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Arts & Science Program

ARTSSCI 4MN1 / Local Explorations

An experiential learning course, which offers students the opportunity to explore issues of local significance and global relevance. Students may pursue independent study options or, when available, participate in assorted modules.

These are 1-unit modules that can be taken by any Arts & Science student in any level. The content and schedules vary annually. Details may be found below or by contacting Arts & Science Academic Program Administrator Rebecca Bishop (rbishop@mcmaster.ca or ext. 23153). These courses are evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis. Some modules may require a fee to cover costs of travel and accommodation.

ARTSSCI 4MN1 may be repeated, if on a different topic. Enrolment is limited.

Please Note:

  • Payment of McMaster course credit fees (i.e. tuition and supplementary fees) for ARTSSCI 4MN1 is in addition to the module fees, if applicable.
  • Even if all funds for a trip are paid, you are ineligible to participate in the module if you have not enrolled in the course.
  • Submission of the necessary Release Form(s) must be submitted prior to the start of the course, if applicable.

2023-24 Modules

Fall 2023:

Documentary, Pedagogy, and Social Change
Instructor: Dr. Beth Marquis (Arts & Science / School of the Arts)
Schedule: Fridays, 4:30-7:00pm; 22 September; 6, 20 October; 3, 17 November 2023
Course Outline

Documentary films are often positioned as means of learning about important social issues, and/or as potentially effective catalysts for social change. This experiential module will engage students in considering these claims—that is, in unpacking and exploring the social and pedagogical possibilities and limitations of documentary film. Drawing on existing scholarship and on experiences of collective viewing and discussion, we will consider both how particular filmic choices influence the socio-political work performed by documentaries and how screening contexts might further shape or inform this work. Students will subsequently apply these ideas by participating in and helping to facilitate the Arts & Science Documentary and Social Justice Screening Series. In addition to participating in an introductory class meeting on documentary form, function, and politics, students will be expected to take part in 4 screenings to be held as part of this Screening Series over the Fall term, and to co-lead one of these screenings by selecting the film to be shown (in partnership with the course instructor) and working in a team to facilitate discussion of it.

Winter 2024:

Narrative Medicine in Clinical Practice: Honouring Patients’ Stories
Instructor: Dr. Marg Nowacyzk (Pathology & Molecular Medicine)
Schedule: Thursdays, 11:30am-1:30pm; 18, 25 January; 1, 8, 15 February 2024

There will be a one hour presentation to introduce narrative medicine as a concept and to illustrate its utility in clinical practice. The remainder of the module will be spent on discussion of narrative medicine literature and close reading of literary texts. The students will experience close reading of literary works and appreciate how close reading of literature enhances empathy. The students will also have an opportunity to write in response to a literary work and to discuss their writing. 

The Art of Seeing
Instructors: Nicole Knibb (McMaster Museum of Art); Dr. Joyce Zazulak (Family Medicine)
Schedule: Fridays, 2:30-4:45pm; 1, 8, 15, 22 March 2024

This experiential module will allow students an opportunity to participate in “The Art of Seeing™,” a visual literacy program developed by the McMaster University Department of Family Medicine and the McMaster Museum of Art in partnership. The program encourages participants to develop empathetic, holistic, and humanistic thinking, to enhance personal and professional growth. Participants will interact with each other, artworks, and exhibitions at both the McMaster Museum of Art and the Art Gallery of Hamilton to discover how the work of artists reflects and expresses human experience across time and cultures. The Art of Seeing™ is designed to support the development of participants’ skills in non-verbal and visual communication, observation, and reflection by disrupting traditional colonial ways of knowing and seeing. The program encourages participants to utilize these skills in reflecting on and challenging individual and systemic biases as a means to realize greater social equity. Familiarity with these skills is achieved through visual literacy training and formal analysis of visual art, both within and beyond the gallery space.

Previous Modules

2022-23

  • PATTERNS OF SOCIAL CONNECTION IN THE CITY. Fall 2022. Instructors: Jackie Brown, Ros Pfaff. Course Outline.
  • INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO JUSTICE (1). Winter 2023. Instructor: Jeff Wyngaarden. Course Outline
  • INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO JUSTICE (2). Winter 2023. Instructor: Dr. Lev Marder. Course Outline

2021-22

  • THEORIES OF DECISION-MAKING AND JUDGEMENT: A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR THE INDECISIVE ARTSCI. Fall 2021. Instructors: Leanna Katz, Daniel Carens-Nadelsky. Course Outline
  • PATTERNS OF SOCIAL CONNECTION IN THE CITY. Winter 2022. Instructors: Jackie Brown, Ros Pfaff. Course Outline

2020-21

  • THEORIES OF DECISION-MAKING AND JUDGEMENT: A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR THE INDECISIVE ARTSCI. Winter 2021. Instructors: Leanna Katz, Daniel Carens-Nadelsky. Course Outline
  • PATTERNS OF SOCIAL CONNECTION IN THE CITY. Winter 2021. Instructors: Jackie Brown, Ros Pfaff. Course Outline

2019-20

  • THEORIES OF DECISION-MAKING AND JUDGEMENT: A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR THE INDECISIVE ARTSCI. Winter 2020. Instructors: Leanna Katz, Daniel Carens-Nadelsky. Course Outline
  • A CELEBRATION OF WINTER AS PLACE. Winter 2020. Instructors: Dr. Bob Henderson, Jeff Cameron, Zach de Jong. Course Outline
  • URBAN PLACEMAKING. Fall 2019. Instructors: Jackie Brown, Ros Pfaff. Course Outline