MA in Social Justice and Equity Studies

This innovative interdisciplinary MA in Social Justice and Equity Studies responds to the growing need for individuals trained in the expanding field of Social Justice and Equity scholarship. Social Justice Studies is a growing field of study in Canadian universities. It is interdisciplinary, diverse and pluralistic in its theoretical traditions, substantive problematics, methods and approaches.

While the field of Social Justice and Equity Studies is open, it is not completely unbounded. Its emergence as an academic field has historically been linked to ethicopolitical movements for progressive social change. The objective of the SJES program is to train students in critical analysis of social justice and equity issues as related to processes and struggles associated with age, ability, gender, sexuality, racism, speciesism, the environment, class and other patterns of inequality. Training in both theory and research methods links processes operating at and across a range of geographical scales, from the local to the global.

The emergence of the field of Social Justice and Equity Studies also reflects recognition of the links between power and knowledge in the university. Social Justice and Equity Studies seeks to enact an emancipatory politics of knowledge in favouring voices and perspectives that have been historically marginalized and who are actively resisting domination. These legacies and commitments inform the teaching and research done under the auspices of the SJES program at Brock and the criteria for affiliation and admission to the program. The program unites scholars from distinct academic disciplines to provide an exciting breadth and diversity of perspectives. The program is made up of participating faculty from Child and Youth Studies, Communications, Popular Culture and Film Studies, Community Health Sciences, Dramatic Arts, Education, English Language and Literature, Geography, History, Labour Studies, Political Science, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Sociology, Visual Arts and Women's Studies. Students will be equipped to pursue doctoral studies and to offer their expertise as policy makers or policy consultants to social advocacy and social movement organizations as well as a wider public.