Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Policy

at St. Thomas University Canada

Native Studies is designed to provide both First Nations and non-First Nations students with the opportunity to explore the cultural, historical, and contemporary issues of First Nations people of North America, with emphasis on Native cultures of the Canadian Atlantic region and the eastern United States.

The Native Studies program offers a selection of interesting courses. As an interdisciplinary major, it also draws on courses that are offered by various other disciplines. Upper-level courses include Native American Philosophy, the Role of Native Women, Native People and the Colonial Experience, and Native History of the Maine/Maritime region.

Language courses are another key component of the Native Studies Program. Courses in Maliseet and Mi’kmaq include introductory, intermediate and full-immersion levels.

In 1984 St. Thomas University became the first university in Canada to establish an academic Chair in Native Studies.

You might be interested in studying native studies if...

• You want to understand why bureaucracy, education, and the world economy operates the way it does and how it affects indigenous peoples

Critical and transferable skills
You will obtain invaluable insight into the relationship of First Nations individuals and communities and the immigrant societies across Canada. You will have the opportunity to study Maliseet/Passamaquoddy, as well as Mi'kmaq. You will develop the ability to think critically and responsibly about issues that relate to First Nations communities and the land.

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.

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.

In Great Books students encounter different subjects, genres, and modes of inquiry. Each course is organized around a theme, like Freedom or Human Nature & Technology. Students read novels alongside philosophical treatises; they study law, politics, poems, works of history and autobiographies all in the same course. In addition, every course is team-taught by two professors to promote conversation and a diversity of views. Professors choose texts that will challenge and provoke you — books that might inspire or trouble you. Through these texts our students come to understand a good deal about themselves and the world they inhabit.

Students who are interested in Great Books often take the first-year Aquinas: Great Books Program, as it operates on similar principles. Our classes are team-taught by at least two different professors and sufficiently small (36 students maximum) to allow for discussion.

You might be interested in studying great books if...

• You are interested in understanding yourself and your place in the world
• You love to read and think about life's big questions
• You're interested in the history of ideas

Critical and transferable skills
Great Books classes require a great deal of reading, writing, and critical thinking. With two professors dedicated to each class, you receive a lot of one-on-one attention to help sharpen your reading and writing skills. Our classes are discussion based, not lectures. We want you to think about the questions posed by the texts and determine for yourself what an appropriate answer might be. Your capacities to think through arguments and to speak cogently and persuasively are developed by means of the discussion-based format.

The Human Rights Program at St. Thomas is one of the few such programs in all of Canada, and the only one in Atlantic Canada, that allows undergraduate students to obtain a Major in the academic study of Human Rights. In this program, you study Human Rights in a national and international context and do individualized research projects on specific topics in your upper years of study.

The program provides knowledge of the philosophy, legal instruments, and political institutions that are the foundation for an education in Human Rights.

You might be interested in studying human rights if...

• You want to go to law school, pursue a career in social work or law enforcement
• You are interested in being an activist in your community pursuing social justice at the grass roots level

Critical and transferable skills
As a student of Human Rights, you will develop advanced skills in critical analysis. You will be able to identify issues and have the capacity to work toward meaningful, reasonable solutions. Human Rights students are driven by a passion to understand and fight for necessary changes that make significant differences to individuals and whole societies.

They are able to see how decisions, events, and other actions affect people. They acquire the ability to navigate through legal and political realities to create a better world.

The 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 specialization in any one language.
 

The Communications and Public Policy Major explores the connection between communicating with citizens and creating, implementing, and evaluating public policy. Students in the program will explore the influence of communications in the process of a participatory democracy, preparing them to work as communications professionals in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Discovering communications and public policy
The Communications and Public Policy (COPP) program is the home to the Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy. The program offers a unique set of courses that focus on both public and private-sector communications with an emphasis on how this impacts public policy. 

The program encourages its graduates to be able to work in both English and French and provides opportunities for bilingual students and French immersion students to continue their studies in both languages. Upper-year courses offer students the opportunity to complete course work (and internships) in English and French.

You might be interested in communications and public policy if...

• You are interested in how governments and organizations work
• You are interested in learning how organizations communicate effectively
• You are interested in how effective communication relates to other fields of study that interest you

Critical and transferable skills
Critical and transferable skills gained from studying Communications and Public Policy include:

• writing
• critical thinking
• written and verbal communications
• multimedia and social media skills
• public speaking and professional presentations
• professional career preparation skills

The Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy hosts symposiums and conducts forums, as well as brings distinguished speakers to campus for the benefit of students. Past guests have included a former prime minister of Canada and a senator and expert on mental health.

Women's Studies and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary field that concentrates on new scholarship and looks at the different perspectives of gender and sexuality in all aspects of life.

Discovering women's studies and gender studies
Students explore the idea that identity is constructed through interplay of individuals and social groups and institutions— the family, peers, cultural and religious groups, the media, etc. Courses enable students to learn about the dynamic nature of gender roles and norms, sexism, and power relations.

A range of gender equity issues are now recognized as public policy issues, including gender-based violence, bullying, and workplace equity. Whether the focus is social justice, gender studies, or world cultures, the core issues include the social construction of identity, the nature and impact of power relations and diversity, and the role of personal engagement and social action.

You might be interested in studying women's studies and gender studies if...

• You want to explore the struggle for gender equality in politics, education, the family, the labour force, and the media
• You want to use knowledge to dismantle the inequalities present in society

Critical and transferable skills
Our students benefit from the analytical and communication skills developed in the women’s rights and men’s movements for social change. Analytical and communication skills apply to work environments where social policy is addressed and social science or humanities research skills are required, such as in social work, law, government research, e.g., Statistics Canada, and especially in educational counselling, and teaching. With the need for greater awareness around sexual harassment/abuse in workplaces and schools, including cyber-intimidation, the critical self-examination this field engenders is a central skill that managers and administrators are required to develop.

Science and Technology Studies examines the complex relations among science, technology, and society in the past and the present.

Science and Technology Studies (STS) looks at how science and technology are interwoven into societies and people’s daily lives. STS is an incredibly current field of study relevant to the 21st century and at St. Thomas, it draws upon the disciplinary traditions of History, Sociology, Philosophy, Communications, and cultural studies. While STS is a new field and is growing fast in popularity, there are only two universities in Canada offering STS and St. Thomas is the one where students will get a hands-on liberal arts approach.

The expertise of faculty members encompasses almost every region of the world, from Asia to Latin America, through Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. Many courses transcend national boundaries, and explore history with a thematic approach.

Our program encourages students to challenge common assumptions about the past, to re-examine their worldview, and to ask fundamental questions about themselves, their society, and the world. The faculty work collaboratively to offer an innovative World History curriculum. The spirit of inquiry and cooperation that informs that project helps make studying history at St. Thomas an exciting experience in a friendly atmosphere.

You might be interested in studying history if you ...

• You are curious about why things are the way they are today
• You want to gain a deeper understanding of issues you read or hear about in the news
• You like to read and analyze things, and want to become more articulate orally and in writing

Critical and transferable skills
Studying History equips you with effective oral and written communication skills, as well as skills in critical analysis, research, interdisciplinary thinking, and curiosity and inquisitiveness. The ability to successfully and precisely communicate ideas remains an invaluable asset to any organization or business, while the capacity to understand past practices and policies serves graduates well in their careers. History graduates are able to trace the roots of an issue, think about a problem in a multitude of ways, and analyze it using multiple tools.