SPACE mission

The students who come to and the teachers who teach at Dawson College, and almost all other institutions of higher learning, have become accustomed to an educational style which might be called, for want of a better term, the ‘closed classroom’ style: individual classes focused on discipline-specific subject matter which has been mandated by Ministry standards, departments and program committees.

The goal of such classes is to provide and immerse the student in up-to-date knowledge in fields related to their program. The work the student does in class is evaluated, as a rule, by an individual teacher. When the course is over, the student is, with some exceptions, entitled to retrieve their work, and, most of the time, such work is not seen or discussed by any other faculty members or students.

SPACE, founded in 2008 by a Dawson student and teacher, recognises the value of traditional disciplines in modern education, but wishes to complement it through what might be called an “open” approach. Through a unique interdisciplinary web magazine as well as exciting live events, all open to everyone, SPACE provides a venue for sharing and discussing undertakings of any kind, which may include work done in class or for a comprehensive assessment. SPACE also encourages independent work, allowing students to follow their interests while receiving feedback from our editorial board and, for published or presented work, from the Dawson community and beyond. SPACE encourages faculty and invited members of the broader community as well to share their ideas and work.

SPACE gives students and faculty in particular programs a new means to: reach out to the rest of the college and broader community; find out what others in the community are working on; inspire, share, discuss and challenge ideas; ask big-picture questions; and even to initiate exciting collaborations. It opens up an added dimension of academic community at Dawson and, through its interdisciplinary approach, encourages participants to consider the density and complexity of the reality that we all study, whatever our framework.

SPACE believes that by sharing, discussing and questioning what we know and our ways of knowing it, we will be better able to survive and thrive in the world, both as individuals and as a community, both locally and globally.