Social Justice and Community Studies Program
Why study Social Justice & Community Studies?
The Social Justice & Community Studies Major, Honours and Minor Programs offer students the intersectional knowledge necessary for problem solving, organizational work, and public deliberation in a range of complex social issues and will prepare students and professionals for a wide variety of future opportunities.
The Saint Mary’s approach
Studying Social Justice & Community Studies at Saint Mary's University offers students and professionals strong interdisciplinary training to promote social responsibility. It does this by fostering intersectional knowledge and community engagement around issues including: gender and sexuality, Indigenous-settler relations, settler colonialism, citizenship and migration status, urban politics and histories, and social organizing and organizational theory.
The goal is to build stronger institutional and community relationships with and between diverse Indigenous peoples, African Nova Scotians, immigrant peoples, and historically settled white Nova Scotians and Canadians. Among the key ways in which SJCS at Saint Mary's University builds intersectional knowledge and relationships is by fostering mutual engagement between community members, the university, and the city, and mobilizing social justice and community work on and off campus.
Sample Courses Offered:
- Canadian Society and Social Justice: Examine social justice perspectives on Canadian society and state policies past and present. Possible questions include: What does it mean to be Canadian? What are the encounters involved in how the Canadian nation and identity come to be?
- Climate Disaster and Social Justice: Study the basic science of climate change, learn the history of climate activism, connect environmental harm and capitalism, and reflect on what this means for our near future. The focus of the course is on Black and Indigenous disproportionate community impacts, land care, and resistance to the “resourcification” of the earth.
- Race, Racism, Colonialism: Critically examine the history, social production and ongoing impacts of race, racism and colonialism.
- Gender and Law: Examine and analyze how the social construction of femininity, masculinity and non-binary gender intersect with other dimensions of identity and power to shape law.
See more courses in our Academic Calendar.
Future career opportunities:
- Researcher or Policy analyst
- Journalist
- Social worker or Counselor
- Educator
- Politician or Policy Analyst
- Governmental or non-governmental employee
- Socially responsible scientist or business owner
- Lawyer or legal advocate
Hear what our students have to say:“The experience, knowledge, and skills I've gained through SJCS have positively impacted my post-school career in a variety of ways. During every interview process since graduating, there have been questions regarding social awareness that I would have been underprepared for had I not learned about and researched them in SJCS. I have turned questions that would have tripped other candidates up into the strongest point of my interviews. During my employment in both the public school system and community organizations, working with colleagues and participants of various backgrounds, that SJCS training has been extremely relevant in developing and maintaining positive social relationships. This has fast-tracked me to leadership positions and opened incredible opportunities for me. SJCS educated me on relevant issues, expanded my social awareness, gave me skillsets to make positive social connections, and improved my confidence in interpersonal dynamics. The professors in this department have cared about me for years after I graduated, and I can directly correlate the skills I honed while getting my degree to the success I've experienced in the labour market post-graduation.”
“I came to Saint Mary's University with a background working with unhoused and low-income communities, a fear of the big city, and a deep care for those around me. SJCS allowed me to situate what I have seen in the world through an intersectional lens, and as informed by ongoing histories of oppression and resistance. During my degree I built strong relationships with my peers, professors, and SJCS community partners through experiential learning opportunities. Courses such as Community Organizing helped revitalize my belief in direct community action, while others situated me in the legal and social history of Atlantic Canada, Turtle Island, and the wider world. Under the supervision and support of SJCS faculty I even had the opportunity to design and facilitate a directed study on homelessness in the Maritimes. I was able to teach and learn about an issue I am deeply connected with, which extended into my honors thesis. SJCS professors became significant mentors, encouraging me throughout my degree, and onwards to the JD. My SJCS education has made me feel incredibly prepared to enter legal education and a stronger community member.”