Ethnic and Intercultural Relations
This interdisciplinary program is for those planning to work in multicultural or cross-cultural settings. In today’s increasingly interdependent world, the need for critical understanding of ethnicity and social justice has been acknowledged by educators, community workers and other professionals. In response, the program explores causes of unequal treatment, compare social justice issues internationally, and develops strategies for social change.
The program is for both general students and those interested in working with human service professionals (social workers, educators, police, counsellors, personnel managers, health practitioners or civil servants) who are required to interact effectively with people from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds to foster better understanding of the multi-ethnic society in which we live and work.
Day and evening courses are offered at the Burnaby campus and at the Vancouver campus. Some are available through Distance Education.
Program Objectives
Program participation enables students to develop:
critical perspectives on current debates about racism, equality and social justice
a clearer understanding of the concept of diversity as it relates to hierarchical structuring of differences
knowledge based on immigration, citizenship and civil rights
skills that will prepare you for professional work or further academic study in the field.
Program Requirements
Students must successfully complete 30 units comprised of 12 required units, and the remaining chosen from two sets of specified electives. These courses, which include both lower and upper division courses, provide critical and interdisciplinary material.
A minimum 2.50 GPA calculated on the designated courses for the certificate is required. Duplicate courses will be counted only once.
Core Courses
Students complete all of
Examines the impact of identity politics on the dynamics and organization of political systems. topics include the impact of ethnic, racial and/or religious diversity on modes of political representation, the formation of public policy, and the quest for political stability and national identity. Prerequisite: Eight upper division units in political science or permission of the department.
A critical examination of the relationship between violence and structural inequalities. Focus will be on different forms that violence assumes in war and peace and how acts of violence are remembered, collectively denied or misrecognized. Particular case studies may include colonization of indigenous people, Holocaust, South African Apartheid, India's Partition, the genocide in Rwanda, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 9/11 and its aftermath along with everyday suffering, including gender violence. As well, special attention will be given to anthropological witnessing. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Section | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Distance Education |
An introduction to critical perspectives on the social construction of race, nation building and transnational migration, with an emphasis on state policies and the experiences of immigrants. The course will cover a review of colonialism and the construction of racialized labour market. Core topics may include: racialization of space, anti-racist feminist thought, immigration policy, settlement services, multiculturalism, citizenship, racial profiling, diasporas, and refugees. Comparative material will be used to complement the Canadian focus. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
An examination of the ways in which ethnographers seek to understand a world experiencing profound changes in the relationships between governments and the societies they govern. Topics to be considered may include: relations between indigenous peoples and governments; the social and cultural dynamics of public policy making; the articulation of human rights issues. The focus of the course will vary from semester to semester. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Elective Courses
Students complete a minimum of 10 units from the following
An introductory course on Asia-Canada interactions. It will survey various issues, both historical and contemporary, including those involving Asian-Canadians. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.
A study of the relationship between the government and the individual. Focus upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its interpretation by the judiciary. Examination of the issues of equality before the law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of expression. A study of human rights at the international, federal and provincial levels. Prerequisite: CRIM 330.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Distance Education | |||
Tamara O'Doherty |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Wed, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
An analysis of political, economic, and ethnic minorities and their relationship with the criminal justice system. Critical analysis of possible discordance, disharmony or conflict between ethnic and racial minorities such as Native Indians, Inuit, Metis, Doukhobor and others and the legal and social norms of the 'host' majority. Women and the criminal justice system. Prerequisite: CRIM 101.
Examines selected themes in the history of Aboriginal peoples of North America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Prerequisite: 45 units including nine units of lower division history. Students with credit for FNST 326 may not take this course for further credit.
An introduction to the conduct of sociological and anthropological research. Topics covered include: the relationship between theory and research, concept formation, operationalization, exploratory studies, hypothesis generation and testing, data collection techniques within both sociology and anthropology, the assessment of causality, the critical evaluation of research on both theoretical and methodological grounds, the definition of research problems, and ethical issues in social research. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150. Quantitative.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Chris Atchison |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Wed, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
|
Vancouver |
Investigates contemporary social organization, cultural expression, and political representation among Aboriginal peoples in the province of British Columbia within an ethnohistorical framework. Topics may include: land rights, law, gender relations, inter-cultural relations; policy studies in education, health, justice, social and economic development; indigenous knowledge; Aboriginal art, media and performance. Emphasis may differ from term to term. Students with credit for SA 140 may not take SA 286 for further credit. Recommended: SA 101. Equivalent Courses: SA140.
An examination of the effects of culture and ethnicity on the aging process and the treatment of the aged. Although the orientation of the course is cross-cultural and comparative, particular emphasis will be placed on the social aspects of aging among various ethnic groups in contemporary Canada. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
An examination of how sociological and anthropological theories and methods can be applied to the examination of social problems and issues which become the object of social policy. A central concern of the course is the question of how social issues are defined as problematic. Particular attention will be given to gender, ethnicity, class and generation. Substantive examples of social policy issues will be selected from a number of fields. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Rachel Treloar |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Mon, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
|
Vancouver |
The focus will be on the situation of women in cross-cultural perspective using literary, historical, anthropological and other appropriate sources. Students who have completed WS 200 may not complete this course for further credit.
* available through the Centre for Distance Education
Optional Courses
To fulfil the remaining eight units, students choose courses from the following list when content is applicable to multicultural issues. Consult with the department to select courses. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure completion of prerequisites and other department requirements before choosing elective courses.
This course provides frameworks and tools with which to understand and evaluate negotiation as a form of communication. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding of the role of communication in the negotiating process, and the consequences of different kinds of negotiation strategies in intercultural, international, competitive, and conflictual situations. It combines theoretical discussion with practical case studies, involves guest negotiators and analysts, and provides an appreciation of the world-wide scale and importance of negotiation as a basis for clarifying relationships. Prerequisite: 75 units, including CMNS 347, and at least one other CMNS or DIAL upper division course.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Terry Neiman |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Wed, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
|
Vancouver |
An in-depth examination of Aboriginal/indigenous conceptions of justice in dealing with crime and other trouble in indigenous communities, and in relations among peoples. Prerequisite: CRIM 101 or FNST 101 or 201 or permission of the instructor. Students with credit for this course as CRIM 416 or 418, or FNST 419, may not take this course for further credit.
Focuses on developing approaches for multicultural and anti-racist teaching. Topics include: diversity of race, language and culture among learners; identifying the operation of racism, prejudice and discrimination in classrooms and schools; becoming familiar with a variety of approaches such as: co-operative learning, culturally appropriate assessment, and community involvement to counteract and prevent negative classroom and school dynamics; identifying bias in curriculum resources; and locating entry points in selected curriculum areas (e.g. language arts, social studies, art, music, etc.) for integrating approaches which employ a range of multicultural/anti-racist curriculum resources. Prerequisite: EDUC 401/402 or corequisite EDUC 403. Students with credit for EDUC 382: Diversity in Education: Theories, Policies, Practices may not take this course for further credit.
Section | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Distance Education |
Current world-scale problems are examined in their regional and global contexts, with emphasis being placed on the importance of dynamics of the natural environment in human affairs. Breadth-Social Sciences.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Faran Ali |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Mon, 8:30–10:20 a.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D101 |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Mon, 10:30–11:20 a.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D102 |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Mon, 11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D103 |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Mon, 1:30–2:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D104 |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Wed, 2:30–3:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D105 |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Wed, 3:30–4:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
|
D106 |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Wed, 4:30–5:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
Selected problems in Canadian ideas and attitudes on such topics as the arts, religion, education, minority and native cultures, nationalism, and Canadian historiography. Prerequisite: 45 units including nine units of lower division history. Recommended: HIST 101, 102.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Jack Little |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Thu, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
An examination of the ways in which anthropology and ethnography may be used to affect action in the world. Topics may include: advocacy anthropology; the development and practice of applied anthropology; the emergence of anthropology and ethnography and the arts. Prerequisite: minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Recommended: at least two upper division courses in anthropology.
Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Matthew Guffin |
May 11 – Aug 10, 2015: Thu, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
|
Burnaby |
Examines from interdisciplinary and international perspectives how development is gendered and creates differential impacts, meanings and processes for women and men around the world. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students with credit for GSWS 310 (or WS 310) Special Topic: Women and Development or GSWS 301 (or WS 301) Special Topic: Gender and Development or GSWS 309 (or WS 309) under the title Gender and Development may not take this course for further credit.
Subject to steering committee approval, students may substitute relevant special topics or related courses.