"Illiberal democracy" is the term used by Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, for his vision of a conservative, nationalist society. We will be studying how East Central Europe has been thrust into the forefront of the illiberal rebellion now taking place throughout the Euro-Atlantic world.

The course focuses on the "Visegrád Four" countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Other post-socialist countries and the former East Germany will, however, also be frequently discussed. The varied course topics deal with where illiberalism in the area comes from, how it feels, and why we should care. Students will also be introduced to the basics of Central Europe's history, culture, and political economy.

A six-week topical workshop covering important issues in European and Eurasian Affairs. Topics vary annually.

A six-week topical workshop covering important issues in European and Eurasian Affairs. Topics vary annually. Course topics for the upcoming year will be posted on the Centre's website.

Coming to grips with the multivalent instrumentalization of the “Past” is a major historical problem for the study of the successor states of the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires. The emergence of these states began for some in the nineteenth century, but was completed only with the disruption of the First World War. The turbulent decades that ended with the Second World War present a condensed moment of aspiration that welded nation-building projects to social experimentation, political innovation, economic realignment, and cultural transformations. Unpacking the meaning of this moment of experimentation therefore has resonance not only for the understanding of this period, but also informs long term historical representations of these states and societies into the present.

While this course is not a conventional survey, it will offer thematic explorations of aspects of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other countries that will situate their development in a broader narrative. These thematic explorations will, in turn, open possibilities for analytical and historiographic analyses that will familiarize students with notions of legacies, empires, theories of nationalism, social transformation, revolution and rupture, continuity and tradition, cultural symbolism. Finally, the course will explore the formative but also entangled relationship of these regions with the rest of Europe, and will suggest an augmentation of the standard practice of Area Studies with a subaltern move to "provincialize Europe" from within.

On 24 February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine. How did we get there? This course will explore the complex relationship between Ukraine, Russia, and the West on the eve of Russia's war in Ukraine. We will cover Ukraine's pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet history, with special attention to the country's current political, social, and cultural issues, including the legacies of the past in post-1991 Ukraine, corruption and the ambitious anti-corruption reforms, the power of oligarchs, the role of mass civic protests such as Euromaidan, Ukraine's new cultural achievements, decommunization, post-Soviet urbanism, and the shaping of an inclusive civic identity in the wake of the Russian invasion. The course will also provide students with tools for verifying information in the fast-moving context of war. Finally, students will be asked to think about and develop postwar scenarios.

This course uses a historical lens to consider international security problems — and solutions — in Europe since the end of the Second World War. Students will examine the national, bilateral, and multilateral security institutions that developed on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and the fate of these institutions after the end of the Cold War. (For instance: The Brussels Pact, WEU, NATO, Warsaw Treaty Organization, CSCE/OSCE, etc.) It will include consideration of how European countries adjusted their diplomatic, defence, and other security policies in the wake of the collapse of European empires abroad, and in the shadow of both the United States and the Soviet Union. Students will be encouraged to consider the various political, social, economic, and other sources of thinking about security in Europe from the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The course will serve as a useful foundation for students interested in an MRP related to European diplomacy, defence, or security issues.

The course includes a one-week research trip in Budapest. Costs for air travel up to $1,100 CAD, transportation in Budapest, and hostel accommodation as well as most meals will be covered. Ground transport in Canada is not covered and students are expected to make their own travel arrangements. Students write a 20-page research paper based on secondary research and the field work. In the proposal you are expected to identify a research question and provide a key list of a minimum of five potential stakeholders in Budapest who will be interviewed. Questions will be designed prior to departure. During the week-long stay in Budapest, students will conduct interviews with their selected stakeholders, attend lectures and seminars, and participate in various cultural activities. The interviews/seminars and field work will then be integrated into the final research essay for the course.

Interested students are asked to submit a two-page research proposal for the field work component in Budapest. More details are found on the program's website.

Modern Greece in the Balkans and the European Union. This field course is part of CEES's initiative in Hellenic Studies and is made possible with support from the Hellenic Heritage Foundation and the wider Greek-Canadian Community. As this is a limited enrolment course, with up to 6 places for graduate students, students will need to apply to participate. This course includes a one-week research trip to take place between in early May of each academic year (costs for transportation and accommodation as well as most meals will be covered). Priority will be given to students who will carry on to their exchange or internship placement upon completion of the trip. Only one airfare to the region will be covered.

Interested students are asked to submit a one-page research proposal for the fieldwork component in Greece. In the proposal you are expected to identify a research question and provide a key list of a minimum of 5 potential stakeholders in Greece who will be interviewed. Questions will be designed prior to departure. During the week-long stay in Greece, students will conduct interviews with their selected stakeholders and attend lectures and seminars. The interviews/seminars will then be integrated into the final research essay for the course.

Research and reading course serves as a way to meet individual needs of students who wish to explore topics not covered by courses offered through CEES. Enrolment will have to be approved by the Graduate Coordinator.

This course will provide an overview of qualitative methods aimed at providing students with the tools for writing the Major Research Paper (MRP). The course consists of a few formal classes dealing largely with methods and methodology. The remaining classes will be a mix of one on one consultations and attending talks at the Munk School to better understand approaches to research. Students who plan to include human subjects in their research should attend a special seminar explaining the submission process. Details on these workshops will be available in January.

This is the core graduate course, which is mandatory for all incoming graduate students. The goal of the course is to develop each student’s research proposal and skills to communicate their proposals (oral and written forms). Each student will have a completed written research proposal and two opportunities for oral presentations by the end of the course. Additionally, students learn about general scientific methods (e.g., hypothesis testing), methods for critical analysis and Western versus traditional ways of knowing.

Crystal chemistry of the major rock forming minerals. The course covers the underlying concepts behind the behaviour of minerals as solid-state materials including: Structure and bonding of minerals, chemical substitutions and solid-state transformations, high temperature and pressure behaviour, chemical weathering, and kinetics.

This advanced course focuses on analyzing structures to understand how "strain" and "stress" are expressed in the rocks. Through geometric, kinematic, and mechanical analysis of these structures, we will learn to elucidate the geological processes that have occurred over time. Graduate student will be given the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learn in this course towards their graduate research.

Exploration of the tectonic processes of the Earth from a global and regional perspective. The course examines the nature of these surface tectonics based on geological observations and tries to unravel the geodynamics that give rise to planetary activity.

The use of proxy data (terrestial and aquatic microfossils) to infer past environmental conditions. The nature and extent of Quaternary environmental change is considered in the context of assessing current issues such as acidification, metal pollution, eutrophication, and global climate change. Paleoenvironmental techniques are applied in the laboratory.

Communication is a fundamental part of academic life. This course provides a space for the acquisition of knowledge on communication theory to be applied to real academic situations. Science Communication focuses on developing accessible and inclusive communication strategies from conferences to publishing, as well as in community engagement and outreach. The course allows for the direct application of science communication techniques into practical outputs of graduate life and welcomes collaboration with the wider science communication community.

An in-depth overview of state-of-the-art instruments for characterizing the chemical and isotopic compositions of materials. Under the guidance of an experienced analyst, students will prepare samples, perform measurements, and reduce data on select instruments. By the end of the course, students should be able to develop analytical plans and scrutinize the accuracy of data collected by others.

This course provides a practical and accessible introduction to the Python programming language, tailored specifically for a non-technical audience in the Earth Sciences. The course focuses on building a working knowledge of Python to tackle common tasks in data analysis, visualization, and manipulation within the geoscience domain. Students will develop their programming skills using Jupyter Notebooks, gaining hands-on experience in writing Python scripts and applying essential methods for data manipulation and analysis.

The course culminates in a capstone project, where students independently address a practical geoscience problem — from sourcing data to performing analysis and communicating their findings. Capstone projects vary each year and may be undertaken in collaboration with the student's research group or assigned by the course instructor.

This course provides an in-depth introduction to statistical methods and their applications in geosciences. It focuses on the principles of statistical inference, data analysis, and modeling tailored to the unique challenges and datasets encountered in Earth Sciences. Students will learn to implement statistical tools to solve problems in geology, geophysics, hydrology, and related fields.

A treatment of the fundamental physical processes by which planets form and evolve. The course will be taught using specific case studies from selected themes, which will change on a yearly basis. Possible themes might include: tectonic modeling, structural analysis, Precambrian geophysics and dynamics of the terrestrial planets. The course will be team taught, in which individual instructors will focus on a particular aspect of each theme, providing some lectures for background prior to reading the important literature.

This course will focus on the fundamental processes by which Earth materials are concentrated into economically viable deposits. Emphasis is placed on techniques used both in mineral deposits research and industry-focused exploration. This is aimed at developing practical skills through a series of hands-on workshops, lectures, guest lectures from industry experts, and assignments using real-world data.

This course will focus on the geological evidence and causes for change in the Earth System (coupled lithosphere-hydrosphere-biosphere-atmosphere) over the last 4.5 billion years. It will be taught using specific case studies from selected time intervals, which will change on a yearly basis. Possible topics will include global biogeochemical cycling of C,S,O; deep biosphere geobiology and the origin and evolution of life; proxy indicators for global change; evolution of the atmosphere; the stratigraphic record of sea level change and plate reconstruction. The course will be team taught, in which individual instructors will focus on a particular topic, providing some lectures for background prior to reading the important literature.

This course will focus on the application of chemical principles to research in the Earth Sciences. The emphasis will be on recent studies across a range of diverse theme areas, selected according to the research interests of enrolled students. Possible themes might include: global geochemical cycles, microbial geochemistry, origin, and distribution of the elements and geochemical kinetics. The course will be taught in a roundtable format with the instructor providing some background lectures; students will take turns presenting their chosen research papers and leading the discussion.

Glacial sediments left by successive continental ice sheets cover a large area of Canada and provide a record of past climate change across the Northern Hemisphere. They also allow modelling of ice flow processes and provide insights into the flow of modern ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, especially in regard to 'ice streams' which are regional-scale corridors inset within the ice sheet of fast flowing ice. Mapping of paleo-ice streams in Canada is actively underway aided by new high-resolution topographic imagery (e.g., LiDAR) and is a key part of mineral exploration projects across the Canadian Shield. This course will explore how ice sheets form and decay and their sedimentary records; assessment will be by a brief research project and writeup.

The course is focused on the principles and applications of stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry to understanding geological and planetary processes. The course will be taught using specific case studies from selected themes, which will change on a yearly basis. Possible themes might include: early solar system chronology, isotopic contraints on Earth differentiation, tracing pollutants in the subsurface, nature of the early Earth, ocean and atmospheric circulation, applications to tectonics. The course will be team taught, in which individual instructors will focus on a particular aspect of each theme, providing some lectures for background prior to reading the important literature.

This course provides both theoretical and practical instruction on a range of instrumental methods used in determining the composition, structure and chemical state of geological materials, including fluids, gases, glasses, rocks and minerals. The course includes laboratory assignments providing practical application of these techniques.

An individual directed studies course about a selected topic in Earth Sciences.

An individual directed studies course about a selected topic in Earth Sciences.

The mark for this course is based on the written report produced in ESS3603Y Research Project and the student's performance in an oral defence of that work. The examining committee for the oral defense will consist of the supervisor and two members of the graduate faculty selected by the supervisor. The student must provide members of the examining committee a copy of the report at least one week in advance. The oral defense will consist of a 20-minute presentation of the work, followed by questioning by members of the examining committee. Other students may attend the presentation and question period with the permission of the candidate and examining committee. The examination concludes when the committee finishes with questions. Each committee member will evaluate the student based on the quality of the written report, and the student's explanation of it, the depth and breadth of knowledge relevant to the project demonstrated during the oral examination and overall originality and creativity. The mark for this course will be the average mark assigned by the three examiners. For candidates who start their MSc studies in September, the final grade for this course must be submitted to the Graduate Affairs Officer no later than the end of the third week of the following August.