Students will gain a better understanding of Canadian culture and society through the use of a number of research methodologies and approaches. This is a seminar course limited to 15 students. Students are encouraged to use as many primary and secondary materials as possible including those available through the Internet. To that end, classes in the first term concentrate on research techniques such as interviews, surveys, government reports, law case reports, comparative analysis etc. In second term, students will demonstrate the use of these tools and approaches through a major research paper and oral presentation.
Students select their own topics.
In the past these have included field studies of subtle racism in Halifax area, changing attitudes towards death as revealed in Halifax cemeteries, community histories, family histories, economic impact studies of businesses like the Oaklawn Farm Zoo and Stora Forest Products and challenges of introducing computers into the elementary classroom in Nova Scotia. There are no tests or exams in this course. Evaluation is based on written work, oral presentations and class participation. This course is designed to allow a student to concentrate on a substantive area of Canadian Studies. There are no exams or regular classes for this course.