POL490H1F L5101

Topics in Canadian Politics I

Political Discourse in Canada

Themes

This course analyzes the unequal distribution of political power in Canada through the lens of political discourse. What is the relationship between political discourse and effective representation? This course explores diverse approaches to political debate and decision-making from within key democratic institutions and civil society. Parliamentary discourse in the style of Canada's adversarial Westminster system is compared with the northern consensus-seeking adaptations of Indigenous territorial legislatures. The transformation of political discourse in the 21st century is examined, from the feminization of discourse, to e-democracy and online debate, to the ongoing process of political disagreement in the form of ideology and polarization. Qualitative and quantitative methods for the analysis of discourse are also compared. This course studies the relationship between discourse, representation, and power in Canada.

Prerequisites

POL214Y1 or POL214Y5 or POLB50Y3 or POL224Y1 and 1.0 other POL credit in Canadian Politics. See Department's website for POL courses by area group: http://politics.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/courses/fallwinter-timetable/