FAS opens its doors for summer courses

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.

“Part of the plan is to have the campus active and students engaged in learning year-round, so we have introduced a wide range of unique academic activities for both undergraduate and graduate students,” says Dean Barbara Crow, Faculty of Arts and Science. “The diversity of these summer offerings speaks to diversity of the curriculum and programming in the Faculty of Arts and Science. This also provides an opportunity for international students to stay in Kingston and for all students to accelerate their progress in their degree plans.”

The following are some of the unique courses students may want to register for:

Music Theatre Creation Lab (MUTH 333) - An exploration of the varied components of Music Theatre creation through the practical application of writing, designing and publicly performing short, original music theatre scenes. Students will work in small groups to create all aspects of the original scenes including script, lyrics, music, staging, sets, costumes and promotion.

Human Migration (GPHY 362) - The movement of people across the surface of the earth from early times to the present, focusing on contemporary issues of immigration, refugees, human rights, social integration and barriers to integration including discussions of racism, citizenship, multiculturalism, and community infrastructure.

Life, Death, and Meaning (PHIL 204) - An examination of whether life has 'meaning', and a consideration of different philosophical interpretations of the meaning of life, the significance of death for the meaning of life, and whether it even makes sense to speak of life as having meaning.

Introduction to Cultures (LLCU 111) - This course offers an overview of the theoretical framework behind the study of intercultural communication and proposes practical applications of these theories, including in-class guest speakers and a four-session workshop on Intercultural Competence by the Queen's University International Centre (QUIC). Students will obtain a Certificate by QUIC.

Design Thinking (ENIN 140) - This course teaches design thinking techniques and their application to real-life case studies. Design Thinking takes a cross-disciplinary approach wherein students from various academic and professional backgrounds engage in co-creation, peer review, online discussions, brainstorming, and prototyping activities.

Global Goals: An Introduction to the Sustainable Development (QGSP 200) - Global Goals is an introduction to the United Nations Global Goals (currently, Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs) aimed at providing foundational knowledge on the range of issues addressed by these goals, and skills necessary to begin evaluating these goals. The course combines lectures, supervised groupwork, experiential learning opportunities, and independent research on individual global goals as a means for interdisciplinary problem solving. Specific modules focus on inequity, food security, gender equality, health and wellbeing, Indigeneity, biodiversity, climate action, policy. 

Several of these courses are part of Queen’s Global Summer, the first interdisciplinary on-campus summer program for the Faculty of Arts and Science that is taking place this July-August.

“We know students have really missed the traditional on-campus experience over the past two years due to the pandemic, and are excited to provide this opportunity now as public health restrictions have been lifted.  Our on-campus courses and new Queen’s Global Summer program provide a great opportunity to have this experience during the time of year when Kingston and campus are most beautiful,” says Jenn Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic). “It also provides another option for students who are looking to catch up or get ahead on credits or for those who learn better in a classroom environment.

Students can browse for summer courses and enrol now in SOLUS.