Cultural Studies

An introduction to contemporary culture

The Mountâs Cultural Studies program is the only degree program of its kind to be offered in Eastern Canada. In this program, you will study the nature and criticism of culture in its multiple forms and expressions, including literature, film, visual art, and popular culture. This interdisciplinary program fosters inquiry into the social and political conditions in which thought and expression take place. That is: What is happening? Why? Who/what did it? And under what conditions?

Program Highlights

• Choose flexible options to select Cultural Studies as a major, combined major, concentration or minor. Read the official Academic Calendar Program Description »
• Numerous electives are available to students on a regular basis, including Special Topics courses that change every year.

Small Program, Big Ideas

What Is Culture? Explore the answers – and why those answers seem to make sense.

Engage multiple sites and modes of inquiry: visual culture, classic texts, media (social, contemporary, traditional), and the ideas and values they communicate.

Distinctive courses:

• CULS 2201: Critical Debates – Regulation of the Body (social and individual).
• CULS 3305: Subcultures – A critical analysis of subcultures and their cultural forms and practices in historical context. Topics have included Vagabonds; religious groups (Bahai; Scientology; 7th Day Adventists; Rastafarians…); punk; Masons; leatherfolk; etc. Questions of definition and power are engaged throughout the course.
• CULS 3306 Rap, Resistance and Religion – An analysis of the intersections of rap, resistance and religion in hop-hop culture from the 1970s to the present, through the critical lens of popular culture in a global context.
• CULS 3310 Special Topics/RELS 3310 Selected Topics:  Advanced Evil – What happens when conventional explanatory frameworks of what constitutes Good and Evil fall short, or indeed, miss the mark entirely? Central to this study is the concept of transgression, and its expressions, representations, and consequences. A common focus in recent years has been apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

New courses:

• CULS 2297 Animated Film – An investigation into the animated form through critical study of its history and theory and its subversive role as a medium for radical critique of the dominant culture.

Part of a Community

Diverse faculty and small classes are things that makes the Mount special. Our faculty come from History, SOAN, English, Political and Canadian Studies, Public Relations, Womenâs Studies, Modern Languages, Philosophy/Religious Studies, and Fine Arts/the Art Gallery.

Our Student Society motto: Semper transitu termini… “Always Crossing Boundaries”

Our Graduates

Cultural Studies graduates are working in a broad range of fields: journalism, library science, government and NGO service sectors, education, arts and culture, and many more.

Many of our graduates also pursue graduate or further study in a range of academic fields, including social and political theory, literature, film, philosophy, cultural studies, and women and gender studies, as well as professional programs in life-long learning, adult education, literacy, and social work. Read what our students say »

In general, secondary school applicants have an average of 70% (5 best scoring academic subjects considered) during their final year of schooling. Applicants looking to transfer from another post-secondary institution must demonstrate an overall GPA of 2.0. Refer to chart below for program specific requirements.