New Programs

Special Topics courses

Summer 2025 Special Topics courses  

These courses are available in July-August. For the most current course information, please refer to the Academic Calendar and Banner. Courses are in person on campus, unless otherwise noted.  

CRIM 4827 – Criminal Justice Politics and Policy (CRN 40931 ) 
Special Topics in Criminology 
Monday and Wednesday 5:30–8:30 p.m. 
Instructor: TBA

SOCI 3828 – Sexualized Violence
(CRN 40933)
Special Topics in Sociology
Remote asynchronous delivery 
Instructor: TBA

Fall 2025 Special Topics courses
ANTH 3831: Archaeology of Maps (CRN 19084) 
Special Topics in Anthropology
Wednesday 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Fowler

HWSS 2826: Sport & Leisure in the Ancient World
(CRN 19102) 
Special Topics in Health, Wellness and Sport in Society 
Monday and Wednesday 1–2:15 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Sveva Savelli 

IRST 3832: Understanding Northern Ireland (CRN 19122) 
Special Topics in Irish Studies 
Tuesday and Thursday 1–2:15 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Edward Molloy 

SOCI 3833: Sociology of Happiness (CRN 19105)
Special Topics in Sociology
Monday 4–6:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Mohita Bhatia 

SOCI 4824: Gender, Violence and Migration (CRN 19158)
Special Topics in Sociology
Tuesday 4–6:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Evangelia Tastsoglou

SOCI 4831: Sociology of Everyday Life (CRN 19107)
Selected Topics in Sociology
Thursday 4–6:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Mohita Bhatia

SOCI 4832: Sociology of AI (CRN 19157)
Selected Topics in Sociology
Tuesday and Thursday 10–11:15 a.m. 
Instructor: Pauline Hoebanx 

WGSS 2826: Monsters (CRN 19139) 
Wednesday 1–3:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Lindsay Macumber 

WGSS 3828: The Theory of Taylor Swift (CRN 19156)    
Special Topics in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Tuesday and Thursday 10–11:15 a.m. 
Dr. Bishop Owis

Winter 2026 Special Topics courses
ANTH 2827: What’s The Deal with Taylor Swift?
Special Topics in Anthropology
Tuesday and Thursday 2:30–3:45 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Rylan Higgins
The social, cultural and economic noteworthiness of Taylor Swift is hard to overstate. Her influence and wealth are staggering, her reach, spectacularly global. Her appeal to hundreds of millions of people is mindboggling. This course takes these aspects of Swift’s celebrity status as a starting point and endeavours to interrogate and understand the nature of her appeal, power and influence. The anthropology of the celebrity reminds us that it is a social construct, the product of the public’s interactions with the entertainment industry. Indeed, celebrity figures have been referred to as “America’s royalty.” But even among this noble class, Swift stands out. In this course, we will explore Swift as a global celebrity juggernaut.

ENGL 3832: Atlantic Canada Film & TV (CRN 28498)
Tuesday and Thursday 2:30–4:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh 

FREN 4848: Literature and Culture of the French Pacific (CRN 28556)
Special Topics in Francophonie 
Remote asynchronous delivery 
Instructor: Dr. Rohini Bannerjee

IRST 2842: Irish Politics (CRN 28571)
Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Edward Molloy 

WGSS 4829 / WGST 6838: The Academic Incubator (CRN 28132/28135)
Tuesday and Thursday 10–11:15 a.m. 
Instructor: Dr. Michele Byers
This incubator course offers a playful space for experiments in taking academic knowledge out of the university into the wider world. Most students think about this transition but rarely get time or guidance to explore. You'll have the opportunity to creatively share knowledge with people beyond your own discipline and the space to brainstorm ideas, develop plans and try things out with them. It’s open to students from all faculties and fields of study because interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone of modern life. 

The project possibilities are virtually endless. Here are just a few:

  • Start a business or develop a product
  • Generate policy
  • Community build and engage in direct action and / or advocacy
  • Create art, craft or literature
  • Produce a short film, podcast or website
  • Make something accessible that wasn’t before
Stay tuned here for more course information as it becomes available.

New Arts programs launched in 2023-2024  

Major in Public Humanities and Heritage 
The new Public Humanities and Heritage program gives students a foundational understanding of theory and practice in the core areas of public humanities (archaeology, archive and museum studies, public history, tourism, digital humanities and collections management). Students gain valuable critical thinking, research and writing skills, and historical and cultural literacy, alongside hands-on, practical work experience in field placements. Students may choose to major in Public Humanities and Heritage or add it as a second major.

Major in Law and Ethics
Available as a major, this new program offers the opportunity for diverse disciplinary perspectives on the law and on ethics. It will give students the chance to think critically about the law and legal institutions, as well as a wide range of moral and legal issues. Studying law and ethics together makes it possible to raise fundamental questions about the ethics of various social practices, and about how laws can function to make a society more (or sometimes less) just.

Minor in Climate Change Studies
Climate change is one of the defining environmental and social problems of our lifetime. As a student pursuing a Minor in Climate Change Studies, you will engage in an interdisciplinary program of study that will prepare you for an understanding of climate change from diverse perspectives, examining scientific, political, psychological, economic and ethical dimensions of the problem and its solutions. The new minor is housed within the Bachelor of Environmental Studies program, but it’s open to students in all programs across Saint Mary’s. 

Contact us
Faculty of Arts
Mailing address:
Saint Mary’s University
923 Robie Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3C3

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