COURSE CURRICULUM

The three-year Bachelor of Arts Community Studies (BACS) program in Folklore at Cape Breton University is designed to explore culture, tradition, and expressive forms of everyday life through an interdisciplinary and field-based approach. In the first year, students take introductory community studies courses along with foundational folklore subjects, building skills in critical thinking, communication, and understanding cultural expression. The second year introduces core areas of folklore such as oral traditions, storytelling, music, festivals, foodways, material culture, and cultural performance, along with training in basic ethnographic methods and cultural analysis. Students also begin to examine how traditions function within communities and how they reflect identity and social values. In the third year, the curriculum becomes more advanced and applied, focusing on regional folklore studies, particularly in Atlantic Canada, as well as thematic areas such as urban legends, gender, cultural tourism, and contemporary cultural practices. Students also gain practical experience in interviewing, fieldwork, and ethnographic research, often working with real community contexts and cultural archives. Across all three years, the program emphasizes hands-on learning, research skills, and interdisciplinary thinking, preparing students for careers in cultural heritage, museums, archives, media, tourism, and community development, while also providing a strong foundation for further academic study in related fields.