Contemporary Studies Program honours requirement and honours application process

As a combined-honours student in the Contemporary Studies Program, you can fulfill the honours requirement in either of your two honours subjects (normally the subject in which you have taken more classes, i.e., your primary subject). The honours requirement in CSP is satisfied by writing an honours thesis, which you will defend at an oral examination.

You also need to complete both parts of the honours seminar. The first part of the honours seminar, CTMP 0456, is a “non-credit” class, but it is still mandatory that you attend it and fulfill all the requirements. The second part of the honours seminar, CTMP 4456 is a 3-credit class, which will count toward the number of credits required for your combined-honours degree.

If you intend to complete an honours thesis in CSP, you must have your honours application approved by the CSP Director and the Chair of the Dalhousie Department. Honours applications should be completed online as follows:

  • Download the fillable pdf Honours Application Form (scroll down and click on “Where can I find the application?”).
  • Fill out the application: include ALL 20 credits required for your degree, i.e., list the classes you have taken so far (e.g., KING 1000.12; CTMP 2002.03; CLAS 3361.03, etc.) and add the classes you are still planning to take (e.g., CTMP 3XXX.03 or ENGL 4XXX.03 if you are not sure which courses you will be taking). If you are planning to write your honours thesis in CSP, include both parts of the Honours Thesis Seminar (CTMP 0456.00 and CTMP 4456.03) on the form.
  • Forward the form to the Director or Undergraduate Advisor of your primary program (normally the program in which you have more credits) with a request for signature. Upon determining that you have all the required credits and fulfill the prerequisites, they will sign the form and return it to you.
  • Forward the form to the Director or Undergraduate Advisor of your secondary program for signature. Upon determining that you have all the prerequisites and required credits, they will sign the form and return it to you.
  • Forward the form, signed by both advisors, to the Dal Registrar’s Office (ro.records@dal.ca), copied to sharon.brown@ukings.ca and glowacka@dal.ca.

If you are planning to write your honours thesis in CSP, once your honours application is approved, please contact the CSP Director Dr. Dorota Glowacka (glowacka@dal.ca) as soon as possible for permission to register in both parts of the Honours Thesis Seminar (CTMP 0456.00 and CTMP 4456.03). If you would like to register in the Honours Thesis Seminar prior to having your form approved by both departments, you should email Dr. Glowacka and request a waiver of this requirement.

Your approved honours application must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by September 16.

Honours Thesis Seminar–CTMP 0456.00 (pass/fail) and CTMP 4456.03 (graded)

Students who are fulfilling their honours requirement in CSP must take both parts of the honours thesis seminar. The seminar will be offered in person, and the course content will be posted on Brightspace. Please note that the second half of the Honours Thesis Seminar, CTMP 4456.03, will be activated in the winter term and the content migrated from CTMP 0456.00. Registered students who later decide not to write the thesis must withdraw from CTMP 0456.00 and CTMP 4456.03 by October 31.

CTMP 0456.00 will consist of FOUR meetings, which will take place on the following days: September 9, September 23, October 7, November 4, and November 18. Attendance at the meetings is mandatory.

September 9, 11:30–1 p.m. Archibald Room

  • requirements for fulfilling the honours credit in Contemporary Studies
  • general procedures (selecting and working with your supervisor; revisions; thesis defence; procedures for appeal)
  • setting up peer support groups

October 7, 11:30–12:30 p.m. Writing Workshop 1

Molly Rookwood, the CSP Writing Coach, will offer the first of the three honours thesis Writing Workshops, designed especially for the CSP thesis students. The topics will include general tips for writing a longer research paper; strategies for finding research resources and documenting your research; writing a thesis proposal and creating a bibliography, and others.

November 4, 11:30–1 p.m.

The seminar will be divided into several small groups, with one or two CSP staff members per group to provide feedback and advice. The list of participants for each group and their assigned classrooms will be circulated in advance and posted on Brightspace. Please bring a copy of your one-page description of the project and preliminary bibliography.

  • Each thesis student delivers a 5 to 7-minute oral presentation of the thesis proposal and bibliography.
  • The presentation is followed by a 5 to 8-minute discussion among group members.

November 18, 11:30–12:30 p.m. Writing Workshop 2

Molly Rookwood, the CSP Writing Coach, will offer the second of the three honours thesis Writing Workshops, designed especially for the CSP thesis students. The topics will include: efficient ways to develop a complex and cohesive argument, integrating theory with case studies, using footnotes and creating a “Works Cited” document and others.

CTMP 4456.03/0457.00 will consist of THREE meetings, which will take place on the following days: January 27, February 3, and February 24. Attendance at the meetings is mandatory for all students completing a thesis.

January 27, 11:30­–1 p.m. Peer Editing Workshop  

Please bring a hard copy of the first draft of your thesis (or portion that you have written so far)

  • Theses progress reports.
  • The seminar will be divided into two-person teams for the purpose of discussion, constructive feedback and peer-editing.

February 3, 11:30­–12:30 p.m. Writing Workshop 3

Molly Rookwood, the CSP Writing Coach, will offer the third of the honours thesis Writing Workshops, designed especially for CSP thesis students. The topics will include: editing your thesis for clarity and cohesion; eliminating grammatical and syntactical errors; writing a thesis abstract; identifying keywords; preparing a table of contents and others.

February 24, 11:30 – 1 p.m.

Please bring a complete draft of the thesis to the meeting.

  • Theses progress reports
  • Preparation for the thesis defence

 

Honours Thesis

Important deadlines:

  • November 4, 11.30 a.m.: One-page summary of the project and preliminary bibliography
  • February 24, 11.30 a.m.: Complete draft (to be submitted to the supervisor for final feedback; revisions to be completed within two weeks)
  • March 24, 12 a.m. (midnight): Final copy, with bibliography, abstract, keywords and table of contents (no revisions possible after that date)

PLEASE NOTE:
No extensions will be offered for the above deadlines except in special circumstances.

Description:

The honours thesis is a substantial piece of intellectual work on a subject of your choice, which you have agreed upon with your supervisor. It can be a serious revision of an essay already submitted in one of your CSP courses. The quality of work is expected to approximate the requirements at the graduate level, and the emphasis will be on original critical thinking. Interdisciplinary approaches are strongly encouraged.

The minimum length is 25 pages, while 35 pages will be considered long. You must use both primary and secondary sources and provide a bibliography, an abstract, a list of keywords and a table of contents.

The complete draft of your thesis must be uploaded on Brightspace and an electronic version submitted to your supervisor on or before February 24.

Your final thesis must be uploaded on Brightspace on or before March 24, 2026, at midnight, and emailed to your supervisor and to the administrative secretary (sharon.brown@ukings.ca).

Working with the honours thesis supervisor

Think about a topic that you will be excited to write about – this is a perfect opportunity to do research on something you are passionate about! Once you have some ideas what you would like to write about, identify a potential supervisor or co-supervisors to determine who might be best suited to work with you on the topic you are interested in. You can contact your professors via e-mail, but do not hesitate to request an in-person meeting. CSP part-time instructors can be approached as potential supervisor. You are encouraged to contact potential supervisors before the first honours seminar meeting on September 9). It is fine, and even advisable, to speak with two or more potential supervisors before making a final decision. Should you wish to work with a King’s or Dalhousie instructor who is not a member of the CSP teaching staff (or with an instructor from another academic institution in Halifax), you should still make arrangements with a primary supervisor who is a member of the CSP teaching staff. The two will serve as your thesis co-supervisors. Please see the list below of CSP faculty available for thesis supervision in 2025/2026 with their respective areas of expertise and email addresses).

In the fall term, you should meet with your supervisor at least twice. In the winter term, you should meet with your supervisor at least bi-weekly.

You should develop your topic, prepare a short preliminary abstract and have it approved by the supervisor before the meeting on November 4. After that date, in consultation with the supervisor, you will establish individual schedules for producing the work, although the general deadlines must be observed.

PLEASE NOTE:
At any point in the thesis-writing process, you can request one-on-one assistance of the CSP Writing Coach. This a free service offered to all CSP Honours Thesis students. Furthermore, do not hesitate to contact the CSP Director and request a meeting if you need advice on any aspect of the process.

Thesis defence and evaluation

You will defend your thesis at a thirty-minute oral exam during the week of April 6–April 10. During the exam, you will be expected to provide a five-minute summary of your thesis and then answer questions about the substance and method of your work posed by the examining committee. The examining committee will consist of the supervisor (co-supervisors) and an external reader, with the supervisor acting as Chair.

Examining committees will evaluate the theses according to the Dalhousie/King’s grading scale. Before the end of April, you will receive a written evaluation of the thesis, which will include a letter mark, agreed upon by your committee. Your grade will be based on the quality of the thesis, your performance during the thesis defence, as well as the quality of your participation in the thesis-writing process and your ability to meet the partial deadlines. This grade will appear on your transcript as the grade for CTMP 4456.03.

The CSP Honours Thesis Prize for 2025-2026 will be awarded to the highest-ranked thesis during the CSP end-of-year review and celebration in the first week of May.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of the work of another author in such a way as to give one’s reader reason to think it to be one’s own. A student who is in any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism is urged to discuss the matter with the thesis supervisor. Plagiarism may constitute grounds for expulsion – see the statement on discipline in the University Calendar (University Regulations). Furthermore, the use of Generative AI tools at any stage of the thesis research and writing process is not permitted. Unauthorized AI usage and/or plagiarism may constitute grounds for failure, suspension, or expulsion – see the statement on discipline in the University Calendar (University Regulations, particularly Academic Dishonesty).

Turnitin plagiarism detection software will be used in this seminar. You are free to choose an alternative method of attesting to the authenticity of your work. You must inform Dr. Glowacka no later than November 3 (due date for the proposal) of your intent to choose an alternate method.


List of Contemporary Studies instructors available to supervise honours theses in 2023/2024 and their primary interests

Dr. Hamza Karam Ally: 19th- and 20th-century literature; postcolonial theory and literature; phenomenology

Email address: hamza.karamally@ukings.ca


Dr. Michael Bennett: 19th- and 20th-century European philosophy; poststructuralism and postmodernism; science studies and philosophy of science; gender, sex and sexuality; biopolitics and bioethics; new materialisms; philosophy and ecology; contemporary use and abuse of the history of philosophy (especially ancient Greek and Roman); language and logic (especially jokes and paradoxes)

Email address: mjbennet@dal.ca


Dr. Stephen Boos: German Idealism, Nietzsche, phenomenology, existentialism, Foucault, Frankfurt School (Social and Political Thought), art aesthetics, environmental history, ethics and aesthetics, animal studies

Email address: stephen.boos@ukings.ca


Dr. Daniel Brandes: contemporary Jewish thought, phenomenology, existentialism, modernism, Arendt, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Agamben

Email address: daniel.brandes@ukings.ca


Dr. Tim Clarke: 19th- and 20th-century literature, literary theory, aesthetics, modernism and modernist cultures, the fin de siècle, continental philosophy, critical theory, Transcendentalism, poststructuralism, Spinoza, Marx, Nietzsche, Deleuze

Email address: tim.clarke@ukings.ca


Dr. Susan Dodd: political philosophy, law and society, disasters, history of Western thought, public inquiries (including TRC and MMIWG), literary theory, apocalypse

Email address: susan.dodd@ukings.ca


Dr. Catherine Fullarton: philosophy of emotions, phenomenology (especially Merleau-Ponty), moral psychology, ancient philosophy (especially Aristotle), history and philosophy of medicine,
and philosophy of the body

Email: catherine.fullarton@ukings.ca


Dr. Dorota Glowacka: theories of gender and feminist theory and literature; philosophy of race; Holocaust and genocide studies, including histories and representations of settler colonial violence in North America (testimony, literature, art; gender and mass atrocity); disability studies; critical theory (Derrida, Butler, Levinas, Nancy); decolonial perspectives; contemporary visual art

Email address:  glowacka@dal.ca


Dr. Kenneth Kierans: Kant, German Idealism (Fichte, Schelling, Hegel), Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Sartre

Email address: jkkieran@dal.ca


Dr. Kathryn Lawson: 20th and 21st century continental philosophy (Simone Weil), ethics, social and political philosophy (Hannah Arendt), philosophy of religion, aesthetics, environmentalism, Indian philosophy

Email: kate.lawson@ukings.ca


Dr. Laura Penny: Benjamin, feminism, mass media, digital culture, Deleuze, affect theory, and popular culture

Email: laura.penny@ukings.ca


Dr. Neil Robertson: political philosophy, Canadian political philosophy, Leo Strauss, George Grant, accounts/critiques of modernity, modern theology, continental philosophy (especially German)

Email address: neil.robertson@ukings.ca