Courses

The Canadian Studies program has a diverse range of classes that reach across many different disciplines, including history, economics, political science, sociology and even music. Just one of many programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Canadian Studies provides a variety of perspectives, research and teaching that will enrich your understanding of what Canada really is.

Core CANA courses include:

CANA 1102 – Halifax and the World: Part 1

This course offers an introduction to both International Development Studies and Canadian Studies by exploring the connections between important global issues and your daily life as a student in Halifax. As you walk across the Dalhousie campus and go about daily life in Halifax, your actions connect you to people around the globe and to the history of the city and world as well as to the many works of literature, art and music that depict these connections. Here are just a few examples of connections that we will explore in Halifax and the World: Part I (INTD / CANA 1102.03 – Fall semester):

▪ Walking across the Dalhousie campus you are traversing what remains unceded Mi'kmaq territory raising hard questions about relations between Settler and First Nations Peoples.

▪ While walking downtown on a Friday night you might tread in the footsteps of the central characters in Hugh MacLennan's novel Barometer Rising and other major works of Canadian fiction.

▪ As you walk through the city you'll see monuments and statues that commemorate the city's early colonial leaders – which raise questions about how we chose to remember history of the city and its connections to the world.

The course will critically examine the connections between daily life in Halifax and broader issues of colonialism, race and class relations, historical memory, ethics and justice through a combination of lectures, guest speakers, discussion groups, field trips, experiential learning in the city of Halifax. Assignments include written reflections on specific sites in Halifax which students are expected to visit and explore, a public engagement project, and a series of quizzes (there is no final exam).

FORMAT: Lectures, discussion groups, experiential learning.
EXCLUSIONS: INTD 1100, INTD 1101
CROSS-LISTINGS: INTD 1102.03

CANA 1103 – Halifax and the World: Part II

This course builds on INTD/CANA 1102.03 (Halifax and the World: Part I) with a continued focus on the connections between important global issues and your daily life as a student in Halifax. In the winter semester, the course will focus on connections between life in Halifax and global development issues in other parts of the world. In particular, the course will highlight the ‘commodity chains' that connect our daily consumption decisions to other people around the world who are involved in the life cycle of those commodities – from their production through to their disposal. The course will also specifically address the ethical questions and challenges that emerge from these connections and the practical ways in which we might respond to those questions.

As in the first semester, the course will a combination of lectures, guest speakers, discussion groups, field trips, and experiential learning in the city of Halifax. The assignments will include written reflections on specific sites in Halifax which students are expected to visit and explore, a public engagement project, and a series of quizzes (there is no final exam).

FORMAT: Lectures, discussion groups, experiential learning
PREREQUISITES: INTD 1102 or instructor's permission
EXCLUSIONS: INTD 1100. INTD 1101
CROSS-LISTINGS: INTD 1103.03

CANA 2001 – The Idea of Canada: Social and Political Perspectives

This course employs an interdisciplinary approach to focus on selected themes in Canadian history and society. It explores developments before and after the arrival and European peoples, and focuses on the rise and the impact of settler colonialism. It examines major events in the formation of Canada, and gives students the opportunity to work directly with primary sources. Themes may include, but are not restricted to: Indigenous history and culture; imperial influences and colonialism; political and constitutional reform; bilingualism and multiculturalism; nationalism and ethnic conflict; globalization and protest movements.
FORMAT: Lecture | Discussion.
NOTES: Course is open to first-year students.
FORMAT: Lecture| Discussion
EXCLUSIONS: CANA2000XY
3 credit hours

CANA 2002 – The Idea of Canada: Cultural and Literary Perspectives

This course employs an interdisciplinary approach to focus on selected themes in Canadian history and society. Beginning with the premise that a nation is fundamentally a “narration,” it asks: What sorts of stories do Canadians tell about themselves? Thus the course is centered on important texts - novels, poems, films, songs, and political documents - that relate formative events in Canadian history and that point to new, sometimes contested, directions for the future. Themes may include, but are not restricted to: First Nation's history and culture; multiculturalism; wilderness; the north; regional identity; and foreign policy.
FORMAT: Lecture| Discussion
NOTES: Course is open to first-year students
FORMAT: Lecture| Discussion
EXCLUSIONS: 2000XY
3 credit hours

CANA 3000 – Interdisciplinary Approaches to Canadian Themes

This multidisciplinary seminar provides students with the opportunity to consider the structure and content of Canadian society from a variety of academic viewpoints, including the philosophical, historical, political, sociological, geographical, legal and literary.

Professors discuss the study of Canada as seen from their different disciplinary perspectives, while the class co-ordinator leads a weekly tutorial.

Instructor:  J. Bannister

Format: Seminar

CANA 4000 – Seminar in Canadian Studies

**Please note this course is not being taught in 2014/2015.   Students are asked to subsitute another 3000- or 4000-level Canadian Studies elective in consultation with the coordinator. 

Topic Course

The class will explore in depth a single Canadian issue, topic or theme that crosses disciplinary borders. Along with the instructor, cross-appointed faculty from different departments will share their views on the subject. Topics might include aboriginal issues, Canada as a maritime nation, or Canadian film.
NOTE: CANA 4000.03 is also open, as an elective class, to Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences students with an interest in Canadian Studies who may not complete the Canadian-content requirements for the Concentration, minor or joint degrees.



Format: Seminar/Tutorial

 

CANA 4001 – Research Topics in Canadian Studies

This class will provide students with an opportunity to develop, in close consultation with a faculty member, a topic in Canadian Studies growing out of the work done in the seminar CANA 4000.03. Research will culminate in the writing of a major research paper. There will be regular one-to-one meetings with the chosen faculty member and progress meetings of the whole group. This class is mandatory for those completing a combined honours in Canadian Studies and is highly recommended for those seeking the concentration or double major in Canadian Studies.

Instructor: C. Dawson

Format: Seminar/Tutorial
Prerequisites: CANA 4000.03 or permission of the instructor

Complete list of Canadian Studies Elective courses

NOTE: Some classes may not be offered every year. Please consult the current academic timetable to determine if these classes are offered. More detailed information can be obtained from the Canadian Studies office.

In addition to the classes listed below, appropriate classes in other departments may be taken as Canadian Studies credits, with the permission of the instructor concerned and the coordinator.

  • CANA 2004.03: Canadian Literature 
  • CANA 2005.03: Introduction to African Canadian Studies
  • CANA 2021.03/2022.03: Langue et culture/Language and Culture
  • CANA 2050.03: Historical Issues in Indigenous Studies
  • CANA 2052.03: Contemporary Issues in Indigenous Studies
  • CANA 2203.03: Approches du texte littéraire
  • CANA 2207.03: Indigenous Peoples and Empires: Canada's Origins to 1763
  • CANA 2210.03:  Many Canadas: Canada, 1930 to the present. 
  • CANA 2211.03: Social History of Canada before 1870 
  • CANA 2212.03: Social History of Canada since 1870  
  • CANA 2218.03: The Canadian Economy in the New Millennium: Economic Policy Debates for the Next Decade
  • CANA 2231.03: The Making of Modern Canada: Canadian Political History, 1896 to the Present  
  • CANA 2233.03: Canadian Economic History I
  • CANA 2235.03: History of Canadian Culture
  • CANA 2271.03: Atlantic Canada to Confederation
  • CANA 2272.03: Atlantic Canada since Confederation
  • CANA 2280.02: African Nova Scotian History
  • CANA 2280.03: African Nova Scotian History
  • CANA 3008.03: Canadian Society and Politics
  • CANA 3020.03: Canadian Cultural Landscapes
  • CANA 3009.03: Public Opinion in Canada
  • CANA 3026.03: Le français québécois/Québec French
  • CANA 3050.03: Indigenous Research Methodology and Knowledge Practices
  • CANA 3052.03: Indigenous Social, Health, and Environmental Issues
  • CANA 3107.06: Experiential Learning: Canada
  • CANA 3185.03: Issues in the Study of Indigenous Peoples of North America
  • CANA 3220.03: Coastal Communities in the North Atlantic
  • CANA 3231.03: Modern Canadian Literature
  • CANA 3270.03: Contemporary Canadian Literature
  • CANA 3400.03: Contemporary Indigenous Art
  • CANA 3401.03: Indigenous Representation in Film
  • CANA 3900.03/3901.03: La littérature canadienne-française/French Canadian Literature
  • CANA 4300.03: Canadian Health Care Delivery System
  • CANA 4362.03: Topics in Canadian Music
  • CANA 4500.03: Canadian Colonial Theatre
  • CANA 4501.03: Canadian Post-Colonial Theatre