SPM300.1 Sport in the United Kingdom (Fall, Spring)

In this course, you will be introduced to the wide range of issues in the field of sports, particularly those relating to U.K. and European sport. Throughout the semester, you will explore where sport comes from and consider how people in different countries view and utilize sport. You will also examine sport from a political perspective, studying how the governing bodies of various sports in the U.K. interact with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. You will also learn how sport events such as the Olympics become an opportunity to generate business and interest in a country. In addition to time spent in the classroom, you will attend and reflect on a variety of sporting events and tour several stadiums, which will allow you to make comparisons and gain a better understanding of the sport.

This course has an associated course fee. See the London Course Fees page for more information. IMPORTANT: Entry tickets are purchased in advance based on enrollment numbers at the end of online registration in June/July for the fall semester and November/December for the spring semester. Once registered, students are responsible for all expended and committed costs, which could be as high as the full course fee, even if the course is dropped prior to the start of classes.

SOC412 Multicultural London (Fall, Spring)

London is an historic city, capital of the United Kingdom and the seat of the British government and monarchy. Yet it is increasingly recognised as a global city, the site of an unprecedented convergence of human communities from all parts of the world. Today London is home to communities of people from over 90 countries and its residents speak over 300 languages. Focusing particularly since the period of reconstruction after the Second World War, this course will look at patterns of urban development, inward migration and the struggle for political and civil rights in relation to the emergence of the wide range of ethnic and religious groupings that compose London’s population at the beginning of the 21st century. The course will cover a range of theoretical perspectives to help analyse cultural differentiation, cosmopolitism, and hybridisation. We will concentrate on how issues of identity, ethnicity, and religion in London are explored, contested, negotiated and shaped in relation to other markers of identity such as class, language, nationality, and gender. The course will take full advantage of London’s multi-cultural and multi-religious landscape by visiting various cultural and religious centres. There will also be the opportunity to engage with political offices engaged with such issues as diversity, equality rights, policing and interfaith relations in the city.

Limited enrollment; Sociology majors may take more than one Sociology (SOC) course, all others limited to one SOC course during the semester.

SOC400.1 Sex, Gender and the City (Spring) CANCELLED Fall 2026

This course offers students a critical overview of the contested terms “sex”, “gender” and “sexuality” through the framework of the City. This course will explore some of the ways in which cities and the inhabitants have been historically sexed, gendered, and sexualized. Traversing “the private” and “the public,” the temporal and spatial, and the individual and the social, this course will explore the centrality of these themes in London and British history. Meets with QSX/WGS 400.1.

Limited enrollment; Sociology majors may take more than one Sociology (SOC) course, all others limited to one SOC course during the semester.

BAN403 Entertainment Industry Practicum: The Global Workplace (Fall, Spring)

Open only to Bandier students who have committed to an internship by the published deadline. This course is designed to guide students’ professional development during experience in the London workforce. Participation in the course will equip students with the practical skills needed to thrive in a globalised world of work—as well as the theoretical background and critical thinking abilities necessary to reflect on their position in that interconnected system.

This course must be taken for a letter grade. Internship placements typically require a commitment of two days per week. Students initially registered for BPS400 and update their registration following the Add Deadline once abroad.

QSX416 British Masculinity On Screen: James Bond and Sherlock Holmes (Fall, Spring)

Sherlock Holmes and James Bond instantly evoke particular ideas about British masculinity: an uncannily intuitive intellectual not averse to bouts of cocaine use, and the suave, globe-trotting spy with a license to kill. 2015 marked the release of Spectre, the 24th iteration of the most successful film franchise in cinema history. Likewise, Conan Doyle’s creation is in rude health, having been the recent subject of a high-profile exhibition at the Museum of London, and the centre of two successful contemporary television adaptations, BBC’s Sherlock, and CBS’s Elementary. Just as Baker Street remains a perennial tourist attraction for Sherlockians, so too has London’s tourist industry embraced an army of fans eager to retrace the footsteps of the latest — and controversially blond — Bond, Daniel Craig. This course investigates what on-screen adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and James Bond have to say about the construction of British masculinity. Providing close readings of key examples of Sherlock and Bond adaptations, we will explore issues of gender and sexuality, class, race, ethnicity and nationhood in the construction of hegemonic and “other” British masculinity on screen. In tandem, we will explore the ever-changing places that Sherlock and Bond occupy in British film and television culture.

This course may also be registered as FIL/WGS 416, and counts towards the Film and Screen Studies track for SU English and Textual Studies majors.

QSX400.1 Sex, Gender and the City (Spring) CANCELLED Fall 2026

Meets with SOC/WGS 400.1.

Limited enrollment; Sociology majors may take more than one Sociology (SOC) course, all others limited to one SOC course (including SOC cross-listing) during the semester.

PSY474 Forensic Psychology: Crime and Violence (Fall, Spring)

Psychological aspects of the criminal justice system. Case examples illustrating theory and practice of forensic issues in criminal investigation and courtroom procedures. This course introduces topics of interest to psychologists, members of the legal profession and those in law enforcement. Psychology plays an important role in the understanding of many aspects of criminal actions and their aftermath. This course will explore how psychologists work with the legal system. The primary focus will be research into criminal psychology. Topics such as terrorism, influential factors for jury decision making, competency to stand trial, pathways towards criminal behaviour and others will be covered during the semester.

Prereq: PSY 205 or 209 or equivalent intro psychology course. PSY 274 recommended.

PSY400.1 Conflict, Trauma and Collective Memory (Spring)

Responding to the 100-year anniversary of the First World War, this course looks at what that conflict and others have taught psychologists about conflict, trauma and collective memory. The First World War is now recognised as having had a profound impact on the psychological understanding of trauma. The course is divided into three parts. Part One studies the political and social context of the start of the 20th century and the build-up to the Great War itself, through an examination of social identity and the process of conflict. Part Two analyses the history of trauma and the role of WWI and particularly the war in the trenches of Europe, which brought psychology into the understanding of the impact of conflict on the mind. Part Three considers the effects on memory and the place of anniversaries and commemorations, exploring the shifting and conflicting schema presented in this anniversary period 2014–19. The course includes several field trips around London to museums and sites.

Prereq: PSY 205/209 or equivalent introductory psychology course.

Limited enrollment: Psychology majors may take more than one Psychology (PSY) course, all others limited to one PSY course during the semester.

PSY382 Health Psychology (Spring)

This course examines how social, behavioural, and cultural factors influence physical and mental health conditions and local and global contexts. It is also designed to promote cultural competence in diagnosis, treatment, and research strategies. In the context of this course, culture encompasses race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender, age, and disability. Information about the background of many cultural groups will be provided. Students will learn how culture influences human behaviour and the conceptualisation of health and psychopathology, with a focus on current, controversial topics. They will also examine the ways their understandings of health and well-being shape, and are shaped by, the healthcare system, their own values, and their assumptions.

Prereq: PSY 205 or 209 or an equivalent introduction to psychology course

Limited enrollment: Psychology majors may take more than one Psychology (PSY) course, all others limited to one PSY course during the semester.

PSC350.1 America: A Foreign Perspective (Spring)

How have foreign observers understood the United States and how have Americans understood their place in the world? This class will explore these questions through a series of case studies which consider the relationship between the United States and other nations—including friends, neighbours, enemies and opponents. This course aims to lead students away from their “comfort” zone and encourage them to think critically about American national identity and American influence in world politics. We will dissect, excavate, and critique leading myths which the United States perpetuates about itself. We will also consider how foreign observers, both friendly and unsympathetic, have viewed the United States. The best students will come to consider not only what the world thinks of the United States, but what can’t most Americans see about America?

Prior study in political science (an intro PSC course) is recommended.

Most semesters, registration limited (including minors) to only one Political Science class (PSC prefix and courses cross-listed with PSC) except for Political Science majors. Check the current semester’s Schedule of Classes for more information.