General Education

Course Descriptions:

Wellness and Healthy Living

Students investigate their own personal well-being through the exploration of the fundamental principles of physical and mental health. These principles are applied to various day-to-day activities or issues, allowing the student to make positive decisions that lead to a healthy lifestyle. Topics covered include: dealing with stress, exercise and physical fitness, nutrition, sexual health, substance and non-substance addiction, personal safety, and environmentally-friendly health choices. Through interactive lectures and online activities, students use this information to self-reflect and learn more about themselves on a personal level.

Profiles in Crime

Students critically analyze the Canadian criminal justice system and the impact of crime on victims and our society. Students explore criminal typologies, the causes of crime and the changing definition of crime and criminals. Through in-class activities, presentations, group discussion, relevant readings and multi-media presentations, students gain a deeper awareness of current issues facing the criminal justice system including police discretion, the role of the criminal court system, the plight of victims of crime, and proposed solutions to crime.

Creative Thinking

Students explore creativity as a discipline of study, cultural myths about creativity, and the psychological conditions conducive to creative thinking. By engaging in experiential techniques, their competence and confidence to creatively address practical challenges is expanded. Students examine their own creative processes through reflective journaling, and they demonstrate their learning through exercises, a mid-term assessment, designing a project, and the development of a course e-portfolio.

The Science of Popular Diets

Students explore concepts of human nutrition as they relate to fad diets and cultural norms, while gaining an understanding of the impact nutrition has on wellness and disease. A range of popular and culturally-specific diets are critically examined and assessed based on current practice and scientific evidence. Using a variety of interactive learning tools, students investigate the links between the major nutrients and personal health. Further, comparison of individual diet and nutrition standards allows for a thorough understanding of connections between nutrition and health. Students use existing knowledge to evaluate the benefits and consequences of popular "fad" diets. Cultural diet norms and popular diet trends are explored with a focus on the overall impact on individual and population wellness. Finally, through scientific investigation of emerging literature, the impact of scientific change is appreciated.