Arts Departments and Areas of Study

Arts students at Okanagan College can choose to study an amazing range of courses. If you’re interested in something—music, art, literature, film, culture, thought, theory—chances are we offer a course in it. And you can transfer these courses fully to any BC university.

Visit the BC Transfer Guide for complete information on course transfer: http://www.bctransferguide.ca.

Anthropology

Anthropology asks the question: what makes us human? To answer this, anthropologists study human culture in all its diversity and similarity, looking at the world in new ways and questioning the ethnocentric assumptions that guide much of our thinking and perceptions. Anthropologists seek to recognize the impact of our own culture on our understanding of others. Visit the department website at: anthropology.

Communications & Media and Cultural Studies

Communications is the study of how meaning is made in a range of contexts, including advertising, television, film, music, popular culture, and the internet. Faculty in the department explore how communication is fundamentally related to the development of self and society and examine how the messages of the contemporary world influence our perception of such issues as gender, race, class, and community. Visit the department website at: communications.

Economics

Do you think about such serious issues as child labour, homelessness, free trade, global poverty, and global warming? Do you wonder how these problems might be solved and how you might be part of the solution? If you’re ready to tackle these kinds of tough questions, you’re ready for Economics. Faculty in the department help students develop the critical skills necessary to answering the world’s most complex questions.

English, Fine Arts, & Writing and Publishing

The Department of English is interested in language and literature, in the way words and narratives work in our daily lives. English faculty—published writers themselves—encourage students to read critically and write creatively--to engage with language and stories that shape our view of the world and our place in it. The Department of English is also home to the Kalamalka Press, the Vertigo Voices Reading Series, the Mackie Lake House Writer in Residence program, and more! In addition, Fine Arts courses are under the supervision of the English Department. Visit the department website at: english.

Geography & Earth and Environmental Science

Do you like Google Earth? GPS? Going on fieldtrips? Geography & Earth and Environmental Science courses teach students about the world around them and how they fit into it. Geographers look at both the natural environment and the ways in which people live within their environment. To Geographers, understanding these factors is increasingly important as our resources shrink, as our cities grow, and as our climate changes. Visit the department website at: geogees.

History

Is it true that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it? Studying in History involves studying the critical events and issues of the past, in an effort to better understand their impact on the present. Historians seek to understand the major economic, legal, political, and social developments from the Ancient to Contemporary world. Visit the department website at: History

Modern Languages

The study of language broadens cultural horizons and helps to develop critical thinking and communication skills. The Department of Modern Languages offers students the opportunity to develop linguistic understanding and competence in a range of languages. Faculty in the department also expose students to the literature, history, and cultures of the countries where the languages are spoken. Visit the department website at: Modern_Languages.

Philosophy

What is the meaning of life? Do you have free will? What is good and evil? The Department of Philosophy challenges students to engage directly with these questions, to understand the philosophical issues concerning society and its fundamental institutions. Students in Philosophy develop critical thinking and reasoning skills and come to understand the complexities of modern life.

Political Science and Aboriginal Studies

If you’re interested in issues such as civil rights, war, peace, poverty, justice, globalization, and equality, you’re likely interested in Political Science. Concerned with the theory and practice of politics, faculty in the department help students develop the ability to understand the world from a variety of political, social, and cultural perspectives. Visit the department website at: Political Science

Psychology & Criminal and Social Justice

Why do we do what we do, think what we think, feel what we feel? Why do we dream? Why do we strive and struggle, hope and despair, love and hate? These are the sorts of questions central to the study of Psychology, a diverse discipline concerned with the study of human behaviour and mental processes. To faculty in the department—and to the students who take their courses—these are the questions central to life itself. Visit the department website at: psychology-criminal-social-justice.

Sociology

Have you thought about how your social background shapes the kind of job you may have after graduation? Have you wondered about how different your life would be if you had been born in an impoverished village? Have you thought about why you buy the products that you buy? About the cultural values our media presents and how that might shape society? Sociology helps us gain a better understanding of ourselves and the social world. It helps us to see how our behaviour is shaped by the groups to which we belong and the society in which we live. Visit the department website at: sociology-womens-studies.

Women’s Studies

Is there a connection between women's rights and human rights law? Between women’s reproductive health and social justice? Do the depictions of men and women in the media influence our behaviour? Women’s Studies asks these sorts of questions and includes disciplines as diverse as Law, Political Science, Health, Media, and Religious Studies, with an emphasis on global understanding of race, class, gender, sexuality ethnicity, and geographical location in interdisciplinary study. Visit the department website at: sociology-womens-studies.