Social Work Pre-Major

This course involves an in-depth exploration of the concept of culture and the cross-cultural study of human diversity within the discipline of anthropology. Students focus on topics such as anthropological research, ethics, culture, worldview, gender, language, marriage, families and households, Indigenous peoples, religion and globalization. Students also engage in self-reflexive examination of their own worldviews, perceptions and biases in relation to other peoples and cultures.

This course adopts a holistic approach to understanding health and wellness within Indigenous communities. Students examine many factors and conditions that impact Indigenous community health from a strength based rather than problem focused approach. This course also focuses on Indigenous worldviews in terms of how community health and wellness is articulated and maintained.

Traditional knowledge and Indigenous scholarship are incorporated alongside anthropological perspectives. Whether delivered face to face or online, the course is treated as an interactive lecture series. Indigenous representatives from local communities and scholars knowledgeable about course topics share their valuable insights and knowledge with students.

This course explores the cultural constructions of gender through an ethnographic perspective that engages students in cross-cultural comparative analysis. Students will critically examine early studies and anthropological perspectives of gender as well as current, Indigenous, and post-modern perspectives including feminist anthropology and queer theory. Cultural constructions of gender are explored through various topics and social issues.

This course explores the inherent relationship between culture, language and communication. The key concepts of study are identity, culture, assumptions and stereotypes, beliefs, value systems, and globalization. From theory to practice, students will investigate the impact of identity and context in intercultural interactions. The focus of this course is to help students develop meaningful strategies to communicate in today’s culturally diverse communities.

This course is an introduction to biological, psychiatric, psychological and social/environmental explanations of criminal and deviant behaviour.  This course explores specific types of behaviours such as violent offences (homicide), sexual offences and family violence through a psychological lens. The unique nature and needs of Indigenous, female, youth, and mentally ill offenders will also be explored.

This course is an analysis of the nature, prevalence, characteristics and consequences of youth crime, deviance and responses to youth crime in Canada. Students examine the social construction of youth crime and young offenders. The history of youth crime legislations, legal frameworks, theoretical explanations and statistics of youth deviance are analyzed.

English 100 focuses on composition for academic purposes and develops a student’s ability to write clearly and effectively. Students also learn the fundamentals of critical thinking, persuasive writing techniques (including rhetorical appeals and devices), scholarly research, and academic reading.

An introduction to the critical reading of literature through the study and analysis of poetry and drama across historical periods from Shakespeare to twenty-first century poets and dramatists. While this course will teach students how to perform college-level literary analysis of canonical texts, it will also teach them how to question and evaluate the cultural narratives that literature circulates. As such, the class will explore questions of gender, class, race, nationhood/nation building, and the problematic literary canon in order to develop strategies for negotiating complex literary texts and to become better, more nuanced readers.

English 102 introduces students to the genre of literary fiction from the origins of the short story in early nineteenth century to the novels of twentieth and twenty-first century. The aim of ENGL 102 is to read fiction with an understanding of genre, technique and form; to apply various critical strategies to literary texts; and to develop analytical writing skills appropriate to essays at the university level. Ultimately, the course encourages students to consider how narrative forms can shape, challenge and respond to their moral, social, and political contexts.

This course is an introduction to the multi-disciplinary field of Indigenous studies. The prehistory, history, and traditional/contemporary cultures of Indigenous peoples in Canada and their various perspectives are addressed. Additionally, the historical overview of Indigenous/settler relations and their effects are explored.

This course introduces students to concepts of Indigenous knowledges, worldviews and epistemologies through witnessing Elder teachings, insights from Indigenous scholars and experiences of Indigenous community members. This course begins with a review of knowledge creation and ways of knowing. It then explores the value, importance and uniqueness of Indigenous ways of knowing and pedagogy in comparison to Western ways of knowing and pedagogy through exploring questions that are important to Indigenous peoples, communities, and nations.

Twentieth century Canadian women’s experiences can be examined through a number of intriguing concepts. Domesticity and motherhood are studied via marriage rituals, childrearing practices, and contraceptive methods. The sexual division of labour is analyzed in terms of paid and unpaid work during the Great Depression and Second World War. Consumption is looked at through the shopping habits of the 1950s. Political involvement is measured not only in the progress women made in becoming persons, but also in becoming feminists. Attempts are also made to account for the varying experiences of immigrant and lesbian women.

HSWR 200 introduces you to the practice of social work, including a critical examination of the ethics, values and historical development of the social work profession. Students learn a variety of models and theories of social work practice and examine how they can be applied to diverse populations.

HSWR 201 is a critical introduction to the study of Canadian Social Welfare Policy and the structure of social services in Canada. The objectives and context of social welfare are presented and examined using different ideologies and discourses.

This course is intended for students who require an appreciation of higher mathematics, but don’t require calculus. MATH 101 stresses a logical and critical thinking approach while investigating the following topics: an introduction to matrices and to linear algebra; linear programming and the Simplex method; set theory, counting techniques and probability; and introduction to statistics; and Markov Processes.

Philosophy 101 is designed to introduce students to the questions and ideas in the world of thought and the skills of moral reasoning. In the context of both classical and contemporary philosophers, the moral principles used to justify how we should live are discussed. What are the sources of such principles? What are their limitations? An analysis of various moral traditions will seek to answer Socrates’ timeless ethical question, "how ought we to live?"

Social and Political Philosophy explores human beings living together in society. Themes include the philosophical foundations of political systems, concepts of justice and liberty, the role of the state and the individual, and, the question of historical law. Resources include Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, and many more. Perspectives outside the Western Tradition, i.e. Eastern and Indigenous views, will also be explored.

This course introduces students to Canadian government and politics by concentrating on the theoretical constructs fashioned by political scientists. Students develop an even more in-depth comprehension of the historical foundation and current operation of the Constitution/Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as the four institutional components of the federal system. Students will be exposed to various issues surrounding these aspects of this national field of political science.

This course provides an introduction to the history, principles, and methods of psychology. Topics may include the brain and behaviour, sensation and perception, learning and memory, thinking and language, and states of consciousness.

This course is a continuation of PSYC 101. Topics may include development across the lifespan, intelligence, motivation, emotion, stress and health, personality, psychological disorders, therapy, and social behaviour.

This course provides an introduction to the study of human social behaviour. Topics include research methodology, social cognition, social perception, the self, attitudes, conformity, group processes, interpersonal attraction, prosocial behaviour, aggression, and prejudice.

This course is an introduction to the research, history, and theories of abnormal psychology. A major emphasis in the course is to examine selected categories of psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. Additional topics may include diagnostic classification, the impact of health and stress on psychological functioning, understanding abnormality, and therapies.

This course examines the prominent religious and spiritual traditions of the World. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and primal (or Indigenous) religions. Other ancient traditions, as well as newer religious movements, will also be discussed. Each tradition is explored in terms of origin and development (key figures, events, and evolution), fundamental worldview (divine reality, the problem and solution for human beings, life beyond death, etc.), ethical teachings, mystical approaches, and sacred writings, rituals and symbols. Meta-issues, such as secularization and religious pluralism, will also be explored. Students will gain knowledge and appreciation of each tradition, as well as of religiosity and spirituality in general.

This course explores the question of meaning in life, especially in the modern setting. The disintegration of externally-provided meanings and the proposition of a universe without objective value poses specific issues and questions for individuals: Where can meaning be found? Is meaning merely subjective? What role does God, religion, spirituality, nature, science and society play? After examining the philosophical context which structures the question of modern meaning, we explore diverse solutions to it (religious, spiritual, atheistic etc.) Sources include Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Tolstoy, Camus, Sartre, Freud, Jung, Viktor Frankl, Bertrand Russel and others.

Sociology 101 introduces students to the basic concepts of sociology, while also focusing on the relationship between the individual and society. In addition to theory and research methods, topical areas include: culture, socialization, media, conformity, social structure and interaction, sex and intimate relationships, population and urbanization, and globalization. Students will increasingly acquire a sociological perspective to enrich their understanding of the social world, especially the vital link between self and society.

This introductory course examines the major social institutions and social processes in contemporary society, and examines in the central theoretical perspectives in sociology: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminism, and postmodernism. Topics include: Family, Education, Religion, Mass Media, Economy and Work, Power, Politics and Government, Social Class and Stratification, Global Stratification, and Collective Behaviour, Social Movements and Social Change.

This course is taught from a nation-specific framework, focusing deeply on the local Ktunaxa nation, while connecting these localized conversations to broader dynamics of First Nations, Aboriginal, and Inuit (referred to inclusively as Indigenous) families. Students will learn from a variety of Indigenouscreated sources, including directly from Indigenous families, support workers, and advocates.

Indigenous concepts of family, raising children, and the importance of community, as well as the impacts of child removal on Indigenous nations through various government tactics will be discussed. From this, students will work towards a better understanding of how they can assist in providing culturally appropriate family support and promoting family wellness and safe environments for all children.

This course introduces the fundamental ideas of statistics and can be applied to any discipline. Topics include: collection, description, and presentation of data; calculating central tendency and dispersion; probability and statistical inference; hypothesis testing (means, proportions, variances, one and two samples); correlation and regression; decision making and sampling, Goodness of Fit Tests, and Contingency Tables.