Courses

On 24 February 2022 Russia attacked Ukraine. How did we get there? This course will explore the complex relationship between Ukraine, Russia, and the West on the eve of Russia’s war in Ukraine. We will cover Ukraine’s pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet history, with special attention to the country’s current political, social, and cultural issues, including the legacies of the past in post-1991 Ukraine, corruption and the ambitious anti-corruption reforms, the power of oligarchs, the role of mass civic protests such as Euromaidan, Ukraine’s new cultural achievements, decommunization, post-Soviet urbanism, and the shaping of an inclusive civic identity in the wake of the Russian invasion. The course will also provide students with tools for verifying information in the fast-moving context of war. Finally, students will be asked to think about and develop postwar scenarios.

Wednesdays 2-4 pm
Location: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library
Instructor:  TBA
Term: Fall
Credit: 0.5

*This course is offered jointly with MGA. It is open to MA CEES and MGA students only.

Description: This course provides students with an opportunity to learn about and reflect on the continuously evolving tobacco industry playbook. The course will begin   with an overview of the industry (e.g. key products, harms, figures, and players), before delving into its history. This will include the role of European settlers in colonizing and industrializing tobacco, the emergence of the industry in the US and Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the intricate relationship between the industry and the two world wars (including post-WWII reconstruction in Europe), and the consolidation and entrenchment of the industry into Big Tobacco (i.e. Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Imperial Brands – all headquartered in Europe, and Japan Tobacco International). After looking into research methodologies, the course will then explore the industry’s main business and political strategies and tactics overtime, with a particular focus on Europe and Eurasia. These notably include producing and distributing addictive products (e.g. sales and marketing strategies, tobacco product supply chains), controlling information (e.g. concealing evidence of harms, funding research and influencing media to sow doubt and push certain narratives), undermining policy and lack of government capacity in particular in LMICs (i.e. through direct lobbying and allies), and rebranding itself as the solution to problems it created, e.g. to smoking with vaping, and to illicit trade with anti-illicit trade initiatives. Key case studies will include China (the world’s largest cigarette producer) and Russia and Ukraine, with an exploration of how Big Tobacco captured post-Soviet Union markets through smuggling, how Ukraine long served as a smuggling hub for Big Tobacco companies, and how those companies responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We will then explore how the tobacco industry playbook has been replicated in other industries, and discuss implications for research, policy, and practice.

Thursdays: 1:00 - 3:00 pm 
Location: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library
Instructor: TBA
Term: Fall
Credit: 0.5 

*This course is offered jointly with MGA. It is open to MA CEES and MGA students only.

Description: The aim of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of how and why the EU came into existence, how it became a world power, how it takes decisions and why the United Kingdom first hesitated to join, then joined and subsequently - having spent fifty years reforming the EU in its own image – chose to leave again. A glimpse into future scenarios will look at the potential impact of this development, particularly with regard to relations between the EU and North America. Through a series of lectures, student research presentations, film showings and discussions with visiting speakers, course participants will be encouraged to ask questions and seek answers to the major strategic implications of the EU’s emergence and its role in the world today.

Thursdays 10 am - 12 pm
Location: Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor St. West, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
Instructor: TBA
Term: Fall
Credit: 0.5

** This is an intensive workshop. 3 hour sessions will be held on October 21, 22, 24 and 25   The workshop is worth .25 credits.

Russian disinformation campaigns: How do they work, what makes them a threat, how can we counter them?

The Kremlin has a long tradition of disinformation campaigns. After a brief period following the dissolution of the USSR, the Kremlin renewed its information aggression during and after the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, and the annexation of Crimea. The “most amazing information warfare blitzkrieg we have ever seen” has developed into a long war of attrition in the information space that targets hundreds of millions of people in dozens of countries.

This course will discuss the tactics and techniques of Russian disinformation campaigns; their aims and objectives; their successes. It will introduce students to the main topics and goals of the Kremlin’s information aggression, and to the ecosystem helping its spread.

Finally, we will discuss the possible countermeasures against disinformation – be it already implemented best practices, or ideas for new measures.

October 21, 22, 24 and 25  4:00-7:00 pm 
Location: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library

Instructor: TBA
Term: Fall
Credit: 0.25

Topics in European and Eurasian Studies: Social Sciences and Social Engagement: Translating Scholarship through Publicly Engaged Cultural Projects (ERE1180HF2)

Description:

Are you a graduate student eager to transform your research into a public-facing project that inspires dialogue and understanding? Join Lilia Topouzova and Dessy Gavrilova for a workshop that offers a methodological framework on how make scholarly research public through art and socially and civically engaged projects.

In this workshop, Dessy Gavrilova will share her distinguished trajectory as one of Europe’s leading cultural entrepreneurs and Lilia Topouzova will offer insight into her interdisciplinary practice in history, film and art. You will explore some of Gavrilova’s most successful public-facing projects, such as the Vienna Humanities Festival, “Time to Talk” (the European Network of Houses for Debate), and Sofia’s Red House Centre for Culture and Debate, and Lilia Topouzova's most recent multi-media installation (with Krasimira Butseva and Julian Chehirian, curated by Vasil Vladimirov) The Neighbours which is currently representing Bulgaria at the 2024 Venice Biennale for Contemporary Art.

 Through these case studies, you will gain insights into staging public facing cultural projects and meaningfully engaging in public debates.

Key topics include:

1. Conceptualizing your research as a public project
2. Strategies for inspiring dialogue and understanding
3. Leveraging artistic mediums to promote civic engagement
4. Engaging with communities and stakeholders
5. The role of socially engaged art in fostering a culture of civic argumentation

By the end of the workshop, you will be equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to turn your academic research into impactful public art and socially engaged projects. This workshop is ideal for students and scholars interested in civic engagement and the public role of the humanities.

Who should attend: Graduate students interested in expanding the reach and impact of their research through public engagement and art. Students should select a topic that they would like to develop during the workshop and be prepared to work through them collectively in class.

** This is an intensive workshop. 3 hour sessions will be held on November 4, 5, 7 and 8   The workshop is worth .25 credits.

November 4, 5, 7 and 8   4:00-7:00 pm 
Location: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library

Instructor: Lilia Topouzova and Dessy Gavrilova
Term: Fall
Credit: 0.25

Independent Reading Course offered in Fall

OPEN BY APPLICATION ONLY:

This course is part of CEES's Hungarian Studies Program and is made possible with support from Tom and Irene Mihalik. As this is a limited enrollment course, with up to 8 students from years one and two, admission to the course is by application only.  Applications from all disciplines are welcome. Please note that priority goes to students who have not been to Hungary. The course includes a one-week research trip in Budapest to take place December 4-12, 2024 (costs for air travel up to 1100 CAD, transportation in Budapest, and hostel accommodation as well as most meals will be covered). Ground transport in Canada is not covered. Students are expected to depart Toronto on the 4^th and arrive in Budapest on the 5^th. Students are expected to make their own travel arrangements.

Interested students are asked to submit a two-page research proposal for the field-work component in Budapest. You will be writing a 20 page research paper based on secondary research and the fieldwork. In the proposal you are expected to identify a research question and provide a key list of a minimum of 5 potential stakeholders in Budapest who will be interviewed.  Questions will be designed prior to departure. During the week-long stay in Budapest, students will conduct interviews with their selected stakeholders, attend lectures and seminars, and participate in various cultural activities. The interviews/seminars and field work will then be integrated into the final research essay for the course. The research essay will be due on March 7, 2025. Students who fail to fulfill all course requirements must return the cost of their participation in the field trip.

Prior to departure, students will be required to attend a number of group meetings and other events.  Upon return, students will participate in a de-briefing session and a preliminary presentation of their papers to the group. Students will also be expected to organize a public roundtable to discuss their research finding. The due date for applications is October 1 at 5 pm. Please submit your applications to Professor Robert Austin: robert.austin@utoronto.ca and Katia Malyuzhinets: katia.malyuzhinets@utoronto.ca

This course examines the responses of justice system institutions to concerns over crime and violence. Our substantive focus will be on how police and other justice institutions (such as prosecution and courts) respond to crime, violence, and insecurity, the outcomes of these interventions, and the views, hopes, concerns, and aspirations of individuals who experience them. We will also examine concerns and proposed solutions regarding police violence, bias, discrimination, and the effects of justice interventions for inequality and social cohesion, including the social upheavals and political disputes generated by high-profile events, current and past. Course readings will draw from a wide range of materials, ensuring that each week students engage with diverse perspectives, including social science research, legal texts, official documents, and journalistic accounts. Since the course is thematic, we will include research and examples from a range of countries, likely including France, Denmark, and Sweden, along with attention to the UK, and with occasional comparisons with North America. This discussion-based seminar requires students to complete all assigned readings before class and to engage in collective discussions weekly.

Day and time: Tuesdays, 12:00-2:00 pm
Location: Scheyball Room, Room 14352, 14^th Floor, John P. Robarts Library Building
Instructor: Ron Levi
Term: Spring
Credit: 0.5

** This is a six-week workshop, which meets once per week. The workshop is worth .25 credits.

This workshop will explore how the Doha Peace Process led to the dramatic collapse of Afghanistan's National Security Forces and its Government in 2021, paving the way for the return of the Taliban. The workshop will examine the oblivious and counterproductive role of the US and European stakeholders in setting up the framework for peace negotiations amidst the hostility towards their military presence from regional players such as Russia and Afghanistan's neighbors. 

The workshop will primarily focus on contextual analysis and relevant historic events linking the content to the situation in Afghanistan and the region today.

Wednesdays 4:00-6:00 pm (Jan 8,15,22,29, Feb 5 & 12)
Location: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library

Instructor: TBA
Term: Spring
Credit: 0.25

Information TBD

*This course is offered jointly with MGA. It is open to MA CEES and MGA students only.

The first four weeks will focus on the basics of policymaking, particularly from the perspective of the non-partisan public service. How do governments set and prioritize their agenda? What is the process of interaction between political officials, including ministers, and the public service? How do stakeholders – interest groups and citizens alike – engage in the process? How do public servants choose and design delivery methods to turn policy proposals into initiatives. What can go wrong and how can one best avoid this? How are results assessed? How does one communicate appropriately and effectively, including in the era of social media and the 24/7 news cycle.

Specific examples will be cited often. Students will do a Briefing Note assignment individually on a topical issue, based on a template common in government for the written briefing of senior officials and ministers.

The second four weeks will apply these learnings to the global context in which Canada operates and engages, including vis-à-vis Europe. While the first four weeks will be based on lectures, decks and discussions, the second four weeks will also benefit from presentations and discussions with seniors practitioners. Students will prepare and present a Minister’s Briefing deck on a topical issue of importance to Canada’s global interests and values and/or international policy broadly. This presentation is designed to mimic what its like inside government. Students will work in teams of four, applying a template common in government for the oral briefing of senior officials and ministers.

Students will be assessed on a marking rubric of: 40 per cent for the briefing note assignment, 40 per cent for the minister’s briefing assignment and 20 per cent for class participation.

Emphases: How policymaking is really done
Term: Winter/Spring
Day & time: Thursday 1:00-4:00 pm
Instructor(s): Drew Fagan
Room: CG-361, 14 Queen's Park, Canadiana Buildin

Topics in Ukraine: Debating the Holodomor (ERE1195HS)

Why did millions of Ukrainians starve under Stalin? In this seminar, we will engage with the contentious historiography of the Holodomor famine of 1932-34 – a defining event of Soviet and Ukrainian history, and an essential touchstone for understanding the Russo-Ukrainian War today. Without losing sight of the famine’s human tragedy, we will focus especially on questions of causality, intent, and agency at multiple levels, from the Kremlin to the collective farm. We will pay particular attention to the economic, security, and international contexts, and utilize a historical GIS (Geographic Information System) to interpret differences in famine outcomes across space within Soviet Ukraine and beyond its borders. Drawing on studies of other famines within and outside the Soviet context (Russia, Kazakhstan, and China), participants will develop a robust comparative toolkit. The course aims to identify recent historiographical advances, explore newly-available primary sources, and highlight the remaining gaps in our understanding. Via this exploration, participants will be poised to shape the field’s research agenda through their own work. In this spirit, rather than writing a final research paper, participants will prepare a formal research proposal that poses a significant original question, critiques the relevant scholarship, and outlines a methodology and source base for finding the answer. Most immediately, participants will shape public understanding of the Holodomor by editing the relevant Wikipedia pages to reflect state-of-the-art scholarship. Restricted to 4th-year undergraduates and graduate students.

Wednesdays 2-4 pm
Location: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library
Instructor:  TBA
Term: Spring
Credit: 0.5

The purpose of this course is to provide a reasonably sophisticated and advanced understanding of a broad range of analytical, empirical and policy questions relating to globalization and economic integration, while highlighting, in the latter regard, the experience of the European Union. 

The determinants, consequences and policy challenges of economic globalization constitute a crucial point of departure for an in-depth assessment of the potential stakes of international competition and cooperation. In this regard, an understanding of the interrelation between evolving patterns and determinants of trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment and international migration can be essential for appraising the scope for effective policy intervention in an increasing interconnected world economy.

The optimal role of governments and international organizations in responding to the policy challenges of integration processes will be examined in considerable depth. In particular, the political economy of adjustment processes will be argued to be defined not only by different dimensions of regional and national governance, but also by the extent to which cooperative and/or non-cooperative strategies are adopted.  The pros and cons of adopting international governance structures along the lines of fiscal federalism or, alternatively, confederation, will be scrutinized.

The political economy of international cooperation will also be argued to depend on a range of specific issues, potentially impacting industrial, technological, financial, labor-market and/or social performance. For example, international competition in high-tech sectors will be shown to depend, critically, on different dimensions of network structures, as well as the transforming effects and stakes of advances in international R&D competition, including those reflecting the increasing dominance of information and communication technologies. Similarly, a detailed understanding of the anatomy of international financial crises and contagion is crucial to understanding their consequences and formulating appropriate policy responses.

Throughout the course, considerable attention will be given to different aspects of the European experience. Both successes and shortfalls generated by the formation of the European Union and expansion of membership, the creation of the « Single Market », European Monetary Union, and the Schengen Treaty will be highlighted, as well as the welfare implications and policy challenges posed by Brexit. Other applications will focus on the prospects for heightened regional cooperation in North America, ASEAN and elsewhere.  The challenges for historically industrialized economies, posed by the increased prominence of China, India, other “BRICs”, and emerging markets, will also be considered.

Throughout the course, both strengths and potential limitations of tools and modeling approaches will be emphasized, while highlighting applications to current events and policy debates.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Tuesday 5:30-7:30 pm 
Instructor(s): Prof. Robert Owen
Room: Transit House, 315 Bloor Street West

Memory Politics in Contemporary Europe - (ERE1998HS)

In the wake of the Cold War, Europeans on both sides of the former Iron Curtain confronted a dramatically transformed political, social, and economic landscape. Yet despite myriad new challenges, since 1989 political actors across the continent have been preoccupied with the past, and especially with litigating conflicts of the twentieth century that had remained “frozen” for decades: histories of war, genocide and ethnic cleansing; legacies of dictatorship and authoritarianism; and contested national identities and boundaries. In many respects, the past has become one of the principal battlefields upon which struggles over the present and future continue to be fought. The future of liberal democracy; the definition of unifying values; boundaries of citizenship and political legitimacy: these and countless other questions are all refracted though the lens of competing historical claims.

In this course, students will develop methodological and theoretical perspectives on the study of memory politics, drawn from disciplines including anthropology, history, political science and heritage studies, and employ these as instruments for examining contemporary European societies. In addition to exploring a wide variety of thematic and geographic contexts, they will develop a case study related to their own area of research specialization.

In this course, students will:

• Explore and critically interrogate leading methodological and theoretical approaches to memory politics.
• Apply these perspectives to a wide variety of thematic and geographic contexts across Europe, from the conclusion of the Cold War to the present.
• Examine the role of institutions such as museums, monuments, and educational systems in the promotion of official memories.
• Examine public debates over contested heritage, material culture and place names; restitution, reparations, and reconciliation; and controversies over the legacies of war, genocide, colonialism, regime change, and lustration.
• Develop an original research project in which they explore a case study in contemporary memory politics connected to their own area of specialization.

Term: Winter/Spring (January-April)
Day & Time: Monday 2-4 pm 
Instructor(s): Arthurs
Room: Scheybal Seminar Room, 14th Floor of Robarts Library

A number of courses offered at the graduate level in Anthropology may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the department’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings in Anthropology, please view the department’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

A number of courses offered at the Centre for Comparative Literature may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Centre’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings at the Centre for Comparative Literature, please view the Centre’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

A number of courses offered at the graduate level by the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Centre’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings, please view the Centre’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

A number of courses offered at the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Department’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings at the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, please view the Department’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

MGA’s Policy on Non-Departmental Enrollment in Elective Courses:

Non-departmental students may request to enroll in any MGA elective unless it is specified that it is open to MGA students only. Students in the MPP and CERES MA program have priority access to MGA elective courses. CERES students may request enrollment starting Friday, September 1, 2023

Enrollment is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of the MGA program and the course instructor. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.

Students who are interested in enrolling an MGA elective may submit an SGS Add Drop Course Form listing the courses they would like to enroll in to the MGA Program Office via email to mga@utoronto.ca or in person. Students will be sent a confirmation e-mail if their enrollment is successful.

Please contact the MGA Program Office if you have any questions mga@utoronto.ca.

For more information, please check https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/mga/courses/mga-courses.

A number of courses offered at the Department of History may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Department’s own students have enrolled.

Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings at the Department of History, please view the Department’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

A number of courses offered at the Department of Political Science may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Department’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings at the Department of Political Science, please view the Department’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

All fall (H1F), full/year (Y1Y) and spring term (H1S) courses administered through the Department of Political Science will have an enrollment  window exclusively for political science graduate students.  For fall and full year courses the window will be September 1st through 14th and for spring term courses , September 1st through January 11th.  From September 15th to the 21st for fall/winter courses and Jan 12th through 18th for spring term courses, enrollment may open up to students on wait lists and those from outside the department if instructors indicate they would like us to do so and provided there is space in the classroom.

A number of courses offered at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Department’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, please view the Department’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.

A number of courses offered at the Department of Sociology may be of interest to CERES MA students.  ADD/DROP forms are required, and enrollment opens to CERES students only after the Department’s own students have enrolled. Please note also that research projects and essays written for these courses must be focused on the region.  For a complete list of course offerings at the Department of Sociology, please view the Department’s Graduate Course Descriptions and Course Schedule.