalistic. Relation of the language to its East African context.

Explores the geopolitics of Africa-Asia relations, in particular, the unabated and polarized debates and narratives on China’s engagement across sectors in Africa, ‘Africa-China’ multifaceted trade relations, strategies and interests, and economic diplomacy. Critically examines the changing landscape of economic cooperation and development financing in contemporary Africa, their underlying impulses and their broader implications.

This honours research seminar required of all specialists and majors in African Studies offers critical explorations of the genealogy of African Studies, the transnational study of Africa, Africa’s place in a globalized world, the historical, intellectual and institutional contexts of Africanist knowledge production, its dissemination and consumption in Africa, Europe, the Americas and emerging academic sites in Asia. It engages with the paradigm shifts and vibrant scholarly and epistemic debates across disciplines and geographies as well as unfolding events, public discourses, geopolitics, African popular cultures and the reimagining of African futures through canonical, emergent scholarship and creative media and emphasizes students’ original and creative research explorations, engaged praxis and search for alternative theorizing and decolonial epistemologies.

An upper level course. Topics of study vary from year to year.

Examines the choice of languages for education in East Africa using critical perspectives. Pays particular attention to the influences of the historical experience of colonialism, the socio-linguistic contours of each country and the strength of linguistic and educational lobby groups in East African countries.

Examines the choice of languages for education in East Africa using critical perspectives. Pays particular attention to the influences of the historical experience of colonialism, the socio-linguistic contours of each country and the strength of linguistic and educational lobby groups in East African countries.

Why do people move voluntarily or involuntarily? What are the causes and consequences of migration and displacement in Africa? This course critically examines the multifaceted dimensions of migration, mobility, and displacement, with a specific focus on communities and populations displaced by war, environmental destruction and disaster, economic failings, and the quest for economic opportunities, love, education, or individual freedom.