Lions, Fall/Winter 2021-2022 enrolment has begun! Whether this is your first year at York or you are an upper-year student, selecting courses that are outside of your majors and minors can be overwhelming. At York, you also have the opportunity to explore courses that you are interested in beyond the scope of your traditional program. This means that you can take electives from a host of departments! To help you with this dilemma, we have come up with 10 courses that you didn’t know were being offered at York in Fall/Winter 2021-2022.
If you are an incoming first-year student (welcome!), it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the following terms mentioned in this post:
General Education courses: General Education courses are foundational courses designed to expose students to multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, critical thinking and research skills. Stay tuned for our post explaining all you need to know about general education courses and electives.
Cross-listed courses: These courses are offered jointly by two or more departments. Cross-listed courses are essentially the same course with different course codes.
Course credit exclusion: If a course is sufficiently similar to another course, you will not be given credit twice for these courses. This essentially means that you can take either of these courses and not both. These courses are different from cross-listed courses.
Here are some useful definitions and abbreviations that may help you navigate York’s website.
Now that we’ve cleared these up, here are 10 awesome courses that you can explore this upcoming term.
AP/COMN 1401 6.00 Fake News, Fact-Finding and the Future of Journalism
Distinguishing fact from fake has never been more important. During this era of increased digital misinformation, it is crucial for us to develop information literacy, and a stronger understanding of the platforms and politics involved in the communication of fake news and facts. This class addresses the implications of fake news and teaches students to be informed consumers of information.
FA/VISA 1010 6.00 Art Fundamentals: Concept, Creativity and Production
Want to explore York’s visual arts studios and learn about production methods addressing the four dimensions in art making? This is the course for you! What’s more, you ask? You get to show off your course work at an end of term exhibition!
AP/SOSC 1730 6.00 Urbanization and Community Action
In 2018, the UN estimated that 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas and that number will rise to 68% by 2050. If you are interested in understanding issues that impact cities like Toronto and London, this course may be for you. This course discusses issues like urban blight, pollution, urban sprawl, social and economic inequalities, city administration and prescriptions for improvement of urban living.
Note: If you are majoring in Human Rights and Equity Studies HREQ), remember that this course will not count for major credit.
This is an approved LA&PS General Education course: Social Science.
Cross listed to: AP/HREQ 1730 6.00
GL/DRCA 1001 3.00 Live Theatre: An Introduction
Do you love the technical aspects of science, but also have a soft spot for theatre? This course offers an introduction to theatre as an art form. As a foundation course for theatre studies, it teaches how to analyze live performance. You will also be attending and reviewing theatre performances in this course (Fun!).
Course credit exclusions: GL/DRST 1000 6.00.
AP/HUMA 1781 6.00 Exploring Culture: Narrative, Media, Film
This course provides an introduction to the methods and theories used throughout the Humanities core major, covering its four streams; Power, Diaspora and Race; Arts, Material and Popular Cultures; Digital, Technological, and Natural Worlds; Texts, Contexts, Interpretations.
Success tip: This is also a great course to take if you are majoring or minoring in English because it gives you the foundation that you will need for English Literature courses.
AP/EN 1953 6.00 Canadian Writers in Person
What better way to read and learn about Canadian Literature than from the authors themselves? This course explores the works of 12 contemporary Canadian writers who give readings to the class and respond to questions about their work.
Success tip: Don’t want to take the course, but want to meet the authors? That is possible too! Keep an eye on the Canadian Writers reading schedule for Fall/Winter 2021-2022 updates. Readings are free and open to members of the public and to members of the York community not enrolled in the course.
Cross listed to: AP/CLTR 1953 6.00, AP/HUMA 1953 6.00
SC/NATS 1870 6.00 Understanding Colour
If you are unsure of which Natural Science course to take, this could be a good option. This course has a cross-disciplinary approach in examining colour with the aim of understanding colour from the multiple viewpoints of art, physics, chemistry, physiology and history. You will learn about perception, wave nature of light, spectroscopy, colour harmony and contrast, natural phenomena, dyes and pigments.
This course can also be taken as a General Education course.
Course credit exclusion: SC/NATS 1720 6.00
AP/WRIT 1702 6.00 Becoming a Better Writer: Methods and Models
Do you love to write or just want to improve your writing skills? This course is perfect for you. Study the diverse social, political and cultural challenges writers face and learn strategies for academic and professional writing. The course develops transferable skills through writing academic essays, film criticism and professional projects.
This is an approved LA&PS General Education course: Humanities.
Course credit exclusions: AP/WRIT 1700 9.0, AP/WRIT 1702 9.0, AP/WRIT 1703 6.00
AP/MODR 1770 6.00 Modes of Reasoning: Techniques of Persuasion
This is a skills-based course focusing on critical thinking, persuasive writing and strategic argumentation. Examples are drawn from various forms of persuasion including advertising, propaganda and political argument.
This is an approved LA&PS General Education course: Humanities OR Social Science.
Course credit exclusions: AP/MODR 1730 6.00, AP/MODR 1760 6.00.
FA/DATT 2500 3.00 Introduction to 3D Modelling
This course provides a foundation in 3D modelling using state-of-the-art software such as Maya, Blender and 3DS Max. The course will provide a survey of various modelling techniques and approaches with an emphasis on modelling used in 3D art, 3D animation and games. Topics include photorealistic rendering, scene building, character modelling and the use of 3D graphics in simulation and visualization.
Success tip: Remember that this 2000-level course is project-heavy, which means that you will need to manage your time well. Check out the Learning Skills Services events calendar to find workshops on Time Management and other topics designed to help you excel at university.
Cross listed to: FA/FILM 2500 3.00
Let us know in the comments below which courses you are excited about!
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Illustrations by Michelle Tieu. Stock images from Pexels.
Deea Deb
Deea Deb is a third-year English and Professional Writing major at York University. She loves reading, travelling, being organized, and writing. She hopes to help York students succeed at university.
