Canadian Studies Courses for 2025-2026
Canadian Studies may be completed as a Minor or Major Please see the 2025-2026 Undergraduate e-Calendar for information about program requirements.
For any general questions, please contact David Roseman at david.roseman [at] mcgill.ca
PLEASE NOTE the opportunity for community-engaged learning internships in well-known Montreal organizations as part of the courses CANS 300/QCST300 and CANS413/QCST440. Both are open to all McGill students.
Please also note that the course syllabi posted here are for reference purpose only. Official course syllabi will not be posted until start of classes.
Fall 2025
CANS 200. Understanding Canada.(CRN 1979) Instructor: Dr. Jodey Nurse
What is Canada? Canadians have not always agreed on what Canada is: what its national symbols should be, where its borders are, what stories its history should include, what central values it promotes. Indeed, what Canada represents is not a stable idea, but a debated concept wielded by various actors in the past and the present to legitimize divergent agendas or beliefs. In this course, we will explore these different ideas about Canada by examining some of the country’s defining events and institutions and interrogating many important topics such as colonialism, liberalism, nationalism, identity, multiculturalism, race, the welfare state, human rights, gender equity, public health, international affairs, climate change, and reconciliation. Throughout this investigation, we question what stories we tell about Canada and why, while also exploring the voices and experiences that have commonly been silenced. The assignments for this course are specifically created to allow for a strong overview of these important subjects but also to encourage you to focus on more specific topics for which you have a particular interest. Throughout the course, you will develop important interchangeable skills such as critical thinking and persuasive writing in an inclusive and collaborative environment and gain a greater understanding of Canada.
CANS 300. Topics in Canadian Studies 1. (CRN 1980) Subject: Quebec and the Politics of Memory. Cross-listed with QCST 300 Instructor: Simon-Pierre Lacasse
Note about the ExCELR Placement opportunities offered in this course: For the first time this year, this course will offer an opportunity for a select number of students to participate in an Experiential Community-Engaged Learning and Research (ExCELR) placements with a community organization in Montreal that is working to address food related issues. This opportunity will require participating students to commit to a total of 40 hours over the course of the term. These placements offer an invaluable opportunity to gain practical experience and sector knowledge alongside the implementation and development of course-based knowledge and ideas.
CANS 301. Topics in Canadian Studies 2. (CRN 1981) Instructor Jodey Nurse Topic: Leadership in Canada Who are Canada’s leaders? What is the source and legitimacy of their power? What is the relationship between those who lead and those who follow (or resist following)? In this course you will investigate the notoriously slippery subject of leadership and analyze the topic as it relates to both individuals and groups in Canada’s past and present. Central elements of investigation will include the social, cultural, political, and economic sources of power that have legitimized different methods of leadership and types of leaders; the relational, structural, and systemic forms of power that exist in these relations; and the existence of arenas for contestation and collaboration. Case studies of leadership during times of crisis, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be used to highlight how leadership has been practiced and the resulting outcomes.
CANS 401. Canadian Studies Seminar 1.(CRN 1983) Topic for fall 2025: Quebec theatre. Instructor: Visiting Professor Jane Koustas
Quebec theatre, once firmly motived by, committed to, and largely defined by nationalism and identity has moved beyond this narrow agenda to the stage of global theatre. The seminar will focus on four Quebec contemporary playwrights whose work demonstrates that theatre has come to play a new role in Quebec having shed its referential, social and political agenda in favour of a perspective more in tune with globalization. Normand Chaurette, Carole Fréchette, Robert Lepage and Larry Tremblay reject or defy nationalist labels. For these writers, identity, citizenship and belonging are fluid concepts not easily contained or defined by a nationalist agenda or by identity politics. The seminar will examine the global trajectory, success, impact, focus and intent of these playwrights and their work demonstrating that this is theatre beyond nation and nationalism hence its success on the international stage.
(CRN 1985) Instructor: Dr. David Austin) course_outline_cans_415_fall_2023.pdf
Winter 2026
CANS 203. Making Canada (CRN 1394) CANCELLED
CANS 306. Topics in Indigenous Public Affairs . (CRN 6961) Instructor: Chris Reid. Cross-listed with INDG 301
CANS 307. Canada in the World. (CRN 1395) Instructor: Andrew Potter
CANS 312. Topics in Canadian Public Affairs 2. (CRN 1397) Instructor: TBA Topic:Disability and public affairs
(CRN 1398) Instructor: The Right Honourable Marc Gold Making Government Work: Policy, Politics and the Legislative Process in Canada
(CRN 7572) Instructor: MISC Director Daniel Béland Selected topics on Canadian government
(CRN 1400) Cross-listed with QCST 440. Instructor: Simon-Pierre Lacasse Plural pasts, shared futures: diversity and belonging in Quebec society
Seminar designed for U3 students. Open to all McGill students.
Class schedule : Fridays 1135-1425
(CRN 1401) Instructor: Simon-Pierre Lacasse This course explores key aspects of public affairs in Canada. Public affairs combines community-stakeholder-public engagement with policy analysis, and through this course you will be introduced to various stakeholders and organizations and learn about how they forge relationships with the public and work to influence, analyze, or communicate governmental and nongovernmental actions and decisions. As Canadian society has shifted, so too has public affairs practice, and therefore you will also learn about how public affairs as a field has evolved over time. This is a seminar course that encourages collaborative exchanges and a shared learning environment. Numerous guest lecturers have been invited to speak to the class about their experiences in public affairs in Canada or about their related research. This course offers a remarkable opportunity for you to engage with these professionals and researchers to better understand how public affairs practitioners engage stakeholders, explain policies, and assist policy makers.
**Note: CANS 408, 480, 481, 492D1, 492D2, 499 - students must find their own supervisor for these courses. For any questions, please contact David Roseman at david.roseman [at] mcgill.ca. Please note that all students considering an internship (CANS 499) need to follow procedures outlined here: https://www.mcgill.ca/arts-internships/students/credit.
