Yuni Kim
Assistant News Editor
After it was put on probation last year due to dwindling student interest, the Canadian studies program at York is back with new initiatives and a guest speaker series.
“We were put on a one-year probation when Atkinson merged into [the faculty of] liberal arts & professional studies [with the faculty of arts],” said Jon Sufrin, coordinator of the Canadian studies program. “We were given a chance to show that we ought to continue to be a program.”
The program was originally put on probation due to a declining number of majors and the intense competition it saw from other
history programs.
Colin Coates, associate professor of Canadian studies at Glendon College, said students are moving away from the program not because they don’t want to learn about Canada, but because they don’t see it as a practical major.
“Students normally want to take the interdisciplinary classes, and they tend to fill up,” said Coates. “But they don’t necessarily want to major in the discipline. Students think they can’t use it as a practical teachable subject […] in fact, teachers end up teaching things that are very similar to Canadian studies.”
A new Canadian studies speaker series, which features a number of faculty members at York, is one of many efforts the university is making to promote the program. Other measures include organizing a student club and coordinating students- versus-faculty hockey matches.
“York has always been a leader in Canada-related subjects,” said English professor Priscila Uppal. “It’s a shame that it hasn’t been promoted to students.”
Uppal cited a lack of funding as one of the major obstacles.
“We’re not generating enough [funds] to promote the program,” she said. “Universities are canceling [the Canadian studies programs] since they are smaller programs compared to others.”
Coates noted that, although there had been a number of universities in recent years that have cancelled the program, there are other institutions where the program is either being launched or is continued.
Yumna Siddiqi, a third-year human resources major, admits that she has been unable to take a Canadian Studies course but feels that it should be a viable option.
“Even if Canadian identity is based on multiculturalism, that’s an identity in itself,” she said. “No other country has such a diverse community. It’s unique and should be taught.”
“Maybe if they made [Canadian Studies courses] part of the general education courses, more people would take it,” she suggested.
“If there are not a lot of students in the program […] obviously it takes money to keep a program,” said Mariam Mahdi, a third-year social work major, who says she learned about Canada through her general education humanities course.
“I’ve been [in Canada] for three years, and I’ve learned so much from required courses and personal experience,” she noted.
Sufrin hopes that if York promotes the program to prospective students, interest in Canadian studies will eventually rise and improve.
“As soon as you actually start studying our home in our own contexts of looking at the things that make us who we are, there are plenty of distinctive things and patterns that make us Canadian,” Sufrin pointed out. “It’s a good way to counteract this idea that Canadians have no identity.”
