Great Books programs in Canada are university/college programs inspired by the Great Books movement begun in the United States in the 1920s. The aim of such programs is to return to the Western Liberal Arts tradition in education. Those who mount such programs consider them to be corrective of what they perceive to be an extreme disciplinary specialisation common within the academy.
The essential component of such programs is a high degree of engagement with the Western canon of whole primary texts deemed to be essential for a student's education. The canon includes books such as Plato's Republic and Dante's Divine Comedy. Great Books programs often focus exclusively on Western culture. Their employment of primary texts dictates an interdisciplinary approach, as most of the Great Books do not fall neatly under the scope of a single contemporary academic discipline.
Great Books programs often include designated discussion groups as well as lectures, and have small class sizes. Students in these programs usually receive an abnormally high degree of attention from their professors, as part of the overall aim of fostering a community of learning.
Memorial University's Grenfell Campus, in Cornerbrook, has a Humanities program.
Nova Scotiaedit
The University of King's College in Halifax mounts Canada's oldest Great Books program, the first-year Foundation Year Programme, in which students spend their entire first year reading key primary texts from the Ancient Near East to the Contemporary World.
St. Thomas University in Fredericton has a Great Books program called the Great Books Program. The University also runs an interdisciplinary Great Books program exclusively for first-year students called The Aquinas Program.
Quebecedit
The at Concordia University in Montreal offers a 3-year bachelor's degree in the Great Books.
Laval University in Quebec City offers, in French, a one-year program in Great Books. The program is called "Certificat sur les oeuvres marquantes de la culture occidentale"
Ontarioedit
The College of the Humanities at Carleton University in Ottawa offers Canada's most in-depth Great Books program, as a 4-year honours degree called the Bachelor of Humanities, focusing on Philosophy, Literature, Religion, History, and Political Theory, with required courses in the History of Art and the History of Music. Its main focus is on Western Culture, but it has a significant Eastern component. Students regularly do a combined honours degree in Humanities and a more specialised discipline. The College of the Humanities also offers a combined honours in Humanities and Biology, designed for students heading to medical school. With the School of Journalism at Carleton, they also offer a joint Journalism and Humanities degree.
at King's University College is a first-year Great Books program.
British Columbiaedit
Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo has offered a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major and minor in Liberal Studies since 1991. The Liberal Studies courses are interdisciplinary, seminar-based and team-taught; they deal primarily but not exclusively with the Western tradition, focus on the development of critical skills and include hands-on art and science.
University of British Columbia in Vancouver has offered the Arts One course since 1967. It is a team-taught, interdisciplinary course for first-year students that consists of a once weekly lecture, twice weekly seminar of 20 students, and once weekly tutorials of four students doing peer evaluation of each other's essays. Students read approximately a book a week, of which many would be considered "great books," within and beyond the Western tradition.
Further readingedit
Emberley, Peter C. and Newell, W.R., Bankrupt Education: The Decline of Liberal Education in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, May 1994.
Kay, Barbara, "Higher education's best-kept secret." National Post (Canada). Wednesday, November 19, 2008.
John Searle, "The Storm Over the University," The New York Review of Books, December 6, 1990
Great Books Homepage
April 12, 2024
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Great Books programs in Canada are university college programs inspired by the Great Books movement begun in the United States in the 1920s The aim of such programs is to return to the Western Liberal Arts tradition in education Those who mount such programs consider them to be corrective of what they perceive to be an extreme disciplinary specialisation common within the academy The essential component of such programs is a high degree of engagement with the Western canon of whole primary texts deemed to be essential for a student s education The canon includes books such as Plato s Republic and Dante s Divine Comedy Great Books programs often focus exclusively on Western culture Their employment of primary texts dictates an interdisciplinary approach as most of the Great Books do not fall neatly under the scope of a single contemporary academic discipline Great Books programs often include designated discussion groups as well as lectures and have small class sizes Students in these programs usually receive an abnormally high degree of attention from their professors as part of the overall aim of fostering a community of learning Contents 1 List of Great Books programs in Canada 1 1 Newfoundland 1 2 Nova Scotia 1 3 New Brunswick 1 4 Quebec 1 5 Ontario 1 6 British Columbia 2 Further reading 3 See also 4 External linksList of Great Books programs in Canada editGreat Books programs in Canada include Newfoundland edit Memorial University s Grenfell Campus in Cornerbrook has a Humanities program Nova Scotia edit The University of King s College in Halifax mounts Canada s oldest Great Books program the first year Foundation Year Programme in which students spend their entire first year reading key primary texts from the Ancient Near East to the Contemporary World St Francis Xavier University offers a first year Great Books curriculum called the Humanities Colloquium New Brunswick edit St Thomas University in Fredericton has a Great Books program called the Great Books Program The University also runs an interdisciplinary Great Books program exclusively for first year students called The Aquinas Program Quebec edit The Liberal Arts College at Concordia University in Montreal offers a 3 year bachelor s degree in the Great Books Laval University in Quebec City offers in French a one year program in Great Books The program is called Certificat sur les oeuvres marquantes de la culture occidentale Ontario edit The College of the Humanities at Carleton University in Ottawa offers Canada s most in depth Great Books program as a 4 year honours degree called the Bachelor of Humanities focusing on Philosophy Literature Religion History and Political Theory with required courses in the History of Art and the History of Music Its main focus is on Western Culture but it has a significant Eastern component Students regularly do a combined honours degree in Humanities and a more specialised discipline The College of the Humanities also offers a combined honours in Humanities and Biology designed for students heading to medical school With the School of Journalism at Carleton they also offer a joint Journalism and Humanities degree The Arts amp Science Program at McMaster University has three mandatory core courses in the spirit of Great Books Western Civilization roughly covering from the Enuma Elis and Book of Genesis to Renaissance thinkers Modern Western Civilization roughly covering from Thomas Aquinas to contemporary thinkers like Stanley Fish Literature roughly covering from Homeric epics to Christa Wolf s Cassandra The Foundations in the Humanities Program at King s University College is a first year Great Books program British Columbia edit Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo has offered a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major and minor in Liberal Studies since 1991 The Liberal Studies courses are interdisciplinary seminar based and team taught they deal primarily but not exclusively with the Western tradition focus on the development of critical skills and include hands on art and science University of British Columbia in Vancouver has offered the Arts One course since 1967 It is a team taught interdisciplinary course for first year students that consists of a once weekly lecture twice weekly seminar of 20 students and once weekly tutorials of four students doing peer evaluation of each other s essays Students read approximately a book a week of which many would be considered great books within and beyond the Western tradition Further reading editEmberley Peter C and Newell W R Bankrupt Education The Decline of Liberal Education in Canada Toronto University of Toronto Press May 1994 Kay Barbara Higher education s best kept secret National Post Canada Wednesday November 19 2008 See also editGreat Books Liberal Arts Liberal Arts College Humanities Western canonExternal links editJohn Searle The Storm Over the University The New York Review of Books December 6 1990 Great Books Homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Great Books programs in Canada amp oldid 1203510516, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
