Bachelor of Arts, Major in Anthropology

at EduCo - Western University Canada

The study of philosophy helps students improve analytical and critical reading, writing and reasoning skills through an examination of the works of historical and contemporary philosophers. The ultimate goal of this study is a better understanding of issues fundamental to ourselves and to our world, including the structure of reality, the nature of knowledge, truth, rationality, value and moral obligation, and the existence of God. While the study of these problems is interesting in its own right, it also enhances the prospects of students wishing to pursue further studies in journalism, public policy, law, business, education or medicine, among other disciplines. Philosophy at Western is also home to the internationally renowned Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Centre for Digital Philosophy.

The BA (Major in Popular Music Studies) is a module unique to Western that engages students with the interdisciplinary nature of the study of popular music.

The program incorporates three dimensions:

• Practical subjects, including songwriting and analysis of popular songs and recordings
• recording practice
• Critical study of musical styles, recordings, artists, and genres in their broader historical and cultural contexts.

In addition to courses in popular music and culture, the program includes post-1945 popular music, musical theatre, jazz, and more advanced courses indigenous musics and musics of the world, film studies, literature, and sociology. Introductory and advanced courses in songwriting and desktop music production allow students to compose, produce, and record their own music.

Personalized medicine informed by genome analysis. Designer organisms that produce valuable medications or clean up environmental toxins. Rational drug discovery to correct specific cellular malfunctions. Crucial to all such advances in biotechnology is an understanding of how life works at the molecular level. Join us in Biochemistry at Western as we explore the intricate interplay among the molecules that sustain life.

An interdisciplinary and dynamic field, Women’s Studies has undergone impressive expansion in recent decades. In the Department of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research at Western, students study gender, and sexuality in terms of cultural norms and their implications from a variety of feminist perspectives. We explore how gender intersects with other axes of identity such as class, race, ethnicity, socio-economic standing, (dis)ability, age, and more. Encouraging the development of critical thinking skills, our discipline asks students to consider how knowledge gets produced and to what effect. We question how gendered understandings shape and shift our world in relation to local experience, historical realities, and the global present.

Are you moved by crisis in Darfur? Do social movements such as the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street interest you? Do you want to work for a public service or a non-profit organisation? Then the Media and the Public Interest (MPI) program might be for you. The MPI program is the only one of its kind in Canada and connects issues of communication and media to social justice issues such as democracy, equity, class, race, and gender. Students in MPI examine social movements and how media can be used to further these causes. Some example courses in the MPI program include Alternative Media, Social Movements and Media, and Activism in Mainstream Media. A primary goal of the program is to connect media theory learned in the classroom to real world experiences. Students are encouraged to put what they learn to use. Many of the courses feature a service learning component or practicum that gives students the opportunity to volunteer in a community organisation.

Biology can be studied at the level of molecules, cells, organisms and populations. Selecting a Biology module affords you the opportunity to study at all of these different scales or to focus in upper year courses on only one or two. Another reason the Biology modules are a popular choice is it allows you to study a wide range of organisms from microbes to humans. Students interested in the area of ecology will find that the Biology modules will allow them to take a wide range of engaging courses covering aspects of community, population, molecular and chemical ecology. Similarly, students interested in evolutionary biology can be engaged by courses on more quantitative aspects of evolution to evolutionary genetics. Both plant and animal physiology courses are also popular choices of students in these modules built on a strong cohort of research faculty in these areas.

The first year for all Bachelor of Music students includes courses in Music Theory, Music History, Music Skills (Sight-singing, Ear-training, and Keyboard Harmony), a half-course in music composition, teaching & learning, or popular music & culture, a half-course music or non-music elective and a half-course elective from outside the Don Wright Faculty of Music. Bachelor of Music students also receive weekly hour-long lessons plus regular masterclasses and ensemble experience.

In the Bachelor of Music (Honours) programs, a specific area of study is normally selected towards the end of the first year, when the student has had the opportunity to assess particular strengths and interests. It is also possible to continue in a general Bachelor of Music program without selecting a specific concentration.

The dynamic field of Health Promotion has been growing over the last decade and is now a critical emphasis within the public and private sectors. Health Promotion, which can be described as 'making the healthier choice the easier choice', is a multi-dimensional field of study that helps students acquire health-related knowledge in both the social sciences and life sciences. Students interested in careers in health program development, community health, and public health education should explore the Honors Specialization Health Promotion.

Experience the Middle Ages in all its glory through an exciting, Faculty-wide program led by over twenty of Western’s world-renowned medieval experts. Beginning with the foundation course, Medieval Studies 1020, you will then create your own roadmap through this fascinating period in history, resulting in a Minor or Major in Medieval Studies. With opportunities to study Latin at Poitiers or experience an archaeological dig in Europe or the Middle East, medieval studies will truly come to life!

Medical Cell Biology is the study of the cell, the basic building block of life. In Medical Cell Biology, you will learn how cells work together to form tissues, organs and the human body. You will also learn what happens when cells malfunction leading to diseases such as cancer.