New College Academic Programs

Overview

About Critical Studies in Equity & Solidarity

For over 20 years, the program for Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity (CSES) has offered students an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and analyzing social inequality and justice in local and transnational contexts. The undergraduate Major and Minor programs provide students with the theoretical and practical tools necessary to study the social, political, economic and historical contexts of the world/s around them. Students in CSES pursue a wide range of courses rooted in transformative social change, political activism and formations of solidarity.  

Our faculty are experts in studies of social justice, colonialism, settler colonialism, capitalist imperialism, political economy, race, gender, sexuality, disability, food security, land/water and sustainability, activism, anti-colonial thought, solidarity and the art of resistance. Putting theory into action, teaching and learning takes place both in the traditional university classroom and beyond, including in cultural and social movement spaces and with local and international organizations. Many of our graduates go on to pursue advanced studies in a variety of academic fields, including graduate studies and professional schools (law, education, social work) while others go on to careers in the non-profit and public sectors. With a vibrant student body, an award-winning teaching faculty, and a bold and socially relevant curriculum, CSES at New College is a leader in undergraduate social justice education in Canada. 

CSES is an interdisciplinary Major and Minor program offering students critical approached to understanding and analyzing social inequity and justice in local and transnational contexts. 

Download our program flyer here
Download our program FAQs handout here

Why Choose CSES? 

• Bold, socially relevant curriculum: Choose from a wide range of interdisciplinary courses that explore areas such as social justice, social movements, colonialism, settler colonialism, capitalist imperialism, race, gender, sexuality, disability and disability justice, global food equity and security, land/water and sustainability, activism, solidarity and the art of resistance.
• Award-winning teaching faculty: Our faculty and instructors are engaged in path-breaking research in their respective fields and have won university-wide, provincial, and national awards for teaching excellence, academic leadership, curriculum innovation and graduate mentorship. Our faculty have also received national and institutional grants for cutting edge research and pedagogical innovation.  

• Learning beyond the classroom: Our collaborative teaching and learning environments include spaces both in and beyond the traditional university classroom.  CSES students learn how to put the theory learned in the classroom into action through community engaged learning placements with local campus and community organizations and cultural spaces and/or by participating in international experiential learning programs such as our Belize program on indigeneity and food. 
  
• Opportunities to engage in undergraduate research: Faculty regularly take on work-study students to assist with research projects. CSES students also have the opportunity to craft, edit and publish their research and writing in one of CSES’s two peer-reviewed undergraduate student journal (Knots: An Undergraduate Journal of Disability Studies or ROVE). 

• Deep Involvement in co-curricular activities: CSES students have access to a rich array of campus clubs and groups. Here at New College and across campus our students are known to be leaders on campus, often taking on prominent roles in justice-oriented groups like NEW Pride, the Black Students Association (BSA), the Arts and Science Student Union (ASSU), Students for Barrier Free Access (SBA) and the Association for Part Time Undergraduate Studies (APUS). The Equity Studies Student Union (ESSU) is a vibrant, award- winning student group whose members organize public events that complement in-class education for Equity Studies students and introduce students from other programs to social justice issues. 

• Exciting post-graduate opportunities: Our graduates go on to pursue advanced studies in a variety of academic fields and professional schools (law, education, social work) while others go on to careers in the non-profit and public sectors.  

• Vibrant community: Be a part of a close-knit community of students and faculty committed to social justice and transformative change! 

Learn more about our program history and current objectives, explore our curriculum and unique learning opportunities!