Is higher education about job preparation or about giving students an opportunity to learn about themselves and the world around them? Can higher education in Canada achieve both these aims? This course engages with the spirited conversations and scholarly debates about the ideals of a liberal arts education and how these connect with ancient and contemporary arguments about citizenship. We explore the impact on higher education of globalization and what some call the “corporatization” of universities. Students will be encouraged to think, read, research and write about various models of higher education and explore questions suggested by these debates. Topics will include contemporary land claims and treaty-making processes, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, governmental apologies for the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, land acknowledgements, practices of allyship through social movement such as Idle No More, and efforts to influence Canada's overseas mining practices. This course provides students with the critical tools necessary to understand various historical, linguistic, culinary, spiritual, political, and creative elements of Italian-Canadian identity and life. Students of both Italian and non-Italian heritage are most welcome in this course, which is taught in English.
Is higher education about job preparation or about giving students an opportunity to learn about themselves and the world around them? Can higher education in Canada achieve both these aims? This course engages with the spirited conversations and scholarly debates about the ideals of a liberal arts education and how these connect with ancient and contemporary arguments about citizenship. We explore the impact on higher education of globalization and what some call the “corporatization” of universities. Students will be encouraged to think, read, research and write about various models of higher education and explore questions suggested by these debates. Topics will include contemporary land claims and treaty-making processes, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, governmental apologies for the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, land acknowledgements, practices of allyship through social movement such as Idle No More, and efforts to influence Canada's overseas mining practices. This course provides students with the critical tools necessary to understand various historical, linguistic, culinary, spiritual, political, and creative elements of Italian-Canadian identity and life. Students of both Italian and non-Italian heritage are most welcome in this course, which is taught in English.
