Bachelor of Arts in Great Books

at St. Thomas University Canada

Gerontology is the study of the changes that take place in the process of aging, how society defines aging, and how individuals understand their own later years.

At one time, talks of aging prompted images of failing health, isolation, and lack of purpose. Today, people are living longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Studying Gerontology at St. Thomas, you will explore the impact of the way society defines aging and how individuals actually experience and understand their own later years.

St. Thomas is also home to The Third Age Centre, an autonomous, community-based, non-profit organization to empower older adults to maintain healthy, independent, active lifestyles. The centre conducts research and public education on issues of particular concern to older adults. We are also affiliated with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Narrative. Students are often invited to be involved in projects undertaken by these centres.

You might be interested in studying gerontology if...

• You want to understand the process of aging from sociological, psychological, physical, and spiritual perspectives
• You want to learn more about the issues that concern older people

Critical and transferable skills
The study of Gerontology will give you academic skills, as well as self-care and self-exploration strategies. You will learn how to conduct interviews with older adults. You will learn how to design recreation and educational programs for older adults. You will learn critical thinking as you explore controversial and ethical issues in long-term care, end of life, work life, as well as images in the media and popular culture.

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 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.

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.

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.

Our School of Education takes a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching and learning, while emphasizing inclusionary teaching approaches. We offer concentrations in elementary (K-5), secondary (6-12), or French second-language teaching through cooperative learning and teamwork, along with practical teaching techniques.

Our 11-month program includes two field placements in different schools and at different grade levels offer opportunities to put theory into practice and will prepare you for a rewarding career in education. 

Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. It is a discipline that examines how we feel, perceive, think, learn, and remember; what motivates us, and how we act in groups and societies. The Psychology Department at St. Thomas covers all of the traditional areas of Psychology, and alternative areas as well, giving students a thorough foundation in our dynamic and broad discipline.

Each year, some of our students present their original research at the Science Atlantic Conference (which is held at a different university in Atlantic Canada annually).

You might be interested in studying psychology if...

• You have an interest in the study of human functioning
• You want to explore how we communicate, analyze and solve problems, and interact in the world

Critical and transferable skills
Studying Psychology provides students with excellent skills in analytical thinking, research processes, and problem solving. In addition, studying Psychology enhances skills regarding interactions and relations with people with different backgrounds and experiences. Psychology students develop the abilities to work well as part of a team and as independent thinkers. The study of Psychology heightens our understanding of ourselves as well as the social world around us.

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.
 

Sociologists study how human societies work. We ask how your social background, your social class, gender ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, and nationality affect your experiences and opportunities in life. We examine how social institutions such as the family, the education system, religion, or the legal system operate. We study specific aspects of society such as health, deviance, or rural life. We examine a wide range of topics, from something as intimate as how we make music together to phenomena a transnational migration or worldwide social protests.

You might be interested in studying sociology if...

• You want to use knowledge to address social inequality and make change
• You want to understand how social forces shape perceptions of ourselves and our interactions with others

Critical and transferable skills
By studying Sociology, you learn the shared humanities and social science skills of writing clear and effective papers and reports, analyzing issues carefully using reason and facts, and reading and analyzing written texts. Sociology specifically teaches us how to analyze any number of contemporary social issues such as unemployment, crime, sexual harassment, gender in popular culture, inequality between the 1% and the 99%, and so on. You learn specific research techniques such as observation and participant, survey research, the analysis of historical documents and evidence, the use of official statistics, and the analysis of how language and images in the media and popular culture depict such important topics as how women are portrayed, how men are portrayed, or how ethnic minorities are portrayed.

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.