Mount Allison University is introducing a new interdisciplinary major in community, education, and social change, creating new opportunities for students to connect their academic studies with community-based learning and real-world experience.
Launching this month as part of Mount Allison’s Community Engaged Learning program, the bachelor of arts major draws on fields including Indigenous studies, geography, sociology, and religious studies.
Students will explore areas such as social justice, decolonization, community-supported education, climate change and the environment, Indigenous ways of knowing, and the theory and practice of community engagement.
At the heart of the program is learning with communities.
“The Community Engaged Learning major brings students, community members, Elders, mentors, organizations, and industry partners together in shared learning experiences that connect academic knowledge to real-life community strengths, challenges, and opportunities,” says Sacha Dewolfe, assistant professor in Indigenous studies. “By learning with communities rather than simply about them, students gain a deeper understanding of their role as citizens and professionals, while communities benefit from new ideas, energy, and relationships.”
“This program is borne from our own desires as faculty to make meaningful contributions to the community in which we live and work,” says Fiona Black, program lead. “We’re responding to students’ desires to learn how to do the same.”
