Minor in Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and Common Good Minor

The Minor in Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and the Common Good is an interdisciplinary course of study using the collected insights of various academic disciplines designed to prepare students to be responsible critics of contemporary societies and effective agents for positive social transformation. Students will reflect on the causes and structures of injustice and approaches to social change at interpersonal, communal, national and global levels. As a central concept in Catholic thought on social justice, the Minor will explore the role of the common good in the religious, ethical, philosophical and social science traditions. As part of their course of study, students will be challenged to critically examine historical and contemporary misappropriation and abuse of the constructs of social justice and common good. Through a community service-learning pedagogy, offered in a number of courses, this minor creatively engages faculty, students, and community partners in local and international responses to inequality and marginalization. Cycles of exclusion (e.g., marginalization associated with disability, age, gender, poverty, sexuality, racism, violence, colonialism, post-colonialism, class, speciesism and the environment), urban justice, globalization, and ecojustice are the areas of concentration for empirical, social analyses of social injustice. From these areas of concentration and issues of justice students gain a solid intellectual and ethical grasp of the understandings of the common good.
 
The Minor, consisting of 21 credit units of courses, may be completed in conjunction with any Three-Year, Four-Year, or Honours degree.

This program is coordinated by St. Thomas More College, under the academic authority of the College of Arts and Science. Interested students should contact sjcgminor@stmcollege.ca for additional information.

Requirements (21 credit units)

INTS 203.3 — 1&2(3L)
Cultivating Humanity

This course will explore what it means to be human, and to become humane, by drawing from a variety of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. It will provide an intellectual framework for understanding interconnections between the personal and the group on both a local and global level in relation to social, cultural, economic, and ecological issues. This course gives attention to an increasing awareness of the challenges associated with intercultural relations, fostering respect for diversity, and the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion.

Prerequisite(s): 18 credit units at university level or permission of the instructor.
Note: Students with credit for INTS 200.6 may not take this course for credit.
INTS 400.3 — 1/2(3S)
Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and the Common Good

This course is meant as a capstone for students completing a Minor in Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and the Common Good. Students will be engaged in a critical inquiry into current conditions of social life to inspire their participation in equitable and sustainable alternatives for our common social good. Core categories include cycles of exclusion, rural/urban justice, ecojustice and globalization.

Prerequisite(s): 36 credit units of completed university study including INTS 200.6
  • INTS 203.3 Cultivating Humanity
  • INTS 400.3 Critical Perspectives on Social Justice and the Common Good

The remaining 15 credit units required to complete the minor may be taken from the lists that follow.
At least 3 credit units must be at the 300 or 400 level and courses.
At least 3 credit units must be taken from the Humanities and 3 credit units must be taken from the Social Sciences.

Humanities

  • CTST 200.3
  • PHIL 226.3
  • PHIL 231.3
  • PHIL 234.3
  • PHIL 262.3
  • PHIL 337.3
  • RLST 220.3
  • RLST 228.3
  • RLST 321.3

Social Sciences
  • ANTH 231.3
  • ANTH 310.3
  • ANTH 326.3
  • ANTH 330.3
  • ECON 221.3
  • ECON 223.3
  • ECON 270.3
  • ECON 272.3
  • ECON 277.3
  • POLS 237.3
  • POLS 246.3
  • POLS 250.3
  • POLS 251.3
  • POLS 260.6
  • POLS 336.3
  • POLS 349.3
  • POLS 370.3
  • POLS 466.3
  • PSY 231.3
  • PSY 261.3
  • PSY 361.3
  • SOC 214.3
  • SOC 220.6
  • SOC 242.3
  • SOC 260.3
  • SOC 261.3
  • SOC 296.3
  • SOC 304.3
  • SOC 305.3
  • SOC 306.3
  • SOC 328.3
  • SOC 360.3
  • SOC 422.3