First-Year Courses

SMC ONE and FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR COURSES

Exciting interdisciplinary courses especially for Arts and Sciences students entering their first year!

We offer small (‘seminar’) courses that help you explore different interests and nurture your curiosity.

Taught by leading professors, these courses create a close-knit, exciting environment that helps you get to know and work with other students, world-class faculty, and with a variety of fantastic resources.

Some of our SMC One courses also provide an opportunity to study abroad with your class!

What is the difference between an SMC One course and a First-Year Foundation (FYF) course?

Both ensure an unforgettable small classroom experience in your first year of U of T.

• SMC One courses are rooted in the scholarly identity of St. Mike’s and often take inspiration from the collections, programs, and departments on campus. In some years, two of the SMC One courses also offer a learn abroad opportunity.
• FYF courses are exciting, interdisciplinary courses that can encourage you to explore a variety of different interests – all in one class!

All of these courses, restricted to first-year students, give you an invaluable preparation for further study at U of T, a friendly academic environment in which to meet new people and test new ideas, and an introduction to experiences you will remember for life.

For up-to-date course day and time information, please visit the Timetable Builder.

NEW! SMC135H1: The Donovan Seminar: Visual Art and Meaning

What is the relationship between visual art and the search for meaning? How do we learn to stop and see and interpret? Focusing on the renowned art collections on the grounds and campus of St Mike’s and U of T, this course studies ways in which artists have engaged with their world, with history, and with spiritual and philosophical questions. You also explore the diverse ways in which viewers bring their own engagement with these questions into interpretations of painting, sculpture, and photography.

SMC165H1: The Boyle Seminar in Scripts and Stories

This seminar introduces students to university-level studies through an interdisciplinary exploration of Celtic influences in the medieval world, with a particular focus on early books and historical artefacts as physical objects and bearers of meaning. Students will learn how to read and analyse these books and artefacts. Subjects discussed will include intercultural encounter and dialogue, research methods with historical sources, and the relationship between the written word and lived experience, then and now. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

SMC155H1: The McLuhan Seminar in Creativity and Technology

This seminar is inspired by the influential thinking of the renowned philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who taught at St. Mike’s from 1946 until his death in 1980. Through exciting interactive classes, explore the close relationship between creativity and technology – and how the humanities relate to other fields of thought in addressing the effects of technological innovation.

SMC188H/189H1: The Gilson Seminar in Faith and Ideas/Faith in Rome

This course consists of two half courses that take place over the full year to explore questions related to Christianity and the arts, science, philosophy, and poliitics. The course includes an eleven-day international learning experience in May 2026, featuring daily lectures and site-specific talks and tours in Rome and Assisi.

All students admitted to the Gilson Seminar in Faith and Rome are responsible for their own airfare and incidentals. The cost of room, board and programming comes out of your student account through an ancillary fee paid when you register for this course. The fee amount, subject to confirmation, will not be more than $3,000. Some financial assistance awards are available.

Please note that trip dates are subject to change. St. Michael’s College follows the guidance of government health authorities and the Faculty of Arts and Science when arranging student travel. Questions about the course can be directed to usmc.principalsoffice@utoronto.ca.

NEW! SMC192H Sherlock Holmes: Mass Media and Fan Culture from the Victorians to the Present Day

Explore the creation, dissemination, and reception of the Sherlock Holmes stories in the Victorian era! Study the relationship between the stories and print culture (particularly newspapers and illustrated magazines), criminology, and dominant preoccupations of the age. See how these stories created one of the first types of mass fan culture across various media, art forms, and cultures around the world. Classes will examine such phenomena as Victorian letter-writing campaigns; popular rewritings and visual representations in various forms — and, later, cartoons, film and television adaptations, and anime.

SMC197H1: The Sistine Chapel: History, Image, Usage

What is human intelligence? How close are we to replicating it? Is Silicon Valley the seat of a new techno-religion? What insight (or inspiration) can we get from works of science fiction about the future of human-AI interaction? Through discussion, written assignments, and workshops, this seminar presents you with the opportunity to integrate your computer science interests with philosophy, history, and literature.

OTHER FIRST-YEAR COURSES

The following have been designed as first-year introductory courses and are open to students in all years of study at U of T. They can also count towards program requirements.

NEW! MST110H: Robin Hood: Legend and Legacy

Examine the legend of Robin Hood as originally depicted in medieval folklore and ballads – and as transmitted and developed in scholarship, rituals, and various literary and artistic forms from the fifteenth century to the present day. Delving into dramas, historical novels, paintings, children’s storybooks, scholarly histories, television scripts written by blacklisted Communists, and contemporary reworkings, this course explores such themes as legend-making and definitions of subversion, rebellion, and communal identity across centuries, cultures, and art forms.

CLT110H1: Celtic Mythology and Saga

This course introduces students to the adventures of the Celtic gods and goddesses as depicted in the literature of medieval Ireland and Wales. The course assumes no prior familiarity with Celtic literature and history, and all texts will be read in English translation.

CHC130H1: Playing with Fire: Alchemy, Astrology, and Magic

This course offers an historical introduction to alchemy, astrology, and magic, with a focus on the development, defense, condemnation, and progressive marginalization of these controversial pursuits in and around the Christian world(s). Learn about the search for the philosopher’s stone, the casting of horoscopes, the design of wondrous machines… and the risks associated with meddling with spirits! Lectures will examine these learned traditions on their own terms, while inviting discussions about their enduring popularity, their connections with the rise of modern science, and their reception in popular culture.

BMS110Y1: The Printed Book

Learn about the revived art of letterpress printing and study its social and political importance throughout history. Throughout this full-year seminar, you will also have the opportunity to produce your own printed materials using 19th and 20th century printing presses in the Kelly Library! Note: enrolment in this course is limited due to space.

CLT141Y1: Introduction to the Irish Language

This course in Modern Irish Language is designed for learners with no prior knowledge of the language and will provide practice in the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Irish is a modern European language and still spoken actively by many people both within and outside the borders of the country!

BMS100H1: Introduction to Book and Media Studies

Learn about the academic study of media in all its forms, including books and print media as well as modern electronic and digital media. This course provides you with an overview of key theories of media, culture, and society and relates them to contemporary issues, enabling you to apply different critical approaches to your everyday experiences with media.