Resources for Faculty Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Dean's Welcome
Welcome to Arts and Humanities!
If you are a university-program student at VIU, you can look forward to taking some interesting courses from among the many offered by our Faculty. We have ten departments to choose from in the Fine and Performing Arts, in Design, and in the Humanities.
Our departments of English, First Nations Studies, History, Media Studies, Modern Languages Studies, and Women's Studies provide course options for students from all programs, offering both required courses and electives, and providing credits toward Majors or Minors for students within our various departments.
In addition, Art and Design, Creative Writing and Journalism, Music, and Theatre present students with options to explore their own creativity and production potential. There are also numerous interdisciplinary combinations among the various Arts and Humanities programs, which enable students to go beyond the simple fulfillment of requirements to gain a truly well-rounded education. Our faculty are committed to providing stimulating classroom experiences - designed to unlock creative potential - for diverse groups of students.
I was fortunate in my undergraduate education to have attended a small, student-focused university (Mount Allison) that specialized in the Arts, and I truly benefitted from small classes, generous access to faculty, and a broad range of creative course options. This early experience has shaped my educational values, particularly my conviction that there is no better way for students to enhance and develop their critical thinking, reading, and writing skills than through a liberal arts education. (I invite you to read my Notes Toward a Teaching Philosophy.) I am therefore gratified to work in a Faculty that is committed to engaging students and enhancing their educational experiences, and to maintaining an open-door policy to promote faculty-student interaction – students are encouraged to drop by and visit their professors (even if just to say hello), to spend time in our student lounge, and to seek advice and guidance from our excellent support staff.
The Arts cultivate intellectual creativity, autonomy, and a passion for life-long learning. Marie Battiste uses the Cree term mawitowinsiwin (“education for life”) to describe the transformative power of education, its ability to create “a level of harmony between individuals and their world” –– I truly hope that your experience in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is transformative in every way.
Ross
Faculty of Arts and Humanities on Facebook
Our Discussion Group on Facebook