Social Studies

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The Social Studies Department offers many courses that help us understand our place in the world. Human beings are naturally curious. We are forever asking important and fascinating questions about who we are, what made us the way we are, and where we are going. We want to know about the obstacles that we have had to overcome in the past, as well as what we can expect in the future. Very importantly, we want to understand our present and how we can have a say in shaping it.

The following are just some of the many questions that we would like answers to:

Why, exactly, do we honor veterans of war every November on Remembrance Day?
Why does Vancouver get so much rain and more importantly, do we really have to worry about a major earthquake?
What, if anything, makes Canadians different from Americans?
What do the great religions of the world have in common and how do they differ?
Do men and women think about things differently, and if so, how and why?
What are our legal rights as Canadians and what can we do if someone tries to take them away from us?
What roles have First Nations people played in the history of Canada, and in what ways are they continuing to shape this country in the present?
Why is the fear of unemployment such an important concern for so many of us?

A variety of courses help us to critically think about and hopefully answer our questions. These courses include Social Studies 8 through 11, First Nations, History, Geography, Gender Studies, Law, and Economics. All of these courses are described in detail in the Britannia Course Calendar.