Arts Cohort Program
Qéq’llemwilc / Becoming Braided
TRU Faculty of Arts
Welcome !
This is your go-to hub for everything related to the Arts Cohort
Applause for making it to Thompson Rivers University (TRU)! Starting university is both thrilling and a bit overwhelming, but don’t worry—we’ve got your back. The Arts Cohort program is crafted specifically for first-year Bachelor of Arts students at TRU, giving you a unique chance to manage your schedule and navigate university life with ease.
What’s in it for you? As part of this cohort, you’ll take six courses with the same group of peers throughout your first year (three in the fall and three in the winter semester). This setup helps you build strong relationships and make lasting friendships right from the start.
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Meet Your Instructors
Get to know your passionate faculty members and what makes them tick.
Jenna Goddard
Courses taught: STSS 1010: Academic Success Skills: An Introduction to Writing, Research, Studying, and University Life In and Outside the Classroom
Dr. Jenna Woodrow
Courses taught: PHIL 1010: Introduction to Philosophy: Great Thinkers: Ancient to Enlightenment
Crystal Huscroft
Courses taught: GEOG 1000 Lecture: Planet Earth: An Introduction to Earth System Science
Dr. Nicholas Hrynyk (he/him)
Courses taught: HIST 1400: Queer Activism
Welcome to HIST/POLI 1400: Queer Activism! I am excited to embark on this journey with you. As an interdisciplinary historian trained in women’s and gender studies, queer studies, and social justice, my work is deeply rooted in exploring the complexities of identity and activism. My research spans various intersecting fields, including queer history, disability studies, feminist and gender studies, critical race studies, and visual culture.
In this course, we will engage with 2SLGBTQ+ activism from the 1950s onward, with a special emphasis on Canada. We will investigate how queer communities in North America are created and sustained through protest, alliance-building, symbols, and digital spaces. Additionally, we will navigate the historical and contemporary politics of “inclusion” within queer communities. You will engage with both formal and informal forms of queer activism and apply core principles learned to transformative social justice projects. Over the course of the semester, I will help you explain the evolution of queer activism as experienced from inside the movement. We will identify and explain the significance of catalysts and turning points such as HIV-AIDS and same-sex marriage in the evolution of queer activism. Additionally, we will describe and evaluate the impact of organizing strategies, such as law reform and pride parades, on the lived reality of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and communities. Together, we will explore the intersection of queer activism with feminist and other social justice activism and describe how queer theory challenges common-sense ideas about gender, race, and sexuality.
You will evaluate the usefulness of personal narrative as an authoritative source of knowledge about queer activism and locate and assess local sources of information about queer activism. You will design and compose queer-positive messages and strategies to challenge homophobia and transphobia, defend the importance of coming out as a form of activism, and defend the importance of queer-friendly spaces such as 2SLGBTQ+ clubs on university campuses, gay-straight alliance clubs in secondary schools, and pride parades. Finally, you will assess your own internalized homophobia and transphobia, articulate the rationale for challenging these biases, and work cooperatively with others to create and present a group project.
As you can tell, my work is not just academic; it reflects my passion and commitment to understanding and advocating for the queer community. I look forward to sharing these insights and engaging in meaningful discussions with all of you throughout this course.
Warmest wishes, Dr. N. Hrynyk
Dr. Heather MacLeod
Courses taught: ENGL 1100: Introduction to University Writing
Dr. Ji Young Lee-An
Courses taught: SOCI 1210: Introduction to Sociology II
Hello Arts Cohort student members,
My name is Jiyoung Lee-An (Lee is my mother’s family name and An is my father’s family name. I have adopted both family names as part of the Korean feminist movement) and I am a faculty member in Sociology at TRU. I am pleased to be part of this very first Arts Cohort Project together with you. I will teach Introduction to Sociology II in the 2025 Winter semester. I came to Canada as an international student for my PhD in sociology, and now I am an immigrant living on the unceded, traditional lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. I am living, learning and teaching on these unceded lands, with full awareness and respect of and support for Indigenous resistance and pathways to decolonization.
As a critical race feminist sociologist, in the course, I will introduce decolonial and anti-racist feminist sociological perspectives to understand and critically engage with the broader social structures of colonialism, capitalism, heteropatrichy and globalization in both Canadian and global societies. You will have an opportunity to delve into diverse sociological topics of gender, race, social class, dis/ability, work, education, technology, media, environment, etc. I place a high value on critical thinking, inclusive and communal learning and collaborative work. You will be invited to work with your peers in class and produce collective outcomes together.
Looking forward to meeting you soon!