AGENDA ITEM NO: 10.2
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
Gordon Hill, Chair, Academic Programs Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
Nov. 20, 2008
SUBJECT:
Items for Information:
Pharmacy & Nutrition: Cross-College Minor in Food
Science
Arts & Science: Third offering of NS 298.3 Aboriginal
Health and Healing
COUNCIL ACTION:
For information only
1. Pharmacy and Nutrition: Cross College Minor in Food Science
Under Council policies for approval of minors, colleges may offer minors in existing fields of
specialization following approval through Course Challenge, while minors in new fields of
specialization can be offered following approval by the Academic Programs Committee. Crosscollege minors, where a minor is being offered in one college but using resources from another
college, also require approval by the Academic Programs Committee.
At its Nov. 4, 2008 meeting, the Academic Programs Committee approved the proposal
from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition to offer a minor in Food Science, as described in the
attached document.
2. Third offering of Native Studies 298.3 Aboriginal Health and Healing
Under the Council policy for Special Topics courses, the offering of such a course for a third
time requires approval by the Academic Programs Committee. At its Nov. 4, 2008 meeting, the
Academic Programs Committee approved the proposal from the College of Arts and Science for
a third offering of NS 298.3 Aboriginal Health and Healing.
ATTACHMENTS:
Pharmacy & Nutrition: Cross College Minor in Food Science
Arts & Science: Third Offering for NS 298.3
Special Topics policy
From:
To:
cc:
Subject:
Date:
Attachments:
Tom Steele
Fornssler, Cathie;
Sandra Paradis;
request for third offering of NS 298.3
Friday, October 10, 2008 10:04:27 AM
NS 298.3 from August 2006 Cllege Challenge.doc
Cathie:
I am writing to request that Academic Programs Committee of Council
(APC) consider a request from the Department of Native Studies to
deliver the special topics course NS 298.3 Aboriginal Health and Healing
a third time. This request has been approved by the Arts & Science
Committee of Academic programs and Standards for the Humanities, Fine
Arts, and Social Sciences.
The Department has been very pleased with this course delivered within
the Aboriginal First year Experience Program (AFYEP), and would like to
develop a permanent course that serves the combined needs of AFYEP and
Native Studies students. However, because of the complexities
associated with this multi-unit collaboration and to be sensitive to
workloads of new faculty in Native Studies, more time is needed for the
Department of Native Studies to refine the curriculum as needed for a
long-term commitment to this course.
I believe this is a very responsible request from the Department,
because they wish to ensure the course fits with the Native Studies
undergraduate curriculum and faculty complement as a permanent course. A
third offering will provide enough time for the Department to
collaborate with stakeholders and create an effective course for both
the Native Studies and AFYEP programs.
Attached is the original course proposal submitted to the August 2006
Arts and Science College Challenge.
I would appreciate some indication of when APC would be able to respond
to this request.
Sincerely
========= Tom Steele
-*****************************************************
Dr. Tom Steele
Associate Dean (Undergraduate)
Professor of Physics & Engineering Physics
College of Arts & Science, University of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 966-4236
*****************************************************
NATIVE STUDIES
New Course
NS 298.3 Special Topics: Aboriginal Health and Healing
2(3L)
Prerequisite(s): NS 105.3
The purpose of this course is to learn about concepts of Aboriginal health and
healing among the First Nations and Metis peoples of Saskatchewan. We will
explore the concepts of the First Nations and Métis populations represented in
this province. Concepts of physical, psychological, and spiritual healing will be
explored. Participants will have the opportunity to explore ceremony and ritual
with traditional Elders. Students will be expected to have a basic understanding
of the historical, political, social and economic background of the Aboriginal
peoples of Saskatchewan and Canada. This course will explore the connections
of these aspects of Aboriginal life in Saskatchewan with health and health
outcomes in the Aboriginal population.
Instructors: Rose Roberts, RN, PhD (College of Nursing) and Lewis MehlMadrona, MD, PhD (Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Indigenous Studies).
Rationale
This course is being offered to students participating in the Aboriginal First Year
Experience Program (AFYEP), which is open to any Aboriginal student of the
University of Saskatchewan. The course is being developed and will be taught
by two Aboriginal faculty members in the Health Sciences (Nursing and
Medicine). This pilot offering is intended for students thinking about entering a
program in the Health Sciences. The class will limited to 30 students. The
course will provide students with a rudimentary understanding of Aboriginal
health status and will present some examples of the more common healing
practices found within these communities. This course is being offered as a 200
level Native Studies topics course with the expectation that students will have
completed a 100 level Native Studies course as a pre-requisite and already
possess a historical, political, social and economic background of the Aboriginal
peoples of Saskatchewan and Canada. We feel it is appropriate that the first
students through this course be participants in AFYEP. We have limited the
requirements to Native Studies 105 only (and not the usual 6 credit units)
because the course is intended for students in the first year program. If 100 level
topics courses were available, this course would be proposed as such. As far as
Native Studies majors taking this course, we expect that when it comes to degree
requirements, this offering will be treated as any other Native Studies 298.3
topics course. If the offering is successful, we hope that the course will be made
available to a wider audience of Arts & Science students.
Course Syllabus
Required Texts:
Lux M. K. (2001). Medicine That Walks: Disease, medicine, and Canadian
Plains Native people, 1880-1940. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Mehl-Madrona L. (1998). Coyote Medicine: Lessons for healing from Native
America. New York: Firestone.
Young D, Ingram G, Swartz L. (1989). Cry of the Eagle: Encounters with a Cree
healer. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Reader of Selected writing and research papers.
Recommended Library Reference Works (Some material from these books will
be contained in the Reader)
Waldram J. B. (2003). Revenge of the Windigo: Aboriginal concept of mind and
mental health. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Waldram J. B., Herring D. A., Young T.K. (2005). Aboriginal Health in Canada:
Historical, cultural, and epidemiological perspectives (2nd ed). Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
Major Topics
• First Nations and Métis Cultures of Saskatchewan: Cree, Dene, Dakota,
Saulteaux, Assiniboine, and Métis
• Overview of Aboriginal concepts of health and disease.
• Overview of diseases in Aboriginal populations: historical and modern
• Language, Culture, and Healing
• Ceremony and ritual: their role in health care
• What is traditional healing?
• Concepts of mind and mental health
• Stories and storytelling
• Elder experiences
• Sweat Lodge
• Alternative Healing Modalities
• Concepts of integrated health care: working with aboriginal healers, working
with aboriginal patients in a culturally sensitive way
• Changing medicine
Additional opportunities for participation in ceremony will be available.
Evaluation
• Completion of a “situating ourselves” assignment in which students describe
their origins of family, culture, place, and meaning. - 20%
• A 10-15 page, double spaced paper related to some aspect of aboriginal
health and healing. - 25%
• Weekly journal submissions reflecting on that week’s topic. - 15%
• Completion of a final examination based upon the assigned readings. - 40%
Academic Programs
Committee of Council
Undergraduate Special Topics Courses Policy
Purpose:
To allow colleges and schools some latitude in mounting course offerings when confronted by special
circumstances. Visiting scholars, for example, could give a one-time offering in their field of expertise
rather than fitting it into a regular course already on the books. In addition, these could be utilized to test
new ventures, to have a fall-back when program changes have been delayed, etc. Special Topics courses
can also be used as custom-designed courses for single students or groups of students.
Guidelines:
1. Every offering of a special topics course must be recommended by a department and approved
by the faculty of the college responsible for the course. It should be forwarded to the Academic
Programs Committee and the Registrar’s Office for information when the course is approved
2. A college may wish to delegate responsibility for approving special topics courses to its
program or curriculum committee.
3. Courses must be in an approved subject area and should be numbered 298, 398, 498, 598 or
299, 399, 499, or 599. Special Topics courses may not be offered at the junior level.
4. These special topic courses are not intended to replace regular course offerings and normally
cannot substitute for a required course in a program.
5. The maximum number of times a single topic can be offered is twice in five years (unless
approved by the Academic Programs Committee.) The Committee will periodically review the
offerings to ensure compliance.
6. While colleges will determine the maximum number of credit units in special topics courses
that could be applied to a program, the Academic Programs Committee expects the total should
exceed 6 credit units only in exceptional circumstances.
1991; 1999