Canadian Politics
Below are the core courses in the field of Canadian Politics. Check the course outlines from different instructors. Each instructor takes a slightly different approach.
POLI 201 - Canadian Institutions of Government
This course provides an introduction to the Canadian system of government; the constitutional framework; parliamentary and federal political structure; institutional change and major constitutional developments and debates
Course outline: Spring 2013
POLI 320 - Canadian Constitution
This course provides an analysis of the Canadian Constitutional framework, including the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982, the shaping of the federal system and the impact on Canadian society of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Course outline: Fall 2012
POLI 360 - Canadian Federalism and Public Policy
This course is an examination of the constitutional, political, social, economic, and cultural bases of Canadian federalism, the dynamics of contemporary intergovernmental relations, and the impact of the federal system on public policy.
POLI 361 - Parties and Pressure Groups in Canada
This course offers an examination of political parties, pressure groups, and theories of representation in the Canadian context, with emphasis on the development, structure, and ideologies of the major parties.
POLI 364 - Canadian Public Policy
This course provides an analysis of the Canadian policy-making process, using case studies to examine alternative theoretical perspectives.
Course outline: Spring 2012
POLI 365 - British Columbia Political Economy
This course offers an examination of the political and economic development of the province, its political orientations and social cleavages, and party system.
Course outline: Spring 2013
POLI 366 - Canadian Political Economy
This course is designed to be an advanced introduction to the distinctive debates and problems of Canadian Political Economy, in historial analysis and in contemporary policy concerns. Topics covered include state formation and the role of the state; staples, capital and class analyses; theories of economic development, trade, and depedency; gender, aboriginal, and anti-racist analyses; and political ecology.
Course outline: Fall 2012
POLI 420, POLI 434, POLI 461, POLI 462, and POLI 465 are topical seminars intended for students who have completed (or are in the process of completing) the "300" series of courses and have a serious interest in Canadian politics.
POLI 434 - The Politics of Class
This seminar course offers an exploration of how social and economic class affects politics and becomes a political issue in Canada and other western countries. Drawing from political history, sociology, and political economy, topics will include debates over the conceptualization of class and classes, the historical trajectory of working class political parties, the formation and decline of working class identity, and the classed aspects of contemporary politics and social movements (eg:, the women's movement, anti-racism, gay and lesbian politics, etc.).
POLI 461 - Contemporary Challenges to the Canadian State
This seminar course provides an analysis of political, social, cultural, economic, and technological forces which may profoundly alter the structure of the Canadian state, including supranational trade pacts, the Quebec sovereigntist program, aboriginal claims to sovereign forms of self-government, and new populist instruments of governance
POLI 462 - Intergovernmental Relations in Canada
This seminar course examines the nature of relations among federal, provincial, and municipal governments, and the impact of those relations on public policy. Includes discussion of topics such as the modalities of fiscal federalism and the concepts of executive federalism and intergovernmental governance.
POLI 465 - British Columbia Governance
This seminar course offers an examination of the political institutions and public policy processes of provincial government in British Columbia.
Course outline: Fall 2012
