New Programs
What's new in 2023
New Arts programs
Major in Law and Ethics: Launching in Fall 2023
Available as a major starting in September 2023, this new program offers the opportunity for diverse disciplinary perspectives on the law and on ethics. It will give students the chance to think critically about the law and legal institutions, as well as a wide range of moral and legal issues. Studying law and ethics together makes it possible to raise fundamental questions about the ethics of various social practices, and about how laws can function to make a society more (or sometimes less) just.
Ethics, as practised in Philosophy, gives students the tools to assess the values expressed in the law and legal institutions. Students can also fulfil program requirements by taking courses in Ancient Studies, Anthropology, Criminology, English, History, Political Science, Religion, Social Justice and Community Studies, and Sociology.
Minor in Climate Change Studies: Available in Fall 2023
Climate change is one of the defining environmental and social problems of our lifetime. As a student pursuing a Minor in Climate Change Studies, you will engage in an interdisciplinary program of study that will prepare you for an understanding of climate change from diverse perspectives, examining scientific, political, psychological, economic and ethical dimensions of the problem and its solutions.
The new minor is housed within the Bachelor of Environmental Studies program, but it’s open to students in all programs across Saint Mary’s. Courses are drawn from disciplines such as Geography and Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, Global Development Studies, and Social Justice and Community Studies.
Special Topics courses: Summer 2023
Note: Courses are in person on campus, unless otherwise noted. When registering, look for the course and CRN numbers, as the special topics course titles are not always available in Banner.
GDST 4845/6645 Gender and Development
July 5 – Aug. 22, 2023 | Online (asynchronous) web course
Dr. Serperi Sevgur
This upper year seminar course explores how gender plays out in various facets of development. Drawing on theory and history, students explore core debates around the gendered nature of development, drawing on analyses of case studies, development policies and institutional practices. The course will examine gendered norms and their contestation, with a focus on unpacking the challenges and possibilities for achieving gender justice throughout the world.
HIST 3826 Heritage Field Placement (CRN 40873)
July and August, 2023 | 3 credit hours
New summer course! Earn course credits in July and August, working at museums and heritage sites. For more information and to register, contact Dr. Kirrily Freeman.
POLI 4826.1 Canadian Healthcare: Law, Policy and Politics
July 5 to Aug. 22, 2023
MW 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in LA 283
Instructor: Megan Aiken
Canada’s healthcare system is regularly touted as a point of national pride and pillar of Canadian national identity. In this 3 credit hour course, students will come to understand the complexities of healthcare in Canada – beginning with the idea that Canada has no single healthcare system. Students will learn about the laws, policies and politics that led to health insurance (Medicare), how it developed through federal and provincial relations, and what contemporary crises exist within this complex regime. Topics include fiscal restraint and the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing fight for reproductive justice, equitable access to healthcare, and overcoming racial discrimination in the healthcare system. For information, contact politics@smu.ca.
Special Topics courses: Fall 2023
PHIL 4826: Madness and Sanity
Special Topics in Philosophy
W 10 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Dr. Shelagh Crooks
This course examines the idea of madness in relation to its polar concept – sanity. Particular attention will be given to questions such as “Is madness a breakdown of rationality?” and “Is sanity synonymous with being rational?” Other questions to be considered: How has western society treated the mad, historically speaking? What roles do psychological, cultural or social factors play in our understanding of madness and sanity? Does science – in particular, the science of psychiatry – understand madness, and is it justified in seeking to treat it as an illness or disease? What makes “madness” or mental disorders, more generally, undesirable? What ethical problems are associated with madness? Do we treat the “mad” man / woman (so called) with dignity and respect? How should we treat such individuals?
For the most current course information, please refer to the Academic Calendar and Banner.
