Faculty Publications & Projects | September 2023

by
A group picture featuring the English department faculty and students.

Arts & Integrated Studies

Criminology & Criminal Justice

History

  • History Sessional Instructor Dr. Sharanjit Kaur has been named one of the three new EDI Scholar-in-Residence with the UBC Library for the 2023-2024 term. UBC Library’s vision is leading and partnering with the University and communities in the creation, stewardship, exploration, and discovery of knowledge that values openness, belonging, connection, and curiosity.

Modern languages

  • Halq’eméylem Assistant Professor Mary Stewart assisted in the process of Kwantlen First Nations Band attaining B.C. Post Secondary partnership funding from the First Nation Steering Committee, to offer the three UFV courses, Halq’emeylem 202, 301 and 302.

Philosophy

  • Peter Raabe, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, recently participated in a virtual conference hosted in Japan. At the event, he conducted a workshop and introduced a publication titled “On Self-Defeating ‘Mental Viruses.'”
    • In addition, Dr. Raabe has contributed two articles to the Journal of American Philosophical Practitioners Association. The first article, titled “Not if, but when,” was featured in Volume 17, Number 3, released in November 2022. His second publication, titled “Approaching Elsewhere: On Fear of ‘The After-Life’,” can be found in Volume 18, Number 2, published in July 2023.

Political Science

Psychology

Subscribe to the UFV Arts Newsletter

* indicates required





 

Are you

Faculty Publications & Projects | April & May 2023

by

Arts & Integrated Studies

Arts and Integrated Studies Assistant Professor Dr. Dale McCartney has been named the Assistant Editor of the journal Comparative and International Education.

 

 

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Criminology Professor Emeritus Dr. Yvon Dandurand wrote an article on child justice reform. Dao, L. T., & Dandurand, Y. (2023). Social, cultural, and systemic barriers to child justice reform: Lessons from Vietnam, 23(1), 29-48.

Dr. Dandurand and Dr. Darryl Plecas produced a report on assistance and support services for survivors of human trafficking. The report is based on a qualitative survey and analysis of the types of services and supports most needed by survivors of labour and sex trafficking, including the perceived usefulness and effectiveness of these services. The study also examined service delivery models, sources of referrals, models of inter-agency collaboration, and accessibility of relevant services in British Columbia and Alberta for meeting the needs of labour and sex trafficking survivors (including those at risk of or are currently being trafficked). Dandurand, Y., Plecas, D., Winterdyk, J., & Chin, V. (2023, April 26). Assistance and Support Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking: A Qualitative Study. International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy.

 

Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Amanda McCormick presented on policing domestic violence. Stickle, B., & McCormick, A.V. (2023, March). Policing domestic violence in rural communities: Tennessee police data. Presented at the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. New York, NY.

She also presented at the 3rd Community Forum for Safe Relationships Safe Children. Her presentation focused on Intimate partner-related brain injuries among service providers. She is also scheduled to present on barriers to reporting intimate partner violence to police at a May 16th community event co-hosted by UFV and the Ann Davis Transition Society on Women’s Equity and the Link to Femicides in BC. Additionally, Dr. McCormick will also present on “Project Safe Relationships: Evaluation of a Healthy Relationships Program for Adolescents in Abbotsford” at the 13th Annual Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships (NEVR) Conference on May 25.

 

Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Jon Heidt published an article on cannabis and research ethics, outlining how the history of controlling cannabis research has led to various harms, injustices, and ethical complications. Wheeldon, J., & Heidt, J. (in press). Cannabis, research ethics, and a duty of care. Research Ethics.

 

 

Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Hayli Millar co-authored a brief with Dr. Tamara O’Doherty that was submitted to the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women. This brief addressed the House of Common study on human trafficking of women, girls, and gender-diverse people in Canada.

 

 

Criminology Associate Professors Dr. Irwin Cohen and Dr. Amanda McCormick presented at the Focus on the Future Western Regional Conference on Problem Gambling Awareness in Seattle, Washington. Their presentation focused on “Participant experiences while transitioning into voluntary self-exclusion.”

 

English

English Associate Professor and newly appointed Department Head Dr. Heather McAlpine hosted the 4th UFV Young Authors’ Conference on April 27, 2023, at the UFV Chilliwack campus. The conference welcomed 75 middle school students from Chilliwack and offered 7 workshops led by a team of twelve UFV student volunteers.

Dr. McAlpine is also set to publish an article in the journal Pedagogy in May. Titled “Digital Meters: Using Text Encoding to Teach Literature in the Undergraduate Classroom”, this article draws on research as well as interviews with over a dozen instructors from all over the world to demonstrate that using the digital humanities practice of text encoding — embedding information about a digitized text into the source code — can be a valuable way of teaching literary analysis to undergraduates.

 

On April 16th, English Associate Professor Dr. Prabhjot Parmar gave a talk titled “I Will Bid”: The Changing Face of Punjabi Cinema at the 10th Punjabi Ma Boli International Film Festival in Surrey. The talk offered a brief history of Punjabi Cinema and highlighted the portrayal of caste in recent films.

 

Modern Languages

In a recent workshop presented at WEFLA 2023, an international conference on Canadian studies held in Holguín, Cuba, Modern Languages and Arts Studies Assistant Professor Dr. Maria de Luna presented a workshop titled “Estudiantes construyendo conocimiento que va más allá del salón de clase” [Students building knowledge that goes beyond the classroom walls]. The workshop was held at the Facultad de Comunicación y Letras, y la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Holguín, and was part of the XVII Seminario Internacional de Estudios Canadienses.

 

Philosophy

Dr. Peter Raabe, emeritus professor of Philosophy, led a ZOOM workshop on the topic “Philosophical Practice Today” at an international philosophy conference held in Japan. His paper, titled “On Self-defeating Mental Viruses: An Interdisciplinary Study in Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Mental Healthcare” will appear in the upcoming journal of the Japanese Society of Philosophical Practice (JSPP). The conference was hosted by Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan on May 20, 2023.

 

Political Science

Political Science Assistant Professor Dr. Noah Schwartz published an article in the Journal of Politics and Policy titled “Taking Stock: the contribution of the policy studies to our understanding of gun policy”. Dr. Schwartz has also published an op-ed article with Tim Thurley in the National Post: Opinion: Mass Casualty recommendations wouldn’t have stopped N.S. massacre, and won’t stop others, which was quoted by MP Stephen Ellis (Cumberland-Colchester) in a debate yesterday in the House of Commons.

 

Psychology

Dr. Anna Cook, an Assistant Professor and Department Head of Philosophy, led two panels at the American Philosophical Association – Pacific Division Meeting held from April 5-10, 2023. The conference showcased her expertise in the field, and attendees had the opportunity to learn from her during two sessions. The first panel explored “Native Knowing, Endangered Languages, and the Meaning of Life,” while the second discussed “Reconfiguring the Canon of Nineteenth-Century American and British Philosophy.” The conference was an important event for philosophers and academics, providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and insights.

School of Creative Arts

Theatre Assistant Professor Dr. Anna Griffith presented at the Architecture, Media, Politics, Society (AMPS) conference: Applying Education in a Complex World and shared a paper titled “Futures Teaching and Interdisciplinary Praxis” about her pedagogical principles in SOCA 401.

 

 

 

Aimée Henny Brown, an assistant professor of Visual Arts, has been making waves in the art world lately. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications, including Create Magazine’s Magic Issue #34, which was released in March 2023. The book “Folklore of the Upper Nithsdale” also showcases Brown’s work alongside other international collage artists, all of whom reimagine stories of witches, ghosts, and other spirits from Sanquhar, Scotland, in a contemporary context.

In addition to those publications, Brown’s collage and installation piece “Metaphorical Rocks” was featured in the Mythical Landscape: Secrets of the Vale Exhibition. This exhibition was a collaborative effort among international artists who travelled to Sanquhar, Scotland, to investigate the region’s history and folklore. Brown’s work, along with others, was inspired by stories from the past (true or otherwise) and considered the history of the region.

Brown was also one of the featured artists in an International group exhibition at the Sharp Hands Gallery, which celebrated educators in collage. The exhibition highlighted the work of several accomplished artists, including Michael Toti, Lyz Wendland, Miranda Millward, Craig van den Bosch, Ann E. Lawton, and of course, Aimée Henny Brown. The exhibition was curated by Cheryl Chudyk and Kevin Sampsell.

Brown’s contributions to the art world have not gone unnoticed, and she was recently invited to participate as a guest panellist at the Artists at Work Symposium, hosted by the Kent Harrison Arts Council at the Ranger Station Art Gallery. During the symposium, Brown and other artists shared their experiences, including both successes and failures, inspiring attendees with valuable insights into the challenges and rewards of pursuing a creative life.

Looking ahead, Brown has been awarded an artist residency with PADA Studios in Barreiro, Portugal, in August 2023. Her research, conducted during an initial ROSA research + project phase, has led to her residency, where she will continue her exploration of artist books, possible architectures, and speculative futures with peer mentors, curators, and other artists. Overall, Brown’s art reflects her ability to blend traditional and contemporary techniques while exploring themes of folklore, history, and imagination.

School of Culture, Media and Society

Dr. Satwinder Bains, Director of SASI and SCMS Associate Professor and Thamilini Jothilingam co-presented a paper titled “Connecting the Dots: Building Support for GLAM Partners in Digital Repository Networks with Arca/British Columbia Electronic Library Network” at the Archives Association of BC conference. Their work highlighted SACDA’s collections, archival strategy, and open access. Along with Alisa Sohi, Dr. Bains and Thamilini Jothilingam also led a metadata creation workshop based on SACDA collections at the ConnectED 2023 conference at UFV.

On April 19th, Historica Canada released a Heritage Minute about Paldi, a welcoming and inclusive town founded by immigrants on Vancouver Island, BC. The Paldi Heritage Minute is the first to be released in Punjabi (in addition to English and French). SASI Director Dr. Satwinder Bains was on set during the shooting as a historical consultant.

Subscribe to the UFV Arts Newsletter

* indicates required





 

Are you


Faculty Publications & Projects | March 2023

by

Arts and Integrated Studies

Candy Ho, an Assistant Professor of Integrative Career and Capstone Learning, recently contributed a chapter to the book ‘Educating the Sustainability Leaders of the Future (World Sustainability Series).’ Her chapter, titled ‘Making Career Development Sustainable: A Senior Capstone Course Case Study,’ presents a case study of a liberal arts career capstone course. The course aligns theoretical career development frameworks with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), offering a modernized curriculum that helps students explore their potential contributions to a more sustainable world.

On March 29, Dr. Ho presented at the Society for Research into Higher Education (UK) during a session on ‘reframing employability and graduate outcomes through sustainable development.’ Her presentation, titled ‘Making the global personal: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in career curricula,’ examined a Canadian case study on how academic institutions, including Dr. Ho’s own, have incorporated the SDGs into their career learning pedagogy.”

Dr. Ho also delivered a keynote presentation at the Private Degree-Granting Institutions Association (PDGIA) Conference on March 30. Her address, entitled “Developing Critical Thinkers in the Age of Automation: The Case for Private Institutions,” examined the role of private institutions in the contemporary higher education landscape. Dr. Ho highlighted the importance of systemic change and emphasized the need to integrate critical thinking into the curriculum and teaching methodologies to prepare students for the rapidly evolving 21st-century workforce. She also underscored the significance of private institutions in shaping the future of higher education and enhancing their reputation through meaningful contributions to critical thinking education.

On April 20, 2023, Dr. Candy Ho will present at the 2023 Career Development Symposium hosted by the BC Career Development Association. Her presentation is titled “Sustaining Career Development: Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals” and it aims to explore how Incorporating the SDGs can inspire students to assess their professional aspirations and how these aspirations can be grounded on a broader goal(s) that promotes a sustainable future for our local and global communities.

Criminology

Criminology Assistant Professor Dr. Mark Kersten presented as part of a conference panel on transitional justice. Kersten, M.S. (2023, March). Making the Invisible Visible: The Case for Truth Commission on Poverty in Canada. 2023 International Studies Association Annual Convention, Montreal, QC, March 15-18, 2023.

Additionally, Dr. Kersten also presented as part of a conference panel on international criminal justice. Kersten, M.S. (2023, March). ‘Make ‘em Pay’: The Costs and Benefits of Using Tort Law to Redress War Crimes. 2023 International Studies Association Annual Convention, Montreal, QC, March 15-18, 2023. He also participated in a conference roundtable on “The International Criminal Court at 25: Assessing Process, Performance, and Impact.” 2023 International Studies Association Annual Convention, Montreal, QC, March 15-18, 2023. And he was a conference discussant on “Localizing Transitional Justice.” 2023 International Studies Association Annual Convention, Montreal, QC, March 15-18, 2023.

 

Criminology Assistant Professor Dr. Carlos Ponce was interviewed by Expediente Público, a Central American journalism magazine, to discuss secret negotiations between government officials and gang leaders in El Salvador.

Dr. Ponce was also interviewed with SBS Spanish, a Spanish program broadcasted by the SBS national radio network in Australia, to discuss the state of emergency declared in El Salvador and the secret negotiations between Salvadoran authorities and MS-13.

 

Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Irwin Cohen and the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research were awarded a research grant from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General to evaluate co-response mental health crisis teams.

 

English

English Associate Professor Dr. Heather McAlpine, English Sessional Instructor Dr. Ron Sweeney and Communications Sessional Instructor Jess Wind have co-edited a collection of essays on the Archie comics universe, coming this spring from McFarland: The Archie/Sabrina Universe: Essays on the Comics and Their Adaptations. The collection is based on the Riverdale conferences which were held at UFV from 2018-2020 and were co-organized by the co-editors and other UFV folks. This book features essays by Dr. Ron Sweeney, Arts and Integrated Studies Department Head Hannah Celinski, Social, Cultural, & Media Studies Sessional Instructor Brett Pardy, UFV English grads Katie Stobbart, and Dessa Bayrock.

Modern Languages

On March 30th, an open class for the LING 101 course was hosted by Dr. Maria de Luna, Assistant Professor in Modern Languages, with the valuable contribution of Camila Flores Salvo, a guest speaker from the University of Chile. The topic of the presentation was “Inclusive language/non-gendered language: A grammatical and identity dispute,” which was well received by the attendees.

Philosophy

Philosophy Department Head Dr. Anna Cook presented a paper “Graffiti and Colonial Unknowing: A Comment on Mishuana Goeman’s “Caring for Landscapes of Justice in Perilous Settler Environments”” at the 50th Annual Meeting for the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy (Denver, CO).

 

On March 30th, the Philosophy Department hosted its monthly Philosophy Cafe in honour of Dr. Wayne Henry’s scholarship and impact on the philosophical community in the Fraser Valley.

Faculty Publications & Projects | February 2023

by

Arts and Integrated Studies

Dr. Ho has also participated in interviews across a diverse range of media platforms:

Communications

  • Communications Department Head and Associate Professor Dr. Rashad Mammadov co-authored a manuscript titled “Russian Journalists and the ‘Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union’” published in the Journal of Slavic Military Studies. The article focuses on the role of Russian journalists and their reporting during World War II.
  • Communications Sessional Instructor Dr. Adam Vincent guest edited an academic journal for their special issue on arts-based educational research (ABER) and wrote the editorial (published in Dec 2022): Vincent, A. (2022). The Way of Rigorous Aesthetics. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 15(2).

Criminology and Criminal Justice

  • Criminology Assistant Professor Dr. Mark Kersten was interviewed by the Globe and Mail on global criminal justice. Dickson, J. (2023, January 25). S. ambassador for global criminal justice ready to play long game with Russia.
  • Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Jon Heidt published a book on cannabis. Wheeldon, J., & Heidt, J. (2023). Cannabis criminology. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. 
  • Criminology Professor Emeritus Dr. Yvon Dandurand authored a report on organized crime. Dandurand, Y., Bird Ruiz Benitez de Lugo, L., Madueke, K., & Zombre, O. (2023, January). Building resilience to organised crime: A policy review. ECOWAS Commission. Commission de la Cedeao Comissão da Cedeao.
    • Dandurand also presented at a seminar on organized crime. Dandurand, Y., Bird Ruiz Benitez de Lugo, L., Madueke, K., & Zombre, O. (2023, January 31). Resilience to organized crime: new insights from West Africa. ECOWAS Commission. Commission de la Cedeao Comissão da Cedeao.
  • Criminology Associate Professors Drs. Amanda McCormick and Irwin Cohen presented at the Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference. McCormick, A.V., Cohen, I.C., Davies, G., & Haarhoff, T. (2023, February 4). The perils of using police data to understand criminal pathways. Paper presented at the Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, February 2-4, 2023.
  • Criminology Assistant Professor Dr. Carlos Ponce presented at the Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference. Ponce, C. (2023, February 4). Doubling up to maintain control: Redundancy in the execution of an extortion racket in El Salvador. Paper presented at the Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, February 2-4, 2023.
  • Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Stanislav Vysotsky presented at the Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference. Vysotsky, S. (2023, February 3). Hard and soft targets: Counter-protest, violence, and far-right strategy. Paper presented at the Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, February 2-4, 2023.

Global Development Studies

  • Dr. Geetanjali Gill, Assistant Professor in Global Development Studies, and Dr. Rita Dhungel, Assistant Professor in Social Work, have obtained $472,442 from the New Frontiers in Research Fund for their project, “Participatory Action Research with female sex-trafficking survivors living with HIV/AIDS in Nepal: addressing intersectional gender oppression and advocating for well-being and inclusion”.

Modern Languages

  • In observance of Black History Month, the Modern Languages Department’s French Associate Professor, Dr. Ghizlane Laghzaoui, organized a workshop on “African Storytelling” in collaboration with Jean-Pierre Makosso. Mr. Makosso is a celebrated theatre director, actor, writer, and storyteller who was a featured guest in the workshop, held on February 14.

Philosophy

  • The Philosophy department held a Publication Celebration on February 9, which featured Philosophy Associate Professor Dr. Wayne Henry’s forthcoming book, “A Philosopher’s Guide to Natural Capitalism: A Sustainable Future Within Reach.” The book is scheduled to be released on July 7, 2023, by Routledge.
  • Philosophy LTA Instructor Dr. Joseph Carew presented at the last PHIL Café on February 16. His talk titled “Hegel on the Logic of Human Life” summarizes several key themes of Dr. Carew’s new interpretation of Hegel’s logic.

Political Science

  • Dr. Edward Akuffo, Head of the Political Science Department, was a featured expert at a recent webinar organized by the Africa Study Group of the Canadian International Council. The webinar centred on the Canadian government’s proposed Canada Africa Strategy, and Dr. Akuffo specifically presented on the peace and security aspect of the proposed strategy.

School of Creative Arts

  • Assistant Professor, Foundations, 3D, and Extended Media Aimée Henny Brown was a guest panellist at Artists in the Archive: Collage and Place in Archives, hosted by Kolaj Institute and the Henry Shelby Museum, in Middlebury, Vermont. Her presentation addressed how artists and galleries can employ resources from the past, such as archives and collections, as ways to instigate research and practices of imagining possible futures. The webinar accompanied their exhibition Artists in the Archive: Community, History and Collage.Aimee was also a guest speaker at the ACT Art Gallery in Maple Ridge and delivered a talk titled “Projecting Outwards:” which imagined possible futures through collage and accompanied their exhibition Intricate Arrangements. A public lecture was held on February 4, 2023.Additionally, Aimée has been awarded an artist residency with PADA Studios in Barreiro, Portugal, in August 2023. Based on the research performed through an initial ROSA research + project phase she will continue her research on-site with studio mentors and artist collaborators to further the exploration of artist books, possible architectures, and speculative futures.
  • SoCA’s School Director Dr. Heather Davis-Fisch was awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, valued at $62,908, for the project, Performance in the Pacific Northwest. With collaborator Sasha Kovacs (University of Victoria), she is investigating the role of theatrical and non-theatrical performance practices in the establishment of settler colonial structures in the Pacific Northwest and the ways that artifacts and documents in galleries, libraries, archives, and museums can be reinterpreted to contribute to understandings of settler colonial practices.

Faculty Publications & Projects | December 2022 & January 2023

by
A woman wearing a red scarf and red blouse in front of a mic is doing a presentation in front of a crowd.

Criminology

  • Criminology Associate Professors Drs. Amanda McCormick, Zina Lee, and Irwin Cohen completed a report for the Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Association that evaluated their program to educate youth about dating violence. McCormick, A.V., Lee, Z. & Cohen, I.M. (2022, December). Evaluation of Project Safe Relationships. University of the Fraser Valley: Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research.
  • Criminology Assistant Professor Dr. Carlos Ponce was interviewed about the militarization of communities controlled by criminal structures for the electronic newspaper ElSalvador.com.
  • Criminology Professor Emeritus Yvon Dandurand co-authored a conference proceedings paper. Dao Le Thu & Dandurand, Y. (2022). International Criminal Justice Cooperation in Combating Transnational Crime in ASEAN: Mechanisms, Challenges and Future Prospects. Proceedings of the International Conference on Cooperation Between Vietnam and Southeast Asian Countries in the Fight Against Crime. Hanoi: Hanoi Law University.
    • He also presented at Hanoi Law University about International Criminal Justice Cooperation in Southeast Asia and has been appointed as a Distinguished International Research Fellow of the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research, School of Law, Vietnam National University.

Economics

Philosophy

  • Philosophy Professor Dr. Joseph Carew collaborated in the edited volume of “The Palgrave Schelling Handbook.” He co-wrote the chapter “Introduction to Schelling” and co-edited the chapter “Schelling and Hegel.” Sean J. McGrath, Joseph Carew, and Kyla Bruff, eds. The Palgrave Schelling Handbook. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.

💡 Want to learn more about the College of Arts?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news from the College of Arts directly in your inbox.

Subscribe to the UFV Arts Newsletter

* indicates required







Don’t forget to follow us on social media:

Faculty Publications & Projects | November 2022

by

Criminology

  • Criminology Associate Professor Dr. Jon Heidt wrote an article on cannabis legalization. Heidt, J., & Wheeldon, J. (in press). Blowing in the wind: Cannabis legalization, insiders, and methodological insights from British Columbia. The Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology.

 

  • Criminology Professor Emeritus Yvon Dandurand presented at a Canadian Bar Association workshop. Dandurand, Y. (2022, October 26). Access to Justice Pathways: Problem Resolution Routes for People Experiencing Civil and Family Law Problems in British Columbia. Canadian Bar Association workshop on “Access to Justice Research from the Edge,” an event as part of Access to Justice Week Canada.

Economics

  • Economics Department Head Dr. Michael Maschek was a guest speaker at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Fraser Valley Chartered Professional Accountants Association. He presented on “Decision Making Under Economic Uncertainty: Lessons from Research in Behavioural Economics.”

Philosophy

  • Philosophy Associate Professor Dr. Anastasia Anderson and Philosophy Department Head Dr. Anna Cook presented at the 2022 BCSSTA (BC Social Studies Teachers’ Association) Conference: Teaching for Inquiry: Philosophy, Pedagogy and Praxis in October 2021. Dr. Anderson presented a workshop session on “Facilitating Philosophical Dialogue in the Classroom.” She also presented alongside Dr. Cook at the conference’s closing plenary.

 

Faculty Publications & Projects | October 2022

by

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

by

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

by

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?

by

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: