Inspire the next generation of changemakers and learn more about what Brock University’s Faculty of Social Sciences has to offer through our local high school visits. Our introductory sessions give students the opportunity to explore career paths in the social sciences, get a taste of the university experience, learn how to think critically about important local and global issues, and participate in interactive activities led by current faculty members.

Communication Sciences & Disorders – A Crash Course!

Presented by the Department of Applied Linguistics
Learn how language is represented in the brain, discover the impact of stroke on language, practice using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), watch x-ray videos of how people swallow and see what it looks like when they can’t, listen to how sounds are distorted by hearing loss, explore the challenges of learning to read, and examine early language milestones. All this and more in our interactive crash course!

Communication and Media Studies is “so Julia”

Presented by the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film
Like the references in Charlie XCX’s “song of the summer,” 360, Communication and Media is everywhere. From social media to packaging of breakfast items, what does it mean to critically study the stuff that makes up the stuff of your everyday life? Why does it matter, and where will it take you?

How Economics Can Save the World

Presented by the Department of Economics
Students will be introduced to some key economics concepts and learn how to think like economists. Together we’ll apply this thinking to some problems that students might not think of when they hear “economics” — tackling climate change, curbing bad behaviour, or helping people get new kidneys!

This place doesn’t look like the brochure! Problems of Overtourism and Sustainable Solutions

Presented by the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies
Airports, beaches, theme parks and historic sites are all becoming overcrowded with no end in sight. Are we overrunning the places we love to visit? This presentation will explore how approaches to sustainable tourism can reduce the negative impacts of tourism — or can it?

Climate change and the importance of frozen ground in the north

Presented by the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies
Are your students concerned about climate change? This presentation will allow them to examine how climate is being altered, including linkages among ocean currents, sea ice, and the atmosphere. Students will learn how northern landscapes are being affected including examples of lakes, shorelines, vegetation and fire. Finally, students will discuss the importance of frozen ground and its resilience while observing a demonstration of thawing permafrost.

Doing Geographical Research – Road Construction & Social Change in a Mountain Village

Presented by the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies
Have you ever thought of asking people to take photographs and then talking with them to learn how they experience their surroundings? This is a real research method – called auto-photography – which is easy to learn, fun for researchers and participants, and often used by geographers. Learn how auto-photography was employed in a Pakistani mountain village to study how construction of the community’s first road changed villagers’ everyday lives and the community’s landscape. See some of the photos people took, hear what they said about them, and give analysing auto-photography data a try.

Do You Know Your Rights at Work? An Introduction to Labour Studies

Presented by the Department of Labour Studies
Work affects everyone and everything — our work determines how we spend many of our waking hours and shapes our position in society, our health and economic well-being, and our self-image. This interactive presentation will introduce the academic field labour studies by examining workers’ rights in Ontario. How well do you know your rights?

Baldur’s Gate 3…and Politics?

Presented by the Department of Political Science
The popular video game Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, but gaming isn’t just for fun — role-playing simulations also help us to understand the world of politics. Play a brief simulation with us, The Starship Game, to see how political scientists use games to understand elections, justice, and war and peace. Hopefully Orin the Red doesn’t show up while we’re playing…but we can’t promise she won’t.

America, Are You OK?

Presented by the Department of Political Science
Donald Trump was a candidate unlike any other in American history, and his election to a second term as US President, along with likely Republican control of the House, Senate, and Supreme Court, will give Republicans total control of the US federal government for the next two years.  How did Trump, a convicted felon who fomented insurrection in 2021, manage to regain power and actually win a majority of the popular vote? And what does his election mean for Canada? Will the Canadian economy prosper, under the tariffs that Trump has promised his supporters? Will the world be safer, now that Trump has returned to power? We answer these questions, and many more, in this “explainer” session with Brock’s specialists on American and international politics.

The Last Straw! A Board Game on Social Disparities in Health and Wellness

Presented by the Department of Sociology
The Last Straw is a simulation game designed to introduce a sociological analysis of health and wellness. This session is serious fun! In small groups, each player creates a character who strives to live in good health to a ripe old age. Players soon discover that they are not fully in control of their fate. How does social environment, social policy and community connection matter to the game? Why does it feel unfair? How could we even the playing field?

Content disclaimer: This session contains discussion of sensitive subject matter in relation to health, including violence, smoking and drug use, abortion, illness and death.

Slicing the Wealth Pie

Presented by the Department of Sociology
In this guided activity, we illustrate how wealth is distributed in Canadian society, specifically looking at  inequalities in the household wealth of Canadians. We will play with different ways to visualize wealth inequality and reflect on its implications. The activity introduces a major preoccupation of the discipline of Sociology: examining various patterns of social inequality (such as wealth, occupational status, organizational rank, income, and so on), asking how these patterns interact with other social attributes and identities (such as class, race, gender, age, and ability), and exploring how inequalities persist or change.

Critical Animal Studies: Law, Social Justice, and Environmental Policy

Presented by the Department of Sociology
Orcas recently gripped the public imagination as they attacked boats and even sank a few. Were they just playing or were they animal vigilantes, rebelling against centuries of ocean plunder and environmental destruction? The field of Critical Animal Studies is a multidisciplinary area that explores questions about human and nonhuman animal relationships. In this presentation, you will learn about ground-breaking developments in animal law, animal protection, ethology (animal behaviour), ecology, and social justice advocacy.

Whose safety matters? How can women’s and gender studies create a less violent world for all?

Presented by Women’s and Gender Studies
How does society define safety and violence in ways that ignore marginalized people? What would happen if we prioritized the needs of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people? Are police and prisons the solution to end violence? These are some of the questions we will examine through the lens of women’s and gender studies.