First Year Seminar Courses (FYSM) 2025-2026
First-year seminar (FYSM) courses are small classes designed to give students the opportunity to discuss and research topics of interest in a core subject area. Most university students are in their third or fourth year of study before they have the opportunity to take seminar courses. As a Carleton University Bachelor of Arts (BA) student, you are provided with this experience at the first-year level through enrolment in your First-Year Seminar.
Fall 2025 Courses
The Politics of Canadian Myths and Symbols
FYSM 1611 A
Instructor: Christina Gabriel
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 Legitimacy in Politics? Does Anybody Care?
FYSM 1611 B
Instructor: Marc Hanvelt
Is legitimacy the essential measure for evaluating the exercise of political power? If so, what factors should we consider sufficient for establishing political legitimacy? In this course, a seminar in the history of political thought, you will read and discuss texts, dating from the sixteenth through to the twentieth century, that offer windows into historical debates that continue to influence how many people today understand political legitimacy. In addition, you will develop research and writing skills that are necessary for designing and conducting your own academic projects. |
Winter 2026 Courses
 Issues and Politics of the City
FYSM 1611 C
Instructor: Gabriel Maracle
Worldwide trends show that people are increasingly becoming urban; some statistics suggest that by 2050 nearly 7 in 10 people will be living in cities. Urbanization and urban life continue to be major factors in politics in the 21st century. This course examines how cities and urban spaces are sites of multiple and overlapping issues, movements, conflicts and communities. Students will learn about urban issues, from regional and federal politics to education, sports, public spaces, housing, policing, protests, history, and much more. The course encourages students to look at urban spaces differently and have opportunities to sharpen their academic and professional skills. |
 Netflix and Politics
FYSM 1611 D
Instuctor: Mira Sucharov
This course will examine current offerings on Netflix through a political lens. We will ask three main questions: how are political topics dealt with in these works of art and entertainment? What kinds of political messages seep through even when the subject of the work isn’t obviously political? How do we ascertain whether a work of film/TV is serving to subvert structures of power and inequality or to maintain them? We are using politics broadly here: we will discuss power dynamics and social structures related to issues like race, class, gender and sexuality, as well as public policy and foreign policy issues. |
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