Please join us in congratulating the recipients of Priority Thematic Public Humanities Research Incubator Grant Project funding. This year, $39,800 was awarded to support new, interdisciplinary and collaborative public humanities research projects in initial stages proposed by teams with the intent subsequently to apply for Tri-Council funding.
Eco-Populist Political Narratives
PI: Prof. Naomi Klein, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts.
Thematic areas: Environmental/Climate, Land & Place-Based Humanities; and Global Race, Anti-Racism & Social Justice Humanities.
Abstract: Climate politics are at a crossroads. While a majority of Canadians support climate action, many proposed climate policies are losing support with voters struggling with the rising cost of living. As a result climate is receding as a salient political issue, while portrayals of the climate movement as elite and out-of-touch are gaining traction. This research project sources, examines, and helps develop climate approaches and narratives that are likely to break through this logjam.
Through a workshop and interview-based video project, this project will forge dialogue among organizers, artists, activists, and working class community leaders on the narratives and communication strategies that can build a more accessible and inclusive climate movement. The project mobilizes the power of the public humanities to cultivate solidarity among diverse publics and to ultimately craft better, more responsive, and more durable climate policies. Funding will support video production, research assistants, and workshops, establishing the groundwork for an expanded SSHRC-funded initiative on climate storytelling and coalition-building.
Team Members:
Dr. Carol Liao, Associate Professor, Allard School of Law; and
Dr. Andrew Jorgenson, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts.
Circular Textiles, Sustainable Fibre, Slow Fashion Research Cluster
PI: Prof. Germaine Koh, Assistant Professor, Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory, Faculty of Arts.
Thematic area: Environmental/Climate, Land & Place-Based Humanities.
Abstract: How can textiles be made more sustainable? This emerging interdisciplinary cluster brings together scholars and non-academic partners working on the complex problems of sustainability in textiles and clothing. The breadth of our research, creation, and knowledge-exchange activities informs our cluster name: Circular Textiles includes research in technologies and creative production for recycling and re-fabricating textile waste; Sustainable Fibre addresses textile making traditions, the resurgence of traditional ecological knowledge, and the alignment of food and fibre systems; and Slow Fashion aims to inspire action towards changed consumption habits and reduced clothing waste.
The cluster interweaves research and knowledge-exchange threads. Members’ research includes technological and creative experimentation, cultural research looking at Indigenous and traditional fibre traditions, and methods for reducing, processing and re-using textile waste. Our knowledge-exchange activities are public-facing and begin with Slow Fashion Season in Spring 2025, presenting sustainable initiatives and opportunities to share knowledge with the public and other researchers.
Team Members:
Dr. Alexandra Peck, Assistant Professor, Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. T’ai Smith, Associate Professor, Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Alexandra Tavasoli, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science;
Prof. Jacqueline Firkins, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre & Film, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Qingshi Tu, Assistant Professor, Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry;
Dr. Abbas S. Milani, Professor, School of Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science, UBC-Okanagan; and
Alison Ariss, PhD Candidate, Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory, Faculty of Arts.