Recent News

Tamil Studies General Meeting

The Tamil Studies Coordinating Committee is holding a meeting for people to come together to reflect on recent progress for Tamil Studies and discuss future goals to expand the current curriculum and build a more sustainable program. This will also be a great opportunity to review the current state of our initiative and improvements that can be made in moving forward.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about this is invited to attend the General Meeting on:

Thursday February 28, 2008 @ 6pm - 8pm
University of Toronto, St. George Campus - Room BA 2135 (Bahen Centre)

To learn more, click here.

13.01.08
CTC Gala Dinner

Canadian Tamil Congress held its Annual Gala Dinner on January 13th 2008. The event showcased Tamil arts, culture and achievements within the community such as the establishment of Tamil Studies within the University of Toronto. The Canadian Tamil Congress and New College Principal Rick Halpern made announcements of significant advances taking place for Tamil Studies. Many of the attendees, who came from across Canada to attend the event, received the news with great enthusiasm. To learn more, click here.

15.11.07
Classes are a Success

Since September 2006, more than 120 students have taken either the introductory language course or the Tamil Studies course. According to course evaluations conducted by the Arts & Science Students Union, students have responded to the courses with exceptionally positive feedback and enthusiasm. To learn more, click here.

 

 

 


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Significance of Toronto

The city of Toronto is a place that has been long known for its multicultural identity.  The presence of such a diverse selection of ethnicities from around the world can be seen on every street corner of the city.

Among the most predominant of these groups is Toronto’s South Asian community. This year, a Statistics Canada study estimated that more than half of Canada’s South Asian population will be living in Toronto by 2017.  Within that community itself, Toronto also lays claim to the largest concentration of Tamils in one city outside of South-East Asia.  This is a significant feat for an urban city located thousands of miles away from the Asian continent. 

In addition, the city is a home to numerous large and recognized post-secondary institutions, such as University of Toronto, York University, and Ryerson University. These post secondary institutions have active Tamil student communities, whose youth are very active in many facets of the Tamil and the mainstream community.  Many of these students are currently participating in the endeavor to bring Tamil Studies to the University of Toronto.



Benefits of Initiating Tamil Studies at the University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is the largest university in Canada and one of the most prestigious in North America.  The institution was founded in 1827 and has become Canada’s leading teaching and research university.  Its work to date has been essential in forging new paths amongst many different aspects of scholarly endeavor.  

The university is home to the Centre for South Asian Studies, which began in 1981 and has become a large and influential department with a strong undergraduate program as well as graduate offerings.  Currently, the University does not offer courses on Tamil language and culture.  By including Tamil within the curriculum, the Centre for South Asian Studies will become representative of its diverse student community.  Specifically, the department will be able to cater to the active Tamil student communities of the three University of Toronto campuses and a large portion of the South Asian community currently residing in Canada.  

Apart from its academic merit, the University of Toronto St. George campus is an ideal location because of its accessibility for university students residing in the Greater Toronto Area.  Located in the heart of downtown, public transit provides the opportunity for anyone with an interest to learn with little impediment.