Languages, Literatures and Cultures

“Education got us into this mess, and education will get us out of this mess.”

These words from Queen’s University Chancellor Murray Sinclair are the words that Megan Rook lives by. She is the first successful graduate from the Indigenous Studies Major program and will receive her degree on June 20, 2022.

It’s plan selection time in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students are busy making the important decision of which area of study they wish to pursue during their time at Queen’s University.

From now until May 27, students who have completed 24 units or more must declare their plan in SOLUS. For upper-year students this may involve requesting to change their degree program.

For the first time in 10 years, the campus will be bustling with activity in the summer months as the Faculty of Arts and Science has added nearly 40 courses for the summer term.

The redevelopment of a summer term supports the FAS Strategic Plan guiding principle of continuous learning, professional development and global engagement as well as its strategic priority of enriching the student experience by offering them both for-credit and non-credit opportunities.

A total of 502 student-athletes have been named Academic All-Stars, including 206 undergraduate and eight graduate students from the Faculty of Arts and Science, an increase of 40 over last year in FAS. These student-athletes have achieved an 80 per cent average (3.5 GPA) or above over the past academic year and compete on a varsity team or varsity club.

With more than 120 online courses on offer and over 130 of experience in distance learning, Arts and Science Online (ASO) is renowned for its innovative and diverse approaches to education.

Students chose online learning for a variety of reasons, including distance students pursuing a degree, a professional looking to earn a certificate or an on-campus student looking for interesting courses to take during their studies.

Each year, teaching awards at Queen’s University are conferred to educators and staff who have excelled in fostering innovative, interesting, and inclusive learning environments.

In particular, the past year has been particularly challenging for the university’s instructors as the majority of programs and courses had to be switched to remote formats in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Faculty of Arts and Science celebrates 166 student-athletes as all-stars

A total of 426 student-athletes have been named Academic All-Stars, including 166 from the Faculty of Arts and Science. These student-athletes have achieved an 80 per cent average (3.5 GPA) or above over the past academic year and compete on a varsity team or varsity club.

This is a record high number and places Queen’s among the top five schools in Canada for the number of Academic All-Stars.

The recipients of the 2020 Principal’s Teaching and Learning Awards have been announced, recognizing excellence in the areas of Indigenous education, educational technology, student support, international innovation, and promoting student inquiry.

Administered by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), the awards are presented to individuals and teams for their innovation and leadership in teaching and learning at Queen’s.

Note: This article was originally written by Phil Gaudreau and posted in the Queen's Gazette.

Queen’s University and Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na are partnering to deliver a certificate in Mohawk Language and Culture.

Open for registrations now, Arts and Science has launched 7 new certificates that are open to Queen's students this fall. Certificates help students add breadth to their degree so their resumes are more competitive upon graduation. All of the new certificates range from 12-18 units, what some call a 'snackable' credential.  These new certificates include:

This summer, Queen's Arts and Science will be launching a new Certificate in Mohawk Language and Culture.

This certificate is offered by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures in partnership with Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na (TTO) Language and Cultural Centre in Tyendinaga, Mohawk Territory. It will give students knowledge of the language embedded in culturally rich learning experiences and the many traditions, histories and worldviews of the Mohawk people.

The Certificate courses, which are completed over 2 years, are structured as follows:

This fall, Queen's Arts and Science will be launching a new Certificate of Indigenous Languages and Culture. This new certificate program will introduce students to Mohawk, Inuktitut and Anishinaabe languages and deepen students' understanding of Indigenous cultures.

The Canada Council has announced today the 2017 winners of the Canada Council Molson Prize in the Arts and Sciences as well as the John G. Diefenbaker Prize.  Please follow the links below to see more on our website.

Following an already busy year filled with launching new initiatives, an additional two new plans are being introduced by the Faculty of Arts and Science for the 2017-18 academic year, just in time for plan selection for first-year students. The two new plans are a Politics-Philosophy-Economics Specialization and a major in Languages, Literatures and Cultures.

Politics-Philosophy-Economics Specialization

Elder Albert Marshall will be will be sharing about the Mi’kmaw principle of “Etuaptmumk” or “two-eyed seeing” and the process of “co-learning” that guided the Integrative Science Program (2001 – 2013) at CBU and concerning Mi’kmaw language, culture and wellness. This is Albert's first visit to Queen's University and a wonderful opportunity to hear from a Mi'kmaw knowledge keeper.

A documentary worked on by Jennifer Ruth Hosek (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures) will premiere at the prestigious International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana in December.

Rodando en La Habana: bicycle stories, a film from Cuban director Jaime Santos, explores the cultural meaning of bicycling and community in Havana. Dr. Hosek, who is cross-appointed to Film and Media Studies, served as associate director and research co-investigator on the film.

Professor James Miller will hold an information session for the program on Wednesday, February 11 from 5:30-6:30pm in Kingston Hall 200. The program allows you to spend your fall term in Shanghai, taking courses in English that count towards a wide range of Queen's plans in the humanities and social sciences.

During the information session you will learn:

how the program will put you ahead of the curve;
how the custom features of this program make it different from other study abroad opportunities;

With graduate school on the horizon, Emily Gong (Artsci’15) credits her participation in the Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship (USSRF) program for expanding her options.

“Through the research fellowship, I became much more interested in exploring China’s ethnic diversity, a different area of study compared to what I had been doing during my previous three years of undergrad,” says Ms. Gong, a fine arts major. “The experience last summer gave me the resources and confidence to apply for master’s programs in Chinese studies.”

Julia Marsala (Artsci’14) is from a small farm town in Pennsylvania, so when she stepped into the megalopolis of Shanghai, with its more than 23 million people, she felt a little overstimulated, a little overwhelmed.

 “The sheer number of people on the streets – it was nothing I’d ever seen. It was culture shock, but not in a bad way,” she says. “The city and China in general forces you out of your comfort zone, and when you do that, you learn a lot about yourself.”