Game studies, global leadership and labour theory: back-to-school brings new courses to UTM

UTM’s course calendar features options well beyond the standard reading, writing and arithmetic. New courses this year will give students the opportunity to explore the future of work, analyze the fast-growing technology sector, study the brain or delve into pixelated worlds.

Here are some of the cool new offerings for the 2023-24 school year.

Gaming culture

As part of UTM’s new games studies minor, the department of English and drama is offering ENG319H5: Sexuality, Race, and Gender in Video Games and Gaming Culture.

In this class, students will examine games from blockbusters to indie titles, to interpret the roles of gender, race, sexuality and the non-human world. The class will also discuss games as instruments of persuasion, protest, social change and community formation.

Debuting this fall, the game studies minor is a collaboration with the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology, partly inspired by UTM’s acquisition of the Syd Bolton Collection, an archive of 14,000 games and 5,000 game magazine issues.

Getting hands-on with brains

Students in PSY368H5: Neuroimaging Laboratory will become familiar with theory and approaches to measuring the brain.  

“Students will have opportunities to gain hands-on experience with computer software and tools,” says psychology professor Doug VanderLaan. “Students will also process and analyze images to investigate whether there are detectable brain differences associated with traits such as depression.”

The course will focus on imaging techniques used in human neuroscience research and skills relevant to the processing, visualization, analysis, interpretation and reporting of brain data.

What is work?

POL414H5: The Future of Work is a political theory seminar for advanced undergraduates. It offers a critical study of the meaning and value of work in social and political life. Sources include both historical and contemporary political theories of work and labour.

“Our aim in the course is to think about our moral and political relationship to work, a huge part of all of our lives,” says political science professor Emily Catherine Nacol.

“We will study different kinds of labour, including activities that are not always considered ‘real work,’ including housework and care work. We will think about the political activities that workers use — protest, strikes, solidarity — to improve their lives and working conditions. And lastly, we’ll ask: Why does work play such a major role in our lives?  Does working make us truly human, or should we fight for a life with less work in it?”

Learning to lead

Students in GLB201H5: Global Leadership: Past, Present, Future will reflect on the uneven experiences of globalization in their own lives, communities and worlds to challenge ideas of how good leadership is conceived.  

Under professor Spyridon Kotsovilis, students will examine terminology, case studies and practical examples to explore the evolution and exercise of leadership in the context of globalization.    

“(Students will) survey diverse topics and literatures to demonstrate that the complexities and challenges of our era of globalization require principled, empathetic, inclusive leadership skills that can be cultivated,” says Kotsovilis.

The course is part of a new tri-campus global leadership minor, launching this term. The program aims to prepare students to become confident future leaders who recognize and embrace diversity, face challenges with empathy and champion respectful collaboration in a globalized world.

“The world needs ethical leadership now more than ever,” U of T Vice-President, International Joseph Wong told U of T News when the minor was announced. "It’s imperative that our graduates be equipped with the competencies, open-mindedness, curiosity and skills to really lead with impact globally – both here and abroad."

The minor is available to students in disciplines including Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. It represents the third element of U of T’s Global U initiative, which also includes the Global Citizen and Global Scholar programs.

Speaking up

The Department of Language Studies is now offering JLP285H5: Language, Mind, & Brain.

This course examines the mental machinery underlying language. Under the instruction of professor Emily Atkinson, students will explore such questions as: Do animals have language? How do children learn language? How do we understand and produce language in real time? How does bilingualism work? What can neuroscience tell us about language abilities? What is the relationship between language and thinking?

Making money in a modern world

Presented by the Department of Management, MGT451H5: Business Strategy for the Digital Economy offers students a chance to explore the fastest growing sector of the economy and develop tools to analyze issues facing technology companies such as Uber, Google, Meta and Amazon.

“What I hope students will learn (is to) train rigorously, using theory and data, to think about new strategic opportunities for businesses in the digital age,” says course professor El Hadi Caoui.