General Studies GNST
Instruction offered under the direction of the Faculty of Communication and Culture. For information visit the Faculty of Communication and Culture website, www.comcul.ucalgary.ca, or contact the Academic Programs Office, 220-6343.
Additional interdisciplinary courses are offered under the course headings African Studies; Canadian Studies; Central and East European Studies; Communications Studies; Development Studies; East Asian Studies; Latin American Studies; Law and Society; Leisure, Tourism and Society; Museum and Heritage Studies; Northern Planning and Development Studies; Science, Technology and Society; South Asian Studies; and Women's Studies.
Junior Courses
General Studies 201 H(3S-0)
Inquiry Seminar in Communication and Culture
Small-enrollment inquiry-based seminars explore in depth an interdisciplinary topic such as gender, identity, urban life, technology, the landscape, diversity, and popular culture. These seminars provide an alternative to broad introductory courses by giving students the opportunity to develop their own questions around a topic area and the experience of conducting research in depth. Provides students with tools and approaches required in university-level scholarship.
Note: Each seminar is built around a different topic. To choose a topic, consult the Communication and Culture Academic Programs Office or go to http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/GNST201.
Note: Restricted to first year students in the Faculty of Communication and Culture. Not open to Open Studies students.
General Studies 203 H(3-0)
Great Ideas
Surveys representative of influential ideas from a variety of disciplines. Seeks to articulate the fundamental issues that animate specific disciplines and to illustrate as well as to develop the connections between these ideas. Students will read classic or exemplary texts from fields of study such as science, religion, philosophy, history, politics, psychology, and will explore the possibilities for connecting and integrating the assumptions and methods of these disciplines.
Note: Until August 15, enrollment is restricted to students in the Faculty of Communication and Culture.
Senior Courses
General Studies 300 F(3-1T)
Heritage I - Perspective
Introduction to the interrelationships of disciplines, ideas and problems within contemporary life and their roots in Western European thought using primary source material in literature, philosophy and religion, science and technology, political, economic and social thought and the arts. Emphasis will be placed on understanding and critically evaluating the context of thought within which individuals raised in the Western European tradition think and view the world. Relationships to non-Western European tradition will be discussed. Tutorials will be used to develop skills in the written and oral analysis and evaluation of complex ideas and concepts.
Note: This course is required of every student registered in a Major and General program in the Faculty of Communication and Culture and should be taken as early as possible in the program. Until August 15 enrollment is restricted to students registered in the degree programs of the Faculty of Communication and Culture and in the collaborative Majors in East Asia and Latin American Studies.
General Studies 301 H(3-0)
Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies
An examination of current topics in interdisciplinary studies.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
General Studies 313 H(3-0)
Interdisciplinary Research Methodologies
A critical introduction to interdisciplinary research methodologies. Students will explore, practice, and critique various quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and various perspectives on the processes of knowledge production.
Note: Credit for both General Studies 313 and any of Development Studies 407, Northern Planning and Development Studies 407 or Women's Studies 313 will not be allowed.
Note: Until August 15, enrollment is restricted to students registered in the degree programs of the Faculty of Communication and Culture.
General Studies 345 H(2-1)
(formerly General Studies 301.14)
Ideas, Science and Innovation
A course for non-science students about how scientific ideas and innovations shape human existence and human societies. Topics include complexity, self-organization, biological and memetic evolution, energy, biotechnology and nanotechnology.
General Studies 359 H(3-0)
Introduction to World Music
A survey of the world's music through the study of selected culture areas. Emphasis will be on the dynamics of each musical idiom, on the relationships between music and other aspects of culture and society, and on the interaction among various cultures.
General Studies 401 H(3-0)
Concepts in Comparative Heritage
Presents a thematic approach to interdisciplinary cultural studies and provides methods and experience for intercultural comparative studies with a global perspective. Aspects of three selected non-European cultures will be included.
Prerequisites: General Studies 300.
General Studies 500 F(3-0)
Heritage II - Integration
A continuation of General Studies 300 emphasizing the integration of information acquired during the student's undergraduate career, developing interrelationships among the different subject areas that have dominated the Western European tradition, and exploring how these relationships might change in the future.
Prerequisites: General Studies 300.
Note: This course is required of every student registered in a Major program in the Faculty of Communication and Culture.
General Studies 501 H(3-0)
Research in Selected Topics
Supervised individual study of a special topic.
Prerequisites: Consent of the Associate Dean (Academic).
Note: Students should normally contact the office of the Associate Dean (Academic) prior to the first day of classes to arrange an independent study course.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT
General Studies 502 F(3-0)
Research in Selected Topics
Supervised individual study of a special topic.
Prerequisites: Consent of the Associate Dean (Academic).
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT