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Course Offerings
North American Studies Pre-Approved Electives
Students majoring in North American Studies, or minoring in North American or Canadian Studies, must take electives to complete their program requirements. The North American Studies program approves the courses that can be used to meet these elective requirements. To simplify this process, a number of courses have been pre-approved and can be found on the list of courses pre-approved as North American Studies content electives.
Course Offerings for 2024/2025
- 0.5 credit
- Three hours lecture/discussion per week
This course combines online and in-class learning to examine issues and ideas important to understanding how North America and its constituent countries (Canada, the United States and Mexico) are understood. Key themes include Indigenous Peoples: colonization and resistance; culture and identity: race, art, and sport; business and society: international trade, labour and migration; and public policy: drug wars, healthcare, and citizenship.
NO105 is open to all Laurier students. The course is required for students pursuing a joint-major honours program in North American Studies or a minor in either North American Studies or Canadian Studies.
- 0.5 credit
- Three lecture hours per week
This course examines the foundational fictions of Canadian, American and Mexican culture through a study of narrative, place and popular culture. Key themes will include tensions between ethnic, regional, and religious identities, urban and rural spaces, the relationship to land and place, and the encounter of European and First Nations peoples and world views. It considers the extent to which these historically parallel traditions converge to create a North American "New World" imaginary space.
NO202 is open to all Laurier students in 2nd year and above. The course satisfies part of the 200-level requirements for students pursuing a joint-major honours program in North American Studies.
- 0.5 credit
- Three lecture hours per week
This lecture/tutorial course examines how class, gender, race, and a sense of place contribute to the dynamic process of identity construction in Canada. The concepts of community and region are examined, and a series of case studies reveal how identity formation takes place across Canada, both in contemporary and historical terms. The significance of race and racism is central to the course and is explored using film and interdisciplinary scholarship.
NO211 is open to all Laurier students in second year and above. The course is required for students pursuing a joint-major honours program in North American Studies and a minor in Canadian Studies.
- 0.5 credit
- Three lecture hours per week
This course will provide an introduction to Canadian society, culture, politics, history and geography. It aims to provide exchange students and first/second year international degree-seeking students with a basic degree of Canadian cultural literacy. Key themes addressed include First Nations, Québec, regions and regionalism, identity and diversity, and Canadian foreign policy.
NO219 is open only to exchange students registered through Laurier International and first/second year international degree-seeking students with a study permit who have registered through Enrolment Services.
- 0.5 credit
- Three lecture hours per week
This course assesses the nature of business and its broader relationship to society in North America. A number of themes are explored, including labour and migration, corporate social responsibility, and the environment. In addition, case studies of particular economic sectors may be examined.
NO240 is open to all Laurier students in 2nd year and above. The course satisfies part of the 200-level requirements for students pursuing a joint-major honours program in North American Studies.
Examines spaces of legal and illegal activity (trade and contraband) across North America and the challenges they pose for both policy makers and law enforcement. Topics may include trade legislation, border militarization and security issues, and transnational efforts to stem the trade in illegal drugs and their impact on various social groups.
This course will introduce students to an array of genocidal policies inflicted upon Indigenous peoples across North America, and efforts for Indigenous resurgence after these destructive events and processes. At the core, violence in North America was/is designed to eliminate Indigenous peoples to make space for non-Indigenous Settlers. Understanding frontiers of colonial violence is critical for understanding diverse politics in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Students will critically assess past and present policies against Indigenous peoples across the North American continent, deep roots and long shadows of institutional discrimination and policies of erasure, and difficulties in achieving justice without paradigmatic socio-political transitions.
21st century Canada is faced with various political, economic, and social issues. In this project-based course, students will collaboratively engage with Canadian issues, as selected by past and present university Chancellors. Employing digital approaches, students will research an issue from interdisciplinary perspectives and develop a project that aims to address it meaningfully.
- Three lecture hours per week
This course examines the sources of contemporary Québécois identity in fiction, film, theatre and non-fiction. It explores both the legacy of Québec's distinctive historical trajectory and recent political, economic, and social developments in the province, along with their impact on public policy. As well, it examines Québec's relations with the rest of Canada, the situation of Francophones outside of Québec, and Québec's aspirations to be an actor in the international arena.
NO315 is open to all third- and fourth-year Laurier students. The course is required for students pursuing a joint-major honours program in North American Studies and for those pursuing a Canadian Studies minor.
- 0.5 credit
- Three lecture hours per week
A series of seminars and workshops, with particular emphasis on exploring the field of border studies as it relates to both the U.S.-Mexico and Canada-U.S. border, on the idea of Canada as a “border culture,” and on how these perspectives inform current border policy. NO401 prepares students for an oral presentation at the annual Crossing Borders Student Conference held jointly by the University of Buffalo and Brock University.
NO401 is open to fourth-year students in the Honours BA in North American Studies. The course is required for students pursuing a joint-major honours program in North American Studies.