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 Communication and Culture Faculty 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; Film Studies, Innovation Studies, Latin American Studies; Law 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-enrolment 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. . Until August 15, enrolment is restricted to first-year students in the Faculty of Communication and Culture.
General Studies 203 H(3-0)
Great Ideas
Surveys 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.
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 enrolment 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, enrolment is restricted to students registered in the degree programs of the Faculty of Communication and Culture and the Minor program in Development Studies.
General Studies 345 H(2-1)
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 407 H(3-3)
Communication, Culture and Communities
This course examines concepts of "community," including the development of communities, the culture of communities, and the role of communication and representation in the maintenance of communities. It will focus in particular on the role of volunteerism in communities.
Note: Credit for both General Studies 407 and General Studies 301.18 will not be allowed.
Note: A major component of the course will be a volunteer placement in a Calgary community service organization. Students should expect to spend a total of approximately 15 to 25 hours on their volunteer project. Class activities will include critical reflection on this experience. Both the class component of the course and the community placement will require attendance at off-campus sites in the Calgary area.
General Studies 413 H(3-0)
Critical Approaches to the Cultures of Research
This course will examine the process called "research" within those institutions that have chosen it as a basis for their evaluation, so-called research universities. Students will be invited to consider the culture in which they study and in particular will discuss the legal and ethical culture necessary to the continued acceptance of research as a social good.
Prerequisites: General Studies 313.
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 (Undergraduate Programs).
Note: Students should normally contact the office of the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) 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 (Undergraduate Programs).
Note: Students should normally contact the office of the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) prior to the first day of classes to arrange an independent study course.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT