Faculty Publications & Projects | October 2022

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Communications

– Communications Assistant Professor Nicole Stewart published an article titled “Virtual reality, metaverse platforms, and the future of higher education” for Media Development.

    • Nicole is also attending the National Communication Association’s (NCA) 107th Annual Convention in New Orleans in November, where her co-authored paper (“Dialogues for Equity: Precarious Parent-Scholars in Times of Crisis”) has been selected as a “Top Paper in Ethnography.” She has also been invited to sit on an NCA-organized panel called “LYEDIL: Living Ya DEI Lifestyle in Communication Strengthening a Central PLACE for DEI in Communication Studies.”
    • She was also recently appointed as the Faculty Ambassador in Canada for the International Association of Media and Communication Researchers (IAMCR) and is launching a new academic podcast called IAMCR and friends.

– Communications Sessional Instructor Dr. Adam Vincent published a new book, “Poetic inquiry: Unearthing the rhizomatic array between art and research”. This book offers a key contribution to the study of poetic inquiry, and in particular, it honours the legacies of those who have made poetic inquiry possible. Vincent’s vision for the future is rooted in equitable, inclusive and diverse applications, and as a result, this book serves as an open invitation to students and scholars alike to take up these practices.

Criminology

– Criminology Assistant Professor Dr. Mark Kersten has contributed two opinion pieces on the war crimes in Ukraine.

– Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Jon Heidt wrote an article on cannabis and criminology. Wheeldon, J., & Heidt, J. (in press). Cannabis and criminology: A history of race, addiction, and inconvenient research. Journal of Criminal Justice.

– Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Jon Heidt wrote an article on cannabis legalization. Wheeldon, J., & Heidt, J. (in press). The paradoxes of normalization: Cannabis as nuisance crime, medicine, and consumer good in British Columbia before and after legalization. Deviant Behavior.

– Criminology Professor Emeritus Yvon Dandurand and Associate Professor Dr. Jon Heidt wrote a book on youth crime prevention and sports. Dandurand, Y., & Heidt, J. (2022). Youth crime prevention and sports: An evaluation of sport-based programmes and their effectiveness. Bristol University Press.

– Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Kim Polowek was appointed as an Independent Chairperson for the Correctional Service of Canada’s Pacific Institution.

Economics

– Economics Assistant Professor Dr. Michael Batu and Associate Professor Dr. Bosu Seo published a research article on “Gender roles and safety of women at home in the COVID-19 era: evidence from 101 countries.” The article was published in the International Review of Applied Economics Journal and is available at Taylor and Francis Online.

Global Development Studies

– Dr. Geetanjali Gill, Assistant Professor in Global Development Studies, will present on a panel with NGO Right to Play speakers at the Canadian Conference on Global Health, November 21-23, 2022. The theme is ‘Localizing the development of participatory tools to understand social norms related to gender-based violence amongst adolescents in refugee settings.’

Philosophy

– On October 21, 2022, Philosophy Department Head Dr. Anna Cook and Philosophy Associate Professor Dr. Anastasia Anderson presented at the BC Social Studies Teachers’ Association 2022 BCSSTA Conference: Teaching for Inquiry: Philosophy, Pedagogy and Praxis.

Political Science

– Political Science Department Head Dr. Edward Akuffo co-published a section titled “Reflections on Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa in the 2020s” in the book “Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa: Panacea or Pandora’s Box?” edited by Nathan Andrews, j. Andrew Grant and Jesse Salah Ovadia.

School of Creative Arts

Canadian Theatre Review magazine cover showing the image of six people wearing a red outfit with their faces painted in white, and two people holding a poster where it reads "Climate Emergency Acts".
Canadian Theatre Review | Extractivism and Performance, edited by Kimberly Richards and Heather Davis-Fisch (published in Spring 2020).

– SoCA Director and Theatre Associate Professor Dr. Heather Davis-Fisch received the 2022 Patrick O’Neill Award for best-edited collection of essays from the Canadian Association for Theatre Research. Heather received the award with Kimberly Richards for their issue of Canadian Theatre Review on Extractivism and Performance (published in Spring 2020).

    • Heather’s chapter, “The Royal Arctic Theatre and the Search for the Franklin Expedition,” was published in the anthology Canadian Performance Documents and Debates: A Sourcebook(University of Alberta Press, 2022).

– SoCA Assistant Professor Aimée Brown completed an artist residency in Sanquhar, Scotland, with the MERZ Gallery in September. The residency focus was responding to place, collage, recorded histories, and the Folklore and Genealogies of Uppermost Nithsdale written by William Wilson in 1904.

    • Aimée’s artwork ‘Metaphoric Rocks’, which investigates how stones and rock formations are featured in the local geography and folklore, was featured in the MERZ Gallery group exhibition Mythical Landscape: Secrets of the Vale in September 2022.
    • Aimée is a contributor to the UNESCO publication RisiliArt 100, which was launched at the MONDIACULT 2022 conference, in Mexico City, on September 28, 2022. Collected from panels, debates and conversations between artists and cultural professionals from around the world, the project features 100 recommendations on how to rebuild the creative sector with more resilience and inclusion, gathered through the #ResiliArt.
    • On October 07, 2022, Aimée was shortlisted for the 2022 Collage Awards in two categories: analogue portfolio and analogue series. The Contemporary Collage Magazine selected the shortlist from over 450 international artists currently engaged with collage as part of their studio practice.

– Theatre Assistant Professor Dr. Anna Griffith received a $10,000 Strategic Innovation Fund grant from UFV for the Creativity Lab for Climate Resilience project. The project, which was developed and implemented with Hannah Celinski, Chantelle Marlor, and student RA Kyla Mitchell-Marquis, brought together UFV students, staff, and faculty from various disciplines, along with members of the community, including local artists, activists, and representatives from Fraser Basin Council, Fraser Valley Nature Conservancy, Abbotsford Arts Council, Fraser Health, the Abbotsford School District, Abbotsford Community Foundation, the Golden Ears Transition Initiative and more. In each of the four Labs, participants worked to develop cohesive, transdisciplinary, and cross-community project ideas to support (Re)Building for Climate Resilience in the Fraser Valley. The projects have been compiled into a “seed bank of ideas” and will be published as part of a research report this fall.

    • Anna has also received a ROSA award for a research project titled Regenerative Education: Aligning Education for Sustainable Development and Indigenous Pedagogies, to be completed in fall 2022. This project builds on her work related to anti-racism, decolonial pedagogy, and education for sustainable development (ESD). The goals of the project include articulating how ESD can help non-Indigenous faculty and students move into better alignment and understanding of Indigenization efforts through an emphasis on reorienting our relationship with nature.
    • Anna Griffith is presenting a 45-minute workshop titled “High Impact Inclusion and Sustainability” at the Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (GCSHE), hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, on October 18, 2022.
    • Anna is also releasing season 2 of her research podcast Creative Praxis in mid-November. Season 2 features interviews with participants from the Creativity Lab for Climate Resilience. These conversations focus on the bridges and intersections between creativity and sustainability.

– SoCA Assistant Professor Alejandro Yoshizawa and colleague UBC English Assistant Professor Y-Dang Troeung have received a $60,000 Canada Council for the Arts grant for their short film project, set to shoot in early Fall 2022. The film is inspired by the true events of Prof. Troeung’s Cambodian refugee family’s resettlement in Canada in the 1980s, as they negotiate the everyday questions of what it means to survive in a new country, to carry the painful wounds of the past, and to remake a new life as an Asian family in a small town, rural setting. The film will interweave the historic “Easter Epic” hockey game (one of the longest games in NHL playoff history) with the events of April 18th, 1987, as lived by the Cambodian refugee family.

– SoCA Associate Professor Davida Kidd has been invited to have her presentation for IMPACT 12 BRITSOL, The Dark Side of The Digital, “Composite Artifacts and the Cosmonauts of Virtual Synthesis,” screened at the Print in Action Festival in Plymouth this October.

– Visual Arts Associate Professor Grace Tsurumaru participated in a group exhibition titled Piers, curated by Kim Dhillon, an art theorist and award-winning writer of art criticism. Piers showcases contemporary artwork ranging across media by 18 artists spanning generations, nationalities, and backgrounds and explores how artists’ practices change through teaching, learning, and mentorship. The exhibit includes a collection of creative non-fiction, essays, and poetry and is available to view until December 15, 2022, at the Legacy Art Gallery, Victoria.

– SoCA Assistant Professor Melanie Jones was awarded a Research and Creation Grant in the Canada Council Explore and Create Program. The grant was to write the first draft of a short experimental film called “Astronomical Bodies”. The story will explore themes of isolation and human connection through three intertwined character journeys set in the vastness of space.

– Theatre Associate Professor Parjad Sharifi is the winner of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Lighting Design in the Large Budget Division in 2022. This award is for the production of Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, directed by the Arts Club Theatre Company, which has also won the Outstanding Production of a Musical this year.

 

The image shows an art studio with a few drawings on the left side, a painter in the middle and a non-binary person stand in front of the painter. The performer is a white person with a blond short hair and is using a black outfit with short sleeves and black short pants.
Drawing Tending Tying: An Art and Rope Experiment | Shel Stefan and Sharon Pink

– SoCA Associate Professor Shel Stefan collaborated in a live art performance at the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago, Illinois, entitled Drawing Tending Tying: an art & rope experiment which was live-streamed from the museum and was recently published. Read more about this performance on the Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M), Instagram and the Chicago Tribune website.

 

– SoCA Instructor Toni Latour, in collaboration with Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware (Toronto), received $70,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and $15,000 from the BC Arts Council for the creation and exhibition of The Black Lives Matter Memorial Project. They have commissioned an original new piece of classical music composed by Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers and performed by Orchestra Noir (Atlanta) for this project.

 

Faculty Publications & Projects | Summer & Fall 2022

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Check out the latest Arts faculty publications and projects from Summer/Fall 2022:

  • Philosophy Emeritus Professor Dr. Peter Raabe recently published an essay in the peer-reviewed journal Cognitive Science No.1 2022 (Vol.6) pp. 142-179, titled “The Artificial Therapist (AT–version 1.0): Promises and Problems”. The paper was published by the World Scientific Publishing House LTD. through the auspices of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, China.
  • Modern Languages Department Head Alan Cameron published an open-ed article on The Province website about the current situation in Russia and the tensions caused by Vladimir Putin’s actions towards the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
  • Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Hayli Millar co-presented with Dr. Satwinder Bains at UFV’s PD Day on the topic of the exploitation of international students and the importance of understanding the unique challenges international students face within and external to the University.
  • History Assistant Professor Ian Rocksborough-Smith got the lead publication for Reviews in History, about an important book on recent U.S. history, “Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership.”
  • Criminology Associate Professors Dr. Amanda McCormick and Dr. Irwin Cohen published a report on intimate partner violence. McCormick, A., Cohen, I., & Davies, G. (2022, September). “The Complexities of Investigating and Clearing Harassment Related Intimate Partner Violence Files.” University of the Fraser Valley: Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research.
  • Assistant Professor at the School of Culture, Media and Society and CHASI Faculty Associate Dr. Sarah Beaulieu has published a new article in Historical Archaeology. It focuses on the Morrissey Internment Camp, one of Canada’s 24 World War I internment camps, with the aim of using the material culture record at the camp as a point of access to examine the coping strategies prisoners of war adopted to help mitigate mental-health issues triggered by confinement.
  • English Associate Professor Dr. Prabhjot Parmar co-authored an article published in the Journal of Sikh and Punjab Studies titled “Kisan [Farmers’] Protests in Punjab 1907-2021: A Literary Lineage of Resistance.” Special Edition on Farmers’ Agitation, Journal of Sikh and Punjab Studies. 29.1 & 2, Spring/Fall 2022, 163-186.
  • Dr. Geetanjali Gill, Assistant Professor in Global Development Studies, Catherine Liao, Associate Professor in Nursing, and Sarah N’Gaiwa, Director of Albinism Royal Foundation Sierra Leone, presented their project, “Leaving No One Behind: Empowering Persons with Albinism, particularly women and girls in rural regions of Sierra Leone,” at the Foundation for Innovation and Transformation (FIT) Community of Practice on Gender on July 13, 2022. They have also been invited to present at the ‘Innovation, Research, and Knowledge Exchange session at the Ontario Council of International Cooperation Annual General Meeting, September 22, 2022.

 

Liberal Arts as a a platform towards Reconciliation

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As part of the #CareerStoryHacks, we are thrilled to share one of the winner stories at the UFV Arts blog!

Written by English student Danaye Reinhardt, this story talks about Natalia*, a double-major History and Psychology grad from UBC who uses her Liberal Arts skills to build a platform towards Reconciliation in her work with Indigenous communities across British Columbia:

Natalia* works for a Utility company in the Indigenous Relations Department, and she credits her Liberal Arts education to where she is today.  

When company projects take place within Indigenous nations, she looks at what will work best for the Indigenous community while maintaining the project goals. She helps put together the actions, budget, and timeline needed for the project.  

“Then we present it to the nation, often with different alternatives, and we work with the nation to determine what their preferences are and what their participation in that project could be,” she said.  

Working with Indigenous communities allows her to build a platform towards reconciliation through creative thinking and relational skills—tools she gained through her double major in Psychology and History at UBC.  

“I remember one of my professors telling me that the reason we study Psychology is to learn to be empathetic towards other human beings,” she said, “which is something that’s just stuck with me.” Studying Psychology helped her understand people’s past experiences and their mental and physical health—which in turn helped her gain empathy towards others.  

This feeds directly into her work with Indigenous groups, and it also ties to her History major. Her studies focused on colonial history and British Columbian history.  

In her job, Natalia acts as a liaison between her company and the Indigenous communities, making sure that both parties are satisfied. Communication and critical thinking are vital. She likens it to the skills one gains from debate. There’s a way of framing it, she said, in a way that is truthful and acceptable to both parties.  

When she was in university a decade ago, she felt that she couldn’t do much with an arts degree. For Natalia, however, it was important to choose an education path that she cared about, rather than what she felt she should take. “Now the terrain is totally changing,” she said. “People are finding more creative ways to use their knowledge or use things they’re passionate about and actually make a difference.” 

When she graduated, Natalia was fortunate to have a friend who worked for the utilities company. She started in the company by giving company presentations to schools and strategically worked her way up to where she is today.  

Her job isn’t always easy. It can be challenging and humbling, especially when she doesn’t have an answer to a problem. “It’s constant problem-solving. It’s constant critical thinking. You’re working with real people; there’s not any formula to that.” 

One of the best parts of her job? “Seeing how I’ve been able to take what I have learned in university and apply it,” she said. “I feel well equipped to do the things that I do because I feel like my degree gave me a good foundation for that.” 

*Name changed. Due to the nature of her work, she cannot disclose her real name or the company name.  

 

How can students use their voice to advocate for changes and create social impact?

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Encouraging and promoting changes is an essential part of the Liberal Arts. The critical thinking that comes with the classroom, along with living experiences, can become a game-changer when advocating for changes within your community.

Today, we would like to use this blog as an open space for the Advocates for Change group. Advocates for Change is a student-led movement at UFV focused on building a community where cultural diversity and difference are not only discussed and celebrated but critically examined.

As part of this group, the Psychology student, Ella Halladin, is leading a project to vocalize changes in the Fairy Creek region in British Columbia. On this guest blog, Ella will walk us through the details about the situation in that region as well as ways you can support the cause:

“Less than 2.7% of the ancient temperate rainforest remains in British Columbia. These old-growth trees help the environment in many ways, preventing land erosion that causes landslides, preventing carbon from being released into the atmosphere, regulating water flow to prevent droughts and floods, and providing homes to millions of species both above and below ground.

These trees hold deep spiritual and emotional meaning for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and they are being logged through unsustainable, destructive methods. This logging is being carried out on unceded Pacheedaht and Ditidaht territory, where Indigenous land defenders and non-Indigenous supporters have been peacefully protesting the logging of these old-growth trees to help save the surviving trees since August of 2020.

This Indigenous-led peaceful protest has been met with police violence. When extracting blockaders, police often target IBPOC first, resorting to excessive use of force and using aggressive tactics to remove and arrest IBPOC blockaders. Police have been seen displaying the “thin blue line” patch signifying “blue lives matter”, which has become a symbol of white supremacy. Police have been using dangerous extraction methods (heavy machinery, jackhammers, and angle grinders) often putting blockader’s personal safety at risk.

This movement aims to hold the BC government accountable for protecting the last of our ancient forests both across the Fairy Creek region and the rest of the province and to support the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht Nations in achieving sovereign control over their ancestral lands within their own traditional systems of governance. As well, this movement is not anti-logging, but aims to see the implementation of non-destructive logging practices instead of the logging of original forest or irreparable damage to forest ecosystems.

As part of the Advocates for Change group, I am working to raise awareness for the Fairy Creek Blockade. It is an anti-racism and anti-climate change issue. We will be raising support and directing those who would like to donate to fundraisers for supplies, food and legal support for the volunteers defending the old growth. I have attached those links. I appreciate your time and your support. If this is the first time you are hearing about the Fairy Creek Blockade, I encourage you to look into it.”

Click here to learn more about the Fairy Creek Blockade.

Help support this cause:

 

Urgent Updates – November 18, 2021

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Dear College of Arts faculty and staff,

Our office will be using this channel to communicate directly with all faculty members (permanent and sessional) and staff in the College of Arts about academic matters related to the flood as the situation continues to evolve.

We will also be communicating via the College of Arts website and social media @UFVArts.

For UFV-wide information, please visit UFV Urgent News and see emails from “UFV Info”. You can also sign-up for emergency notifications from UFV to your phone via text, email and voice message.

If you have questions or comments, please send them to Lisa.Matty@ufv.ca. She will redirect as appropriate and one of us, or your Department Head/School Director, will get back to you.

Latest updates as of November 18, 2021 – 9 AM

  • All classes – face-to-face and virtual – are CANCELLED for the remainder of this week (Wed. Nov. 17, Thurs. Nov. 18, and Fri. Nov. 19). All activities and events scheduled for these days are cancelled. Exams scheduled over these dates are postponed and will be rescheduled.
  • All assignments are to be paused this week (until Monday, November 22, at the earliest). This includes online quizzes and all other forms of assignments. Please remember that some students have been evacuated and/or do not have power or internet connectivity.
  • PASS system now monitored over the weekend with added options (“safety risk” and “situational”) in relation to the current situation: Please continue to refer students to PASS as needed. PASS will be monitored on the weekend until further notice. Referral categories have been added to address the current situation. Click here to access PASS.
  • UFV campuses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission are safe and buildings remain open to faculty, staff, and students with very limited in-person services on campus including:
      • Libraries at the Chilliwack and Abbotsford campuses – open 8:30am to 6pm
      • Office of the Registrar front counter, Abbotsford and Chilliwack – open 9am to 4pm
      • Until further notice, building hours in Abbotsford and Chilliwack are from 7 am to 6 pm. Mission hours remain 8 am to 4 pm.
  • Food services will not be available.
  • The SUS Campus Connector shuttle bus will not be in service.
  • All other campus services will continue to be offered online until further notice.

 

Ways to Get Involved on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

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Orange Flowers from the Shakespeare Reconciliation Garden at the Chilliwack Campus

As September 30 marks the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, we would like to invite you to don your orange shirt and take some time today (and every day) to reflect on the legacy of residential schools and their impacts on Indigenous communities across Canada.

To immerse ourselves into the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation and honour the contributions that Indigenous peoples have made – and continue to make – in our community, we would like to share with you some ways to get involved:

Wear Orange:
As September 30 marks the Orange Shirt Day, we encourage you to wear orange to raise awareness of the legacy of residential schools and to honour the survivors and the families of those who never returned home. Visit the Orange Shirt Day Society website to learn more.

Attend an event:
A series of events will be held both in-person and online. Take some time to attend one of the events held by Indigenous people and educate yourself about their story and the legacy of Residential Schools.

Listen to Indigenous stories:

Explore Online Resources:

    • Interactive Materials – Government of Canada: Visit the Government of Canada website and explore interactive and creative resources to help you get involved and learn more about the rich and diverse cultures, voices, experiences and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

The College of Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley is situated on the traditional territory of the Stó:lō peoples. The Stó:lō have an intrinsic relationship with what they refer to as S’ólh Téméxw (Our Sacred Land); therefore, we express our gratitude and respect for the honour of living and working in this territory.

The College of Arts also reiterates its commitment to action to all Indigenous communities through the continued support of Indigenous learners and the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing in the curriculum.

UFV Student Research Awards 2021 – Celebrating Arts students winners!

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The 2021 Student Research Day featured 54 research projects created by 80 students from all areas of study at UFV. In addition, eight exemplary posters have been recognized with awards in honour of their scholarship. Among the awarded students, Arts students Regan Thompson (Psychology) and Michelle Grafton (Sociology) were awarded the President Award and the Dean, College of Arts Award.

Regan’s project named “Death Anxiety and Spiritually across the lifespan: Factors and relationships amidst COVID-19” was supervised by the Psychology Associate Professor Dr. Lesley Jessiman and counted 308 participants, from young adults (aged 19-40) to older adults (aged +60). It presented a new perspective about the correlations between death, anxiety, spirituality, age, depression, and loneliness.

In response to the circumstances created by COVID-19, Michelle Grafton’s project named “Enforcing the rules versus ‘doing what’s right’: lived experiences of labour and delivery nurses in the context of COVID-19” introduced a new sociological standpoint of how COVID-19 affected healthcare workers, and specifically labour and delivery nurses whose work demands an extra-level of mental, emotional, and physical support essential for the birthing process.

In the light of such brilliant projects, the College of Arts is proud to acknowledge the high quality of research work produced by Arts students and their faculty supervisors. Each research project is one step forward to making a global difference and creating new perspectives and opportunities for everyday challenges.

Click here to view Regan’s and Michelle’s full project.

Cultivate Connect – A link between practicum, research, and the Fraser Valley farm-to-market supply

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When students first hear about practicums, some may think these opportunities will not help them pursue a career that uses their research skills. This project proves this wrong.

Back in May 2020, Joshua Vanderheide, founder of Field House Brewing, East Abby Hospitality Group, and UFV Graphic and Digital Design sessional instructor, approached the College of Arts, expressing a need for a survey project on the impact of COVID-19 on local food systems. With enthusiasm for the project from English Assistant Professor Dr. Michelle Superle, the project was created.  With Meagan Pitcher as the practicum student co-researcher, they formed the project.

Along with Dr. Superle and Meagan, the project further extended collaborative student opportunities with the School of Land Use and Environmental Change. Associate Professor Dr. Cherie Enns was instrumental in connecting two recent UFV graduates as research assistants (Gemma Bridgefoot and Sharon Alamwala). All the parts involved gained exceptional and extensive knowledge of multiple factors related to food systems.

This amazing experience connected College of Arts students and faculty with the Fraser Valley agricultural community/industries. As a result, the students collaborated with a variety of local stakeholders, gained extensive knowledge about the impact of research, and moved their learning beyond the classroom.

Click here to read the full report about the Cultivate Connect project.

2021 Arts Worx Internship Professionalism Awards – Recognizing and celebrating the outstanding work of College of Arts students during their internships.

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From left to right: Maaria Zafar, Holly Janzen, Jaimee Fournier, Arsalan Sadiq and Harla Sidhu.
From left to right: Maaria Zafar, Holly Janzen, Jaimee Fournier, Arsalan Sadiq and Harla Sidhu.

Our success as an institution depends not only on our ability to deliver high-quality instruction for students but also on creating opportunities to connect their learning beyond the classroom and align it to their future post-university goals.

In recognition of promoting professionalism within our community and demonstrating integrity, openness, and dedication, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 Arts Worx Internship Professionalism Awards:

  • Lorisa Williams (no photo) – History Major, Indigenous Studies Minor
  • Arsalan Sadiq – Media Arts
  • Holly Janzen- GDS major
  • Jaimee Fournier – English Major, History Minor
  • Harlajvanti Sidhu– Criminology Major, Communications Minor
  • Maaria Zafar – Criminology Major, Communications Minor

Congratulations to these amazing students. On behalf of the College of Arts and our community partners, we would like to thank you for all your hard work and dedication during your internship.  Keep rising and remember—the sky is (not) the limit!  You got this!

Voicing Social Justice through Visual Arts – A story about Faria Firoz: BFA grad student and the recipient of the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal

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Faria Firoz holding the award certificate and the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal
Faria Firoz holding the award certificate and the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal.

Faria Firoz is a BFA graduate student who has been living in Canada since she left her homeland of Bangladesh in 2016.

She has always been fascinated by art and studied art during her high school back in Bangladesh—but she wanted more. Faria combined her high-level skill set and passion for arts and social justice to raise awareness about important ongoing social, cultural, and political issues.

One of her most recent works was generated within the Black Lives Matter creative social justice art project, where according to Shelley Stefan, Visual Arts Associate Professor and Art Mentor for this project:

“Faria’s participation in the Black Lives Matter creative social justice art project displays her commitment to the essential collaboration and unifying efforts needed to bring people together through creativity to support inclusion, diversity, reparation, poetic justice, and civic engagement. Her role in this project, alongside other Black, Indigenous, Mixed Race, and People of Colour, is a prime example of the type of bravery and leadership artists can embody toward the advancement of human rights in our communities.”

In recognition of her extraordinary work, Faria was the recipient of the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal: an award granted for standout students whose work promotes and integrates diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation. As stated by Faria: “It is a very unexpected honour. To be recognized and appreciated at such a high level is something I never would have imagined. I am so grateful.”

Read Faria’s full story at UFV Today.