COURSES I TEACH
As a Contract Faculty Member (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Part-Time Professor (University of Ottawa), I teach classes in research, media studies, policy development and legal studies. To learn more about my courses, click on the links below.
CMN2101: Research Methods in Communication
A required course for students in the Department of Communication. Description: Introduction to research in communication studies. Use of traditional documentation and computerized resources, including the Internet. Basic concepts and main stages of a research project: defining subjects, hypotheses and methodologies.
CMN 2180: Popular Culture and Communication
An elective course for undergraduate students at the University of Ottawa. Description: Concepts of popular culture and communication, and analysis of their dynamics. Study of different forms of popular culture and related stereotypes and myths.
cmn 3103: qualitative methods
A required course for students in the Department of Communication, Faculty of Arts. Description: Introduction to ethnography and other qualitative methods for understanding communication phenomena: participant observation, case studies, and focus groups. Practical use of these methodologies.
CMN 3182: Policy Studies
An elective course for students in the Department of Communication, Faculty of Arts. Description: Study of the principles governing information and communication regulations, national and international. Examination of the legal and regulatory systems of Canadian media. Issues in the social and cultural domain.
LY212: LAW AND CULTURE
An elective course for students in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Law and Society Program. This course will introduce students to intersections between law and culture. Students will examine how the law, legal system, and players in the legal system are constructed in culture and the impact of these constructions on public perceptions of the law. Other topics may include state regulation of culture, the impact of culture on law, and legal culture.
I have also taught courses in the University of Ottawa’s Enrichment Mini-Course Program and Queen’s University’s Enrichment Studies Unit. These courses connect junior high and high school students with academic experiences in a variety of disciplines. To learn more about these courses, click on the links below.
ECMP: Monsters & Superheroes, oh my! Why (and how!) do we use metaphors in popular culture
An elective course for students in Grades 8 - 11. From Hercules to Iron Man, Dracula to the Walking Dead, monsters and superheroes, in various shapes and forms, have always been part of popular culture. Whether we’re talking about zombies, werewolves, vampires, aliens, or superheroes, these stories separate the world into two groups – us versus them, good versus evil, normal versus abnormal. But what happens when what we learn from these stories spills over into our everyday life?
Through a combination of discussion, in-class activities, and – of course! – watching movies, this course explores how the treatment of monsters and superheroes in popular culture teaches us about difference, behaviour and identity.
COURSE CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
ECMP: Werewolves, Zombies and Vampires: Exploring the Use of Metaphors in Movies, TV and Books
An elective course for students in Grades 8 - 11.
Monsters, in various shapes and forms, have always been part of popular culture. They can signal that someone or something is morally reprehensible, or culturally and socially unacceptable. On the other hand, monsters challenge social and cultural taboos by allowing characters to take on and test out alternative identities.
Monster stories separate the world in to two groups – us versus them, human versus monster. This course explores how the treatment of monsters in popular culture can teach us about how difference is treated in society.
ESU: The Law of Freedom of Expression in Canada
An elective course for students in Grades 7 & 8.
Expression – it’s all around us! It’s part of every text that we send, every TV show that we watch, every book that we read, and every action we take. In this course, students will learn about different types and forms of expression and will explore what kinds of expression are allowed under Canadian law. They will be introduced to the limits of the right to freedom of expression in Canada and the role of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Students will be asked to think critically about human rights and will take part in a debate on one of three topics: (1) advertising and commercial speech, (2) hate speech, and (3) sexually explicit expression and pornography.