Law and Public Policy Courses
Minor: Law and Public Policy (7 courses)
Notes
- PHL-122 is a suggested cognate for those considering law school
Course Details
Introduction to Politics & International Studies (POL-121)
An introduction to the study of politics, including forms of government, the building blocks of politics, and the various visions that people bring to political life.
Canada and the World (POL-210)
An introduction to Canadian government and politics, with special emphasis on Canada’s foreign affairs, and its role in the world. Topics covered include the constitution, the role of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, parties, elections, and policy making, both at home and abroad.
Prerequisites:
POL-121Recommended: POL-208
Human Rights and International Justice (POL-246)
An introduction to the theories, structures, and issues of human rights in global politics, with special emphasis on the Charter and Canada. Practical case studies will be used to facilitate a clear understanding of rival approaches, as well as challenges to and tensions in rights regimes at home and abroad.
Prerequisites:
POL-121
Public Policy (POL-306)
Over 40 years ago, Thomas Dye defined ‘public policy’ as “anything a government chooses to do or not to do.” Though perhaps oversimplified, good public policy is essential public justice. It is the art of developing government responses to public problems. This course will study the public policy process that governments establish within which citizens function, and within which laws are made, challenged, and changed. Issues studied will include approaches to public policy, actors, institutions and instruments of policy, agenda setting, public policy formation and decision making, implementation, and evaluation. Students will develop research based on a major problem in public policy at any level of municipal, provincial, or federal jurisdiction.
Prerequisites:
POL-121
Introduction to Law (POL-307)
An introduction to the historical development and current shape of law in Canada, with emphasis on Canada’s context within the larger legal world, pathways to legal careers, and the challenges and opportunities posed by international law.
Prerequisites:
POL-121,
POL-210
Irenaeus to Grotius: Christian Political Thought (POL-322)
This course provides a broad introduction to great political theory in the Western tradition, with special emphasis on the history of Christian political thought. It will address perennial questions addressed by both Christian and non-Christian political thinkers, such as: What is justice? What is the foundation of political authority? What is the proper relationship of church and state? These questions will be approached more normatively (asking how societies ought to answer them) than descriptively (observing how they have answered them).
Prerequisites:
POL-121
Current Issues in Politics & International Studies (POL-301/401 (Capstone))
A seminar course surveying key, contemporary issues in politics & international studies. The course provides substantial space for independent student research, including opportunity to develop research questions, with special attention to foundational issues in those questions, that may lead to further study in graduate school. Priority will be given to Christian approaches to perennial issues in politics & international studies such as order and diversity, populism and polarization, neo-liberalism and development, the role of the institutional church, nationalism, humanitarian intervention, and responsibilities in and to the global commons (such as the environment).
Prerequisites:
Year 4 standing. POL-301/401 is the Capstone Course for the Politics and International Studies program and is required for all majors in the 4th year.