Complementary

A Biology complementary course for non-science students which examines reproduction in humans as well as other organisms. Topics covered include the evolutionary significance of sex, embryology, anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system, nervous and endocrine regulation of sexual behaviour, conception, pregnancy, birth, lactation, contraception, abortion, and sterilization. Some of the new technological developments for genetic manipulation and fertility will be studied.

A Biology complementary course for non-science students which looks at the different aspects of human disease. What makes HIV so hard to combat, or Ebola so deadly? Why is cancer such a devastating disease? From the common cold to chlamydia, and Alzheimer’s to asthma, this course explores how the human body systems work, and how different diseases interfere with its normal functioning.

This course is based on the premise that by understanding the relationship between lifestyle choices and health, one could prevent the development of common diseases and maintain a healthy body weight, hence, improve quality of life.

This course addresses emerging food and nutrition issues. Currently, the issues include concepts related to food systems (from fork to field) and to the trajectory of food chemicals from plate to body.

This course is designed to help students become independent learners, acquire the ability to assess their wellbeing (through the concept of wellness) and conceptualize and design a personalized wellness plan (digital portfolio)

Mindful Nutrition focuses on dietary factors that can have preventative or adverse consequences on brain function, thus behavior and mental health.

This course is not so much a chemistry course per se, but rather an earth science course that uses notions of physics, geology, chemistry and biology to look at our planet’s changing climate. Climate change is a hot topic these days, with global warming rearing its ugly head.
Did you know that Earth’s climate has been evolving constantly and naturally for millions of years? Were you aware that climate has been known to change over the course of a human lifetime without human influence? Did you know that qualifying carbon dioxide as a ‘toxic gas’ is largely a fallacy? Or that we are facing the prospect of a new ice age within just a few hundred years, either man-made or natural? This course starts with an introduction detailing global circulation and the basics of climate before moving on to take a look at climates of the past. It then covers atmospheric pollution and finishes with a study of the current global warming issue.

This course examines the effects of sex hormones on our lives. The course begins with a description of what they are and how they work within our bodies. This is followed by a re-examination of our lives from the perspective of how these hormones shape our bodies, our behaviour, and our emotions and ultimately how they allow us to reproduce.
The course also introduces students to topics such as oral contraceptives and in vitro fertilization in which synthetic chemicals manipulate our reproductive biology. Students will be sensitized to the effects that pollutants in our environment can have on our bodies by their ability to mimic sex hormones. The chemistry of sexual attraction will be examined; from the undeniable effect of pheromones in insects to the more varied mechanisms in humans.

Designed for non-science students, this course offers a hands-on, nonmathematical approach to understand the underlying principles for athletic performance and sound technique. Students will be engaged in many outdoor and indoor activities to explore both mainstream and fringe sports, focusing on the physical principles and concepts behind the sports equipment, the technique for playing the sports (biomechanics), and the impact of new technologies on the athletes, the fans, and the games themselves. The course will introduce the student to the basic laws of mechanics and will look at how these laws are germane to a large variety of sports. Emphasis will be placed upon specific applications. Small group work for activities and projects will employ simple measurements and analysis to examine sport techniques.

Sports Nutrition blends nutrition and exercise physiology. Sports Nutrition seeks to integrate scientifically based nutrition and the principles of exercise physiology in order to support and improve training and performance.

Students are guided to navigate food paradigms and food fundamentals in order to conceptualize and present dietary trends or food movements using critical and creative thinking.

Art of Living Well is founded on the premise that wellness can be individualized and has the potential to use the best elements of different practices from both scientific and non-scientific. It provides the student with the knowledge and skills needed to develop and implement holistic ways of living well using the four strategies of wellness.

In Culinary Nutrition, students are guided to apply nutrition principles to food preparation and presentation. The marriage of two disciplines, Nutrition and Culinary Arts, allows students to feel, smell and taste what nutrition is all about.

The techniques of winemaking and beer brewing are presented in this course from a chemical perspective. The chemistry of fermentation is examined against a backdrop of wine and beer culture, including the history of wine and beer, the cultivation of grapes, and modern scientific winemaking and beer brewing practices.
The scientific approach will be further explored in a laboratory setting, in which students will experimentally determine characteristic features of wine and beer such as acidity, sulphur levels, and alcohol content. A three step tasting protocol will be introduced to allow for critical evaluation of different wines and beers. A batch each of wine and beer will be assembled and made in class, and students will have the opportunity to repeat the process at home, effectively putting into practice what they are learning in the classroom.

This course takes an in-depth look at how the modern sleuth uses a wide array of scientific techniques to solve crime. Students will get to play detective and investigate some well-publicized cases.

From morning till night, we are surrounded by chemistry. Soaps remove dirt, food cooks, glues stick, paints provide colour and balls bounce. Learning about the underlying principles allows us to enjoy science and appreciate our amazing world. From mixing inks (visible and invisible) to making (and eating) ice cream, this course will demonstrate the beauty, range, and fun of chemistry and the scientific method. With Everyday Chemistry, you will be “in your element”.

Nature, at times, can be so strange it appears magical, behaving in totally unexpected ways. Humans too like to present things with a magical touch. This course introduces students to the mystery, magic, and science of natural and man-made phenomena. Applying the ‘rules’ of science, these phenomena will be investigated with a “hands-on” approach. It is a science course offered by the Physics department to non-science students. In class explanations and discussions will lead students to identify and explain the scientific laws involved, without the use of ‘crazy’ equations or elaborate mathematics. It is designed to help students appreciate science using familiar objects in imaginative, unconventional and creative ways.

This course provides an exciting introduction to the fascinating world of rocket science, undoubtedly one of humanity’s foremost technological achievements. Perceived to be exceedingly complex, and beyond the capabilities of all but the most gifted scientists and engineers, this course will demonstrate that its fundamentals are within the grasp of all who are interested. Science, mathematics and the art of flight will come to life with the building and launching of model rockets. No previous scientific or mathematical background is required; only an interest in understanding what Rocket Science is really all about!

This course allows students to explore the issue of environmental sustainability from the perspectives of physical education and environmental geography. Through participatory action research and experiential learning, students will examine the philosophical foundations that shape our understandings and attitudes towards nature. This exploration will always be coupled with an investigation of how these existing approaches affect both personal and societal health and wellness. These discoveries will allow students to direct their action research towards addressing a local environmental issue that they identify as most salient to them.

This course integrates the natural science consensus and human social science perspectives on anthropogenic global warming and climate change. The course begins with a basic introduction to the scientific basis for global warming and climate change, including such topics as the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect, the coming energy crisis, how scientists study the past climate, climate modeling and the prediction of future climate. Building on the science of climate change, the second component of the course will focus on the social, political and economic issues surrounding climate change. A variety of perspectives on the impacts of climate change on humans, drawn from the social sciences, will then be investigated. Multidisciplinary course: Geology and Geography.

Crises such as terrorist attacks, earthquakes or epidemics are often unexpected but the magnitude of their impact can be contained or minimized by carefully preparing the response. The aim of this course is to give students the opportunity to develop an understanding of crisis management and emergency response from a political science perspective by examining and analyzing case studies, and taking part in simulations where each holds a decision-making role in the management of an unfolding crisis.

(Fall semester only) Are you interested in working with children (e.g., teaching elementary school, coaching, babysitting, leading summer camps, having children of your own one day)? However it is that you will engage with children, there are endless opportunities to teach science to these curious and eager young learners. This interdisciplinary course introduces some of the practices and concepts relevant to teaching science to children, and to teaching children in general. Students will participate and even design their own hands on science experiments suitable for young learners. Simultaneously, students will explore the philosophies and practices of teaching children. This course is open to all students.

This course introduces students to the main concepts, themes and methods of geography. It provides an introduction to Human Geography’s major subdisciplines including population, economic, environmental, cultural and urban geography. Students also learn how maps can be used to convey information and analyze geographical problems. The relationships between humans and their environments are stressed throughout the course.

What did our ancestors eat and what made them sick? Why are some diseases more common in certain regions or populations? What does it mean to be sick or healthy and how does one get well, according to different cultural perspectives? How does poverty affect health? Using a holistic approach that takes into account the relation between natural and social environments, human biology, and culture, we will cover basic concepts in Anthropology and explore issues in Medical Anthropology related to past and present population health, cross-cultural diversity in perceptions of health and illness, and inequalities in health and healthcare. This course is of value to students with an interest in Anthropology, Life Sciences, Nursing, Social Work, Medicine, Emergency Care, and International Studies.

This course will examine the complexities of the evolution/creationism controversy and the effect it has had on North American society. The theory of evolution is fundamental to understanding modern biology and many topics studied within Anthropology. This course will examine how understanding evolution is relevant to our daily lives, and will also look at the social and religious worldviews that are opposed to the theory of evolution.

This course introduces students to the scientific study of human behaviour. Major topic areas include: 1) the major theoretical approaches to the study of psychology, 2) scientific research methods in the behavioural sciences, 3) the biological basis of psychology including genetics, the brain and nervous system, sensation, and perception, 4) learning and memory, 5) stress. The emphasis is placed on how knowledge in each of the aforementioned areas can be applied to daily life.

Learn and experience the sociological perspective by becoming part of a unique Community as a “Vampire, Werewolf or Zombie”. This course is designed to provide an initiation to the sociological perspective through applied learning and gaming.  Students will be introduced to present and past sociological issues by having to work through various economic and social forces, so you will have to have a job, make decisions for your community, and work through weekly social issues of living in a diverse community. The objectives of this course are to enable you to enjoy the study of Sociology and to provide you with a sociological imagination that broadens your understanding of your everyday life.

This course is an introduction to Greek myths, from Aphrodite to Zeus, and their importance within Western civilization until today. By reading stories of gods and heroes, we will learn about the ways Greek myths explore the human condition. We will also learn about the society that produced these myths, the authors who recorded them and about their influence on later culture, from the paintings of Michelangelo to Batman and Harry Potter. No prior background in history or mythology is required.

This course examines the impact of Einstein’s life and work on modern science and culture. Using Einstein’s life as a vehicle for exploring the scientific, political, philosophical, and ethical consequences of his work, we will consider the state of physics before Einstein’s revolutionary publications of 1905, the theories of special and general relativity, the development of quantum theory, cosmology, the Zionist movement, Nazism, pacifism, the atomic bomb, and Einstein’s influence on literature, the arts, and popular culture. No prior background in science is expected of the students.

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Communication makes us human: whether at school, work or play we are constantly absorbing information, asking questions and trying to make sense of and share our discoveries. We often take this feature of our experience for granted, not realizing that social interaction and communication are skills which can be studied and improved upon to enhance the quality of our lives.
This course exposes students to the patterns of communication and social interaction and helps them appreciate the potential for personal development that may follow. Topics covered in this course include: relevant components of the processes of human interaction and communication; self image, self confidence, and their characteristics; interpersonal perception; verbal and nonverbal communication; obstacles and suggestions for enhancement; decision making and problem solving; work groups; leadership and membership; assertive and compliant behaviours and their consequences.

This course examines the nature of faith in magic, religion and science. It explores the development of Western religion in terms of the suppression of local cultures, of women, of magic and the “irrational,” and the subsequent expression of religion by the cult of science (Scientism). Student will be introduced to some different explanations for and practical experiences with various forms of divination. In addition, depending on student’s program and her or his personal interests, each will explore a topic in either the rationality, the ideology, or the iconography of magic, religion and science.

Forensic Anthropology is the application of anthropological knowledge, skills, and abilities to the study of human remains in a criminal context. Forensic Anthropologists generally deal with partially or fully skeletonized remains and try to answer two basic questions: “Who are you?” and “How did you end up like this?” In this course, you will have an opportunity to learn how Anthropologists read the stories that bones tell and to try your own hand at reading real human skeletal remains.

The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the topic of Deviance and Crime. Students will learn the concepts, theories and methods used by criminologists who engage in this social science. Students will also have an opportunity to learn more about specific crimes such as murder, sexual assault, prostitution, drug abuse, organized crime and business crime.

Environment, food, agriculture and society are aspects of our daily lives. This course enables the students, through lectures and role -playing in the “Green Revolution Game” to make decisions, which will have positive and negative effects on the environment as they try to have their farm survive. Through this decision making process students will learn how industrialization impacts the environment. In addition they will become more aware of how society and the environment interact. The essence of this course is to complement the students’ other studies and attempt to provide a sociological understanding of how to become an active citizen with a more in-depth global perspective.

Students explore the concepts of sociology through the lens of music. We consider the ways in which music not only reflects social structures, identities and ideologies, but actively help to construct them. From discussing the role of art & creativity in contemporary society, to examining the role that technology and corporations play in the pop music industry. Students use sociology to gain new insights into the multi-faceted role of music in our society. We analyze musical sound and social meaning, the place of music in creating social bonds, challenging social norms and creating opportunities for change from local to global. We use a critical perspective to study the role of fan culture in creating celebrities and idols and throughout the course we use actual pop music examples!

Are you curious about how the stock market works? Interested in strategies to save for a new car, a home or retirement? Confused between an RRSP and a TFSA?  Want to learn techniques to protect yourself from identity theft?  If so this course is for you.  Improve your financial literacy and learn skills to successfully manage your money in a course that emphasizes a practical approach for young adults.

This course will enhance your computer knowledge by covering key concepts and developing your knowledge of today’s popular software. It will explore contemporary software such as file management, word processing, presentation graphics, and spreadsheets. General computer concepts will help students assess and determine their needs in home computing.

This course will encourage students to consider the place, role and evolution of the basic principles of E commerce in our society and to characterize its different uses. Topics covered will include, understanding E commerce, building an income generating website, traffic building techniques, and E commerce security concerns.

Sports and Mathematics have a long history. Sometimes it has been a collaborative one; at times, it is has been a contentious one. This course aims to show how math has transformed the way sports are played, managed, understood and consumed.

This prompts us to ask: What kinds of sports questions can math answer? We will discuss this question against the backdrop of various sports (hockey, baseball, football, basketball, soccer, tennis, Olympic sports, and more.) We will utilize a variety of basic math tools along the way, including beginner level probability and statistics. The student should have a strong interest in and a casual knowledge of professional sports.

This course presents both the theoretical basis of designing an effective, functional web site and the hands-on mechanics of creating such a site using Dreamweaver and HTML. Students will work with the three basic web page elements – text, links, and multimedia (primarily images and sounds) – to create web sites that are technically functional, aesthetically pleasing, and marketable. They will also learn to upload their sites.

Many students today take digital photos and print them or use them on the web. They also scan regular photos for print or internet applications. These photos can often be enhanced in Adobe Photoshop, the industry standard photo manipulation software used by almost everyone to prepare digital photos and scanned images for printing and internet applications.
Using Photoshop, you will learn to retouch and optimize your digital photos and scanned images for print and the web. Computer skills you will develop include colour correction, cropping, colorization, compositing, selecting, resizing images, masking and layering, changing image formats, using channels, transparency, compression, cloning and painting. You will learn proper scanning techniques and how to take better digital photos.

This is a hands-on course in software design using Visual Studio as the development environment.

In this course the student will learn how Visual Studio can be used to build small programs that run on a Windows PC.

Topics include an introduction to the Visual Studio integrated development environment, the selected programming language (C#), building error-free Windows graphical user interface applications.

This course assumes that the student knows how to work with the Windows graphical user interface and can use File Explorer to manipulate folders and files.

This is a hands-on course in software design using Visual Studio as the development environment.

In this course the student will learn how Visual Studio can be used to build small programs that run on a Windows PC or Apple Mac.

Topics include an introduction to the Visual Studio integrated development environment, the selected programming language (C#), building error-free Windows console applications.

This course assumes that the student knows how to work with the Windows graphical user interface and can use File Explorer to manipulate folders and files.

This course will delve into the world of logic, sets and numbers by asking intriguing questions such as, “What does it take for an argument to be valid?”, “Do all infinite sets have the same size?” and “What is a number?” Students will learn about propositional logic, predicates, sets, relations, cardinality, binary numbers, and much more. Several fascinating paradoxes from logic and set theory will be analyzed. This complementary course requires only a knowledge of basic high school math and is open to all students interested in mathematics and logic.

This course studies films that have modernized the medium. Cutting edge, avant-garde, innovative, contemporary, and challenging: these adjectives apply to the films we’ll be studying. We will be looking at how they changed the face of film as an art form.

The popularity and international stature of Québec cinema have grown immensely over the past twenty years. Films produced in Québec have been recognized for their unique social content, sophistication and artistic energy. This course presents some of the most compelling Québec films of this period. (Knowledge of French is not necessary for this course: films that are not in English will have sub-titles.)

Designed for both beginners and more experienced students of film, the primary objective of this course is to help students understand the fundamentals of film criticism: how a film tells its story and realizes its meanings.

This course explores the ways cinema can reflect, criticize or support social organizations and their values or myths. Each year the course concentrates on different themes, e.g., war and peace. This course may be taken as part of the Environmental Studies Certificate.

Based on the idea that visual images are a language, this course introduces students to basic elements and mechanisms of visual language by exploring and comparing its use in different communication contexts. The course goals are pursued in the Digital Media Computer Lab employing various computer graphic programs.

This is a course in classic black and white film photography. Students learn the tools and techniques of camera functions, film exposure and development and fine printing in the darkroom. Students work on technical exercises and create a final portfolio that demonstrates technical proficiency.

APPROXIMATE MATERIALS COST: $115.00 – this includes the fee for chemicals and lab maintenance, and the amount for materials required for assignments. Students must supply their own 35mm film camera with manual overdrive. The Media Arts department as a limited number of cameras for rental. Please note: Students registering for Darkroom Process Photography must have be available for a few hours on either Wednesday or Friday between 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to work in the darkroom on their assignments.

This course introduces students to basic ceramics techniques, including traditional construction methods (pinching, coiling and slab building), decoration, glazing and the firing of objects. The emphasis is on individual practical work, supplemented by instructor lectures and demonstrations.

This course introduces basic ceramics techniques, throwing on the potter’s wheel, decoration, glazing and firing, and emphasizes individual practical work, supplemented by instructor lectures and demonstrations.

This course will introduce students to the printed image. Various printmaking processes will be explored, with an emphasis placed on relief printmaking. Students will investigate the possibilities of visual organization and learn basic technical skills in the media. This is a hands-on studio course and no previous printmaking experience is required.

This introductory course examines drawing as a means of visual expression that encompasses the processes of seeing, thinking, making and communicating. Students learn about the expressive elements of drawing and explore a variety of media such as pencil, charcoal, ink and collage. Emphasis is placed on the observational aspects of drawing as well as the acquisition of fundamental drawing skills. In this hands-on course drawing is approached as a skill that can be learned and no previous drawing experience is required.

This course will provide students with an introductory foundation to the fundamentals of making a painting. Students will apply what they learn to a number of in-class assignments, and to different kinds of picture making: still lives, landscapes, etc. The main objective is for each student to gain a working understanding as to what a painting is and what potential it may hold in store for them.

This complementary course is designed for students outside of the Creative Arts discipline who wish to experiment with video. Various styles of video production will be explored and during the semester students will work on a production that could be a part of an assignment for a course taken within their discipline.

In this course students are introduced to the dynamic world of broadcasting. The goal is to learn how to write for broadcast and how to be effective storytellers. The first half of the course focuses on radio. Voice theories and production techniques are explained and demonstrated. A newscast is then produced. In the last half, students will learn how to produce a live television show. This involves practical work in the studio under the instructor’s supervision. We also explore how to use video to tell stories.

This course is for students with no or little knowledge of German. Beginner courses focus on the acquisition of the basic grammatical structures of the language while emphasizing the development of aural and reading comprehension as well as aural and written expression. Students will also acquire information about geography and cultures as well as the history of the German speaking countries. If you are not sure about the level you should register in, please do the placement test at German Language Placement Test.

These courses are for students with no or little knowledge of Italian. Beginner’s courses focus on the acquisition of the basic grammatical structures of the language and knowledge of its cultural components. If you are not sure about the level you should register in, please contact michela.belmonte@johnabbott.qc.ca.

These courses are for students with no or little knowledge of Spanish. Beginner’s courses focus on the acquisition of the basic grammatical structures of the language while emphasizing the development of aural and reading comprehension. As well as aural and written expression. Students will also acquire information about the geography, culture and linguistic variations within the Spanish speaking world to better appreciate its cultural diversity as a world language.

Mandarin I is designed to introduce students to the language, as well as to provide insights into the life and culture of China. Students will begin to de-mystifying the Chinese language by learning the Mandarin phonetics, some characters, and simple sentence structures. Upon completion of the course, students will acquire basic communication skills to hold simple conversations, and be able to read and write short texts. This course is intended for students who have no knowledge of the language or any Chinese dialect.

This course is an introduction to general translation and literary translation. Its objective is to initiate students to the various problems of translation, to understand its challenges and its pitfalls, to learn translation strategies, to acquire effective translation tools, but also to study the nuances of the target language and its differences from the source language. Students will translate short texts belonging to different fields, with an emphasis on literary texts. They will translate from French to English or from English to French, depending on their preference and level of proficiency in these two languages.

Ce cours est une introduction à la traduction générale et à la traduction littéraire. Il a pour objectif d’initier aux divers problèmes de la traduction, de comprendre ses enjeux et ses embuches, d’apprendre des stratégies de traduction, d’acquérir des outils de traduction efficaces, mais aussi d’étudier les nuances de la langue cible et ses différences par rapport à la langue source. Les étudiants traduiront des textes brefs appartenant à différents domaines, avec une insistance sur les textes littéraires. Ils traduiront du français vers l’anglais ou de l’anglais vers le français, selon leur préférence et leur niveau maîtrise de ces deux langues.

Intermediate courses emphasize on the acquisition of a good overall sense and understanding of grammatical structures and the development of linguistic and communicative competence through the integrated practice of aural and reading comprehension and aural and reading expression. Students will also be introduced to the reading and understanding of short passages from selected literary authors in the Spanish language.

These courses are the continuation of Italian I and II. These intermediate courses will emphasize the acquisition of a good understanding of grammatical structures, development of linguistic and communication competence as well as thorough cultural knowledge. If you are not sure about the level you should register in, please contact michela.belmonte@johnabbott.qc.ca