Queen’s offers new Major and Medial degree in Indigenous Studies

Starting in September of 2020, Queen’s University students will be able to choose a Major or a Medial degree in Indigenous Studies, administered by the university’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. 

“The plans combine courses from a wide range of departments (Art History; Biology; Drama; Economics; English, Film Studies; Gender Studies; Geography; Global Development; History; Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Law, Political Studies; and Religion), ensuring that students are exposed to a diversity of perspectives on Indigenous topics,” said the university’s press release regarding the new programs. “The plans therefore, not only reflect the interdisciplinary focus of Indigenous Studies, but also contribute to the expansion of this field of study.”

Queen’s University says the core objectives of the Indigenous Studies program are to “provide students with core knowledge of the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples in Canada and globally, and to ensure that students develop skills to work with Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous methodologies, framed through Indigenous pedagogies and learning practices.”

The program will introduce students to Indigenous worldviews, histories, geographies, law, politics, education, spirituality, and art, as well as concepts of colonization, decolonization, and Indigenous-settler relations. Students will engage in land-based learning, according to the university, and be introduced to local Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe communities.

These new Major and Medial degree programs build on the existing Bachelor of Arts general degree in Indigenous Studies, first introduced in the fall of 2013, which can be completed either as a Minor with any other Major offered in the Faculty of Arts and Science, or as a stand-alone three-year degree.