To new and prospective students in FASS

Welcome! You are about to enter an important period of discovery in your academic life; we are delighted that you will begin this discovery in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Dalhousie University. There has never been a more important time to study the arts, humanities and social sciences or to explore new multidisciplinary connections. At a time when mainstream media insist that solutions to local and global problems lie solely in the application of technology, the approaches we take in FASS reinforce the significance of cultural, social, political and philosophical questions. Our role – and thus your role – is to create the conditions for cultural understanding, well-constructed critique, and solid values. These conditions are all part of solving local and global problems – and they allow us to do so by exploring the very nature of the human experience itself.

In FASS, you will find a dedicated team of professors and staff who aspire to excellence in everything they do. This extends to the classroom environments where you will be challenged to think, read and write critically, to performances where you will engage new forms of creative expression, and to the various forms of engagement in our community life, both academic and non-academic. You will find in FASS the conditions you need to ‘inspire your mind’. I challenge you to engage in subject areas that take you in new directions, perhaps even to take the path less trodden. Our goal is to encourage you to ask the difficult questions, to immerse yourself in the study of life’s complexities, and to enhance your skills for the future. Our professors provide ample demonstration of these points; their award-winning research and teaching ranges globally and yet connects to the practical realities at the local level. You will be exposed to the thinking of leading-edge scholars – and discover that you can play a role in academic inquiry too. Use the resources available to you to create the best possible experience. You will find supportive academic advising resources at the departmental level and across the university; you will find people of like mind – and people with whom you will disagree; you will build new and long-lasting friendships and engage respectfully with new communities and new modes of thought. We know this will be inspiring!