An in-depth study of selected questions in contemporary Canadian culture and society. Content will vary from year to year. Specific course information will be available on the Canadian Studies website at www.uc.utoronto.ca/canadianstudies/.

What is Catholicism, as an idea, as a social movement, as an object of scorn, devotion or delight? What meaning does Catholic tradition have in the contemporary world? This seminar explores these and similar questions through lectures and conversations with diverse scholars—faculty, fellows and friends—of the St. Michael’s College community.

This course offers an historical introduction to alchemy, astrology, and magic, with a focus on the development, defence, condemnation, and progressive marginalization of these controversial pursuits in and around the Christian world(s). Students will learn about such topics as the search for the philosopher's stone, the casting of horoscopes, the design of wondrous machines… and the risks associated with meddling with spirits! Lectures will examine these learned traditions on their own terms, while inviting discussions about their enduring popularity, their connections with the rise of modern science and their reception in popular culture.

This course introduces students to creative works from throughout the global Christian tradition. The course explores the complex relationships that exist between religious and aesthetic imperatives, between theological and material sources, between beauty and suffering, and between artists and their patrons and audiences.

This course explores the historical engagement of various Christian traditions with the prevailing political, social, and ethnic cultures in the western world and beyond. Students will also examine the development of Christianity as it confronts changes in the symbolic and intellectual universes from antiquity to post-modernity.

Christian history has been characterized by an enduring and fruitful search for forms of religious community. This course surveys some communal attempts to express Christianity, monasticism, forms of common life for clerics, the Mendicants, lay confraternities, religious orders, and contemporary lay movements.

An exploration of pedagogy and child development theory, with a particular focus on the way Christians have employed these educational techniques historically. Attention will be given to the diversity of institutions and approaches to curriculum development across Christian history.

This course examines different models of relating Christianity and Science. Beginning with the biblical view on the natural world and moving to the present, the lectures develop a wide range of approaches.

An advanced seminar in Christianity and Culture as determined by the instructor. In some terms this course may require an application. This will be clearly noted in the Timetable.

An examination of Canon Law; the process by which it came into being, and its impact on contemporary culture. Premises and techniques of ecclesial law-making are compared to those of other systems of legislation. Specific sections of the Code of Canon Law are examined.

An examination of both overt and covert representations of Christian ideas in contemporary popular media. We examine the ways in which Christian themes have been appropriated and subverted in mass media, while also examining the innovative ways these themes, such as redemption, sacrifice, vocation, and hope, are presented anew.

Introduces students to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) and its antecedents. After an historical survey of religious instruction in the Church, the students will engage in a close reading of selected sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The formation and content of the Christian Bible; an introduction to the history of its interpretation and of the role it has played and continues to play in Christian life and culture.

A close reading of the Code of Canon Law touching on the themes of marriage and the family; relationship to other fundamental Church statements (e.g. Familiaris Consortio); examination of issues raised by opposition between church teaching and other views.

This course explores developments in the relations between the Catholic Church and the states of Western Europe and America from the Enlightenment to the present. Of particular concern is Catholicism's response to the political theories of the Enlightenment, the secularization of the state and social justice issues.

The Catholic Church claims to be the continuation of the event of Christ in history, the guarantor of the authenticity of each person's encounter with Christ, and the means by which His memory may be cultivated. The course examines the reasons for these claims and the forms they have taken.

The Catholic Church has developed a distinctive approach to the pedagogical enterprise. This course explores aspects of this approach by an examination of canonical legislation and other texts published by ecclesiastical authorities and their application in Canada.

An historical appraisal of the evolution of Catholic schools, universities, and catechetical education in Ontario. Special emphasis is placed on the evolution of Ontario's separate school system.

An exploration of what Pope John Paul II, among others, called the "feminine tradition" in Christian life and thought. Possible topics include women's roles in the early church, Marian dogmas and devotions, women mystics and Doctors of the Church, and Christian feminisms and New Feminisms in the contemporary period.

An introduction to Christian ritual and worship, in cross-cultural and ecumenical perspective. Biblical roots, historical development and diverse adaptions of Christian worship in Europe, North America and the global South.

Faith in Christ is central to Christianity. This course offers an advanced introduction to classical debates about the person and work of Christ, the modern Quest of the Historical Jesus, and selected feminist, liberationist and indigenized perspectives on Christ from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

An interdisciplinary examination of the Bible as artifact and as an index of culture, art, and language. Topics include: the mediaeval giant Bibles, illuminated and illustrated Bibles, the Gutenberg Bible, The King James Bible, the Bible industry, the Bible online, the Bible as sacred object, sacred language and vernacular.

An exploration of visual arts and architecture as mediums for expressing Christian faith. The course will examine notable developments in Christian history, the proliferation of new forms in the contemporary period, and important local works, such as the Donovan Collection and/or the rich legacy of church architecture in the GTA.

This course introduces students to works of literary and dramatic arts from throughout the global Christian tradition. The course explores the complex relationships that exist between religious, narrative, and performative imperatives; between theological and cultural sources; between authority and experience; and between writers, playwrights, and their readerships and audiences.

Exploration of the variety of forms which Christian personal experience has taken in the course of history (martyrdom, mysticism, monasticism, sanctification of ordinary life, etc.) in order to appreciate their variety, complexity, and deep unity.

The various roles given music in Christian tradition and the impact of Christianity on Western music. Case studies from Gregorian chant to the present illustrate major issues (sacred vs. profane, acceptable styles or instruments, text and music, emotion and rationalism) to provide a critical vocabulary applicable to present works. Some background in music is required.

Episodes and issues in the development of biology, genetics and evolutionary theory in relation to Christian understandings of the natural world, the human person, and God. Possible topics include genetic determinism, mind and intelligence, gender, reproductive technologies, cosmology and ecology.

The complex interplay between religious belief, culture, and the emergence of modern physical theory: rise and fall of mechanistic theories, relativity, particle physics and models of the Universe, Big Bang theory and Black Holes, etc.

An exploration of the historical development of Catholic communities and institutions in all regions of Canada since the 16th century. Emphasis placed on themes of mission, church-state relations, ethnicity, belief and practice, social justice, gender, and secularization.

An advanced introduction to the Christian intellectual tradition through a study of key texts from before 1300. Selected authors discuss a range of religious, intellectual, and cultural issues, from foundational Christian beliefs to the challenges of integrating non-Christian learning into Christian societies, institutions, scholarship, and literature.