S.09-1Oi
1. SFULL PROGRAMME PROPOSAL FOR A MA. IN HUMANITIES
APPENDIX B: NEW COURSE PROPOSAL FORMS AND SAMPLES
1. HUM 800-5 ? Theories and Methods in the Humanities
2. HUM 801-5 ? Research Development Seminar
APPENDIX C CALENDAR ENTRY
7c13
Appendix E

S.09-1Oi

OFFICE 01: THE VI CE-PRES IDENT, ACADEMIC AND PROVOST

MEMO

ATTENTION: Senate

FROM: ?

Jonathan Driver, Vice-President, Academic & Provost, and Chair, SCUP

RE: ?

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: Full Program Proposal for a

MA in Humanities (SCUP 09-341

DATE: ?

July 29, 2009

At its July 8, 2009 meeting SOUP reviewed and approved the full program

• ?

proposal for a MA in Humanities in the Department of Humanities from the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Motion

That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors, the proposal

for a MA in Humanities in the Department of Humanities from the Faculty of

Arts and Social Sciences.

end.

c: K. Mezei

c: S. Gandesha

SIMoN FRASER UNIVERSITY

THINKING OF THE WORLD

FULL PROPOSAL

MA IN HUMANITIES

JULY. 2009

• ?

REVISED

•

Contents:

Full Proposal

Appendix A:

Faculty CVs

Appendix B:

New Course Proposals

Appendix C:

Calendar Entry

Appendix D:

Library Report

Suggested Referees

SFULL PROGRAMME PROPOSAL FOR A MA. IN HUMANITIES

1. Executive Summary:

Credential to be awarded:

Master of Arts in Humanities

2. Location:

Simon Fraser University

Faculty:

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

4. Department:

Humanities

Anticipated start date:

September 2010

Curriculum

2.1.

Background

In 1980, the Humanities programme was created to offer courses in several core areas of

the Western tradition not included in SFU's curriculum, such as classical civilization and

culture, the study of religion, and interdisciplinary approaches to social and political

thought. By 1999, the programme had grown into a full-fledged department. As of Fall,

2008, enrolment in the existing undergraduate Humanities courses was 888 (almost

double the enrollment of 1999). In Fall, 2008, students registered in courses included 27

majors, 19 minors, 38 extended minors. The Humanities Department currently offers 46

courses in the 07/08 calendar, 28 of which are upper division and 18 lower division. Our

• faculty complement has increased to 10.5 full-time faculty (including the J.S.

Woodsworth Chair) and 2 joint appointments. Our steadily rising undergraduate base is

an indication of the interest in, and support for, a text-based, interdisciplinary Master's

humanities programme.

2.2.

Objectives

The M.A. in Humanities is designed for students wishing to pursue specific cross-

disciplinary, text-based research projects; it will enable specialization in a specific period

or theme in the context of a programme that has a strong grounding in the humanistic

tradition from ancient Greece to the modern period. Structured around two primary

thematic modules—"Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Thought and Culture" and

"Modernity and Its Discontents"--under which courses shall be organized, the

programme will respond to persistent student demand for advanced studies in these areas.

Moreover, it will address the lack of available graduate humanities programmes in

Western Canada specifically encompassing the ancient through to the modern world. It

will train students to think critically in different disciplines, historic periods, and cultures.

In contrast to Special Arrangements Programme and Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS)

programme, it offers students the possibility of a

research-intensive, thesis-based MA.

within

the context of a cohort and a department.

In contrast, the MLS for GLS is

directed toward mid-career and professional students. Because the GLS programme is

under the umbrella of the Humanities Department, students seeking a Masters degree will

be advised as to the appropriate program to enroll in

The programme is inextricably tied to the strategic planning of the department, the

faculty and the university as a whole. It reflects the goal of the Humanities Department to

pursue cross-disciplinary, text-based studies in the foundational areas of Classical,

Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Religion and Culture; and Modern and Critical

Thought, and Classical and Modern Chinese and Japanese Thought, Culture and

Literature. It furthers the strategic aims of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the

University, a core component of which, as indicated in the FASS Three—Year Plan 2004-

07, consists of "a modernized version of

artes liberales."

Moreover, it advances the

"President's Agenda: SFU at 40" that SFU provide the "most innovative interdisciplinary

programmes."

2.3.

Outcomes

Students coming into the programme will receive training that will enable them to bring

the methods and content of different, discrete disciplines to bear on their specific research

projects. The programme will produce students who specialize in a period or theme in the

context of a strong grounding in the humanistic tradition from antiquity to modernity.

Students will thus be prepared for further studies either in an interdisciplinary programme

of their choice or in specialized disciplines related to their research projects. Accordingly,

the Humanities MA:

• responds to persistent student demand for advanced studies in classical, medieval,

and renaissance thought and culture and in modernity;

• addresses the scarcity of available graduate interdisciplinary programmes in the

humanities in Western Canada;

• trains students to think critically in different disciplines, across disciplines, and

across historic periods and cultures;

• in contrast to. both Special Arrangements and Graduate Liberal Studies

programmes, offers students the possibility of a research-intensive thesis-based

MA within the context of a cohort.

2.4. Research Expectations and Implications.

Currently,

faculty members have SSHRC Standard Research Grants, which can, in part,

be used to employ and train students. Two distinguished Chairs are housed in the

department, the J. S. Woodsworth Chair, currently held by Eleanor Stebner, and which

has a budget for a Research Assistant, and the Farley Chair, held by Paul Dutton.

Graduate students will be encouraged to present their research in departmental colloquia

and at events sponsored and funded by the Institute for the Humanities; they will also be

mentored to publish their work in appropriate scholarly journals and venues. Our

undergraduate students (Andrew Binghan and Daniel Harris) have presented extremely

successful papers at the ACTC (Association for Core Texts and Courses) undergraduate

conference in St. Mary's College, Moraga, California, as well as at the ACTC senior

conference here at SFU in Spring 2005. We would hope to build on this record in the

Graduate programme. Others have gone on to graduate programmes at Cambridge,

Oxford, Amsterdam, New York University, York University and University of Toronto,

and one of our majors and Special Arrangements MA's has taken up a faculty position at

the University of Winnipeg.

Description of Programme and Learning Methodologies

The proposed Masters in

Humanities is an interdisciplinary graduate programme that

normally shall consist of a thesis, and a minimum of 4 graduate courses, 2 of which must

be from the list humanities graduate courses

credits each). It is designed for students

who wish to pursue their own specific cross-disciplinary, text-based research projects.

While the trend in graduate education is toward course-based MA's, we are committed to

the idea that, given its unique, interdisciplinary nature, our programme ought to

encourage students to produce a sustained piece of writing based on original research. We

believe, therefore, that students should write a thesis rather than simply an extended

research paper. For it would be in such an extended piece of writing that the

• interdisciplinary enquiries undertaken in course work could be synthesized to bear real

fruit. This would, in turn, give graduates of the programme an excellent opportunity to

move into disciplinary doctoral programmes, if they so choose. It would also prepare

them for the challenges of producing a doctoral thesis.

The curriculum design offers access to students with a B.A. from a range of majors (e.g.

Classics, History, English, Modern Literatures, Philosophy, Sociology and

Anthropology) in the arts and social sciences from national and international universities.

Faculty research interests and expertise include classical, medieval, and renaissance

thought and culture, modernity, religion and culture, cross-cultural translation,

humanities and citizenship, humanities and the environment. The programme will draw

from the two following modules, and these modules will be regularly and critically

reviewed by the department.

Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Thought and Culture

The traditions of classical, medieval and renaissance thought and culture establish the

foundations of the humanities. This module affords students the opportunity to engage in

philological and historical study of life in these periods. The particular foci would be

Greek law, rhetoric and mythology, medieval paleography, religion, thought, culture, and

society, and renaissance literature, art, history, and science, and classical Chinese culture

and religion.

Modernity and its Discontents

The modern world is constituted out of a unique confluence of three overlapping and

occasionally contradictory streams: social modernization, philosophical modernity and

aesthetic modernism. In this module, students will be able to explore the relationship

between each of these individual currents and in different cultures. Students will also

have the opportunity to investigate the closely related problematics of the opposition of

reason and faith, the emergence of the scientific method, and the corresponding

"disenchantment" and "rationalization" of nature.

2.6. Course Offerings

The programme consists of the following masters courses:

•

Hum 800-5 Theories and Methods in the Humanities

(Fall Semester). Textual

interpretation in the humanities within the context ofinter-disciplinary.approaches

and the thematic modules (team taught).

•

Hum 801-5 Research Development Seminar in the Humanities

(Spring or

Summer Semester). Articulation and refinement of research focus, agendas, and

thesis, and prospectus preparation through faculty guidance and group work (team

taught).

•

Hum 802-5 Themes in the Humanities.

Themes drawn from one of the two

thematic modules, with topics such as: "Greek Law and Governance;" "History,

Memory and Social Change in Chinese Literature and Film;" "What was

Modernism?"; "Comparative European Modern Literature;" "Nature, Self, and

Community."

Hum 803-6 MA Thesis

Hum 804-5 Directed Readings

•

Hum 805-5 Special Topics (e.g. see sample course, "Thinking About Nature,

Culture, Persons")

Hum 800

will be offered every Fall, followed by

Hum 801

in the Spring Semester.

Hum

800

and

801

will enable students to further determine their area of focus and to sharpen

and refine their thesis proposals.

(Hum 802 and Hum 805

will also be offered each

year.) Students will normally be expected to complete their course work within the first 3

semesters. It is recommended that one course be pre-1500, one post-l500.

Hum 800

and

Hum 802

will be offered each fall for entering students; Hum 801 will be offered every

spring to enable students to prepare for and clarify their thesis projects.

With the permission of the Graduate Chair and the relevant outside department, students

will be permitted to take two of the four graduate courses in another department, such as

History, Philosophy, English, Sociology and Anthropology, Women's Studies,

Contemporary Arts, Communications, and the Faculty of Environment, and receive credit

toward minimum degree requirements. Depending upon the availability of space, students

from other graduate programmes will be admitted into our courses with permission of the

Graduate Chair.

Upon admission to the graduate program, each student will be assigned a senior

supervisor, and by the end of the first semester, the student will have established a

supervisory committee as per graduate regulation 1.6 and will have met with their

committee. Each student must prepare a

-5

page thesis proposal that is presented to the

supervisory committee during their 3

semester in the program An appendix of the

student's thesis proposal must include a timeframe for degree completion.

Language Requirement

Students will be expected to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English,

either by passing the appropriate language course or sitting a reading examination.

Distinctive characteristics

• While there is an international trend in interdisciplinary graduate programmes in the

humanities (e.g. the London Consortium's innovative Graduate Programme in

Humanities and Cultural Studies), Canada has relatively few such programmes:

• Laurentian University offers an MA in "Interpretation and Values;" Memorial University,

an MPhil in Humanities; York, an MA and PhD in Humanities; Concordia, a PhD in

"Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture"; and Carleton, a newly established PhD

in "Cultural Mediation in the 20thCentury".

Our MA would be the only one in Canada, apart from York, to be housed in 'a

distinct

department with its own faculty.

The only other interdisciplinary graduate programme in

Humanities in BC is the MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities at Trinity Western

University, which, however, unlike ours, is not department based with its own courses,

faculty and considerable institutional resources such as the Institute for the Humanities.

Rather than drawing upon courses and colleagues from other departments, our

programme offers its own courses within the two primary thematic modules; the courses

themselves are cross-disciplinary: Moreover, we are unique at SFU insofar as our

programme specializes in the reading of primary texts, often in original languages, both

classical and modern. We emphasize text-based research projects geared towards the

production of a research thesis M.A.

4. Evidence of student interest and labour market demand

In the last four years, 10 Special Arrangement Masters and Doctoral graduate students

have sought out supervisors in the Humanities Department. Our programme could

therefore accommodate such students. It will also respond to the 70% of humanities

.majors expressing interest in pursuing graduate studies in humanities as well as the 20%

of Graduate Liberal Studies applicants more suited to a full-time, research-oriented

Masters.

Having been provided with a rigorous training in critical thinking, interpretative and

documentary methods, effective writing skills and reasoned judgment, graduates of our

programme will excel in the teaching professions (secondary and college); in editing and

publishing; in the cultural and media industries and public and civil service. Liberal

education is considered a particularly valuable asset within a fast-changing business

world, which increasingly requires individuals to possess the cognitive and analytical

tools to enable them to adapt quickly to new environments.

This degree can serve as a bridge to higher graduate work in either disciplinary or

interdisciplinary programmes. Students with a Masters in Humanities will be well

prepared for doctoral work in inter-disciplinary PhD programmes such as those offered at

York University, Carleton, or Concordia in Canada, and the rising number of such

programmes in the U.S. and the U.K. such as the Birkbeck Institute'for the Humanities in

London, The Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture Program at SUNY (Binghampton),

The Graduate Program in Humanities at Stanford, The Humanities Program at the

University of Texas (Dallas) and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of

Chicago, the History of Consciousness programme at UC Santa Cruz, to name but a few.

Those who wish to continue onto disciplinary programmes, for example, in classics,

comparative literatures or religious studies, will be' able to demonstrate not only a, strong

background in the specific discipline obtained during the Masters at SFU but, in addition,

bring knowledge of and experience in other disciplines to enhance and broaden their

perspectives.

List of Faculty and Specialization.

Ian Angus:

modern and contemporary continental philosophy; Canadian culture studies

Steve Duguid:

nature, self, community; sustainability; corrections and modernity

Paul Dutton: Farley Chair:

medieval studies (cultural and intellectual history)

Anne-Marie Feenberg:

19th120th

c European fiction and culture; ancient Greek Literature

Samir Gandesha:

modem European thought and culture

Christine Jones:

philosophy of literature; religion, literature and culture

Tsuyoshi Kawasaki:

Japanese culture, political economy; joint appointment (Politics)

Kathy Mezei:

domestic space; translation studies; modernism; comparative literatures

David Mirhady:

classical rhetoric; Greek law; mythology; ancient philosophy

Emily O'Brien:

Italian Renaissance studies; joint appointment (History)

Eleanor Stebner, J.S. Woodsworth Chair:

religious studies, women and religion,

Paul Crowe:

East Asian religion and culture (Asia Canada)

Shu Vu Kong (2008):

Asian Literature and Culture

New appointment (2008) in Humanities and Science (early Renaissance) [postponed]

6. Program Consultations and Evaluation

6. 1. Consultations:

Advice has been sought from other units within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,

leading to constructive consultations with the departments of History, Philosophy and

English.

6. 2.

Evaluations:

The program will be under the direction of the departmental graduate committee

composed of 2 departmental faculty, a graduate student representative, and a graduate

chair. It will be subject to external departmental review every seven years and follow the

policies and procedures of FASS and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Student admission and evaluation

Applicants for admission will be required to hold an undergraduate degree with at least a

3.5

GPA in the humanities, or in humanistic disciplines such as Classics, History, Philosophy,

• English, and Women's Studies, or social sciences such as geography, sociology, anthropology,

or political science. They will also have to meet the standard requirements for admission to a

Simon Fraser University Master's Programme. Admission decisions will be based on

undergraduate grades, a statement of the applicant's proposed area of interest along with a

specific topic for the thesis, two samples of the applicant's writing, and three letters of reference.

Students will be required to complete four courses in the Humanities and to submit a thesis (60-

100 pages).

With a sequenced combination of 4 courses and thesis, students will be expected to

complete the degree in 24 months. Thesis examinations will be conducted in accord with

SFU minimum expectations. In addition, the Thesis examination regulations of the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will be followed.

We propose to admit a cohort of students for the first year of the programme under the

restriction of their being supported financially for 2 semesters of funding from internal

sources (eg. TA'ships, tutor marking), and in the 3rd semester per year the student

funding is expected from the senior supervisor's research portfolio. This model will be

reviewed by the department annually.

The Department of. Humanities encourages students from other institutions to take

courses or migrate between programmes. Qualified students from other BC institutions

will certainly be accepted into the programme. The Western Deans' Agreement also

allows students to transfer courses from other universities in Western Canada that

articulate with courses of the proposed M.A. programme.

Fees, Funding and Resources for Students

All students entering the programme will normally be eligible for departmental support in

the form of, for example, Tutorial Assistantships and Tutor-Marker Positions. Depending

on SFU budget, a minimum of at least 10 TA'ships and 6 tutor-marker positions in

Humanities lower level courses are anticipated available per year. Research grants held

by Angus ($68,000), Dutton ($30,000), Gandesha ($58,000), Mezei ($46,000, plus

collaborative grant, $125,000), Mirhady ($55,000) funded 5 graduate students. In

addition, both the J.S. Woodsworth Chair and the Institute for the Humanities have funds

set aside for research assistants. We anticipate that the Dean of Graduate Studies will

allocate a couple of Graduate Fellowships to support the first intake.

The fees for the programme will be consistent with other graduate programmes in the

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Related programs in your own or other BC post-secondary institutions

Only Trinity Western University offers an-M.A. in this subject, but see 3 above for

important differences from our programme.

10. Budget Requirements

There are no additional budget requirementsat this point.

There are no new library costs. See revised library report attached as appendix D.

Contact Information

Dr. Samir Gandesha

Associate Professor

Department of Humanities

gandeshasf. ca

(778-782-3406)

• APPENDIX A FACULTY CV'S

Replacement

for

pages 1-80

1-12 of original document

Detailed CV's for the following faculty members are available for review upon request. Please

contact 778.782.3168 or email Bobbie Grant at bgrant@sfu.ca

Ian Angus, Humanities

Paul Crowe, Humanites

Stephen Duguid, Humanities

Paul Dutton, Humanities and History

Anne-Marie Feenberg-Dibon, Humanities

Samir Gandesha, Humanities

Christine Jones, Humanities

Tsuyoshi Kawasaki, Political Science and Humanities

Shuyu Kong, Humanities and Asia-Canada Program

Kathy Mezei, Humanities

David Mirhady, Humanities

Emily O'Brien, History and Humanities

•

APPENDIX B: NEW COURSE PROPOSAL

FORMS AND SAMPLES

(Replacement for pages 13 - 36 of original document)

Detailed course proposal forms and sample course outlines for the

following new courses are available for review upon request. Please

contact 778.782.3168 or email Bobbie Grant at bgrant@sfu.ca

HUM 800-5 ?

Theories and Methods in the Humanities

HUM 801-5 ?

Research Development Seminar

HUM 802-5

Themes in the Humanities

HUM 803-6 . MA Thesis

HUM 804-5 ?

Directed Readings

HUM 805-5 ?

Special Topics

APPENDIX C CALENDAR ENTRY

7c13

Appendix C

Proposed Calendar Entry

MA Programme in Humanities

The MA in Humanities is designed for students wishing to pursue specific and advanced

cross-disciplinary, text-based research projects; it enables specialization in a period or

theme in the context of a strong grounding in the humanistic tradition fromancient

Greece to the modern period in different cultures. Structured around two primary

thematic modules—"Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Thought and Culture" and

"Modernity and Its Discontents to which courses will be linked, it trains students to think

critically in different disciplines, historic periods, and cultures.

Admission

Applicants for admission will be required to hold an undergraduate degree with at least a

3.5

GPA in the humanities, or in humanistic disciplines such as classics, history,

philosophy, English, and women's studies, or social. sciences such as geography,

sociology, anthropology, or political science. They will also have to meet the standard

requirements for admission to a Simon Fraser University Master's Programme.

Admission

Degree Requirements

decisions will be based on material submitted with application.

Students must complete a total of 20 credit hours and submit a thesis. Hum 800 and 801 are required-

courses. With a sequenced combination of 4 courses and thesis, students will be expected to complete

the.degree in 24 months. Students will enter the programme in the fall.

Graduate Courses

Required Courses:

Hum 800-5 Theories and Methods in the Humanities

Hum 801-5 Research Development Seminar

Hum 803-6 MA Thesis

Courses:

Hum

802-5

Themes in the Humanities

Hum 804-5 Directed Readings

Hum

805-5

Special Topics

Thesis

Students will complete a thesis that is defended at an oral examination as described in

sections 1.9 and 1.10 of the

Graduate General Regulations.

The thesis proposal must be

approved by both the supervisory committee and the graduate committee.

Language Requirement

Students will be expected to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English.

X /6-

Appendix D

Library Report - Revised June 2009

(Replacement for pages 40 - 42)

A detailed report from the Library is available for review upon request.

Appendix E

Suggested Reviewers

(Replacement for pages 44-45)

A list of suggested reviewers is available for review upon request.

Please contact 778.782.3168 or email Bobbie Grant at bgrant@sfu.ca

if you wish to

review any of the above documentation

If',