Law, Society and Justice Faculty Reflect on their Newly Developed Learning Community
Reflection on the Process – Chris Bourne
This has been a fascinating project to work on, and a great introduction to building a paired course, particularly in the context of Social Science profiles. Catherine and I both teach courses in the Law, Society, and Justice Profile, and noticed that we often had common students who would draw links between elements in our respective classes. When the opportunity came up to participate in a Learning Communities project to build a joint course that would allow us to leverage both the historical and political content of our courses, as well as the learning activities of each other’s classrooms, we jumped on it!  Catherine’s course on Crime and (In)Justice addressed issues of social and legal injustices in Canadian history, particularly toward marginalized peoples, while in my course on Canadian Democracy I focus on institutions, such as the Charter of Rights, which attempt to address this history of injustice through legal, political and state means. Knowing that the same group of students is engaging with both sets of material allows us to provide a rich and robust learning experience.
Reflection on the Process – Catherine Braithwaite
When Chris and I discussed the creation of a thematic course pairing of our Canadian History and Canadian Democracy courses, it was such a perfect fit from the get-go! Situating a discussion of the historical (mis)treatment of communities including Black Canadians, women, Indigenous nations, and Asian immigrants within the larger context of a course on Canadian democracy and its legal and political (mis) management of certain events and individuals made for a perfect intersection of social science disciplines. Our discussions over the course of our winter 2021 release to plan our paired LC courses were stimulating, and at every one of our weekly meetings, we were excited by our new ideas. Our Learning Community mentor, Lisa Steffen from the History department, joined us on several occasions to discuss ideas and help guide us through the process; her LC knowledge and course experience was invaluable in guiding us over obstacles. Thinking of how these two courses would intersect on certain themes; what kind of experiential learning activities we could incorporate for both classes that would bring to life the events and ideas we were talking about; and finally, what joint, capstone assignment would offer a rich and multi-dimensional learning experience of both the political science and history material – these discussions kept us going all semester! In the end, Chris and I are confident that what we have created will offer students a relevant and stimulating Learning Community experience.
Law Society and Justice Learning Community Course Description:
Human Rights, (In)justice, and Democracy in Canada’s Past and Present
Why did certain groups such as Japanese Canadians, Indigenous nations and homosexuals suffer inequitably at the hands of the Canadian state over past centuries? Why were the rights of marginalized communities repressed by provincial and federal governments historically, and how did they achieve justice, equality and conciliation through the passage of such legislation as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? How does the Canadian state try to balance the emerging human rights and freedoms of the individual with the state’s suppression of human rights for the sake of the ‘common good’? This pairing of Canadian Democracy and Canadian History will offer students a learning community where they will explore intersecting themes that examine our unquestioning beliefs in Canadian equality and democratic institutions through particular historical events that have challenged concepts of ‘justice’. Working as a team, this class will examine the historical and political balance between human rights and democracy and question how – through the lens of gender, ethnicity, and race – our ideologies and institutions have not always lived up to the Canadian promise of equality for all. Students will have the opportunity to hear multiple historical voices and examine a variety of political institutions and ideologies, culminating in a capstone historical-legal re-enactment experience that will allow them to analyze both the strengths and weaknesses inherent in Canadian democratic society today and yesterday.
