Bachelor of Arts in Great Books

at St. Thomas University Canada

The Law, Politics, and Society (LAPS) Program is a systematic but flexible interdisciplinary exploration of the relationship between law, political life, and Canadian society. It examines the nature of law and its influence on Canadians and their polity and explores how law is made and changed, and what forces shape it.

Students learn about the institutional character of law making and enforcement and also the social factors that shape and are shaped by law.

Given the growing centrality of law in Canadian society, attention is increasingly being paid to the nature and composition of the bar and bench, and the politics of judicial appointment increasingly make the front page.

Law, Politics, and Society is an interdisciplinary program, but is also a fine complement to studies in Human Rights, Political Science, Criminology, or Sociology.

You might be interested in studying law, politics, and society if...

• You want to learn about the way law works in advanced democracies
• You want to explore the influence of law on Canadian society
• You want to learn more about the types of law in Canada, the judicial system, or the legal profession

Critical and transferable skills
It is important not simply to know that Canada is a law-based polity; it is important also to know who makes and interprets that law and to know how the law affects citizens. In this program, you will learn about how law is made and changed, how it interacts with social forces like ethnicity, gender, and economic inequality, and how social and political change leaves its marks on laws and legal processes.

You will learn about the philosophical and institutional foundation of law and courts and become familiar with the factors that influence judicial outcomes—why judges decide cases the way they do. You will also develop a familiarity with how personal conditions and characteristics may bring someone into contact with the law.

International Relations challenges students to broaden their perspectives and their understanding of the forces shaping global politics. Students who major in International Relations will complete course work in specific international themed courses while focusing on one or two particular areas of the world.

Students participate in a for-credit Model United Nations course that has taken many to international competitions such as the Harvard and New York City events. International Relations students are also encouraged to study Economics as well as a foreign language to develop an appropriate base of knowledge and skill that relate directly to different areas of the world.

You might be interested in studying international relations if...

• You are interested in the politics and cultures of other countries in the world 
• You want to understand other people and other perspectives

Critical and transferable skills
The skills a student learns by studying International Relations include the ability to understand and summarize complex information and gathering evidence to make good, critical arguments. Graduates from the program must learn to write clearly and directly. They are also required to gain proficiency in a foreign language and to gain a basic understanding of economics, which are both invaluable skills in today’s world. Studying International Relations also provides students with a wider perspective on and understanding of the complex global environment.

In Economics, you will study how the economy works, where it came from, the challenges it creates for social equality, and how individuals engage to modify and change economic relations.

Discovering economics
The Department of Economics at St. Thomas brings the strengths of a critical liberal arts education to the study of the economy. We study different ways regions, large and small, manage their resources—whether those resources be financial, natural, goods, or services. The study of Economics takes a critical look at how regions trade, price, consume, and distribute. It is the job of an economist to be an expert in understanding the various economies in which she or he works and to prepare best practice advice for the benefit of his or her region. Our students investigate not only how the economy works, but where it came from, the challenges it creates for social equality and social justice, and how people engage to modify and change existing economic relations.

You might be interested in studying economics if...

• You are interested in the economy
• You want to become an informed citizen

Critical and transferable skills
As a student of Economics, you will learn to navigate through the ebb and flow nature of the economy in which you live and work. You will develop intelligence in making informed decisions and providing meaningful advice related to wealth and resources in your area. You will also sharpen your analytical skills and appreciate the value and limitations of evidence-based arguments and research. At the same time, you will gain advanced communication skills, especially in your capacity to read and analyze academic and technical writing.

Courses in Romance Languages are designed for those students who come to St. Thomas University and wish to have a general knowledge of two or more Romance Languages and Literature.

Such students are encouraged to think of their language learning experience in terms of a commitment to Romance Languages (French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish) rather than in terms of a specialisation in any one language.

Students wishing to complete a Minor Programme in Italian must complete at least 18 credit hours in Italian selected from the first, second or third year offerings and maintain an overall average of B in those 18 credit hours.

Within the Bachelor of Arts, St. Thomas offers a unique English as a Second Language (ESL) program for students whose level of English proficiency is not high enough to pursue regular studies at an English-language university.

Students are provided the opportunity to begin university studies for credit while they continue to improve their language skills in a planned, individualized program of study.

Courses offered in the Japanese language focus on learning fundamental language structure and practicing communication skills. In the courses, reading and writing Hiragana and Katakana are essential, and some Kanji are introduced and practiced. Japan and Japanese culture are introduced and discussed.

Advanced courses develop the communicative skills necessary for everyday situations - focusing on conversation and writing systems, expanding vocabulary and sentence structures and teaching students to express themselves on a wide range of topics from daily life.

As students complete the beginner’s level of Japanese, they are prepared for the Level IV Japanese Proficiency Test offered by the Government of Japan.

Founded by Irish Diocesan priests in the early part of the 20th century, in Chatham, New Brunswick, St. Thomas University has had a long standing spiritual, intellectual and emotional connection with a vital, unique and living Irish cultural tradition. Settled by pre- Famine Irish, the province of New Brunswick boasts one of the oldest indigenous Irish populations in North America. Furthermore, only the province of Quebec accepted more Irish Famine refugees during the Great Hunger of the 1840’s, when over 30 000 immigrants passed through the ports of Saint John, Saint Andrews and the Miramichi.

Today, St. Thomas University both acknowledges and honours the sacrifice and contribution of these early Irish migrants through many of its university programmes; not least among these are: Catholic Studies, Human Rights, Religious Studies, Social Work, Education, English, Criminology, History, Philosophy and Political Science. Most of these programmes highlight the social justice concerns of the Catholic Church and the legacy of Irish priests, nuns and laypeople who historically made up the faculty, administration, student body, and alumni of St. Thomas. The Irish Studies Programme seeks to complement the concerns of these programmes while, at the same time, it acknowledges the voices, past and present, of the Irish who first sought to bring this education to their own displaced people as well as to the citizens of the wider world.
The Irish Studies Programme is an interdisciplinary liberal arts programme. It is designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore the heritage, culture, history, religion, politics, literature, fine art, and film of both the people of Ireland, and the communities of its Diaspora.

Anthropology is unique in being a hands-on field of study. Anthropology can be done wherever people are, and wherever people were. As a student of Anthropology at St. Thomas, you can expect to get out there in the real world, interacting with people in a variety of social contexts, excavating artifacts, and analyzing bones in our anthropology laboratory.

Discovering Anthropology
Cultural anthropologists, social anthropologists, and linguists typically spend years living with particular groups of people, participating in their everyday lives. This process of long-term, small-scale, intensive and detailed study allows them to understand some of the most fundamental aspects of human existence which only reveal themselves in this way. Archaeologists also conduct long-term fieldwork examining human material culture, excavating, documenting, and analyzing artifacts as a means of answering the same questions about human existence. Physical anthropologists study human skeletal remains not only to understand our physical past and development, but also in modern-day criminal forensic investigations.

You might be interested in Studying Anthropology if...

• You’re a global thinker that’s interested in language, society, geography, and music 
• You’re interested in people and curious about different cultures 
• You want to understand yourself and your culture better

Critical and Transferable Skills
Living and working in today’s world increasingly means interacting with people from many different cultural backgrounds. The skills developed through completing a degree in Anthropology enables graduates to become critical thinkers and effective communicators who are able to generate relevant information and make informed decisions.

According to the American Anthropological Association, anthropological training concentrates on three transferable skill areas: “understanding human diversity, building research skills for collecting and making sense of information, and communicating effectively.”

St. Thomas values student-centred learning and has been at the forefront in the development of interdisciplinary majors and electives that allow students to pursue a topic or theme of particular interest.

The Interdisciplinary major/honours option allows students to tailor a programme to their interests and goals. These programmes focus attention on emerging issues and explore such common themes as Canadian Studies, American Studies, International Relations, Social Justice. They draw upon courses offered by a number of different university departments.

Explore Spanish culture and study literature and media to develop skills in oral communication, grammar, and composition.

Discovering Spanish and Latin American studies
Spanish is one of the world's most common languages. It is the first language of Spain, Mexico, most of South America and a large part of the population of the United States and the Caribbean. It is becoming an increasingly important language in global trade and commerce.

The Romance Language Department offers both majors and honours programs in Spanish, as well as DELE in Spanish. The department is comprised of dynamic and devoted faculty responsible for delivering an ambitious program. Due to its association with Hispanic worlds, all having immeasurable intellectual and artistic impacts on the development of Western culture and humanism, the Romance Languages Department has a pivotal role to play in a liberal arts curriculum.

An introductory course for beginners leads to advanced courses in grammar, conversation and composition, translation, and Spanish and Latin American literature.

You might be interested in studying Spanish and Latin American studies if...

• You want to increase your language proficiency or become bilingual
• You want to learn about another culture
• You want to become a global citizen