Whether it’s exploring the wildness or city streets, Brock students looking to learn out in the field have a variety of course options to choose from this spring.

Field courses offer student hands-on experiences related to their areas of study in distant locations.

For Simon Black, Chair of Labour Studies, this year’s LABR 3P40: Working-Class New York: Life and Labour field course is about a distinct moment in time students can be part of.

“With the recent mayoral election in New York City, social justice is now back at the forefront of the city’s culture and politics — working-class New York is back,” he says. “Zohran Mamdani has been endorsed by the labour movement, he ran on an affordability agenda targeting working-class voters, and he has been quite explicit about making New York City a place in which working-class New Yorkers can afford to live and work. So, it’s a particular moment in time to be travelling to the city and taking this course.”

Black says he is also excited for students to experience how changes in New York City’s politics and economy are reflected in the city’s culture — especially its music scenes.

“I think a trip to the Bronx, the birthplace of hip hop in a time of austerity and great economic hardship, will be a great way to talk more about the various musical cultures that comes out of working-class New York, with all its diversity,” he says.

The Labour Studies field course is one of many offered by programs across the University to support students by illuminating core disciplinary concepts in action and building career skills.

Recreation and Leisure students will head into the backcountry to design and lead their own extended outdoor experience in RECL 4P16: Advanced Wilderness Program Planning.

This two-week intensive course blends on-campus preparation with a seven-day canoe trip to Algonquin Provincial Park, with the department’s Outdoor Education Lab providing basic camping equipment and clothing to students who don’t have their own. Students are responsible for route design, food planning, equipment packing and curriculum development. While in the field, leadership rotates as students serve as “leader of the day,” delivering lessons and guiding daily travel.

Further abroad, the Department of Classics and Archaeology gives students a taste of archaeological excavation in CLAS 3F75: Archaeological Practicum in Mediterranean Lands. Students have the option to travel to Gournia, Greece, or Poggio Civitate Murlo, Italy, to gain excavation experience, which is central to archaeological training, and embark on study tours of famous ancient sites, monuments and museums.

Experienced Classics and Archaeology students looking to sharpen skills in advanced archaeological techniques and surveys can benefit from upper-year practicum courses offered this spring and summer, including CLAS 4P80: Advanced Archaeological Fieldwork in Greece and CLAS 4P85: Advanced Archaeological Fieldwork in Italy.

In FPAC 3P92: The Canadian Correctional System Field Course, upper-year Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice students spend four days visiting penitentiaries in Kingston, Ont., to learn about the different levels of security, assessments and treatment programs for offenders.

The Department of Geography and Tourism Studies offers TOUR/GEOG 3F55: Vancouver Field Course, in which students visit Vancouver, B.C., to learn about the cultural, historical and social geographies of the city through the examination of public space, architecture, tourism spaces, housing and suburbanization.

Field courses may include additional fees and prerequisites. Registration for Spring/Summer courses opens on Tuesday, March 3. For more information on courses or to register, visit brocku.ca/springsummer