Fall 2026

The Return of the Moderates - Canadian & American Politics in the Age of Extremism

Jason Zorbas, B.A., M.A., PhD, Sessional Lecturer in History and Sessional Lecturer in Political Studies, College of Arts & Science, University of Saskatchewan

In 2024 Trump was elected president of the United States for a second term and Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party were leading the Liberals by 20 points in the polls.  At the same time, throughout Canada and the United States there were widespread protests and campus occupations over the Israeli-Gaza conflict.  It appeared as if politics was being dominated by the right and left extremes of the political spectrum.  Yet, within a year, the centre began to reassert itself.  This course will explore how politics ended up being dominated by the extremes and how this has led to more and more people returning to the centre of the political spectrum. 

Lecture Outline:

1. US 2024 Election
2. Canadian 2025 Election
3. Canadian-American Relations
4. Wars and Reactions
5. American Politics and Trump
6. Canadian Politics and Carney
7. The New International Order
8. The Future 

Breakout sessions will not be used.

Dante's Inferno: A Guided Tour

Shaun Lalonde, B.Hum. (Carleton University), PhD (Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto), Writer, Poet & Independent Scholar

You have heard that Dante's poem The Divine Comedy is a masterpiece of World Literature. You want to read it but are intimidated. It begins in Hell! But what if you had a guide? In this course I will introduce you to the world of Dante's poem. Each week we will explore a few sections. I will summarize the action, stopping at points to read and interpret poetic passages. As a group we will discuss the moral, political and spiritual concerns that Dante confronts in his journey. By the end of the class, we will have travelled together through the first part of Dante's journey. Students will not be required to read the poem to participate in the class. The hope is that at the end they will feel confident and inspired to do so.

Lecture Outline:

1. The Medieval World and the Life of Dante (Cantos 1-3)
2. Poetry of the Universe (Cantos 4-10)
3. The Geography of Hell (Cantos 11-15)
4. Poetic Justice (Cantos 16-20)
5. Personality and the Soul (Cantos 21-25)
6. History and Florence (Cantos 26-30)
7. Rebellion and Disorder at the Root (Cantos 31-34)
8. A Look to the Stars Beyond Hell (Canto 34 - Introduction to the Purgatory)

Beyond the Myths: Chinese Peoples in Saskatchewan

Harris Ford, B.A. (History), M.A. (Sask.), PhD Candidate (History, UofS), Sessional Lecturer (International Studies, USask)

This course focuses on Chinese peoples in Saskatchewan with an emphasis on Saskatoon. How did early Chinese settlers live? What was unique about the Saskatchewan experience? By looking at a myriad of archival sources and unexpected stories of cooperation, the course challenges common stereotypes about Chinese peoples in the prairies and in Canada more generally. By the end of the course, people should have a greater appreciation for the nuances of Chinese settler life and be surprised at the amount of history hiding in everyday life.   

Lecture Outline:

1. Immigration into the prairies – why the prairies? Why move from China in the first place?
2. Labour conditions and work available in the early settlement period in Saskatchewan communities – emphasis on laundries and restaurants; Legal cases – fighting the white women’s law in Regina, drug charges, etc.
3. Connections back to China through the Chinese Nationalist League and a flight school
4. What is a Chinatown? How is this a useful but flawed concept of understanding Chinese settlers?
5. Chinese peoples in Saskatchewan newspapers – how did non-Chinese settlers view Chinese immigrants in Saskatchewan?
6. Displacement – bulldozing of Saskatoon’s Chinatown and the ideas of “progress”
7. Myth-Making – the Tunnels of Moose Jaw as a white-based interpretation of what it was like to be Chinese and the proliferation of stereotypes
8. Chinese-Saskatchewan residents today and efforts to revitalize aspects of culture not lost but hidden to most non-Chinese peoples 

Breakout sessions will not be used.

Letters & Letter-Writing in Imperial Rome

Kyle McLeister, B.A. (Hons., Toronto), M.A. (McMaster), PhD (McMaster), Lecturer (History, USask)

Letter-writing was a popular pastime in ancient Rome, which is good news for us, because letters provide a valuable window into life in the Roman empire. Importantly, many letters covered subjects such as family life, slavery and imperial governance that are poorly covered in other sources, meaning that letters often provide our best way of understanding many aspects of the ancient world. In this course, we’ll examine letters from a variety of different authors and we’ll pay special attention to the way that letters were utilized as a framework for a number of different genres, from Seneca’s moral letters which acted as philosophical treatises to the poetic letters of Horace and Ovid, who used the conventions of letter writing to showcase their literary skills. We’ll also take a look at the Vindolanda Tablets, which contain letters written by Roman soldiers stationed in Britain (and which were discovered during an archaeological dig at the fort of Vindolanda). By analyzing all these different letters, we’ll gain real insight into Roman society and culture during the imperial era. 

NB: This course will cover a different set of letters than the ones that I covered in my previous SSCL course (Life & Letters in Ancient Rome). Students do not need to have taken that course in order to take this one – all the information that students need will be provided within this new course. 

Lecture Outline:

1. Introduction & the letters of Trajan
2. Seneca's Moral Letters
3. Seneca on Death & Illness
4. Horace's Poetic Letters
5. The Vindolanda Tablets
6. The Saddest Letters (Ovid's Tristia)
7. Ovid in Exile (Epistulae ex Ponto)
8. Conclusions (the role of letters in imperial Rome) 

Breakout sessions will not be used.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Vince Bruni-Bossio & Guest Speakers

History of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases

Scott Napper, PhD, Professor (College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan) & Research Scientist (Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization [VIDO])

This course explores the reciprocal relationship between human history and infectious diseases, examining how epidemics and pandemics have shaped societies and transformed cultures across time. We will investigate the biological foundations of infectious diseases alongside their historical, social, and environmental contexts, from ancient plagues to modern global health crises and potential future outbreaks. Through case studies and interdisciplinary perspectives, the course highlights how human behaviours and scientific innovations have influenced the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases. We will examine key individuals, events and breakthroughs that have contributed, for better or worse, to the complex relationship between human societies and microbes. 

Lecture Outline:

1. Historical Perspective on Infectious Diseases
2. Variolation to Vaccines
3. Understanding Historic and Modern Vaccines
4. How Vaccines Work: Personal Protection and Herd Immunity
5. Vaccine Hesitancy: Causes and Impacts
6. Case Studies: Rabies, Cholera, and TB
7. Case Studies: Polio and Pandemic Preparation
8. Case Studies: Prion and Prion-like Diseases 

Breakout sessions will not be used.

Xi Jinping: The Revolution of the Red Emperor

Clay Burlingham, B.A. (Toronto), M.A., PhD (Sask.), Sessional Lecturer

This course will first trace the transition between the end of Deng Xiaoping’s rule and the very different type of rule Xi Jinping ushered in when he first came to power in 2012. Xi's at times profoundly difficult background, revolutionary pedigree, and path to power will be examined, along with the ideas that came to define him. The course will then explore the type of revolution he initiated and what it means that he has become the Red Emperor. 

Breakout sessions will not be used.

The Art of Sketching: Drawing Through Observation, Movement, and Practice

Nik Chermenskaya, B.Des. (Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry), MFA Candidate, Artist, Animator & Sessional Instructor (USask)

This course introduces drawing as an accessible and expressive practice grounded in observation, movement, and experimentation rather than technical perfection. Through sketching exercises, demonstrations, discussions, and historical examples, participants will explore drawing as a way of seeing, thinking, and engaging with the world. Students will develop confidence in translating observation into line while building hand control, compositional awareness, and visual sensitivity. Alongside studio work, the course examines historical and contemporary drawing practices across diverse cultures and how artists use drawing for observation, memory, planning, and creative thinking. Suitable for beginners and those with prior experience, classes combine short lectures, demonstrations, guided drawing, and constructive group critique in a supportive learning environment. 

Participants are responsible for supplying their own drawing materials: graphite pencils (one HB and one anywhere between 4B and 9B), a pencil sharpener, charcoal, a thick black marker (Sharpies work well), a black pen, and letter-size paper. These items can be found at stores such as Walmart, Dollarama, etc. Additionally, participants may purchase ink of any colour, coloured pencils, Conté, and watercolour paper (around letter size) if they wish to experiment. Professional art materials can be purchased at Hues or Art Placement. 

Lecture Outline:

1. What Is Drawing?
2. What Is a Sketch?
3. Composition and Point of View
4. Materials and Mark-Making
5. Rhythm, Repetition, and Calligraphy
6. Gesture and the Body
7. Drawing From Memory and Imagination
8. Looking, Discussing, Reflecting 

Breakout sessions will be used.

Environmental History of the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region

Corwyn Shomachuk, B.A. (Hons., Sask.), B.Sc. (Env. Eng., Sask.), Engineer-in Training (APEGS), Instructor (USask)

This course will explore human interactions with the natural world of a landscape carved out by glaciers advancing and retreating.  Today, this landscape is known as the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). The course will cover how humans have altered and at times adapted to the harsh climate and physical geography of the PPR. Starting from the time of the last glacial retreat to modernity, there is something to be learned in this course on how humans have interacted with their environment. 

Lecture Outline:

1. Glacial advance and retreat
2. Indigenous peoples and the Bison
3. Settler colonization and railroads
4. Dirty Thirties and agricultural rehabilitation
5. Oil and the western sedimentary basin
6. Coal mines as far as the eye can see
7. Water resources and drought
8. Prairie grasslands and the conservation movement 

Breakout sessions will not be used.

Introduction to Printmaking

Patrick Bulas, BFA, MFA (Alberta), Sessional Instructor & Printmaking Studio Technician (School for the Arts, USask), Board Member (SK Printmakers)

Printmaking is an exciting art form that brings together technique, tradition, and creativity. At its most fundamental level, printmaking involves creating an image that can be transferred or “printed” onto a surface, usually paper. The same image can be printed multiple times, but the intention of contemporary printmaking is not to simply reproduce an image but to use the materials and processes to express a concept or idea.  

In this course, students will have the exclusive opportunity to work together at the UofS School for the Arts Printmaking Studio to learn two printmaking techniques: relief printing & screen printing. Relief Printing is the oldest and most straightforward form of printmaking in terms of technique. Essentially, a stamp is created, where the non-image area is removed, and the remaining raised surface of the printing block is inked and printed. For screen printing, artists apply ink through a stencil created on a fabric mesh stretched tightly around a frame. Screen printing began as a commercial printing process that was later adopted by artists for its ability to create multiple images very quickly.  The course will include a look at the history and contemporary use of the technique, in-person examples of artwork, a step-by-step demonstration, and an opportunity for students to work in the studio and create their own prints. No previous art or printmaking experience is required. 

Week Outline:

1. Introduction to the studio, relief printing (linocut) demonstration, and project.
2. Relief printing techniques and projects on repetition and layering.
3. Screen printing, demonstration, and project.
4. Complete screen printing project, printing on textiles, and collaborative work.

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