Please join us in congratulating the recipients of Public Humanities Research Cluster funding. In the 2025-27 competition, a total of $30,000 was awarded to two research clusters to support innovative public humanities research and emergent stages of collaboration, and knowledge mobilization among interdisciplinary teams of public humanities scholars at UBC and beyond with the intent subsequently to apply for Tri-Council funding.
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, research-creation and knowledge-exchange activities informs our cluster name: Circular Textiles includes research in technologies and creative production for recycling and refabricating 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 is designed to inspire action towards changed consumption habits and reduced clothing waste. The cluster interweaves research and knowledge-exchange threads. Members’ expertise includes technological, creative and cultural research looking at Indigenous and traditional fibre traditions and methods and technologies 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 (AHVA), Faculty of Arts;
Dr. T’ai Smith, Associate Professor, Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory (AHVA), 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; and
Alison Ariss, PhD Candidate, Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory (AHVA), Faculty of Arts.
Abstract: Comic art and the study of its content, methods, distribution, and pedagogical value have become increasingly visible in higher education. Comics are an important medium for knowledge creation and have been established as an essential format for reaching diverse audiences and tackling difficult subject matter. However, as a field, it lacks an institutional centre that might offer the structure and support for the collaborative work necessary to advance rigorous academic study. With UBC comics researchers, practitioners, and teachers in disciplines as varied as Education, German Studies, Classical Studies, Creative Writing, English, and the Romance Languages, comics studies at UBC is present but diffuse. Moreover, many UBC faculty members are interested in learning more about what comics and graphic novels might offer to their teaching and research, but they don’t know where to turn with their questions and potential projects for collaboration. The UBC Comics Studies Cluster supports academic and public-facing scholarship in Comics Studies at UBC. We connect with artist practitioners in Vancouver (Cloudscape Comics Collective, Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, etc.) to support the work of comics creators locally while developing a network of Canadian comics scholars with UBC as an important centre for the study of comic art.
Team Members:
Dr. Toph Marshall, Professor, Department of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies (AMNE), Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Antje Ellerman, Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Andrea Webb, Associate Professor of Teaching, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education;
Dr. Jason Lieblang, Associate Professor, Department of Central, Eastern, & Northern European Studies (CENES), Faculty of Arts;
Prof. Sarah Leavitt, Assistant Professor, School of Creative Writing, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Nicola Levell, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Shannon Leddy, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education;
Dr. Kevin McNeilly, Associate Professor, Department of English Language & Literatures, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Alessandra Santos, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre & Film, Faculty of Arts;
Prof. Taylor Brown-Evans, Lecturer, School of Creative Writing, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Luisa Canuto, Associate Professor, Department of French, Hispanic, & Italian Studies (FHIS), Faculty of Arts;
Victoria Rahbar, PhD Candidate, School of Information, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Strang Burton, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts;
Peter Davoust, Founder and Artist, Shrimp Cult Press;
Dr. Sharalyn Orbaugh, Professor, Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts; and
Dr. Jennifer M. Gagnon, Lecturer, School of Journalism, Writing, & Media, Faculty of Arts.