Mini-enrichment courses

 
 

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.

  • An elective course for students in Grades 8 - 11.

    This week‑long course explores Taylor Swift as a cultural, legal, and economic powerhouse, beginning with her career and The Eras Tour. Through focused sessions on copyright law, economics, culture, and environmental impact—paired with creative activities like music video analysis, bracelet‑making, and trivia—students connect academic concepts to Swift’s real‑world influence.

    Click here for a more detailed description and to see the lesson plan.

  • 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

  • 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.

    Click here to learn more about the course and to read student feedback.

  • 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.

    Click here to learn more about this course.