Please join us in congratulating the recipients of Public Humanities Research Cluster funding. In the 2024-26 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: This cluster seeks to unite scholars from across faculties at UBC whose research is situated in or pertains to the circumpolar north and connect them with colleagues from Greenland, the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The Circumpolar Indigenous Storytelling Research Cluster aims to surface and strengthen connections between Indigenous peoples in the circumpolar region whose histories have been marked differently by the nation states that colonized them but who share common narratives of oppression and survivance with Indigenous communities in North America.
Team Members:
Dr. Elizabeth “Biz” Nijdam, Department of Central, Eastern, & Northern European Studies (CENES), Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Glen Coulthard, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Tim Frandy, CENES, Faculty of Arts;
Kristin Kozar, Executive Director/ Indigenous Engagement and Programming, Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC);
Ella Sina Sornsen, Research and Reference Archivist, IRSHDC;
Dr. Sue Rowley, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Coll Thrush, Department of History, Faculty of Arts; and
Dr. David Gaertner, Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies (CIS), Faculty of Arts.
Abstract: With fascism on the rise globally, we propose a research cluster exploring the intersection of global fascism and queer and trans resistance, with a focus on anti-gender ideology movements in Canada, the United States, India, the U.K., and Europe. Our cluster will examine how rising fascist and authoritarian governments around the world evoke and rely on gender binarism and nuclear heteronormative family norms to consolidate power. Through this grant, we aim to build a collaborative working group consisting of faculty, staff, and graduate students at UBC, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and knowledge exchange. Additionally, we will actively cultivate relationships with diverse community organizations, ensuring that our research is grounded in community insights and experiences. Throughout the grant duration, we will host a series of talks and panels to create spaces for the co-creation and dissemination of knowledge across academic and non-academic spheres. We seek to advance a queer and trans studies community responsive to the stakes of the contemporary social-political-economic context and foster grassroots solidarity across and beyond UBC.
Team Members:
Dr. Jordy Rosenberg, Department of English Language and Literatures, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Elif Sari, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts;
Dr. Kiran Sunar, Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts; and
Dr. Kyle Frackman, CENES, Faculty of Arts.