At a time when many universities are scaling back their liberal arts offerings, Western University is catapulting its liberal arts education into the twenty-first century. Western’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities is set to launch a new flagship program, which offers an educational experience unlike any other university in Canada.
Western’s new School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities (SASAH) offers a high-calibre cohort of 25 national and international students a unique and intensive hybrid program that combines scholarly investigation, pedagogical innovation, and experiential learning, resulting in a uniquely interdisciplinary and cross-cultural educational experience.
“Understanding the increasing complexity of our globalized and digitized world demands interdisciplinary vision and insight. This requires the kinds of critical and cultural thought and practice that have been the hallmarks of the Arts and Humanities within a liberal arts education,” says SASAH Director Joel Faflak. “The School’s mandate is to educate the imaginations of future cultural citizens and research leaders in order to help them realize their potential to make a transformative impact on the world at large.”
The program will integrate thought and practice from cultural, linguistic, experiential and global perspectives. Students will explore the complexities of human achievement, communication and motivation, acquire languages other than English, interact with digital technologies and environments, and gain exposure to learning and professional opportunities at home and abroad.
Drawing on the Faculty’s national reputation for scholarly excellence and classroom innovation, this immersive program will act as a catalyst for cutting-edge research, publications, presentations, and pedagogy.
Students will progress through an increasingly intensive and enriched curriculum beginning with an introduction to the study of culture and its central place in society and culminating with a full-year seminar on a theme crucial to global cultural development and combined with intensive study abroad. Graduates will receive an undergraduate major from the School in conjunction with a major from an existing program, thus combining disciplinary rigour with interdisciplinary flexibility and experimentation.
SASAH is currently accepting applications for its first cohort of students, set to begin fall 2013. Prospective students will apply to the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, where they will declare their interest in the SASAH and submit a separate portfolio for consideration.
SASAH will officially launch Thursday, November 29 at 4 p.m. in the Atrium of Western’s Weldon Library.
For more information, please visit www.westernu.ca/arts/SASAH
MEDIA CONTACT: Jo Jennings, Communications Officer 519.661.2111 x82200 jo.jennings@uwo.ca
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